Post up your tow vehicle and the pros and cons if you don't mind. I am shopping for a new vehicle and can't decide what to get. Somewhere between a 4Runner and Explorer...and Armada and others.
The photo of the Whip behind the VW looks straight out of one of my dreams -- it doesn't get much cooler than that! Last VW bus I "owned" was a shell in the gated yard of our old shop with a 3' hole cut in the side of it. It was the living quarters for our shop dogs, two big Akitas.Great thread - as a bunch of you guys mentioned, the importance isn't horsepower, it's the stopping.
I've towed my 2001 HB 17.8 Whip with a bunch of stuff (Hummer H3, Hemi Grand Cherokee, 4Runner), but my current tow vehicle is a Subaru Crosstrek with Manual Transmission. Bought the car to tow behind the RV and fell in love with it (cheap and does just about everything I need). Actually putting my 2016 4Runner up for sale because it never gets used. The only downside is that you definitely know the skiff is back there when you go over bumps (waggles the tail a bit), but that's first world problems. Speed wise, I don't have problems - I've towed my skiff as well as two separate HB Marquesas without any real issues. I think the manual transmission helps - not sure how the CVT transmission would tow. Stopping is good as well - I've had to make a few emergency stops and I've been happy.
In an effort to win the "tows with the least horsepower" award here, I occasionally tow with a 1979 VW Bus with 64 hp (6hp less than the skiff). The issue here is not necessarily the towing (I only tow at about 55mph (rarely exceed 60 not towing for fear of putting too much strain on the air cooled motor)), but the stopping. When I tow with it, I take the back roads to Flamingo....
Finally, sometimes I tow with the RV - but have never used the RV to launch the skiff. Talk about not knowing the skiff is back there; the water in my freshwater tanks weighs more than the skiff and trailer... View attachment 26762
2017 Crosstrek View attachment 26763 1979 VW Westfalia.
View attachment 26764
Is that a FWD or AWD? If FWD, have you ever had an issue making it back up a ramp?
Watch out it's a slippery slope! Been there and now $65k later it is really a great truck, but can never get that money back on trade or sale. However that is not the reason to do it anyway. The body, frame, and axles are stock. Everything else tweaked a little... Heard it said that a hearse does not have a UHaul trailer attached for a reason. =)So I just found out there's a company that specializes in diesel conversions for Toyota trucks, and in my case, FJ Cruisers. Guess I'll die poor...
I've wanted to do this with my Tundra for a while now. Amazing truck, best I've ever owned but the mileage sucks huge, for long trips I'll use my Ram 3500 to tow my 2k lbs total rig just for the fuel savings. What outfit is doing this swap?So I just found out there's a company that specializes in diesel conversions for Toyota trucks, and in my case, FJ Cruisers. Guess I'll die poor...
Several reasons for choosing the Duramax Canyon.View attachment 31404 When my Outback retires, I think I’ll be looking hard at the Duramax Canyon or Colorado. @sjrobin why did you choose the Canyon?