sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
Good feedback. How much weight were you towing? What was the issue? Lack of power? Trans hunting?
Brainstorming my next rig. How to fit 4 mountain bikes inside a 4x4.
- Thread starter sixstringsteve
- Start date
boogie_4wheel
Active Member
- Location
- North Salt Lake, Utah
I say an 8 lug truck from the big 3. Ford 6.2, Ram 6.4, or GM 6.0 for the gas, and they are near the power output of the 7.3L. You get 6 gears from all of them. Plenty of cab space for kid seats, and 6.5' or 8' with shell of your choice. You can overnight in the shell and flatbed/custom it later. Decently off-road capable; optioned with a factory locking diff.
Or as you mentioned, toyhauler. Bikes inside. Plenty of room to move around, get one with a front bed. I have a 21' that I love (last one on the lot for a smoking price), but if I were to buy again it would be around 25'.
It has been awhile since I've been in a Tundra, but the ones I drove got horrible fuel economy.
Or as you mentioned, toyhauler. Bikes inside. Plenty of room to move around, get one with a front bed. I have a 21' that I love (last one on the lot for a smoking price), but if I were to buy again it would be around 25'.
It has been awhile since I've been in a Tundra, but the ones I drove got horrible fuel economy.
Last edited:
- Location
- Vehicular limbo
What about a V10 Excursion? Or 8.0 'Burban? Should drag your Airstream around fine, and plenty of room in the back for bikes or sleeping or what have you.
D
Deleted member 12904
Guest
Not much one trip was a 14' flat bed with a 4 seat RZR and two dirt bikes. The Other trip was the same load but a 16' enclosed. Definitely always felt like it needed to downshift or was reving to the moon. Plus the Fuel economy was terrible. Trying to hold 75 mph on I15 you could see the fuel gauge move. Ive made the same trip with the Same 16' enclosed with the same rzr and two bikes with my 2002 5.3 chevy 1500 with 220K and felt it was very comparable in every way towing wise to the much newer tundra.
- Location
- The Land Northward (Bountiful), Utah
Two observations from another young(ish lol) father:
Car seats are huge. Once they are almost two- they get even bigger. I was basically forced to get rid of my supercab to upgrade to a crew cab for this reason.
Is there any prohibitive reason why you wouldn't want to add a single seat to the rear door side of your van?
I had a work van and traveled with my first son for the first two years of his life and took him almost everywhere with me it worked very well.
Car seats are huge. Once they are almost two- they get even bigger. I was basically forced to get rid of my supercab to upgrade to a crew cab for this reason.
Is there any prohibitive reason why you wouldn't want to add a single seat to the rear door side of your van?
I had a work van and traveled with my first son for the first two years of his life and took him almost everywhere with me it worked very well.
Last edited:
"It has to be easy to load a kid and car seat in and out of it every day."
Why does this thread have 24 posts without anyone mentioning this?
Tundras also have real small gas tanks. So along with poor mileage you get poor range.
Edit: I see I missed the thread and news from yesterday. Congrats to you and Tess, I'm really happy for you two. And Fender!
Why does this thread have 24 posts without anyone mentioning this?
Tundras also have real small gas tanks. So along with poor mileage you get poor range.
Edit: I see I missed the thread and news from yesterday. Congrats to you and Tess, I'm really happy for you two. And Fender!
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
Good to know about the size of car seats. I need to do some research and see if they'd fit in the back of a double cab easily.
I could add a seat to the van, and it's still an option. The van is big (tall), so we'd need the seat to be right next to the pass door. We don't want to have to climb into the van with a kid to buckle him/her in, too risky. So it'd have to be directly behind the pass seat. That's totally doable, but my wife is afraid of putting a kid in a non-factory seat in a non-factory location. Those mom blogs about kid safety are quite convincing for the perspective moms out there. With the size of the van, I'm sure I could make something work, but my wife is concerned. It would take a LOT of convincing.
Last edited:
D
Deleted member 12904
Guest
I guess one more thing worth mentioning maybe is one of the Tundra's I mentioned belonged to my cousin. It was an 08 crew cab short bed. He was shopping toy haulers to tow behind it and after towing my 16" trailer to Duck Creek he was so disappointing in the Tundra and towing he ended up selling it and bought a Duramax. Headed up the tight twisty canyon east of Parowan the truck struggled really bad and it took over half a tank of fuel to make it up the last 50 miles to Duck Creek. That's about 3-4mpg on that last stretch.
- Location
- Draper, UT
I'm a bit biased but what about an f150 super crew with 6.5" bed and ecoboost. Huge back seat, 4 full size doors, tows like a beast, 36 gal tank available.
