Tow Vehicle

I have been pulling my 20 foot Skeeter with a 2000 Z71 pickup. Love the
truck, handles the boat real good, gas milage not very good, got about
12 mpg on the road on my trip but I drive pretty fast, usually set the
cruise control 10 mph over the posted limit. It has 140,000 miles on it
now.

I had planned on replacing this truck with another one just like it,
keeping the old one to haul wood and do dirty work, keep the new one
for trips and pulling the boat. Sleeping in the cab of the truck and
trying to load it for a 2.5 week trip made me think about getting
something different, like a Surburban.

I pulled boats with full size vans for about 20 years and like the
truck better for backing, especially, but think I can handle most
anything. Not real worried about gas milage. Want something that will
handle the boat as well as my truck but give me more inside room.

I talked to Chris and Jim I think it was with a Surburban and a Tahoe
at the NWC and both liked their choices.

Any comments on tow vehicles?

Ronnie

http://fishing.about.com

On 17 Sep 2006 18:23:28 -0700, "Ronnie"
wrote:

I have been pulling my 20 foot Skeeter with a 2000 Z71 pickup. Love the
truck, handles the boat real good, gas milage not very good, got about
12 mpg on the road on my trip but I drive pretty fast, usually set the
cruise control 10 mph over the posted limit. It has 140,000 miles on it
now.

I had planned on replacing this truck with another one just like it,
keeping the old one to haul wood and do dirty work, keep the new one
for trips and pulling the boat. Sleeping in the cab of the truck and
trying to load it for a 2.5 week trip made me think about getting
something different, like a Surburban.

I pulled boats with full size vans for about 20 years and like the
truck better for backing, especially, but think I can handle most
anything. Not real worried about gas milage. Want something that will
handle the boat as well as my truck but give me more inside room.

I talked to Chris and Jim I think it was with a Surburban and a Tahoe
at the NWC and both liked their choices.

Any comments on tow vehicles?

Ronnie

http://fishing.about.com

Hi Ronnie,

I would look at the same truck in a 3/4 ton and put a pop up style
slide in camper in the bed. Some are pretty light, don't appreciably
increase drag over a topper style cap and in most cases you wouldn't
even need to raise it to catch a few zzz on the "Settee". When you
want to clean up or cook you can do it where ever you can park. Plenty
of storage too. Throw a porta potty in and you have everything you
need. Cross wind effect would be about the same as a van/suburban.

I have sold them all, Ford, Dodge, Chevrolet, GMC, Nissan, Toyota, and have
put them all through their paces on test track. GMC's Yukon with its power
on demand engine is incredible for fuel economy and it can also burn E85.
The Yukon also has a better residual/resale value than its Chevrolet
counterpart, the Tahoe/Suburban. Both can handle your boat with ease. I
still recommend an anti-sway system.

If you are not GMS, say that you are anyways. Why? Because GMS allows you
to see the actual invoice and they have to show it to you. Once you see the
invoice you can see the invoice price, GMS price, Supplier Price, Hold Back,
and Wholesale invoice price. Now if you really don't get GMS, you can
nogotiate a great price for the vehicle. Also, do not let them bounce you,
which once they find out you are not GMS they are going to try. "Oh, I'm
sorry, I just found out another salesman's customer put a deposit on this
vehicle, let's go find you another one." No Thank you, if I can't have
that one, I'll just pass. You will get that one. Then since you are
towing, get the extend service contract, but get it at a fair price, and
here is how. GMAC issues two books to a dealer. One is dealer cost and it
says dealer cost along the top of the book, and a second book that says MSRP
along the top. Let them know you know of both books and that you are
prepared to purchase an extend contract at $150 above Dealer Cost. Make
sure they show you the "Dealer Cost" book. If you are leasing, and you are
staying under 36000 miles, forget about it. But if you buying , and you are
putting less than $3000 down, you also want GAP Insurance too, and you
should not pay any more than $350 for it TOTAL. DO NOT BUY ANY ACCESSORIES
FROM THE DEALER!!! Now if you want accessories cheap, here is what you do.
Want Running boards, wind screens, etc., call the local accessory stores and
say, "Hi, I'm Joe Smith from Dealer X, and I want to know what our cost is
for whatever." They will tell you, then go there and say you want whatever.
When they tell you the price, say, "Oh No, Jack over at Dealer X says it was
only $X." They will give to you at dealer cost, saving you hundreds. If
the dealership offers you Paint, Fabric, Sealant protection, know the actual
cost is $64, so if they say it is anything higher, and you want it, and it
is a good option by the way, says, I'll give you $80 for it. They say no,
forget it. Its nice, but you can live without it. If you are someone that
takes Disability & Life Insurance, know the dealership gets 50% of the cost.
So if they charge $1000, it is only costing the dealership $500, so $600 is
a fair price. Same goes for the Life Insuance. Also watch the interest
rate, and before you sign a contract, demand to see the bank approval sheet,
which will have what is called a Buy Rate, and that is the interest rate you
should be paying. Anything more is the dealership bumping it for profit.
Finally, many dealerships add wheel locks, security etching, air bag lock
nuts, etc. DO NOT PAY FOR ANY OF THEM. You are not required too, and they
will charge you insane money for the product. They will tell you, "You have
to take them, they are already on the vehicle.' SO... TAKE THEM OFF! or
Give them to me for FREE!!!

