Help Needed! evaluating a trailer I found

[Redetotry]

Suggestion back at ya re your very dirty truck. The way I clean out my minivan is no longer with a vacuum. I take everything out of it (including closing the coin drawer) and blast it with a leaf blower. That gets all the teensy crevices that a vacuum's thinnest tool can't get into. For the bed of your truck a disposable mask is highly recommended for fine dust and you'd want to go easy with hard chunks until you see how to angle and bank the air flow because a leaf blower can generate 100mph wind force, but once you see how an angle is blowing stuff, you can crank up the dial to gale force and whammo, in short order you could eat off the surface. Takes just minutes.

Are you serious !! What are you hauling in that minivan

[OTW]

LOL -- Well, I was referring to her description of all the dirt and dust that had gotten into her truck bed and cab after she was helping those people. But I did used to haul hay in the minivan. I would put down a tarp but hay dust would still get everywhere. However, even with a little car, a leaf blower is a really effecting cleaning tool. You just open all the doors, have everything out of it, and air blast it, first on Low (the little crevices that hide straw wrappers or whatever) and then when those are blown out of their hiding places, you whale at it on High and they go flying out the other side. ;-D Oh yeah, you don't want anyone standing around because a ballpoint pen can become a flying missile if you're really having at it.

[Colliemom]

Now, that's an interesting idea. Yeah, I know about the straw/hay thing inside a van too, been there done that. Maybe I will try the blower on my truck next time I clean it, which will be spring after this winter is over. Although sometimes, if it's a nice day, I will vac at the car wash.

You might check into Good Sam too and get a membership. Can get some really good buys at Camping World and the Good Sam Roadside Assistance is good to have when you are on the road in the event of a flat tire, breakdown etc. The cover both trailer and tow vehicle and the tow vehicle even if it isn't hitched to the trailer. My trailer is currently covered up and sitting in about 2 feet of snow, but my truck is on the road running around here and I am covered should I need something.

I've got to get busy truck hunting pretty soon too as my current one is leased and my least is up in 5 months. Might be able to turn it in a little earlier. There are trucks all over the place, but getting one I can afford is another matter. They are very expensive these days.

[OTW]

You can lease a truck you're going to tow with?? Do you mind sharing with me about what that would cost? Does it have electric brake controller and whatever else goes on the truck for swaybars, WD hitch setup, etc.??

Yes, the leaf blower is a really great way to clean a vehicle as long as you can open both sides of it (would not work in a TT or motorhome other than the MH's front two seats probably, but for car, truck or van, it does a really spiffy job. This thought occurred to me shortly after I'd bought a leaf blower and so I tried it. (That was how I learned to warn against leaving the coin drawer open - quarters and dimes flew all over the place). I'd probably wear glasses before doing it though, should you not be one who wears them regularly because stuff can fly before you learn what 50-100mph air flow coming out of a relatively small hole can create. But hey, it was so quick and so thorough that I decided this is now my preferred way of cleaning my van's interior.

[bertk523]

RE: truck alarm

my truck has an alarm system that activates when I lock it with the key fob. I pull it close to the trailer when I am camped.. if anyone is snooping around and gets too close to the truck or tries to open the truck - the alarm will sound. it is not hooked to the camper at all, but it is pretty sensitive and if someone was snooping around the camper and bumped the truck it will sound. I don't have an alarm for the camper.

for my dirty truck bed - I do have an air compressor to blow it out, but I really like the leaf blower suggestion.. I think that will be easier to manage. I swept it with a broom, but there is still a lot of debris in it. I will blow it out when weather permits, then give it a good scrubbing in the spring.

MPG - yes it is an issue.. I have a 250 diesel. it gets 16-20 NOT towing depending on whether it is city driving or interstate. My car got 37 city driving - so I use more gas. However, I sold the car - thinking that by the time I pay insurance, tags, and maintenance - it is almost a break even with the higher gas costs of driving the truck.

