Tow Rigs, What do you have/use?
Aug 14, 2017, 09:21 AM
#768
^ Yeah nice find indeed. I honestly didnt look too hard to find one just poked around. IDK I always liked Rams so that was my #1 and I was able to spec it exactly as I wanted it just took a while for the right one to pop up. With all your spares I think you should just get a 2 car trailer and buy a parts evo to tow around with you. That was youll have every part you need right there 
Noted on car placement thanks guys ill give it another shot. Doesnt help that my driveway isnt perfectly flat so it dips down in the center.
I was able to play around with the trailer wiring yesterday. It seems everything is now working. brakes were giving me issues again so I redid the ground and that seems to have made it a lil better. I still need to redo the wires that run back there but havent got around to it. But the junction box seems to be a nice way to keep things tidy and easy to modify down the road. Still cant believe how crappy the wiring is. I had 3 more taillights go out which shocking culprit was another crappy butt connector that had fallen off. I think my trailer was made on a Monday after vacation.
I also welded on my stabilizer jacks to the rear. That came out nice I think. No pics yet and my welds are nothing to be proud of but it should work out well.
As mentioned above Im brainstorming now how to build a tire rack up front and also considering putting a truck box up front to store a jack and misc tools tie downs wheel chocks etc. Just gotta come up with a design and see if it all makes sense. The box will have to be elevated about 4" off the deck so my winch cable can go under it. And the tires need to be high enough so I can open the top of the box; just hoping I dont have to put the tires up too high as Im sure thatll kill my MPG's towing.
But going back to leveling the car if I add all that stuff to the front the car will certainly have to be pushed back some so itll even fit and wont be too tongue heavy. Hoping I can come up with something still fit the evo fine have plenty of tie down locations and make the thing more versatile. I hate trying to remember to pack everything so it would be nice to have it all contained in the trailer.
Noted on car placement thanks guys ill give it another shot. Doesnt help that my driveway isnt perfectly flat so it dips down in the center.
I was able to play around with the trailer wiring yesterday. It seems everything is now working. brakes were giving me issues again so I redid the ground and that seems to have made it a lil better. I still need to redo the wires that run back there but havent got around to it. But the junction box seems to be a nice way to keep things tidy and easy to modify down the road. Still cant believe how crappy the wiring is. I had 3 more taillights go out which shocking culprit was another crappy butt connector that had fallen off. I think my trailer was made on a Monday after vacation.
I also welded on my stabilizer jacks to the rear. That came out nice I think. No pics yet and my welds are nothing to be proud of but it should work out well.
As mentioned above Im brainstorming now how to build a tire rack up front and also considering putting a truck box up front to store a jack and misc tools tie downs wheel chocks etc. Just gotta come up with a design and see if it all makes sense. The box will have to be elevated about 4" off the deck so my winch cable can go under it. And the tires need to be high enough so I can open the top of the box; just hoping I dont have to put the tires up too high as Im sure thatll kill my MPG's towing.
But going back to leveling the car if I add all that stuff to the front the car will certainly have to be pushed back some so itll even fit and wont be too tongue heavy. Hoping I can come up with something still fit the evo fine have plenty of tie down locations and make the thing more versatile. I hate trying to remember to pack everything so it would be nice to have it all contained in the trailer.
Sep 1, 2017, 08:53 AM
#769
put some time in on the trailer. Its always a disaster on race weekends so we're trying to keep stuff off of the floor.
made 18' of aluminum shelving:
spare parts, and more spare parts
command central. We are running two 6v batteries and one 12v. stereo is tied into the trailer speakers. LED load lights outside for the occasional light night car repair.
made 18' of aluminum shelving:
spare parts, and more spare parts
command central. We are running two 6v batteries and one 12v. stereo is tied into the trailer speakers. LED load lights outside for the occasional light night car repair.