ONE MORE THING. DO NOT BUY A VEHICLE FOR TOWING THAT DOES NOT HAVE A
FACTORY INSTALLED TOWING PACKAGE (which includes a High Volume Air Intake
and Air filter, Trans Cooler, Oil Cooler, Bigger Radiator, 100Amp Alt, and
bigger shocks). If you buy a hitch after the fact, you are only getting the
hitch, and you need all of it to properly tow you boat!!!)

Well, that you prepare you to get your best deal, regardless of what vehicle
you choose to buy.
--
Craig Baugher

"Dan, danl, Redbeard uh Greybeard now" wrote in message
...
On 17 Sep 2006 18:23:28 -0700, "Ronnie"
wrote:

I have been pulling my 20 foot Skeeter with a 2000 Z71 pickup. Love the
truck, handles the boat real good, gas milage not very good, got about
12 mpg on the road on my trip but I drive pretty fast, usually set the
cruise control 10 mph over the posted limit. It has 140,000 miles on it
now.

I had planned on replacing this truck with another one just like it,
keeping the old one to haul wood and do dirty work, keep the new one
for trips and pulling the boat. Sleeping in the cab of the truck and
trying to load it for a 2.5 week trip made me think about getting
something different, like a Surburban.

I pulled boats with full size vans for about 20 years and like the
truck better for backing, especially, but think I can handle most
anything. Not real worried about gas milage. Want something that will
handle the boat as well as my truck but give me more inside room.

I talked to Chris and Jim I think it was with a Surburban and a Tahoe
at the NWC and both liked their choices.

Any comments on tow vehicles?

Ronnie

http://fishing.about.com

Hi Ronnie,

I would look at the same truck in a 3/4 ton and put a pop up style
slide in camper in the bed. Some are pretty light, don't appreciably
increase drag over a topper style cap and in most cases you wouldn't
even need to raise it to catch a few zzz on the "Settee". When you
want to clean up or cook you can do it where ever you can park. Plenty
of storage too. Throw a porta potty in and you have everything you
need. Cross wind effect would be about the same as a van/suburban.

I agree whole hardily! I tow a 4400# boat and trailer that scales at about
4400# with a 2004 Chevy crewcab, shortbed Duramax diesel. I get about 14
mpg towing at 65-70 (speed limit in Calif for towing is 55) That is with my
Palomino B-800 slide in pop-up camper. Since this is a shortbed, the
sleeping on the settee would suck if you are over 5' tall. But the good
part is that it takes about 5 minutes to pop up the camper. Has queen size
bed, heater, stove and 3 way fridge. We do not cook in the camper as do not
want the food smells, so use a colman stove outside. Without towing and
with the camper, I get about 17 mpg at 55-60 mph. We just came back from a
drive to Alaska and for the 8200 miles averaged 15 mpg. Fourwheel popup
campers out of Woodland, CA have a slide in that is about 800#, where mine
is 1200#. I would go with gas if you do not drive a lot of miles a year, or
do not tow in mountains. I tow into the Sierra Nevada mt's and favorite
lake is at 4400' elevation, but do tow to Lake Tahoe and Reno, NV.

"Ronnie" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have been pulling my 20 foot Skeeter with a 2000 Z71 pickup. Love the
truck, handles the boat real good, gas milage not very good, got about
12 mpg on the road on my trip but I drive pretty fast, usually set the
cruise control 10 mph over the posted limit. It has 140,000 miles on it
now.

I had planned on replacing this truck with another one just like it,
keeping the old one to haul wood and do dirty work, keep the new one
for trips and pulling the boat. Sleeping in the cab of the truck and
trying to load it for a 2.5 week trip made me think about getting
something different, like a Surburban.

