Considering a very high mileage tow vehicle.

[scipper77]

I sold my old tow vehicle and bought the wife a mini van. I could put a hitch on it and tow with it but I'd rather not put the wear and tear on a daily driver not really designed to tow.

I'm "considering" buying something like a late 90's Tahoe/Yukon with 160k on it as I have seen them for around $2500. The other truck I'm keeping an eye out for is a (Grand)Cherokee with the 4.0 liter (or the 8) as I know that engine is known to go a ton of miles.

My rig weighs around 2000 lbs, I will only use this truck to tow which will be maybe 6 or 700 miles a year.

So let me finally get to the point and ask a few questions

1)Are there any red flags to look for as far as common problems with any of these vehicles?

2)Are there and great, inexpensive tow vehicles that I am overlooking?

3)Should I be concerned about the mileage being so high?

I figure if the tranny is in good shape, compression is there and the suspension is safe I can deal with other problems for such a limited use vehicle.

This is a rare case where I am actually hoping that you all will knit pick my post.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Considering a very high mileage tow vehicle.

2000lbs - just tow it with the minivan.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Considering a very high mileage tow vehicle.

The biggest problems with the late 90s Tahoes and Pickups are the brakes. Trannys were OK but improvements were made in them latre on. Better to find a 2000 or newer in my opinion. Brakes were vastly improved.

2000 lbs is nothing to tow. My opinions are just based on the vehicle itself as almost anything can tow 2000 lbs. Your minivan would do fine and really not wear it much at all.

 

[109jb]

Re: Considering a very high mileage tow vehicle.

What kind of minivan? I have towed a lot with tthe Chrysler minivans up to about 3500 pounds and would not hesitate to tow a 2000 pound boat with one evenn if the van was a daily driver.

 

[Subliminal]

Re: Considering a very high mileage tow vehicle.

I haven't been the primary driver of a vehicle with less than 150k on the clock in years. You mentioned the good stuff:

Make sure the thing doesn't feel like it's going to shake apart on bumps. Maybe lay down underneth it and have someone turn the wheels and watch all the components for much slop.

Check the compression and look for oil leaks. Some oil leak is fine, but a quart a week just gets annoying and messy.

Run the tranny through its paces. Pull the dipstick and smell for burnt.

Those ARE the major things.

One thing, though, you have to be willing to break down when you drive something like that. I paid $6k for my current truck, a 91 Dodge 3/4 ton 4x4 with the Cummins diesel. I paid a premium, I feel, but she's a very solid truck.

Wouldn't you know, after driving it for about 3 months, the tranny grenaded itself. No previous warning, just blamy! Getting it rebuilt would have been ~$3000...or half the price of the vehicle.

I pride myself on being kind of a do-it-yerself guy, so I instead bought another one of the trucks, in much worse condition, but with a stickshift, stole what I need and parted out the rest for basically the diesel.

Anyway, point being, I personally wouldn't hesitate to buy a higher mileage vehicle, but you gotta be willing to take the baggae that goes with it.

Another point to consider...lets say that Tahoe is a 96. That's roughly 14 years old. If you divide the 14 years by the 160k, you get roughly 11k a year, which isn't really high mileage at all. And in my experience, stuff starts to go wrong around 120-130k, so that vehicle could be right past the hump with a ton of new stuff, or really worn out and needing that new stuff.

I've always wanted a 2 dr Tahoe. I think they quit making them in 97 or 98. Those were slick.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Considering a very high mileage tow vehicle.

Towing 2000# is like towing a dozen donuts - it can be done with most any vehicle on the road. You certainly don't need a full size SUV for that.

 

[jtmarten]

Re: Considering a very high mileage tow vehicle.

I tow 7000-7500lbs 185mi round trip to the lake with my '96 K2500 Suburban with 165K on it. No issues so far.

 

[scipper77]

Re: Considering a very high mileage tow vehicle.

What kind of minivan? I have towed a lot with tthe Chrysler minivans up to about 3500 pounds and would not hesitate to tow a 2000 pound boat with one evenn if the van was a daily driver.

It's a Nissan quest (2008). The reason we (she) are a little bit cautious is because our previous tow vehicle (2001 ford escape) had a failing torque converter. That was why we replaced it. I agree that there should be no problem towing with it but if the tranny fails 5-10 years down the road it will be blamed on the towing.

As I said in the original post. I am "considering" a tow vehicle. Also I wouldn't mind having a big 4wd to bomb around in in the winter.

 

[Mntom]

Re: Considering a very high mileage tow vehicle.

Just give it a good going over and you will get an idea what condition everything is in. Shoot, I am leaving Saturday for NE Ohio and back pulling a 28' fifth wheel and my truck has 239,587 miles on it right now!

 

[windsors03cobra]

Re: Considering a very high mileage tow vehicle.

Late 90's Ford Exploder 5.0 V8 AWD can be had pretty cheap and are long lasting tanks.

Those Chevies you mention are good and last practically forever. The Jeeps in a 6 or an 8 are also good long lasting vehicles.
We have a 99 Exploder 5.0 with 198k and a 99 Jeep 4.0 with 192k and both tow and function great. Both go through the snow like a dream and I/sometimes we enjoy going snow bombing. The Exploder is a preferred ride due to the V8 and heated leather but the Heep has better tires and holding it to the boards when it doubt works just nice.

Congrats on the Quest I've never been a huge fan of minivans but have always kind of liked the newer Quests. I think its the far out interior that gets me. I see some come with a bunch of roof glass that looks kind of cool.
And since its a Nissan it has the good VQ35 engine.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Considering a very high mileage tow vehicle.

