We are always drooling over Craigslist Finds and stuff we see at the swap meet. Crew cabs, duallys, vans, and step vans. It’s a sickness, I know, but one that I share with many of you guys and gals out there that call yourselves BangShifters. Yesterday I got thinking about what would be the ultimate tow vehicle and family truckster. Is it the crew cab dually I’ve always dreamed of owning? A 3/4 ton Van? A bitchin slammed step van? The ultimate Suburban? Or what?
Is there something not on this list that should be?
Well before we go down that path, lets set some ground rules. After all, none of us regular Joes has unlimited funds. And most of us cannot afford some new Crew Cab Dually with a diesel and all that toys. So lets set some really reasonable budget. How about $10,000? Is that reasonable? Lets say it is. What would you get? And do you go for old or newer? That’s a tough question isn’t it.
Here are some of our ideas, the photos are representative of things we can buy on our local Craigslist for $10k or less.
Crew Cab Dually
It’s the ultimate tow vehicle pickup truck. Every car guy has, at some point, wanted to own one or has owned one. Lifted, slammed, or stock, they are good at hauling people, stuff, and towing almost any reasonable sized trailer. But they are also hard to park, not the easiest to navigate during daily driving in parking lots and such, and stock they ride like crap. There are plenty of pros and cons on this option, and some can be addressed by making the right purchase, installing the right parts, and making the right mods. For our money, we’d ultimately want our crew cab dually to be Diesel powered, slammed, and Air Ride Equipped.
Crew Cab with single rear wheels
Since a dually can be a bit unwieldy, and with the thought that some people don’t need a 3/4 ton or larger truck, single rear wheel crew cabs are also a good choice for tow rigs. They can haul a lot, they also haul people, and they usually take a lot less to slam on the ground or lift in the air. Both of those are good things. But they don’t come with a diesel. But does that really matter? One other cool thing about single rear wheel crew cabs is the fact that a short bed is an option you can sometimes find. No, it doesn’t hold as much stuff, but shortbed crew cabs are cool.
Suburban
We’ve got a 3/4 ton Suburban now. And with almost 250,000 miles on all the original stuff, it has given a lot in it’s life. Ours is 2wd and mildly lifted with spindles and Ridetech Shocks, but if we had our way with our current Sub we’d go full Prerunner with fiberglass fenders, bedsides, roof rack, and some more suspension travel. On the flip side, we’d be pretty thrilled with one that was laid on it’s nuts as well. I guess the point is we’re pretty open on Suburbans. We have grown up with them and know they can do a lot. But they do have some negatives too. For one, hauling an engine in one, while doable, is not as easy as setting one in a pickup truck.
Van
There are a lot of different kinds and styles of vans. Passenger vans, cargo vans, extended vans, 4×4 and two wheel drive vans, as well as 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton, and even 1 ton vans. With chassis that are as strongly tied to the same chassis found under trucks, vans are totally capable of hauling a trailer, hauling the family, and hauling engines thanks to the higher roof and bigger cargo area. If we had one it would be hard to decide whether to slam it or stuff some tire under it with barely any lift. We love the look of a van with a bitchin roof rack, and can imagine broadcasting live from the roof, which would be cool. What do you think? What would you do to the van?
Step Van
Step vans, you know the ones that UPS and FEDEX use? Those suckers are super useful, very utilitarian, but for some reason super cool as well. Usually when someone has bought one, put something funny on the side, and slammed it. That usually makes them cool. We can think of a lot of things to do to one that would make it even cooler yet. Platforms on the roof, interior outfitted for comfort and video production, camera mounts on every corner, and a look that makes you take notice. That’s what we want. How about you?
Old school buses are largely overlooked as tow vehicles. We bought a Chevy short bus that has a 6.5 Turbo Diesel and 4L80E with more than enough power to pull 10,000 pounds of trailer and race car and average 9mpg for $2800. We scratch built the trailer hitch because no body makes one for a school bus. All in with hitch, rebuilt steering, and front tires, we have a reliable tow rig for $3,500. We took it to LS fest and had more interest in it than our LQ9 powered 1965 El Camino.
Looks kinda like you are sponsored by a Chevy dealer. And like Steve said school busses are a steal and have lower miles and very well maintained. You can pick your fav. manufactures drive train. However there are too many racers that will sell the farm to keep up with the jones.A one ton 4 door service truck would be great . And again cheep and well maintained .But that don’t look cool back at the culdasac .And a lot of folks have to have a vehicle to do double duty. I know a couple that the wife drives the 3/4 tonner diesel back and forth to her job. And the hubby has a longer drive in a shitbox. Myself it would be a schoolbus. They have them in all wheel bases. I’d have to have one with a 5.9 cummins. Duramax aint bad it took Chevy 5 or 6 tries to get it right. Ford still gussing at it . Dodge got it right first try. Ford and Freightlinner both use 5.9’s in busses. Get one with air brakes ,and air conditioning .tires are cheep “used” but last 5 times longer than any 16 or 17 incher. With a bus you would be big money ahead. then you would have more $ to spend on an unneeded billet part .That way the Jones thing can keep going on. My pick ,A bus for sure.KCR
Different subject; the scammers? those “make-you-drool” $20K vehicles listed for $2345, i.e.,-what are those cats after? Is there no way to screen those wolves off C/L? Am I the only one resenting these ads? Help!
My 2005 Sierra 2500 HD crew has a diesel.What makes you think that wasn’t available?
I bought a 2002 King Ranch 4×4 5.4 crew cab for 3400. It hauls the camper, boat and car trailer. Room for kids, decent mileage and has every option you want. Will drive it for years. Have owned dually with full bed and flat bed, old and new, never needed diesel. Best tow, daily driver was a 69 chevy 3/4 396 auto
Spent about $10k on my 2500HD Chevy. 8.1L and Allison transmission. MPGs are around 9-10 but 500-ish LB-FT torque without the diesel maintenance costs is worth it to me.
For sure I would go for a late 90’s or early 2000’s Ram with a 12v cummins. We also recently traded in a 2005 HD 2500 with the 6.0 gas. That was a badass truck for what it was.
Love duallies , remember , you pay for an extra axel going through tolls . A single rear solves the problem . Old school buses are ideal for a hauler but for everyday , not so good . Kent C. hit it right on the head about image . Gotta have all the stupid godies
I used to have a Suburban that looked exactly like the red one. One time I had to stuff a motorcycle in it – that was a bit of a challenge compared to a pickup. Next time I’m likely to try a van if it would be used for routine family hauling as well as towing.
If by “family truckster” you mean more of a cross country road trip machine, I’d be tempted to get a surplus short school bus and do an RV conversion. After having used a regular RV for a trip to No Mercy 7, I like the idea of an RV but not the construction techniques used to put one together. So all interior cabinets, etc. would be framed with welded angle iron so as to have an RV that you can drive on bumpy pavement without fear that it is rattling itself apart.