I pulled boats with full size vans for about 20 years and like the
truck better for backing, especially, but think I can handle most
anything. Not real worried about gas milage. Want something that will
handle the boat as well as my truck but give me more inside room.

I talked to Chris and Jim I think it was with a Surburban and a Tahoe
at the NWC and both liked their choices.

Any comments on tow vehicles?

Ronnie

http://fishing.about.com

Hi Ronnie,

When I got my new truck, I looked at the Suburbans and Tahoes. Color me
less than impressed..... They're glorified station wagons and even with the
four wheel drive packages, don't think that they really can go off-road.

If you like how your old truck handled things and the service it gave you,
why change?
--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com

On Mon, 18 Sep 2006 06:41:12 GMT, "Calif Bill"
wrote:


"Dan, danl, Redbeard uh Greybeard now" wrote in message
.. .
On 17 Sep 2006 18:23:28 -0700, "Ronnie"
wrote:

I have been pulling my 20 foot Skeeter with a 2000 Z71 pickup. Love the
truck, handles the boat real good, gas milage not very good, got about
12 mpg on the road on my trip but I drive pretty fast, usually set the
cruise control 10 mph over the posted limit. It has 140,000 miles on it
now.

I had planned on replacing this truck with another one just like it,
keeping the old one to haul wood and do dirty work, keep the new one
for trips and pulling the boat. Sleeping in the cab of the truck and
trying to load it for a 2.5 week trip made me think about getting
something different, like a Surburban.

I pulled boats with full size vans for about 20 years and like the
truck better for backing, especially, but think I can handle most
anything. Not real worried about gas milage. Want something that will
handle the boat as well as my truck but give me more inside room.

I talked to Chris and Jim I think it was with a Surburban and a Tahoe
at the NWC and both liked their choices.

Any comments on tow vehicles?

Ronnie

http://fishing.about.com

Hi Ronnie,

I would look at the same truck in a 3/4 ton and put a pop up style
slide in camper in the bed. Some are pretty light, don't appreciably
increase drag over a topper style cap and in most cases you wouldn't
even need to raise it to catch a few zzz on the "Settee". When you
want to clean up or cook you can do it where ever you can park. Plenty
of storage too. Throw a porta potty in and you have everything you
need. Cross wind effect would be about the same as a van/suburban.

I agree whole hardily! I tow a 4400# boat and trailer that scales at about
4400# with a 2004 Chevy crewcab, shortbed Duramax diesel. I get about 14
mpg towing at 65-70 (speed limit in Calif for towing is 55) That is with my
Palomino B-800 slide in pop-up camper. Since this is a shortbed, the
sleeping on the settee would suck if you are over 5' tall. But the good
part is that it takes about 5 minutes to pop up the camper. Has queen size
bed, heater, stove and 3 way fridge. We do not cook in the camper as do not
want the food smells, so use a colman stove outside. Without towing and
with the camper, I get about 17 mpg at 55-60 mph. We just came back from a
drive to Alaska and for the 8200 miles averaged 15 mpg. Fourwheel popup
campers out of Woodland, CA have a slide in that is about 800#, where mine
is 1200#. I would go with gas if you do not drive a lot of miles a year, or
do not tow in mountains. I tow into the Sierra Nevada mt's and favorite
lake is at 4400' elevation, but do tow to Lake Tahoe and Reno, NV.


Bill & all,

Regarding the diesel. I have read that the new diesel fuels required
by the EPA will reduce mileage greatly. Not sure of the debut date. I
have heard estimates up to 25%. This will get better once the
Manufactures bring out engines designed for the new fuel but it will
take 5 years or so for mileage to increase to current levels or
better. Then there is another change in fuels scheduled and the
mileage will drop again.

Not sure if it will happen like this but it is something to consider
and research.

Hi Ron!

Once you go Suburban you never go back buddy, that's all I have to say!

warren

"Ronnie" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have been pulling my 20 foot Skeeter with a 2000 Z71 pickup. Love the
truck, handles the boat real good, gas milage not very good, got about
12 mpg on the road on my trip but I drive pretty fast, usually set the
cruise control 10 mph over the posted limit. It has 140,000 miles on it
now.

I had planned on replacing this truck with another one just like it,
keeping the old one to haul wood and do dirty work, keep the new one
for trips and pulling the boat. Sleeping in the cab of the truck and
trying to load it for a 2.5 week trip made me think about getting
something different, like a Surburban.

I pulled boats with full size vans for about 20 years and like the
truck better for backing, especially, but think I can handle most
anything. Not real worried about gas milage. Want something that will
handle the boat as well as my truck but give me more inside room.