If you're in the area I'll let you try mine with your trailer.
If you're in the area I'll let you try mine with your trailer.
- Location
- The Land Northward (Bountiful), Utah
I tend to think sometimes the easiest solution is the best. You already have Fred:
Why not a factory bucket seat in the back by the door? They definitely made them.
You're definitely going to have your work cut out for you on convincing her to do something custom, Tess is very smart.
If it came to that though: of course you and I know: Mom bloggers don't understand that vehicles are a bunch of bolted together components and most seat mounts are no more than reinforced floor sheet metal. It would be very safe to build a custom seat bracket if needed using stock seat mount locations.
This is what most of us do on our crawlers. I've rolled at least a dozen times with my aftermarket seats that just bolt to some square tube brackets on the floor through the factory seat bolt locations.
(After my work sold my van and gave me a vehicle expense) What ended up forcing my hand into a crew cab was the kids safety and comfort and my sanity. They have legs- and they stick out from car seats. Even if I moved my front seats forward in my GIANT Superduty the kids legs were squished so their knees were always bent and uncomfortable... And then they kicked my seat (starting at 1 year old). That's annoying for a 15 minutes drive. Imagine looooong interstate travel.
We had friend recommended to take our giant seats car AND kids shopping when we bought a new (used) passenger car for my wife and it turns out even if the seats fit fine- once we got the kids in them a BUNCH of cars got crossed off our list in a big hurry.
For reference my oldest is 3 and youngest just turned 2 last week.
Hope this helps. It's not too bad to borrow a 1.5yr+ big seat when you start looking and measuring for your solution.
Why not a factory bucket seat in the back by the door? They definitely made them.
You're definitely going to have your work cut out for you on convincing her to do something custom, Tess is very smart.
If it came to that though: of course you and I know: Mom bloggers don't understand that vehicles are a bunch of bolted together components and most seat mounts are no more than reinforced floor sheet metal. It would be very safe to build a custom seat bracket if needed using stock seat mount locations.
This is what most of us do on our crawlers. I've rolled at least a dozen times with my aftermarket seats that just bolt to some square tube brackets on the floor through the factory seat bolt locations.
(After my work sold my van and gave me a vehicle expense) What ended up forcing my hand into a crew cab was the kids safety and comfort and my sanity. They have legs- and they stick out from car seats. Even if I moved my front seats forward in my GIANT Superduty the kids legs were squished so their knees were always bent and uncomfortable... And then they kicked my seat (starting at 1 year old). That's annoying for a 15 minutes drive. Imagine looooong interstate travel.
We had friend recommended to take our giant seats car AND kids shopping when we bought a new (used) passenger car for my wife and it turns out even if the seats fit fine- once we got the kids in them a BUNCH of cars got crossed off our list in a big hurry.
For reference my oldest is 3 and youngest just turned 2 last week.
Hope this helps. It's not too bad to borrow a 1.5yr+ big seat when you start looking and measuring for your solution.
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
I can do 8-10mpg towing, but not 3-4mpg, that's awful.
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
Great advice stratton. With the way the van is currently configured, it'd be a fairly large project to add a stock seat in there. We'd have to remove 90% of the cabinetry, the fridge, the extra batteries, and a few other things. Definitely not impossible, and we have 5 more months to decide, but it would be a project. Plus it doesn't have those fancy new seatbelt hooks in the seats that the mommy bloggers stress the importance of. I have done zero research on car seats or mounting. For all I know, I'd get a seat in there and it wouldn't even mount because it doesn't have the new hooks.
- Location
- The Land Northward (Bountiful), Utah
All new car seats have safety straps now but all car seats can mount very safely with stock seatbelts only. (I often use both).
Many automotive seats have the mounts in them, many have cargo hooks you mount the safety straps to. The hooks are nothing more than cargo hooks of a particular shape. Most are nothing more than doubled up sheet metal (like these on my car).
Many automotive seats have the mounts in them, many have cargo hooks you mount the safety straps to. The hooks are nothing more than cargo hooks of a particular shape. Most are nothing more than doubled up sheet metal (like these on my car).
In my recent truck shopping I have to say I love the second gen Tundra's. That 5.7 is a beast, that being said as much as you tow I think you'd be miserable one with the 25gal tank you'd always be stopping for fuel. Two with it basically being more or less a dedicated tow rig I wouldn't want anything less than a 3/4 ton. While modern half tons more than have enough power to tow the weight, day to day a 3/4+ ton rig is going to give you less fatigue on the road. They won't wander as much, get pushed around as much, which takes less focus and keeps you from getting burned out as fast.
