Anybody else need TWO tow vehicles? What did you end up with?

[HFarr]

I have a 2018 f150 4x4 crew that is my daily driver and keep my boat on a lift year round.

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[mjb929rr]

Pitch the pull trailer and get a motor home.

I agree. My wife drives our class c motor home and pulls our jetskis. I tow our 2020 sl450 with my 20 Sierra Denali. Works great and the kids much prefer to ride in the rv anyways

[rhouse181]

For a rad double duty vehicle, look into the Durango SRT. 8,700 lb towing capacity, room for the whole family / dogs, plus a 6.4L NA V8 with very nice bilstein adjustable suspension, VF 8 spd, and brembo monoblock brakes.

Recently ditched my Tahoe for one and I can’t stop smiling…

[Holdmybeer]

Going out on a limb here but.......I assume you have kids also or dogs that come with you. We have a similar situation and the wife daily drives our Yukon, I drive a cheap work car, and the dually crew cab sits in the barn for real work.

You have a '12 F150 that will easily tow either the Trailer or the Boat so keep it. Wife is driving the Civic and saves money, keep it. Now I would buy a SUV that can tow one of the toys and switch between the truck and SUV as my daily. I'm sure the wife is going to want to drive the SUV several times also, and that is fine.

What weight are we talking about on the trailer? I know the boat is going to be ~7000# once dressed.

FYI...stay away from the Tundra. Very unimpressive when towing long trip. Fuel economy will add hundreds of dollar to your trips.

[CptAmerica]

For a rad double duty vehicle, look into the Durango SRT. 8,700 lb towing capacity, room for the whole family / dogs, plus a 6.4L NA V8 with very nice bilstein adjustable suspension, VF 8 spd, and brembo monoblock brakes.

Recently ditched my Tahoe for one and I can’t stop smiling…

Yeah, but then you have to drive a Dodge.

Going out on a limb here but.......I assume you have kids also or dogs that come with you. We have a similar situation and the wife daily drives our Yukon, I drive a cheap work car, and the dually crew cab sits in the barn for real work.

You have a '12 F150 that will easily tow either the Trailer or the Boat so keep it. Wife is driving the Civic and saves money, keep it. Now I would buy a SUV that can tow one of the toys and switch between the truck and SUV as my daily. I'm sure the wife is going to want to drive the SUV several times also, and that is fine.

What weight are we talking about on the trailer? I know the boat is going to be ~7000# once dressed.

FYI...stay away from the Tundra. Very unimpressive when towing long trip. Fuel economy will add hundreds of dollar to your trips.

Yep.. 2 kids and one super tiny dog that takes up no space. My 2012 3.5EB F150 tows the trailer pretty confidently. The travel trailer is 5500 dry, so about 6500 or 7000 when all said and done... Roughly the same final weight as the boat. I don't think it would really tow very much more, it's about at it's limit.

Stay away from the Tundra, huh. I was leaning towards a toyota just to pick up some reliability in an older half ton. What gas miliage do they get when towing? MY EB isn't very good either. Costs a fortune to tow. The good news, is my primary lake is only a little over an hour away, all highway.

[cucv]

I'm not a fan of commuting with my tow rig and have found the savings of having a commuter has lead to multiple tow rigs. When I got my first job with modest salary out of college I set up a car account that was funded even if I had no car payment. I didn't know about the 20/4/10 rule at the time but my philosophy follows pretty close to that except I haven't adjusted the amount that is funded since the start decades ago. Over time we drive an average of 35k miles a year.
We now have 5 vehicles, a commuter car, mini van, Suburban, dmax crew cab 3/4 ton and a 4500 all funded from a very modest account. Everything is very nice, low mileage but may not be the newest model year as it takes time to cycle through replacing all of them. We have been buying new for a long time.

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[sandm]

my old f150 with the 5.3 was 8-10mpg's towing. the superduty is the same with the v10.
our silverado with the 5.3 averaged 13 from wisconsin to utah and 14 here in vegas going from home to the ramp. both routes have many hills and grades.
I have a friend at work with an older stock tundra and he bitches all day long on the crappy gas mileage. another peer had a '20 lifted and they sold for same reason. he was getting 10-12 daily. I don't think tundras are any more or less reliable than the big3 but that's an opinion.

Yeah, but then you have to drive a Dodge.

Come on... nothing wrong with a big female reproductive organ on your tailgate

all kidding aside, their older trucks have some fit/finish and repair issues but their latest stuff.... they weren't picked as a 3 time MT truck of the year for nothing so FCA is doing something right...
I'd look for something full size tho. 8700lbs towing is awfully close to capacity with a newer wakeboat, gear and family. without getting into a long protracted weight debate that's been beat to death on boat forums

[Holdmybeer]

Yeah, but then you have to drive a Dodge.