Sep 30, 2017, 12:35 AM
#771
Great thread, just finished reading the entire thing! I was just curious if anyone on here decided to go the route of giving up their daily driver (being a car) for a new turbo diesel truck to DD? If so, do you regret it or love it? I live in LA for reference and travel a lot out of state for work so I only drive 10k or less miles a year.
Reason I am asking is I currently have an X as my DD and a 9 SE that Im building for the track and I will be needing a truck/trailer once she is all caged out. Debating getting rid of the X once its paid off for a new TD truck as one option. Used diesels are so damn expensive (35k+ for low miles late model years in my area!) and me being me I cant convince myself buy an old beat up one with 200K that will need work and possibly be unsafe due to failing components, nor do I want to put any money into fixing one.
I may start with an open trailer so I was considering the new Tundra as a cheaper option, which would probably allow me to keep the X...but if I ever wanted to go enclosed I would rather get a turbo diesel (and yes I know the Tundra can tow enclosed trailers but I am one of those people who would rather not rev a NA engine out going up hills and into headwinds or struggle to pass people). I would appreciate any input from those who have experience in the truck/towing area as I have absolutely none...I have only owned high performance cars and not a single truck (yet). Thank you!
Reason I am asking is I currently have an X as my DD and a 9 SE that Im building for the track and I will be needing a truck/trailer once she is all caged out. Debating getting rid of the X once its paid off for a new TD truck as one option. Used diesels are so damn expensive (35k+ for low miles late model years in my area!) and me being me I cant convince myself buy an old beat up one with 200K that will need work and possibly be unsafe due to failing components, nor do I want to put any money into fixing one.
I may start with an open trailer so I was considering the new Tundra as a cheaper option, which would probably allow me to keep the X...but if I ever wanted to go enclosed I would rather get a turbo diesel (and yes I know the Tundra can tow enclosed trailers but I am one of those people who would rather not rev a NA engine out going up hills and into headwinds or struggle to pass people). I would appreciate any input from those who have experience in the truck/towing area as I have absolutely none...I have only owned high performance cars and not a single truck (yet). Thank you!
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hurstnova350 (Oct 3, 2017)
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hurstnova350 (Oct 3, 2017)
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hurstnova350 (Oct 3, 2017)
Oct 3, 2017, 07:58 AM
#775
For almost 10 years my evo was my DD which was epic for the most part but not exactly an easy balance when you attempt to race the thing on the weekend and drive to work on Monday. As time progressed the car got less street friendly stiff spring rates more solid bushings e85 you get the idea.
I originally thought I would end up with a cheap DD but something fun so I didnt hate life everyday like a mini or something along those lines. That then transitioned to an SUV thinking I could pull a trailer so I was thinking Jeep GC with Hemi or Porsche Cayenne S or something along those lines. Then I bought a house and realized how useful a pickup would be given that every week I was bugging my buddy to pick up random stuff on CL or take runs to Home Depot and thats when I decided my next vehicle had to be a truck.
When it comes to towing its no secret that a diesel is the way to go but being my DD as well going to a 3/4ton truck just seemed complete overkill for me between the parking aspect and sheer size of them. My towing needs were pretty minimal open trailer ~2000# and the evo ~3000# so I ended up with a 1500 gasser. My Ram with the 3.92 gears is rated to tow 10200# which is more than double what Id be pulling so figured I was right within that sweetspot.
Ive now had the truck for about 3-4 months and am really liking it as a DD. Yeah sometimes parking can be a lil annoying and the gas mileage isnt great given that I dink around town but its quiet and very comfortable. I picked up a trailer and towed my evo 4 times now and the truck has done great. Now that I've got the hang of what the truck likes for tongue weight its very stable at highway speeds and the acceleration is acceptable. Would diesel destroy it in a performance test absolutely but do I think I made the right choice with my truck absolutely!
