Jeep hauler—finally pulled the trigger

So true. It might happen, but not until I get some time dragging this thing around and see how it handles. Coming home 9 hours empty with it, and loading up the jeep and gear will give me some insight into how it's going to go. Planning to camp in it the weekend before we leave the country for couple weeks. Looking at diesel 2500's comparable to mine its $20k to trade up. Gas 2500's are $10-15k more.
My friend bought a single cab freightliner that he uses to tow his mud truck. It was $5k. I think the trailer he uses cost more.

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And he’ll be fine for most of the Midwest
Yeah, no mountains here. Trailer is the same width as my boat too 102". Should feel comfortable with it, it's almost the same length and weight. Boat is just under 32' hitch to swim platform. Brakes are not great though, has inertia brakes. Looking forward to triple electric. Backing up with inertia brakes sucks, mine does not have a lock out. If you have to back up hill, you are fighting the brakes.
 
My friend bought a single cab freightliner that he uses to tow his mud truck. It was $5k. I think the trailer he uses cost more.

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I did a quick search,
Penske has lots of trucks in the $5000 range

if you want a 10 year old truck with 558,000 miles.
LOL.
That’s a lot of driving
 
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I did a quick search,
Penske has lots of trucks in the $5000 range

if you want a 10 year old truck with 558,000 miles.
LOL.
That’s a lot of driving
That truck was owned and maintained by Pepsi and had under 200k on it. I’m sure a an extensive search would yield better results than a quick search.
 
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That underlines what I've been saying for several years: If I were in the market for a truck, I'd go with a used light commercial - just FAR more truck for your money, without all the effete crap seen in the consumer sector. That's a nice Freightliner, and its owner won't have to "worry about it" being able to handle whatever he needs to tow.
 
So true. It might happen, but not until I get some time dragging this thing around and see how it handles. Coming home 9 hours empty with it, and loading up the jeep and gear will give me some insight into how it's going to go. Planning to camp in it the weekend before we leave the country for couple weeks. Looking at diesel 2500's comparable to mine its $20k to trade up. Gas 2500's are $10-15k more.
You'll definitely learn a lot after the first couple of trips. I think you're on the right path and I hope everything works out for you.

I towed my TJ for 2 years with my 1/2 ton Suburban. It wasn't until we started taking longer trips down south in the hills that I found the need for something more capable. I upgraded to a Cummins last year, made a big difference.
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Keep us posted on how things go.
 
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So true. It might happen, but not until I get some time dragging this thing around and see how it handles. Coming home 9 hours empty with it, and loading up the jeep and gear will give me some insight into how it's going to go. Planning to camp in it the weekend before we leave the country for couple weeks. Looking at diesel 2500's comparable to mine its $20k to trade up. Gas 2500's are $10-15k more.
You don't need a kaziilion horsepower - if you slow down on hills, so what? Americans have a sharp tendency to over power their vehicles, when all that's needed is the correct gearing - AND - a chassis that can handle the load. That means good cooling, good brakes, and "enough" suspension and wheelbase. As an example, this is why our Jeeps are rated so low. They have plenty of engine and gearing, but the rest of the vehicle can't handle a large load.
 
Did you ever say which engine you have? The Hemi or the Eco diesel?
5.7 Hemi with 3.92 gears (lowest gearing you can get in a 1500)

Today I had the brake controller programmed. Stealership wanted $500 parts and labor for OEM. I got the OEM parts off ebay from a Ram Dealership for $139 and self installed in about 20 minutes, really easy job. Local dealer charged $90 to set it up while it was in the shop for recalls on the radio software and wiper blades (recall on wiper blades? WTF?). Now I have OEM dash mounted trailer brakes and memory for multiple trailers. Also got an appraisal for my truck while in the dealer. They will give $40k, about $3k less than I paid last August. Not too bad. Guess I bought it right at least?

Looked at two 2500 trucks.

Option 1, Ram 2500 6.4 gas with 8 speed and 4.10 gears. Max payload 3063.99, max towing 17063.99 $54k -ish out the door. Has most the bells and whistles mine has, but no panoramic sunroof. Will miss that.

Option 2. Ram 2500 6.7 diesel with 6 speed and 3.73 gears. Max payload 2235.01, max towing 19235.01. $64k -ish out the door. Has less bells and whistles and is nearly 10k more.

Cummins engine is a $9300 upgrade on sticker price. Plus increased fuel cost, DEF, higher maintenance, but better resale. If I do this it will most likely be a gaser. Either way, have to sell the wife on the idea. Could finance trade difference on the gas truck (my trade fully paid for) for 36 months @ 0% or about $390 a month for three years to upgrade.

Heading to Chattanooga Friday (18 hr round trip). Will test tow the Jeep Sunday with no other gear in the trailer and report back.
 
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I'd go with the diesel if it were me - BUT - I keep vehicles *forever*...
I think 3 years is my record. Had my boat for 10 though. I keep underwear longer than trucks. Not a diesel fan, at least modern ones. Had a 300D that was nearly indestructible. Modern stuff has too much emissions, and computer controls. They do make a lot of power when they run.
 
I think 3 years is my record. Had my boat for 10 though. I keep underwear longer than trucks. Not a diesel fan, at least modern ones. Had a 300D that was nearly indestructible. Modern stuff has too much emissions, and computer controls. They do make a lot of power when they run.
What year 300D? Turbo or non (they made both)? I had a '74 240D and currently drive an '85 300SD. I liked the '74 better overall, but it had serious cancer so it went away after about 8 years. I agree about modern stuff - gas or diesel. I really don't like electronics on vehicles...
 
1982 Turbo. I "restored" it. It was a SW car so no rust, but the paint was toast. I repainted with some help from my father in-law, new tires, suspension, fixed everything and made it look and drive like new. My wife HATED this car. I sold it to some hippies during the bio-diesel craze. They hand painted murals over my brand new paint job. Broke even on it though aside from all my time. It has 500k on it when the ODO stopped working. I fixed that too before I sold it.

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