Yep.. 2 kids and one super tiny dog that takes up no space. My 2012 3.5EB F150 tows the trailer pretty confidently. The travel trailer is 5500 dry, so about 6500 or 7000 when all said and done... Roughly the same final weight as the boat. I don't think it would really tow very much more, it's about at it's limit.

Stay away from the Tundra, huh. I was leaning towards a toyota just to pick up some reliability in an older half ton. What gas miliage do they get when towing? MY EB isn't very good either. Costs a fortune to tow. The good news, is my primary lake is only a little over an hour away, all highway.

Buddies Tundra with nothing in the bed or hitch is 13mpg at 70mph. He hooks his 12ft v-nose low boy enclosed trailer to it at 5000# and it drops to 9mpg. Your ~130ish miles trip to the lake and back with be 1/2 a tank of fuel assuming flat driving. You are in the North West, so I know there is nothing flat you are towing through.

I know the whole Toyota reliability thing, but most body on frame vehicles these days are good, and you won't be towing every day.

If you currently do not have car payments, I would look at getting something new or as close as possible in an SUV and then park the truck. Truck becomes dedicated tow/work rig and the SUV is the daily driver tow rig. Depending on who drives the most per day would get the Civic.

SandM beat me to it also. Full size SUV. The trailer and boat are both at ~7000# loaded and the trailer can go more once you fill water tanks (if needed). If you can get air leveling rear suspension....DO IT. Rides so much better towing.

[CptAmerica]

my old f150 with the 5.3 was 8-10mpg's towing. the superduty is the same with the v10.
our silverado with the 5.3 averaged 13 from wisconsin to utah and 14 here in vegas going from home to the ramp. both routes have many hills and grades.
I have a friend at work with an older stock tundra and he bitches all day long on the crappy gas mileage. another peer had a '20 lifted and they sold for same reason. he was getting 10-12 daily. I don't think tundras are any more or less reliable than the big3 but that's an opinion.

My F150 EB gets like... 10.2mpg towing. GREAT gas mialage when not towing, when i'm out of the boost, but they don't get great gas mialage when youre IN the boost towing.

I'd look for something full size tho. 8700lbs towing is awfully close to capacity with a newer wakeboat, gear and family. without getting into a long protracted weight debate that's been beat to death on boat forums

Yeah, this is a debate I see all over. People see the quoted "max towing" capacity and think anything below that number, and you're fine. I disagree. My current F150 is rated at 11,300lbs. My travel trailer is about 5,500 dry. (7ish loaded) and in my opinion.. I am MAXED out. I don't run airbags, but I do run HD shocks with a great weight distrubution hitch, and it feels like that is about it. The engine is strong enough... the brakes are strong enough... it's really the suspension.

[CptAmerica]

Buddies Tundra with nothing in the bed or hitch is 13mpg at 70mph. He hooks his 12ft v-nose low boy enclosed trailer to it at 5000# and it drops to 9mpg.

My 3.5 Ecoboost only gets 10 towing.

Your ~130ish miles trip to the lake and back with be 1/2 a tank of fuel assuming flat driving. You are in the North West, so I know there is nothing flat you are towing through.

It's actually MOSTLY flat. There are some small hills here and there, but it's mainly just down the 101 which can be a bit slower and more winding. It's certainly not the same as just rolling down i5... but we're not going up and over the cascades, either.

I know the whole Toyota reliability thing, but most body on frame vehicles these days are good, and you won't be towing every day.

If you currently do not have car payments, I would look at getting something new or as close as possible in an SUV and then park the truck. Truck becomes dedicated tow/work rig and the SUV is the daily driver tow rig. Depending on who drives the most per day would get the Civic.

SandM beat me to it also. Full size SUV. The trailer and boat are both at ~7000# loaded and the trailer can go more once you fill water tanks (if needed). If you can get air leveling rear suspension....DO IT. Rides so much better towing.

The problem with a full sized SUV.. is they claim a max tow rating just over 6k. So a 7000 pound trailer sure sounds like it is going to be too heavy, which is why I was looking for a truck with at least 10k. (most half tons are at least 10k). I think SandM is recommending a 3/4... which is an option, but a bit more pricey.

I do have two car payments, my wife's new Civic and my new Camry, but they are ALMOST paid off. I put down ~10k on these cars, and pay $150 extra in principal on both each month, so I turned my 4 year loans into like 2.5. With a (almost) paid off Honda civic that is practically free to insure, and gets 45mpg... I would think the money saved in commuting would be worth giving my wife two vehicles... her honda and a dedicated tow vehicle instead of commuting in a hyper expensive expidition that gets 15 mpg, and may not even tow the boat that well. I am looking at the tow rating for a 2021 Expidition, and it's 6,300 (9,300 with their HD tow package). That's just not enough. What SUV could tow a boat, if not an expidition?