When the Covid skies clear I was thinking about purchasing an enclosed hauler (in order to participate in events a greater distance from home or in the US - we live in Canada). Aluminum haulers obviously weigh less but the math sure looks like you need a 3/4 ton truck to do this right. Thoughts?
3/4 ton you will be happy. It's one thing if you were hauling a small car.
But I assume you are hauling a 4900 lb Cadillac.
I haul my '41 in a 24 ft enclosed trailer with a 1/2 ton Ram. Loaded trailer weighs about 7500 lbs. Noticable sway from passing big rigs & crosswinds. Changed to an equalizer hitch which helps.
Biggest problem is refueling. It's a gas truck and gets about 7 mpg towing the trailer which means stopping for gas every 140 miles or so. Finding a gas station with decent access to pumps is problematic.
Am looking to replace it with a 3/4 ton diesel truck. Heavier (should be more stable), but the primary reason is so I can use truck stops to refuel (much better access).
Also, IMO, the fuel savings will not justify the extra cost of an aluminum trailer.
I would go for the 3/4 and diesel especially if you are going to do it very often. Sure they say some of the 1/2 tons can tow over 10k but when they do that its really hard on em and they use a lot of gas. 3/4's are built to tow so they got bigger everything. Things you would not think about like the rear end, much bigger gears and more oil so they run cooler under load.
I really have not kept up with the current diesels. I know Ford was well liked till the 6.0, not sure if they have fully recovered from that or not. Dodge had been solid but I think just got too outdated and had issues keeping up with emissions. The Duramax Allison combo as far as I know is still a solid choice, only complaint I heard about them is the regular maintenance is more costly.
I have done some heavy ish towing with a Chev with the 6.0 gas in it and power wise it did just fine. I didn't do any long mountain passes but the hills I did encounter were no problem but they do like their gas even running without a load. Nice thing is the load didn't decrease the MPG much so your range tended to be similar loaded vs unloaded.
I’ve done lots of towing with an 18’ open trailer and an F250. Used an F 150 once and it was underpowered to say the least.
3/4 ton for sure.
Towing that amount of weight, for sure go with a
3/4 ton rig. Ditto on the equalizer hitch.
The aluminum trainers are very nice but pricey.
Mike
This is a nice option...Nothing but the best for our Cadillacs.
8)
I have driven over 30 million miles as a professional Class A CDL driver in my 30 year career and still counting! IMPO you can't go wrong with the setup I have, see photo's. At the time of these photo's, the truck is a 2016 GMC Duramax 2500HD Denali and 2019 Haulmark 24' enclosed, I pulled this setup in June of 2019 from coast to coast without a problem NOT 1! This truck pulls as good as any of my F250 power strokes ever thought of, and its rides as good as any of my Cadillacs, if not better!
As for the trailer, purchased this unit for about 3500.00usd, installed a E- track system on the floor, about 200.00usd and my labor. See photo
As of current time my trailer is the same and I now have a 2019 GMC 2500 HD that is the new work horse and daily driver, now opinions differ from person to person, but you did ask about thoughts on this matter. This is my show and tell.
I highly encourage you to shop around for your trailer and truck, there is a reason they make a diesel engine from any brand you so choose and it will out pull and out last any gaser engine you buy from whatever brand you go with, is this my personal opinion NO, but a professional one from a professional driver.
Hopefully I will be forgiven by the Admin. and the Mod. for posting a couple of "non-cadillac" photos. I hope this will be some food for thought for you in which way you want to go.
Joe
Quote from: G Pennington on August 11, 2020, 01:43:41 PM
I haul my '41 in a 24 ft enclosed trailer with a 1/2 ton Ram. Loaded trailer weighs about 7500 lbs. Noticable sway from passing big rigs & crosswinds. Changed to an equalizer hitch which helps.
Biggest problem is refueling. It's a gas truck and gets about 7 mpg towing the trailer which means stopping for gas every 140 miles or so. Finding a gas station with decent access to pumps is problematic.
Am looking to replace it with a 3/4 ton diesel truck. Heavier (should be more stable), but the primary reason is so I can use truck stops to refuel (much better access).
Also, IMO, the fuel savings will not justify the extra cost of an aluminum trailer.
Wow, that's horrendous gas mileage. I get 10mpg towing my 11,200lb camper trailer with my F350 V-10 with 4.30 rear axle.
