Older tow vehicle for 2014 Puma 32DBKS Tongue weight: 758 Dry weight: 8703

[ChiefGeek]

On a limited budget for a used tow vehicle (under $20k), suggestions? Thanks everyone.

[guy65]

www.cargurus.com


knock yourself out. What do you want to hear? all, what people will tell you, is, what they like. Check your weight and your needs and which vehicles are capable of doing it and search. good luck.

[Normal_Dave]

I'd be taking a real good look at this one...V10 Gasser, F-350 SRW, 4WD, low miles, XLT...
https://nashville.craigslist.org/ctd/6200567157.html

As a GM owner, Ford may not be your ticket, but the V10 to me is the often overlooked hero in towing and reliability. Fuel mileage, well, I hear they don't care if they are towing or empty, but you can buy a lot of fuel for a lower price point and less repairs.

Get the VIN number from them, paste it here, to get the build sheet details, gearing, etc.
Vehicle Lookup


Ok, so don't laugh, but take a look here, (and hear me out...) Factory 7 passenger seating, top of the line luxury, 15,000/18,500 LBS GCWR, 8,800/10,000 LBS Max trailer weight depending on 3.73/4.10 gearing, makes a comfortable, versatile tow platform, and yes, it's also a 6.8L V10.
https://littlerock.craigslist.org/cto/6207129772.html


Specs on page 23 here:
http://www.fleet.ford.com/resources/...s/2002_All.pdf

[xrated]

Well that's an 11K lb trailer when fully loaded so you are looking at a minimum of 10% - 15% of the trailer weight on the tongue. Middle ground let's say 12.5% would put you near 1400 lbs of tongue weight. You are clearly into the 3/4Ton pickup range, so don't even consider a 1/2 Ton truck so tow safely and within all of the weight ratings....GVWR, Alxe Weight ratings (front and rear), payload, etc. I may be telling you something that you already know, so forgive me if that is the case. The published Tongue weight is an empty trailer, and no one goes camping with an empty trailer.....just not that much fun!
You may already know this too, but a Weight Dist. Hitch is going to be mandatory for that trailer too, so plan on buying one that will handle the approx. 1500 lbs of tongue weight. Make sure the truck has the appropriate payload capacity, as stated on the driver's side door pillar with a yellow label. And remember, that number is the payload capacity of THAT truck, as it came off of the assembly line! If any other aftermarket equipment has been added....tool box, aux. fuel tank, bed topper, etc, all of that must be deducted from the published payload capacity. DO NOT go by any of the manufacturer's brochure info about payload....go by the yellow sticker...OR even better, if it's possible to take the truck across a CAT scale (or something similar) before purchase, do that with a full tank of fuel and whatever that weight is, deduct it from the vehicle's GVWR and you will have your payload numbers. Hope this helps....as it is not specific to any brand of truck, but is the same for every truck! And just a sidenote in case you didn't know.......Airbags, while very useful at times, DO NOT change the payload capacity of a truck!

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by ChiefGeek

On a limited budget for a used tow vehicle (under $20k), suggestions?

2014 Palomino Puma 32DBKS has GVWR of 10,918 and you can expect to load it to around 10,500. Average tongue weight for that trailer is about 13%, so expect 1,365 tongue weight when wet and loaded for camping. Add another 100 pounds for a good weight-distributing (WD) hitch and total hitch weight is about 1,465.

So you need a tow vehicle (TV) with enough payload capacity to haul your passengers, tools, and anything else you might haul in the TV, plus another 1,465 pounds of hitch weight.

So don't even look at any half-ton pickups. Minimum is an F-250 or GM/Ram 2500. A dually is overkill, but if you find a creampuff in your price range then grab it.

For engine, the V-10 Ford would be an excellent choice, and they were available from 1999 through 2010 so there should be some available on the used pickup market.

Here's a 2009 F-250 V-10 with less than 100,000 miles and they're asking $18,750:

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...ngId=460724646

DO NOT look at Fords earlier than 2005 model year. The 2005 F-250 had GVWR of 10,000 pounds, but earlier years had only 8,800.

[Normal_Dave]

Yep, the van is out unless you upgraded to 4.30 gears, then you'd have enough, but would need to get an "official" GCWR for the new gearing. That's a HEAVY loaded trailer.

[fvstringpicker]

Question. Does a weight distribution hitch shift the tongue weight from the rear of the truck to the front and back to the trailer? Hence, 1,400 lbs of tongue weight would not be carried solely by the truck, especially the rear wheels of the truck.

[guy65]

Originally Posted by fvstringpicker

Question. Does a weight distribution hitch shift the tongue weight from the rear of the truck to the front and back to the trailer? Hence, 1,400 lbs of tongue weight would not be carried solely by the truck, especially the rear wheels of the truck.

no. the tongue weight is the same- it just pulls the truck up to level it out and keep the front wheels on the ground, as well as leveling the trailer to the truck, to minimalize sway.
The problem is always, people think, a wdh removes tongue weight and would make it possible to go a number higher. Not the case. unfortunately.

[fvstringpicker]

Not disagreeing that the tongue weight is still on the hitch, but it appears, as follows, the weight is not entirely on the rear axle of the truck. A number of years ago, a guy selling WDHs demonstrated he could lift the rear wheels of the pickup completely off the ground by tightening weight distribution bars. The entire rear of the truck was carried by the front axle and the trailer. It was a light single axle trailer but a good demo nonetheless.

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by fvstringpicker

Question. Does a weight distribution hitch shift the tongue weight from the rear of the truck to the front and back to the trailer? Hence, 1,400 lbs of tongue weight would not be carried solely by the truck, especially the rear wheels of the truck.

Wishful thinking. The hitch weight will all be on the ball of the hitch.

But the weight distribution system distributes some of the weight off the rear axle and onto the trailer axles and front axle of the tow vehicle.

So if you're trying to haul too much trailer for the payload capacity of your tow vehicle, then the WD hitch will help a smidgen because it will distribute about 15% to 20% of total hitch weight back to the trailer axles. If your hitch weight is 800 pounds, the properly-adjusted WD hitch will distribute about 120 to 160 pounds of gross hitch weight back to the trailer axles.

[ChiefGeek]

thanks everyone. Another question, older truck (2008) with fewer miles (120k), or newer truck (2013) with more miles (180k)???

Or...what about this truck:

https://nashville.craigslist.org/ctd/6217518923.html

[jps4jeep]

I would look for a either a ford V10 or a GM truck with 8.1L and Allison. really comes down to which one you like better. My preference would be the 8.1L for what it is worth.