I originally thought I would end up with a cheap DD but something fun so I didnt hate life everyday like a mini or something along those lines. That then transitioned to an SUV thinking I could pull a trailer so I was thinking Jeep GC with Hemi or Porsche Cayenne S or something along those lines. Then I bought a house and realized how useful a pickup would be given that every week I was bugging my buddy to pick up random stuff on CL or take runs to Home Depot and thats when I decided my next vehicle had to be a truck.
When it comes to towing its no secret that a diesel is the way to go but being my DD as well going to a 3/4ton truck just seemed complete overkill for me between the parking aspect and sheer size of them. My towing needs were pretty minimal open trailer ~2000# and the evo ~3000# so I ended up with a 1500 gasser. My Ram with the 3.92 gears is rated to tow 10200# which is more than double what Id be pulling so figured I was right within that sweetspot.
Ive now had the truck for about 3-4 months and am really liking it as a DD. Yeah sometimes parking can be a lil annoying and the gas mileage isnt great given that I dink around town but its quiet and very comfortable. I picked up a trailer and towed my evo 4 times now and the truck has done great. Now that I've got the hang of what the truck likes for tongue weight its very stable at highway speeds and the acceleration is acceptable. Would diesel destroy it in a performance test absolutely but do I think I made the right choice with my truck absolutely!
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hurstnova350 (Oct 3, 2017)
Oct 3, 2017, 07:51 PM
#776
For almost 10 years my evo was my DD which was epic for the most part but not exactly an easy balance when you attempt to race the thing on the weekend and drive to work on Monday. As time progressed the car got less street friendly stiff spring rates more solid bushings e85 you get the idea.
I originally thought I would end up with a cheap DD but something fun so I didnt hate life everyday like a mini or something along those lines. That then transitioned to an SUV thinking I could pull a trailer so I was thinking Jeep GC with Hemi or Porsche Cayenne S or something along those lines. Then I bought a house and realized how useful a pickup would be given that every week I was bugging my buddy to pick up random stuff on CL or take runs to Home Depot and thats when I decided my next vehicle had to be a truck.
When it comes to towing its no secret that a diesel is the way to go but being my DD as well going to a 3/4ton truck just seemed complete overkill for me between the parking aspect and sheer size of them. My towing needs were pretty minimal open trailer ~2000# and the evo ~3000# so I ended up with a 1500 gasser. My Ram with the 3.92 gears is rated to tow 10200# which is more than double what Id be pulling so figured I was right within that sweetspot.
Ive now had the truck for about 3-4 months and am really liking it as a DD. Yeah sometimes parking can be a lil annoying and the gas mileage isnt great given that I dink around town but its quiet and very comfortable. I picked up a trailer and towed my evo 4 times now and the truck has done great. Now that I've got the hang of what the truck likes for tongue weight its very stable at highway speeds and the acceleration is acceptable. Would diesel destroy it in a performance test absolutely but do I think I made the right choice with my truck absolutely!
I originally thought I would end up with a cheap DD but something fun so I didnt hate life everyday like a mini or something along those lines. That then transitioned to an SUV thinking I could pull a trailer so I was thinking Jeep GC with Hemi or Porsche Cayenne S or something along those lines. Then I bought a house and realized how useful a pickup would be given that every week I was bugging my buddy to pick up random stuff on CL or take runs to Home Depot and thats when I decided my next vehicle had to be a truck.
When it comes to towing its no secret that a diesel is the way to go but being my DD as well going to a 3/4ton truck just seemed complete overkill for me between the parking aspect and sheer size of them. My towing needs were pretty minimal open trailer ~2000# and the evo ~3000# so I ended up with a 1500 gasser. My Ram with the 3.92 gears is rated to tow 10200# which is more than double what Id be pulling so figured I was right within that sweetspot.
