Separate Tow Vehicle Or Not

[Loop_Dad]

Do you have dedicated tow vehicle for your boat? Or one vehicle to tow and drive around the town?

 

I want a bass boat. In order for me to get a bass boat, I will need to buy a tow vehicle. I currently drive 2008 Ford Fusion, which I like. I don't put lots of mileage, so it still have lots of life left.

 

Anyhow, I looked into selling this and buying relatively new SUV by adding extra $5K. But I am having difficult time finding one.

 

I was looking at Nissan Pathfinder 2008 as it appear to have enough power to tow because it is a truck based suv. I started checking craigslist, but it rarely comes around. When it did, the seller was asking way over blue book.

 

Then it occurred to me maybe I can find a very old truck cheap for just fishing, probably less than $5K. I thought it might be easier to find such truck, and it might be more economical that way?

 

What do you guys think?

 

[Tony L.]

Tough to weigh out. How much do you drive your primary vehicle? If you put in a lot of miles in your normal commute, it may not be wise to trade in your fusion for something that will ultimately cost you a lot more because of constant fuel stops.

The other thing to consider is the cost of insurance and plates on one vehicle vs. two. Granted, if you bought an old truck outright, you do have the option of liability only coverage, and you can choose to insure it only during the summer months....

[Loop_Dad]

I don't commute. I mostly work from home. If I get older truck, the cost of insurance is very minimal I think. Actually I used to have another car, an older car. When I gave that away, my insurance company actually increased my premium saying that now I drive my newer car 100% of the time. 

[Jig Man]

It appears that you have already made your decision.  You just have to find that second vehicle.

[Sam]

No, both SUV's are rated to pull my boat, motor and trailer.

 

We use both SUV's for daily living and pulling the boat.

Makes life simpler and we avoid a property tax and insurance costs on another vehicle.

[slonezp]

FYI, the Pathfinder with a V6 gets similar to worse mileage than a full size truck with a V8

[Way2slow]

I have a 98 4x4 Chevy full size PU I use almost solely for towing my boat.

 

I live in a small town (only a few hundred people) that's 25 miles from anywhere, so anytime I need/want anything it's a 50+ mile trip minimum.  The lake I mainly fish is 95 miles, so that's a 200 mile trip.  My boat is a 20' glass with a 225, so it takes a full size truck to tow it.  For what it cost to drive that truck, I just find it better to keep a small truck to drive daily.   

[tomustang]

I have a 3rd gen explorer V8 for my daily/hauling needs. I can squeeze up to 19th out it not towing, with a bass boat not so much but it tows fine and breaks fine.

If I was looking for more umph I'd look at the the 4th gen

[Loop_Dad]

Thanks guys for input.

 

Many of newer SUVs has low tow ratings, therefore my looking at Pathfinder, but maybe I can get by with those car based suv's as I am planning on buying aluminum boat.

 

First, I retired from the auto industry a few years ago.  I can tell you that it will be next to impossible to find a newer SUV in any kind of decent shape for $5000.00. 

I would go for a newer SUV and have only one vehicle.  Many of the newer SUV's get fairly good fuel mileage.  My Jimmy is getting about 20 on the road.  My wife's Chevy Traverse is averaging around 23 on the road.  We pulled a big uhaul trailer to Las Vegas with it and still got about 16 with it.

Ron

 

Ron, I meant selling my current car for say $8K, add $5K and buy a newer suv around $13K, that was my plan number 1. Plan number 2 was to keep the current car, and get an older truck for $5k.

[B@ssCrzy]

Definitely go for the one vehicle. I pull an aluminum boat that weighs about 1700 lbs and before I bought the boat I bought a truck to pull it. It was a 1992 GMC. It could pull anything but was a high mileage vehicle. It worked great for local lakes, but I never had the confidence to tow on long trips so I ended up putting a tow package on my van and got rid of it. Was hard on the vehicle to not be driven every week. Battery was always running down, stuff rusted more because not being used, etc. Buying a nicer vehicle will give you peace of mind on those long trips when you don't want to be worrying about a break down.

[AK-Jax86]

Man I will have this similar problem in the near future when my sons old enough and u purchase my first bass boat! I have a dodge charger and my girlfriend has a Pontiac so we need to upgrade to a SUV most likely. Her car is older and should only last another 2yrs so it's going to be a nice little hit on the bank account when we have to purchase a new vehicle and bass boat (if she gets a new something I do too lol but our son will be around 4 then so it's perfect timing)

[Fishes in trees]

I live out in the country.  I commute to work.  I found it easier to get a separate truck for fishing and have an economical car for going to work.  My small town Ford Dealer is known for working with people, getting them what they need.  Back in 2001, my Ford dealer got me a great buy on a program truck - a1998 Ford Eddie Bauer Explorer.  I am mindful about maintenance and so now, a dozen years later I have a 98 Explorer that just recently went over a hundred thousand miles.  They are all fishing miles.  Maybe you can find a similar deal - hope so.  I would hate to tear up my go to work car going fishing and I don't want to drive my fishing truck to work, so this works out best for me.

[blongfishing]

My uncle is a guide. So he drives his truck with the boat behind it everyday and he's a farmer so he hauls stuff. The same truck is his normal ride around town truck. Back when he had his old truck he had one for the boat and farming and one for the town only because it was tough on the old truck.

[BassnChris]

I used to own a 2008 2wd frontier .....avg mileage city/hwy was 18ish. Then bought a 2011 4x4 frontier with avg mileage 16ish. Now have a 2013 Titan 4x4 avg mileage is 12 city and 15 hwy.

Nissan truck fuel economy SUCKS! But they do have a lot of power.

I always want to have 4x4.......don't use it much.....but like to have it when needed and like it at the ramp.

If you do not travel long distances.......my preference would be a vehicle with good fuel economy for daily driver and an old decent truck/SUV to tow boat on weekends. And an aluminum boat weighs less than the fiberglass. Just my .02 cents.

[DILLY07]

I drive a 2007 Dodge Ram 1500 Big Horn Edition lifted. I would only do one vehicle for town and traveling along with the boat. It'll be easier on you. I would find a good MPG some like Eco Boost like Ford or Chevy has most in them. I only get 14 mpg. with truck. Eats my pockets.