Need suggestions for a towing vehicle

GreyGhost said:
If you are going that route make sure you budget for a new clutch. The stock clutch is marginal at best and I suspect lots of slipping when towing. A TDI could also work but same problem. Personally, I don't like the tail wagging the dog and trailer weights approaching tow vehicle weights make me very nervous. Also, I don't know if any VW car lets you go over 200 lbs tongue weight which is not enough for a trailer well over 2000 lbs.
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It also voids any VW warranty, though the OP wants manual, in that budget.

My dad just sold his 2012 F-150 3.5L Ecoboost, was mint, fully loaded, he got like 12k for trade in, If I knew the OP, he could have got that at that price. Ford sold it for $16-17k I believe, it's not manual, however, the right tool for the job, twin turbo, efficient, and made to tow.
 
ScorpionT16 said:
It also voids any VW warranty, though the OP wants manual, in that budget.

My dad just sold his 2012 F-150 3.5L Ecoboost, was mint, fully loaded, he got like 12k for trade in, If I knew the OP, he could have got that at that price. Ford sold it for $16-17k I believe, it's not manual, however, the right tool for the job, twin turbo, efficient, and made to tow.
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How many turbos did he put on it?
And be honest
 
You can get a Mazda3 hatchback or Corolla or Civic with a manual. But have no idea of their towing capacity if any.

I tried to convince my daughter to get a manual when buying a Crosstrex but she found one with leather and auto and went for that.

I’ve beat in a few Subies up to 120k but never past that. I’ve hear about head gasket issues and oil consumption issues but have not experience that. Granted my experience is with newer vehicles that would be outside the budget set by the op.


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Towing rating on all of those compact cars is either "not recommended" or something nominal like 1000 lbs, which doesn't do the original poster any good. The tongue weight limitations will get you, too.

My Jetta was officially "not recommended", but I did it anyway, because the European tow ratings for the same car - same bodyshell, same designed-in attachment points for the hitch, same brakes - was around 600 or 650 kg without trailer brakes and 1200 - 1300 kg with, meaning the car itself was OK, just the lawyers and warranty department didn't want you to do it. But I would not want to tow an enclosed trailer with that, or one that weighs anywhere near what the original poster wants, especially without trailer brakes.
 
Brian P said:
The original poster's insistence upon manual transmission is thwarting sensible choices. A Chevrolet Astro might have been a decent choice a decade or two ago, but good luck finding one now that still has rocker panels ... and a manual-transmission Astro was a rare bird even back in the day ... and they're awful to drive, regardless. (We actually had a manual 4 cylinder Astro as a shop van where I worked back in that era. Yup ... awful.)

Original poster really should bite the bullet and test-drive a Ford F150 2.7 Ecoboost with the 10 speed automatic, or something similar. Yes, it's automatic ... but that, or something like it, is the right tool for the job at hand.
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That is not 15000 in any world.

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ToSlow said:
Great turbos with voltage

Can’t imagine the sound system they have to need that setup
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Buddy is running an electric welder out of the trunk.

I'd look for an F150 with the V6, NOT the ecoboost. They have sorted the ecoboost on the newer trucks but an older , like OP may be looking for have a reputation of grenading the turbos.

My 2018 F150 V6 will pull 7,000 lbs anywhere, all day. 6spd auto does not hunt, the electronics are sorted. The electric brakes are 'smart' and work with the vehicle and the anti sway actually works. Its built as a tow vehicle. Do I want to drive a truck all the time?? Heck no , thats why the BMW also lives here ( when the missus will let me have it LOL)
 
ToSlow said:
I know that, how many did he replace?
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My understanding is it's only the first gen EcoBoost that had an issue. Our work fleet has dozens of last gen 3.5's, many well past 300,000 km, none have had an issue with the turbo.

I had an EcoBoost for a while, now driving the newish V8. I much prefer the EcoBoost for fuel economy, driving manners, and towing...
 
When my dad shopped for F150's, the main requirement was the EcoBoost engine. So many sales people and drivers say a truck isn't a truck without a V8, I disagree, I mean, Prodrive's BRX Hunter Dakar Buggy uses Fords 3.5L Ecoboost engine. A testament to it's reliability, performance, and power.


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crankcall said:
Do I want to drive a truck all the time?? Heck no , thats why the BMW also lives here ( when the missus will let me have it LOL)
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Sounds like the OP isn't looking for a second vehicle just for towing, rather a single vehicle that can occasionally be used for towing.

Rossi86 said:
The odd time I will get on the highway with 2 bikes, will be to go to mosport or bogie, which will be like 2-3 times a year max.

Thanks everyone for your input, just hate the idea of driving auto-transmission or a truck everyday so I can tow my bikes to the track ~ 10 times in the summer.
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