+1 to Jay and Jack and all the other guys that aren’t telling you that you need something with a bulldog on the hood. A stout V6 could get even get the job done, so if I were you I’d just look for the cleanest GM V8 I could find and go with it. (Ford V8’s, at least the small ones, are torqueless wonders. Don’t bother.)
A 2WD pickup truck would suck balls in the winter, unless you feel like lugging around 500lbs of weight in the bed to keep it on the road
Meh. A few sandbags and a set of snows on the rear is worth it in my eyes if he’s not going to be towing and can find a much nicer truck if he sacrifices 4WD.
Although you seem against it, if you bought a diesel truck you would never regret it. The mileage alone would make it worth it. I loved my Duramax when I had and for sure will own another shortly, or any other diesel. Gas engines just don’t make any sense.
You don’t need a GTO, but this is America!
4500lbs is the minimum he’ll be towing. That’s not including luggage, an extra passenger, food, extra spares he ends up adding to his setup, etc, etc.
Having towed many years with an SUV I can say one thing about it. Don’t do it. It sucks. You are constantly fighting, and when you get to your destination you will be more tired because of it. If you can afford to go diesel Greg, do so. If not start with a used F150/Chevy1500/Dodge1500 (V8) is not a bad choice either.
My trailer is 2000, car is 3400, spares, tools, wheels/tires are probably an additional 1000. Plus food, passengers, etc. If I had to guess I’m in the 7000# range, while my truck is rated to 10,000… I still wish I had bought the diesel.
i would get one of these, http://www.edmunds.com/used/2005/nissan/frontier/100506234/specs.html, supercharged and fun. I had an '02 na, crewcab and long bed, it was great!
Factory tow rating or not, I would never want to tow 5000# with a compact truck! A thing that alot of people are forget when towing, getting up to speed is only 1/3 the battle. The other 1/3 is safely stopping and last 1/3 is adequate suspension capacity so you don’t wind up with no weight on the front axle making steering dangerous.
yep, that thing probably has the same engine as my xterra. Even with the supercharger, I wouldn’t do it.
What about an Avalanche? Seems to be the best of both worlds between SUV and gas pickup and towing capacity is pretty beefy. My dad has always had them as tow vehicles to move our 25’ cabin cruiser and they handled it like a champ.
over rated quote… i never had any weight…just have to take it slow and it will hook up…not as great as 4wd but it will go
No it’s the same engine as MY Xterra. :ohyeah:
They finally put a real engine in the Xterra/Frontier in 2005: VQ40. Normally aspirated 4L V6. 260hp, 280ft-lbs, and a nice flat torque curve. Plenty of grunt for my 3,000 pound boat + trailer. I’m sure it could pull a 5,000 pound load, but that’s stretching it and you won’t see over 19mpg even when you’re not towing so why bother?
i thought he was referring to the previous body-style when I saw the supercharged comment. The 2005 frontier is a Naturally Aspirated engine. The latter mentioned '02 came in a supercharged variant though, and has the old slow motor.
I pull ~2000 lbs of trailer with my dads Inline 6 Envoy…
It works, but I have had to keep the pedal to the floor on occasion just to keep from slowing down too much on some hills
heading out to to the Naples NY area.
It gets ~12.5 mpg city and 12.3 mpg towing… It’s an F’ing pig.
My 1998 Explorer 4.0 v6 is rated at 5,000lbs towing and I was kicking around the idea of towing my car to the track with it, 3300lbs car plus 1200lbs trailer, but after using my dad’s v8 Ram 1500 to tow that same setup through some hills that has 80 more HP than my truck, I’d never want to pull with any v6. I can’t imagine strapping 3K to the back of my truck, let alone 5K.
I have, it is fine, you just need to know how to tow and by tow I mean understand drive and load. But I understand your point
i thought the new ones had a different motor and a super charger?
yeah, the mpgs, sucked on mine! I like that i could and it still felt like a car…
Sorry, I lost my train of thought and got confused.
Here are some of the number i was looking at,
I would not daily drive my towing rig again, or get a smaller car, or bike 
these number add up before long you 10k towing rig is a 5k high mile winter beater for someone.
Purchase 10,000
Miles 50,000
Towing Non Towing
Number Miles 6000 6000
MPG 18 21
Cost of fuel $2.90 $2.90
$966.67 $666.67
Total Fuel cost $1,633.33
Year one
Fuel $1,633.33
Miles 62,000
Repairs 400
Year one total $2,033.33
Add Cost of Insurance
Year one
Fuel $1,633.33
Miles 74,000
Repairs 700
Year one total $2,033.33
Add Cost of Insurance
I wish GM made a Diesel Avalanche.
Diesel is the preferred choice, but to get a descent one I’m going to wait a few years and spend bigger money then. Probably when I have a bigger/enclosed trailer and more spares to go with me. Used, cheap(er), reliable, and practical for towing are the key items this time around. You’d suggest saving a bit of money and get a truck instead of an SUV right now?
You can get a great diesel pick up for less than 10k. At that weight none of them will be working all that hard. It will boil down to preference between Dodge and Ford.
Yes, Choda pulls his car with a Ram 1500. It sucks. My truck would probably get 3x the fuel mileage and maintain speed and have better braking ability.
If you’re going to DD it, YOU HAVE TO GET 4x4. Yes, I drove a couple 2wd pick-ups in the snow, and yes it is possible. IT SUCKED!!! Get a 4x4 if you’re going to do anything in the snow.
You can grow into a diesel, you will quickly grow out of a gasser if you go any bigger. On the other hand… my V10 got about 12mpg loaded… and had plenty of power. They will be much cheaper than the diesel model of the same truck, but without any of the benefits.
Some of the maintenance is more expensive. An oil change for me is about $100 (full synth) … but I do that every 8000 miles. Everything else is built to take the abuse, not like your typical 1/2 ton “car with a bed”.
Yep, I’d just get a cheaper/used entry level (full frame) truck. Most of the depreciation is done on ones 6-10 years old. You’re still getting a decent enough truck, and you can decide what you do and don’t like before making the jump into a diesel.
Honestly, IN MY OPINION… towing a car + trailer + spares with an SUV is asking for trouble, especially in emergency situations (panic braking, moving to avoid debris, adverse conditions, etc).
Jack makes some good points in the above post, though I don’t agree with the NEED for 4x4. My 2wd truck with an open diff does fine in the snow. Granted most people on this forum think driving a 200whp BMW in the snow is “impossible”.