Ive now had the truck for about 3-4 months and am really liking it as a DD. Yeah sometimes parking can be a lil annoying and the gas mileage isnt great given that I dink around town but its quiet and very comfortable. I picked up a trailer and towed my evo 4 times now and the truck has done great. Now that I've got the hang of what the truck likes for tongue weight its very stable at highway speeds and the acceleration is acceptable. Would diesel destroy it in a performance test absolutely but do I think I made the right choice with my truck absolutely!
So I have been debating letting my X go (once its paid off) to trade in for a new turbo diesel truck to tow the 9 and DD. Im trying to convince myself that the power of the TD truck (especially with a chip) will satisfy that need for power in a DD that we all have lol. I dont need the long bed so I think parking wont be too terrible. Thing is used really good condition diesels are so expensive that I don't know if I would want to take out a 30K loan on a used truck with almost 100k miles when I could let the X go and get a new one that will last me a decade or more...then maybe get another car one day later on once that truck is paid off. First world problems I know haha but Ive only owned cars to DD and never a truck so I am really putting a lot of thought into it and want to make a wise and educated decision and gather an much input from people with experience as possible.
Oct 10, 2017, 10:44 AM
#777
EvoM Guru
iTrader: (1)
A diesel truck with 100k miles is nothing. I wouldn't even think about the mileage. Just make sure you avoid the Ford 6.0 and 6.4 like the plague. They are not reliable, and require thousands of dollars in upgrades to make them "reliable".
As for a need for power. My truck goes fine. It does 0-60 in <6 seconds lol, and it's stock. You can find a nice 3.5 ecoboost or 5.0 V8 2011-2014 F150 for sub $30k no problem.
I passed on the diesel option because the newer trucks I wanted are too expensive for me, and the maintenance is a little more costly.
As for a need for power. My truck goes fine. It does 0-60 in <6 seconds lol, and it's stock. You can find a nice 3.5 ecoboost or 5.0 V8 2011-2014 F150 for sub $30k no problem.
I passed on the diesel option because the newer trucks I wanted are too expensive for me, and the maintenance is a little more costly.
Oct 11, 2017, 08:19 AM
#779
I've never towed with a surge brake setup but its my understanding that people seem to dislike them so I'd be curious to think of the specifics here.
The way I see it it you can scoop it up for cheap enough you can always convert over to electric brakes after the fact.
What I like about having electric brakes is I feel like I have control over how powerful I want the trailer brakes to be by adjusting the gain. Im not sure how that would work with surge brakes as I believe the inertia from the trailer pushed in a plunger which activates the brakes. Also, what happens if you get some trailer sway? With electric brakes you can squeeze the lever and control the trailer independently of your truck's brakes. Im not sure you have that luxury with a surge brake setup.
IDK man Im sure it'll be fine; I feel like a ton of boat trailers have surge brakes. Like everything, its going to be a tradeoff. But if the deal is sweet enough go for it. I'd think towing a 1000# trailerex would be pretty nice especially having a smaller tow vehicle like your 4Runner.
The way I see it it you can scoop it up for cheap enough you can always convert over to electric brakes after the fact.
What I like about having electric brakes is I feel like I have control over how powerful I want the trailer brakes to be by adjusting the gain. Im not sure how that would work with surge brakes as I believe the inertia from the trailer pushed in a plunger which activates the brakes. Also, what happens if you get some trailer sway? With electric brakes you can squeeze the lever and control the trailer independently of your truck's brakes. Im not sure you have that luxury with a surge brake setup.
IDK man Im sure it'll be fine; I feel like a ton of boat trailers have surge brakes. Like everything, its going to be a tradeoff. But if the deal is sweet enough go for it. I'd think towing a 1000# trailerex would be pretty nice especially having a smaller tow vehicle like your 4Runner.
Oct 11, 2017, 09:15 AM
#780
EvoM Guru
iTrader: (1)
I've never towed anything with surge brakes. But I sure do love electronic brakes for the same things Eric listed above. Ability to adjust brake force/gain, and the ability to actuate trailer brakes independently of the truck in case the trailer starts wagging.