What do you use as your EB tow rig

[jperry1290]

I'm in the market for a new to me truck. Ideally I would buy a diesel 3/4 ton, but they re so much money. I've read good things about the Dodge 2500 hemi. Does anyone realistically tow in the Sierras with a 1/2 ton eco boost f150, Tundra, etc. I think it would be pushing the limits of the truck. I only drive about 5k miles a year so it's hard to justify 40 grand on a newer used GMC, Ford, Chevy, Dodge diesel. I would only be towing the EB a few times a year and hopefully a ski boat next summer.

[earlybronco72]

Re: What do you use as your EB tow rig

I tow with my 05 F150 with a 5.4. It has made at least 9 trips to Moab dragging my bronco over the sierras, plus a bunch of other trips up and down the state of California. It is slower over the mountains, but you just slow down and shift down. The bigger concern in my books is the braking. Good brakes on the trailer are a must. I will be dragging my bronco out to Missouri next summer without concern.

[Rockbronco67]

Re: What do you use as your EB tow rig

I agree with Marc that good trailer brakes are a must. Get them on both axles. I tow with my tundra with no problems and the new Eco boost tow really good also. Ofcoarse towing with a diesel is nicer but not necessary, unless you tow 2 rigs.

[pipelayer]

Re: What do you use as your EB tow rig

Good question I'm in the same market but diesels have cost me more money then they have saved from the start purchase to the maintenance it's way more money for a diesel. I have bin thinking about a 6.0 2500hd because the motor is easy to work on and the trans is the same as the diesel. I'm always looking for the perfect work tow rig for next to nothing and I'm not sure it exists but I'm looking.

[CityHick]

Re: What do you use as your EB tow rig

I've towed a few vehicles with my 2000 silverado 1500, it does the job, but I did kill a transmission.

I tend to just drive my bronco wherever I take it, but the older I get, the more I want comfort for those long highway stretches (air conditioning, etc). Which makes me wonder if an eb is still the right rig for me ten years later.

Though driving it around this weekend sure helped me like it more again.

[jamesroney]

Re: What do you use as your EB tow rig

I tow with a 2006 Mega Cab 2500 HD 4x4. With the SpinTec unit bearing kit...it is the best truck ever. No EGR, no DEF, no problems. Legit 21 mpg combined. Tows the Bronco just fine.

I think it is about a $25,000 truck these days...Haven't found anything better.

[pipelayer]

Re: What do you use as your EB tow rig

Gas?

[jamesroney]

Re: What do you use as your EB tow rig

Gas?

Oops, I left that out. It's a 24V Cummins. (but it's not $40K)

[ntsqd]

Re: What do you use as your EB tow rig

All one times that I've towed the Bronc-up I did so with our '96 CTD. May not have the power of the later diesels, but with the pop-top camper in the bed we still pulled over 16 mpg out of it towing out/up to Calico. That's about what we get when not towing and it really didn't know or care that the EB was back there. I didn't buy a diesel for the power, I bought it for the range, the lack of smog checks, and the lack of gee-wizmos that are sure to fail and cause me trouble.

[904Bronco]

Re: What do you use as your EB tow rig

So I bought a new 2002 7.3 diesel crewcab superduty truck... It was $40K back in the end of 2001, and Diesel was $1.45 a gallon. I tow and get 14mpg, around town it is 13mpg, open freeway 16-17mpg. I have a 46 gallon aftermarket tank. Most things I tow, I hardly know that they are behind me.

Tires (3rd set) and oil changes (switched to synthetic at about 100K) is what I have done for the most of its life so far... Did the tranny last year with 174K on it, did one cam sensor.
Well worth the money, as I expect to go 300K miles on it... And the 7.3 hold their value for that reason. I cannot tell you how many times a newer diesel owner at the gas station says he wishes he had kept his 7.3...............

[Efibroncoman]

Re: What do you use as your EB tow rig

I tow with a 2015 Ram 2500 4x4 with a Cummins. The new trucks definitely are expensive but also quite refined too. I have 3.42 axle gears and two overdrive gears in the 6 speed auto. That makes for about 17mpg in town when empty and 26mpg freeway empty. Towing it will get 14 or so on flat ground about 10 going up Donner Summit. The new Cummins engines have 15,000 mile oil change intervals with non-synthetic also. Definitely light years better than my big block suburban was. I was originally looking for used diesels but the used diesel pickup market is all messed up. Everybody is asking way too much! I ended up financing about $6-7K more than a decent used Ram diesel.

[bent70]

Re: What do you use as your EB tow rig

My buddy has a mega cab with the hemi....9 miles to the gallon empty..... He tows the bikes..haha. But if its not going 70+ mph its constantly shifting. Really comes alive in the top end though.

[rockslut]

Re: What do you use as your EB tow rig

I tow with my 2001 GMC Duramax Allison combo. Mostly towing my big ocean boat to Bodega every weekend between mid June and end of Sept. I average 13mpg towing and what little i do drive it with out something dragging behind it gets about 16-17mpg. changed out injectors last year my self in a weekend. $1700 in parts. I love the truck, runs smooth and comfy down the road. One thing i would do different is not lifting it. I wanted the cool look and i got it with a 6'' lift and 35'' tires. But that was 10-12 years ago. Cool factor wore off and i wish every time i drive it that it was stock height now.
The gas 6.0 with the Allison is a nice combo. I drive this combo in my UPS truck everyday. Tons of power and pretty fast for a big brown brick..

[welndmn]

Re: What do you use as your EB tow rig

05 dodge 2500 diesel.
I love the truck, I have 160k on it now.
I don't like anything new, if I was shopping it would be an 06 dodge mega cab, still with the diesel.
Before this I've borrowed 5.4 f150 and a 06 dodge hemi, they got me to where I was going but I always felt like I was over working the truck.
Before that I had an 91 f250 with a 460, that one traveled all over! Good truck, at 5mpg.

The benefit of the diesel is I also have a cabover camper. I would not tow a trailer and a cabover with a gas motor.

[PhantomEB]

Re: What do you use as your EB tow rig

02 Cummins In a ram2500. Not the prettiest but it works.....once I fix the cracked tcase adapter.