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
Great discussion here. We usually stay in a place for 1-2 weeks. There are times when we're towing every day for a few days to cross the country, but most of the time we tow every 10 days or so. Sometimes we stay in place for 3 months, sometimes we move every day. A 3/4 ton would be awesome when towing, but less than awesome when zipping up to canada for a weekend, or running to the store to get groceries. I just have to decide what I want more. I appreciate you guys keeping me honest. I'm not going to lie, I love the peace of mind I've had with my toyotas in the past. I get frustrated when i have to order parts from a dealer with any other rig. I can't stand going to the dealership, and a lot of little things on my van require a part that only the dealer has.
These little airstreams tow extremely well. Mine has a tongue weight around 650lbs and the trailer weighs 6000lbs fully loaded, including 40 gal of water. I don't really want another diesel this time around, but a 3/4 ton gasser is still an option. I like the MPG, torque, and power of a diesel, but I don't understand them very well, and I feel like they're getting pretty complicated with all the emissions stuff. Plus they're expensive.
If I ever went with a bigger trailer, like a bumper-pull toy hauler, I think I'd be wishing for a 3/4 ton then. I really don't want to swap trailers, but having that rear garage door would be extremely convenient with camping gear and 4 bikes.
If I did get a tundra, I'd either get the one with the 32 gal tank, or I'd swap in a 42 gal tank.
These little airstreams tow extremely well. Mine has a tongue weight around 650lbs and the trailer weighs 6000lbs fully loaded, including 40 gal of water. I don't really want another diesel this time around, but a 3/4 ton gasser is still an option. I like the MPG, torque, and power of a diesel, but I don't understand them very well, and I feel like they're getting pretty complicated with all the emissions stuff. Plus they're expensive.
If I ever went with a bigger trailer, like a bumper-pull toy hauler, I think I'd be wishing for a 3/4 ton then. I really don't want to swap trailers, but having that rear garage door would be extremely convenient with camping gear and 4 bikes.
If I did get a tundra, I'd either get the one with the 32 gal tank, or I'd swap in a 42 gal tank.
- Location
- The Village of Kay
Having owned a Tundra and an F150, I liked the F150 more when towing. I had a 2014 with the Ecoboost. Awesome truck! The Tundra was nice too, and towed well for the limited time I used it, but I liked the F150 more. The 2015+ F150's are even better due to being lighter, but you have to really search for the right build to get the max tow package. Not being able to find exactly what I wanted in an F150 led me to buy the 2014 Tundra I had briefly. If I buy another truck, I will be looking hard at the F150 again.
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
Super helpful, thanks! Which truck did you prefer when you weren't towing? The F150s seem huge to me, and don't seem to have a lot of ground clearance. Granted, I'm not in 4-low very often, but I do like to get off the beaten path. A 2015+ F150 is going to be more money than I'll want to spend. Have they fixed the condensation issues with the ecoboosts?
Last edited:
- Location
- Draper, UT
Huge is what you want when loading up car seats.
I just took mine through a lot of the Maze district (but not the Dollhouse). I'm on 33's, an inch over stock, and that was before I leveled it. I did use the skid plates a couple times though.
It's been a long time(years) since I've heard any complaints about the intercooler condensation issue. On mine they added a cover that partially blocks the airflow, not that we tend to have the conditions around here that present the problem.
- Location
- Vehicular limbo
Eric's truck could make it into the Dollhouse. Mine did, and he's set up very similar.
ID Bronco
Registered User
- Location
- Idaho Falls, ID
Going to the store, zipping up to Canada can all be done in a 3/4 ton without any or much more headache than a 1/2 ton. I think some day you'll have to get over your Toyota love affair, they don't make the perfect thing for everything. (although maybe close)
Putting kids in and out of vehicles isn't that big of a deal, I wouldn't want a huge lift to struggle with, but a regular 3/4 ton is no big deal. We just did what we had to do, all the crew cabs with 4 real doors (except 04ish Dodges) have plenty of room in the middle, back seat for a booster or car seat and leg room for the kid. The only draw back on a CC is that you cannot reach back to put a binki in, or give them a bottle very easily. It's a long reach.
Putting kids in and out of vehicles isn't that big of a deal, I wouldn't want a huge lift to struggle with, but a regular 3/4 ton is no big deal. We just did what we had to do, all the crew cabs with 4 real doors (except 04ish Dodges) have plenty of room in the middle, back seat for a booster or car seat and leg room for the kid. The only draw back on a CC is that you cannot reach back to put a binki in, or give them a bottle very easily. It's a long reach.