Quote from: TJ Hopland on August 11, 2020, 01:53:50 PM
I would go for the 3/4 and diesel especially if you are going to do it very often. Sure they say some of the 1/2 tons can tow over 10k but when they do that its really hard on em and they use a lot of gas. 3/4's are built to tow so they got bigger everything. Things you would not think about like the rear end, much bigger gears and more oil so they run cooler under load.
I really have not kept up with the current diesels. I know Ford was well liked till the 6.0, not sure if they have fully recovered from that or not. Dodge had been solid but I think just got too outdated and had issues keeping up with emissions. The Duramax Allison combo as far as I know is still a solid choice, only complaint I heard about them is the regular maintenance is more costly.
I have done some heavy ish towing with a Chev with the 6.0 gas in it and power wise it did just fine. I didn't do any long mountain passes but the hills I did encounter were no problem but they do like their gas even running without a load. Nice thing is the load didn't decrease the MPG much so your range tended to be similar loaded vs unloaded.
The International 7.3L diesel used in Fords is still very much coveted and they are known for their reliability.
The International 6.0L diesel in the Ford trucks was like the HT4100 of diesels, however, they can be made into a good, reliable engine. ARP head studs, EGR delete, and a couple of other modifications, and it can be better than the 7.3L.
The Ford 6.4L twin turbo diesel isn't bad, but they do like to eat turbos.
The recent 6.7L PowerStroke is a fine power plant.
You can't beat a Dodge with the Cummins in terms of engine - the issue is that Dodge can't make a transmission that will last behind it. The torque is too much for it. That may be solved in the newer ones.
With that said, having owned diesel and gas powered, you do have to give an honourable mention to the Ford 6.8L V-10. Mine is an early 99 with 260,000km on the clock and counting. I've towed cars from here in New Brunswick to Pennsylvania and everywhere in between, not to mention my camper trailer. Mind you, I have the Banks PowerPack system installed which includes ram air induction/cold air intake, headers, DynoMax 4" exhaust, transmission programmer, and ECU chip, and it makes every bit of power and torque that my old 7.3L diesels did with one key feature - NO TURBO LAG! Gas mileage towing is about 1mpg less than my 7.3L diesels over the same stretches of road, without 18.9L oil changes, better cold weather starts, and no $50 fuel filter every other oil change. If you get into the later 2005+ V10s with the 3 valve heads, the performance is even better. I might go back to a diesel at some point, but, for now, the V10 gasser is doing everything I ask of it and more.
My first camper trailer was only 6456LBS dry and I had a 1/2 ton at the time which I also used to haul cars with on an open trailer. 1/2 tons are not even on my radar any more.
You should check the rules for where you live to see if there are any significant differences as far as license and insurance on the different weight classes of trucks. Depending on your personal situation and intended usage that could make a big difference in ongoing costs.
Some states like mine consider a 3/4 a car and a 1 ton a commercial vehicle no matter how you use it. That makes a really big difference in the insurance cost. Some places only the 1/2 tons are cars so that is why there are or were things like a 1500HD truck which were 3/4 with different badging to skirt the class rules. Other places if its got any kind of bed on it no matter the size its a truck. Do you want to be classified as a truck? Sometimes yes and sometimes no you have to do your research and find out what works best for you.
I just did this. I purchased an ATC 24' trailer with a large escape door that opens up and the wheel well comes out making easy to enter and exit the car. As for the truck I purchased a 2020 F250 with the new 7.3L gas engine. After considerable research I found new diesel emission systems give a great deal of trouble if you don't drive long distances every time you use it. I would recommend going to TFL Truck on YouTube and watch their towing test videos. They test all brands and sizes. Wealth of info.
https://www.youtube.com/c/TFLtruck/videos
I strongly recommend you watch their IKE Gauntlet test.
Good luck
Quote from: 6caddy2 on August 11, 2020, 09:00:15 PM
I have driven over 30 million miles as a professional Class A CDL driver in my 30 year career and still counting! IMPO you can't go wrong with the setup I have, see photo's. At the time of these photo's, the truck is a 2016 GMC Duramax 2500HD Denali and 2019 Haulmark 24' enclosed, I pulled this setup in June of 2019 from coast to coast without a problem NOT 1! This truck pulls as good as any of my F250 power strokes ever thought of, and its rides as good as any of my Cadillacs, if not better!