Mileage these days isn't near as important as it used to be if the truck was taken care of. I'd be looking close at the transmission and engine, as well as the differentials. All else I'd consider minor. I wouldn't want to buy something with 160K for $2500 and find out it needs a $2500 trans overhaul, or a motor.
I've had some luck over the years buying really high miles trucks in that most had already had a new trans and/or engine put in. I had a Ford Van that I bought with 390K on it, I got it about 3 months after the original owner put in a new engine, trans, and four new tires. A drivers door hinge broke and it needed a windshield, rear brakes, and new U joints, so he gave up on it. It had been garage kept, and recently repainted too. I bought it for $1200, put another $400 in it, (Including adding a trailer hitch and trailer wiring), and drove it for another 6 years and 140K. I sold it for more than double what I paid for it needing new exhaust and new seats up front. I ran that truck everywhere, it didn't look or drive like it had so many miles either.

Keep in mind though that simply replacing the power train doesn't erase the miles, things like the steering parts, door hinges, seats, and pedal assembly parts all wear and may become an issue with higher mileage trucks. Having good junk yard nearby stocked with low mileage wrecks can be a big plus too. My two current trucks are still pretty low mileage, but both are like new at 140K and 75K.
I almost added an 02 GMC p/u to my fleet a while back, but it turned out to need more worth than I deemed worth it to me. It was in need of a trans overhaul, new fuel pump, and had some rocker panel rust starting. All of that on top of the 115K on the odometer pretty much made me walk away. I could have had it cheap, but wasn't looking to put out the cash to fix so many problems on a truck I really didn't need.
While there was no doubt I could have fixed everything and still been well under the book value of the truck, it just wasn't that nice overall the way I saw it was that it had a rough life to have that much wrong with it so soon.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Considering a very high mileage tow vehicle.

our previous tow vehicle (2001 FORD escape) had a failing torque converter.

Had a feeling as I scrolled down that I would see the "F" word (Ford) when the previous tow vehicle was mentioned.
Quest will tow the 2K no problem. Stay out of overdrive.

 

[Doernuth]

Re: Considering a very high mileage tow vehicle.

Second the Stay out of overdrive, it can burn out the tranny pretty quick. I prefer manual transmissions for towing. Thats just my personal preference.

If towing with an automatic make sure a transmission cooler is installed. Was your quest available with a towing package? Did you get the towing package?

I also prefer 4x's for towing, just in case you get a slick ramp its nice to be able to get traction from the front and rear.

Use your quest till you find something else, it will hold up for short trips no problem.

 

[arty007]

Re: Considering a very high mileage tow vehicle.

yeah do make sure you have a tranny cooler installed. i bought a 04 chevy avalanche new with a tow package, but did not come with a tranny cooler, apparently that wasnt part of the tranny package wtf.
its cheap insurance and really easy to install yourself.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Considering a very high mileage tow vehicle.

The cost of adding an additional vehicle to the fleet (purchase price, insurance, registration, inspection, oil changes, etc etc) is far greater than the cost of replacing whatever components of your van the lives of which your towing MAY be shortening. Get a tranny cooler, shorten your fluid change intervals and just stick with the van.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Considering a very high mileage tow vehicle.

as far as I'm concerned EVERY household should have a truck in the driveway.... I think you are right on with your thinking.... another rig to consider is a 4x4 s-10 with a 4.3.... it will handle a 2k boat with no trouble.

As for miles.... my truck has 304,000 and I tow a 38' fifth wheel and a jeep wrangler behind the camper cross country for work

 

[scipper77]

Re: Considering a very high mileage tow vehicle.

another rig to consider is a 4x4 s-10 with a 4.3.... it will handle a 2k boat with no trouble.

That's the first thing (and Ford ranger) I looked for. The problem is that to be able to bring my family it will have to be an extended cab. To tow with I need the 6 cyl motor and the 4 wheel drive. A truck with this combo costs as much as the Tahoe's and more than the Cherokee's I've been looking at. I've found that since the Tahoe's are high end vehicles there tends to be better service history and they justify a higher maintenance budget. For example I've seen many with replacement motors AND transmissions in them. On the S-10 I could see putting a new tranny OR engine in but it's just not worth the investment to replace both.

Pick ups are just to valuable as work vehicles and hold there value to well and by the time that I can afford one as a tow vehicle it is often beat to heck.

On a side note I've always wanted to get a classic restored 70's pickup or 60's van as a dedicated tow vehicle. Then I get a new man toy in the form of a classic car, and because it will be used so little to tow with I could keep it for 20 years or so and it will still be a super cool tow vehicle.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Considering a very high mileage tow vehicle.

If you combine my advice with smoke's advice the result is, the only extra vehicle it makes sense to add to your fleet is a truck.

I am painfully familiar with how much extended cab pickups cost. I recently bought an '05 Jeep GC because the extended cab pickup I really wanted was too expensive.

Another note related to your last post, I have a 1990 Chevy K1500. If I could have afforded an ext. cab truck it would have been traded. Since we got the Jeep, I decided to keep it as a long bed truck is extremely useful. The truck was recently damaged by a hail storm and the money from the insurance company plus some of my own cash is having the entire truck stripped, all body defects repaired and completely repainted. It's already rust-free and sportin' a Jasper 350 with 10k miles on it. It's a classic to me!

This is the before pic:

Stay tuned for the after pic sometime in Sept.

 

[windsors03cobra]

Re: Considering a very high mileage tow vehicle.

As for miles.... my truck has 304,000 and I tow a 38' fifth wheel and a jeep wrangler behind the camper cross country for work

Wow, good ole' 7.3 ?

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Considering a very high mileage tow vehicle.

YUP.... international engine and dana axles... now if I could just get rid of the dang ford tranny for an eaton fuller