[Rhodes22-list] The best Tow Vehicle (for$5,000)

[John Tonjes]

Chris,
There has been a lot of discussion on the list over the years about which
is the best tow vehicle. Most people get by with a V-6 powered vehicle, but
with your location, I might suggest that you be looking for something with
an 8 cylinder engine. 
Tow vehicles all have weight ratings that are on a sticker in the door jam
of the drivers side. The important number you need to look for is the GVWR,
not the GVW. GVWR is the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. This number takes
into consideration the total vehicle weight including gas, passengers and
towing capacity.
Things that are figured into this are the vehicle's engine size,
transmission, cooling, brakes, tires and rear axle gear ratio. Most
manufacturers recommend an automatic transmission for the type of driving
you will be doing. I would recommend an auxiliary automatic transmission
cooler.
4 x 4 drive is nice, but it adds a lot to the price of the vehicle and
isn't needed unless you have some really crappy launch ramps to deal with.
I think good tires are more important. Make sure the vehicle's tires are of
the size and type required for towing. Sometimes owners or dealers will
replace tires with the cheapest thing they can buy and not be up to the
original spec's. 
The longer the wheel base of the vehicle, the smoother the ride. Short
wheelbase vehicles are more prone to fishtailing. R22's are notorious for
this anyway. They are really weight sensitive. Should the trailer fishtail,
add more tongue weight to the trailer by moving weight forward or removing
the engine and rudder from the stern. Simply moving this weight to the tow
vehicle will not help the situation.

Rummy


> [Original Message]
> From: <NAPOLI51950 at aol.com>
> To: <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Date: 6/8/2003 9:54:56 PM
> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] The best Tow Vehicle (for$5,000)
>
> I am looking for advice (personal experience is most excellent) on a tow 
> vehicle for my Rhodes I just bought.  A couple parameters are that it
should be 
> under $5,000 so I would guess it would be mid to early '90's.  I live in
Oregon 
> so flat land is a bit scarce (except where there is no water) so I will
have 
> to drag it over a few mountains.  Also I will be picking up the 1984
Rhodes in 
> Baltimore so I will be hauling it back 3300 miles.  I will also, about
once a 
> year, take it on a long road (Rhode?) trip to Baha, Canada, or Florida. 
I've 
> previously bought a new 1976 Rhodes and kept it for 16 years on the
Chesapeake 
> and, Alas! sold it and moved out here to Oregon.  I couldn't stand it and 
> have finally bought another.
>
> Thanks 
> Chris Geankoplis
> (napoli68)
> Medford, OR
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