As for the trailer, purchased this unit for about 3500.00usd, installed a E- track system on the floor, about 200.00usd and my labor. See photo
As of current time my trailer is the same and I now have a 2019 GMC 2500 HD that is the new work horse and daily driver, now opinions differ from person to person, but you did ask about thoughts on this matter. This is my show and tell.
I highly encourage you to shop around for your trailer and truck, there is a reason they make a diesel engine from any brand you so choose and it will out pull and out last any gaser engine you buy from whatever brand you go with, is this my personal opinion NO, but a professional one from a professional driver.
Hopefully I will be forgiven by the Admin. and the Mod. for posting a couple of "non-cadillac" photos. I hope this will be some food for thought for you in which way you want to go.
Joe
I agree with Joe on the diesel vs gas. You have more towing power and much better fuel economy. It does come with a price though.
Question Joe, How do you get out of the Caddie when it's in the trailer? I don't see an escape door. Those newer Caddies are W-I-D-E! Harry
Ya diesels don't especially like short trips so if you are not going to do long trips very often you may be ahead paying less for the gas version and just using a lot of it on the few trips you do take. I don't know anything about the 7.3 gas but with that sort of displacement its got to be more of an old school motor which is what you want for something that is going to work hard.
I bought a 2017 Silverado HD w/Duramax. What a machine, no issue hauling a 24' 4000lb, enclosed trailer with a 5000 lb. Eldorado.
You will not regret stepping up and getting the bigger truck.
David
While pulling a trailer, where does one "overnight"? Do (safe, dependable) roadside hotels have capacity for a truck & trailer? Or do the stops need to be "pre-planned" so parking isn't an issue?
Gary brought up a good point, refueling. Is it an issue for others while trailering?
I've never had an issue refueling while towing. When picking a hotel, I always use Google Earth to get a feel for how big the parking lot is. In either case, I just pull in like I own the place, do what I need to do, and get out. In the years I've been doing this, never an issue.
Google earth is a very good tip for hotels and should work for fuel stops too. I have only had fuel issues when I was towing with the gas truck that needed to stop a lot more. The diesels tend to have enough range that you don't have to stop at every place so it seemed like less of an issue. You could pull into a place and decide it was too small or too busy and still have plenty left to get to the next one.
For the gas vs diesel you just have to do the math with your expected usage. I have not looked recently but I assume you still pay a premium to get the diesel. If you are going to just do short trips around town most of the time and only one major road trip per year you could be better off cost wise with gas. Sure you may spend a lot on gas for that one trip per year but you saved that $5k or more on the truck and like someone said modern diesels emissions systems don't like short trips so if you have issues there that could be very expensive.
Another thing to note is if you are considering one of the trucks with the fancy little gas engines is that they are pretty much as expensive and complex as diesels. Very complex very high pressure fuel systems and equally complex emissions systems. Nothing on them cost $100's its all $1000's. Those little engines don't seem to like to work hard. They are designed to get decent mileage dragging around an empty truck since that is what a vast majority of American truck owners do with their trucks. Thats also what the rest of the truck is designed to do, run around empty so you are back to that if you are normally going to run around empty and only 1 trip per year? Maybe??
I helped a friend transport a car a couple years ago and he borrowed his dad's ecoboost ford. I think he said empty it normally got in the low 20's for mileage which got you something like 350 mile range. Pulling the empty flatbed knocked it into the mid teens then loaded we were single digits so we had to stop for gas every couple hours. Works out great if you like your giant coffees or sodas.
I did one trip with my dad's truck which is a Chev 3/4hd with the 6.0 gas. I think normally running around empty that did mid to upper teens. Pulling an empty flatbed didn't change it a bit. Throwing a suburban with a snowplow on the trailer knocked it out of the teens but it still stayed double digits.
With the gas truck I remember sitting in the lot waiting for an open shot at the one set of pumps it looked like I could get in and out of but constantly having cars shoot in before I could get in at which point they seemed to decide to go inside and spend like a half hour doing who knows what. After a while when you have no other options you got to just be a dick and pretty much force your way in.
Similar things can happen for diesel if its not a 'truck stop'. Often times there are only a couple of diesel pumps mixed in with the gas pumps, usually on the end or ends. For some reason gas cars like to block those then disappear inside for ever leaving you out there looking at all the empty gas pumps and empty parking spots.