I talked to Chris and Jim I think it was with a Surburban and a Tahoe
at the NWC and both liked their choices.

Any comments on tow vehicles?

Ronnie

http://fishing.about.com

Hey now! I'll take ya 4-wheelin in my Suburban anytime Stevo!

Don't knock it till ya try it!

Best damn tow-vehicle I've ever been in, barring gas mileage. I'll take
comfort over economy anytime for those 10+ hr drives....

Warren

"Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers" wrote in
message ...

"Ronnie" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have been pulling my 20 foot Skeeter with a 2000 Z71 pickup. Love the
truck, handles the boat real good, gas milage not very good, got about
12 mpg on the road on my trip but I drive pretty fast, usually set the
cruise control 10 mph over the posted limit. It has 140,000 miles on it
now.

I had planned on replacing this truck with another one just like it,
keeping the old one to haul wood and do dirty work, keep the new one
for trips and pulling the boat. Sleeping in the cab of the truck and
trying to load it for a 2.5 week trip made me think about getting
something different, like a Surburban.

I pulled boats with full size vans for about 20 years and like the
truck better for backing, especially, but think I can handle most
anything. Not real worried about gas milage. Want something that will
handle the boat as well as my truck but give me more inside room.

I talked to Chris and Jim I think it was with a Surburban and a Tahoe
at the NWC and both liked their choices.

Any comments on tow vehicles?

Ronnie

http://fishing.about.com

Hi Ronnie,

When I got my new truck, I looked at the Suburbans and Tahoes. Color me
less than impressed..... They're glorified station wagons and even with
the four wheel drive packages, don't think that they really can go
off-road.

If you like how your old truck handled things and the service it gave you,
why change?
--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com

"Ronnie" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have been pulling my 20 foot Skeeter with a 2000 Z71 pickup. Love the
truck, handles the boat real good, gas milage not very good, got about
12 mpg on the road on my trip but I drive pretty fast, usually set the
cruise control 10 mph over the posted limit. It has 140,000 miles on it
now.

I had planned on replacing this truck with another one just like it,
keeping the old one to haul wood and do dirty work, keep the new one
for trips and pulling the boat. Sleeping in the cab of the truck and
trying to load it for a 2.5 week trip made me think about getting
something different, like a Surburban.

I pulled boats with full size vans for about 20 years and like the
truck better for backing, especially, but think I can handle most
anything. Not real worried about gas milage. Want something that will
handle the boat as well as my truck but give me more inside room.

I talked to Chris and Jim I think it was with a Surburban and a Tahoe
at the NWC and both liked their choices.

Any comments on tow vehicles?

Ronnie

http://fishing.about.com


Well, for room and the ability to sleep in it, some sort of fullsize SUV
would likely be the ticket, Suburban, Tahoe, etc.

I don't travel much with my rig beyond my "home" area of NC (SC/VA too) but
can say that the new generation of small V8s in most trucks is the best way
to go with gas mileage. I personally have a Tundra, 2000 model, 125k miles
on it, and she pulls strong still and beats the crap out of my neighbor's
1999 Z71 P/U when it comes to fuel mileage when pulling the same weight. (A
V8 Tundra's tow weight limit is 7200 lbs btw)

Maybe take a look at these new Tahoes that are out there with these 5.3L
(327cid) V8s? Regardless of the room you may need, you're gonna have to go
down in engine size to see any kind of fuel mileage gain IMO. I hear they're
offering a FlexFuel model of the Avalanche now too, if you live or travel
near a station that sells E85.

"Dan, danl, Redbeard uh Greybeard now" wrote in message
SNIP

Bill & all,

Regarding the diesel. I have read that the new diesel fuels required
by the EPA will reduce mileage greatly. Not sure of the debut date. I
have heard estimates up to 25%. This will get better once the
Manufactures bring out engines designed for the new fuel but it will
take 5 years or so for mileage to increase to current levels or
better. Then there is another change in fuels scheduled and the
mileage will drop again.

Not sure if it will happen like this but it is something to consider
and research.

Dan,

This is all scheduled to happen by the end of 2006 as mandated by the EPA
Clean Air Act of 2006. That's the main reason why I traded in my Duramax
diesel on basically the same truck, just with the 6.0 litre gas engine.

I figure, why pay a minimum of 10 cents a gallon more and get less
performance? Plus, while I loved the horsepower, performance and towing
capabilities of my diesel, I don't miss the diesel exhaust smell nor the
added hassle of finding diesel fuel at gas stations. There are an amazing
amount of small towns that don't have diesel fuel.
--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com