[OTW]

Roberta-- Wow, that's a sensitive alarm system you have. So your truck is a 250 diesel - what make and year? I'm learning about cargo vans but starting from total ignorance, and add more to the ignorance level when it comes to diesel vs. gas. The one thing I remember about diesel is someone said (this was some time ago) that diesel used to be great before emissions equipment was required, but that it did not play well with emissions stuff. I don't know if that's been resolved or as of what year it would have been (important since I'd be buying used). But just curious what your 250 diesel is pulling in terms of weight.

Yes, I think a leaf blower would be better for cleaning out a car/truck/van than a compressor. It's kind of fun actually.

[snowball]

just a thought on the diesel...I have a 3500 ram diesel...I was told to look for trucks under the year 2007 for better fuel mileage
due to something the govt required be put somewhere it affected the mpg....I still haven't totally figured out what I get
used to with my old truck which was a diesel 18 mpg don't think I do as well driving with this one but it's bigger ect
it's a 2006 also if you get 4x4 that will affect the mpg...however for what I tow it's worth having diesel..when my nephew towed
my trailer up to Idaho last year it cost far more for a gas than diesel I was amazed....however the down side is everything cost more
on a diesel but wouldn't go with anything else but then I tow a 36 ft 5th wheel
sheila

[OTW]

just a thought on the diesel...I have a 3500 ram diesel...I was told to look for trucks under the year 2007 for better fuel mileage
due to something the govt required be put somewhere it affected the mpg....I still haven't totally figured out what I get
used to with my old truck which was a diesel 18 mpg don't think I do as well driving with this one but it's bigger ect
it's a 2006 also if you get 4x4 that will affect the mpg...however for what I tow it's worth having diesel..when my nephew towed
my trailer up to Idaho last year it cost far more for a gas than diesel I was amazed....however the down side is everything cost more
on a diesel but wouldn't go with anything else but then I tow a 36 ft 5th wheel
sheila

With that size rig it sounds like you'd need diesel. I heard that too about getting an older one but not just for mileage, what I recall was that when emissions modifications became required, that diesels did not play well with that setup. (This is vague recall but I do think I heard that a couple of times.)

[Colliemom]

Yes, you can lease a truck and use it for towing. The thing with leasing is that you will not have any equity at the end of the lease though, but when the lease is up, you can turn it in and lease another. Means you will be making payments forever though, so it depends on how one wants to play it. The payments are based on how many miles your lease is for per year and also he value of he vehicle.. That you have to determine before you sign on the dotted line. The one drawback is, you gotta watch how many miles you have when time comes to turn it in. If you go over, then you have to pay up for the extra miles. I bought extra miles ahead when I got this truck lease and I am now approaching the miles that the original lease was set for. When I turn it in, if I have not used up all the miles i bought, I will get the money back for the unused miles. You also can't add anything that will cause residual damage as they call it to the vehicle, like say you want to tow a 5er. You can't mount a hitch in the truck bed that needs to be bolted down. That's residual damage as it leaves holes in the bed. That kind of stuff. You can add tonneau covers and truck caps etc., and when you turn the truck in, can take those with you as they are your personal property.

I like the lasing cause at the price of new and used vehicles especially trucks, it's the cheaper way for me to go. I have no other expenses other than oil changes etc. Do not need to replace tires or all the other stuff since I don't have it long enough to do that. But if you travel a lot, then it's not the best way to go. I'm chewing on leasing another truck this spring or buying a used one cause I have been doing a lot of driving though. If you don't drive a lot miles, and plan to keep a truck for 10 years, it might be cheaper to take a loan out and make payments till it's paid off. Leasing is good for older people who are not sure just how many more years they will drive, as if they decided to or have to quit, they can turn the vehicle in and walk away, no hassle to sell it or whatever. It has it's pros and cons. You have to decide which way you want to go. Talk to some dealers and find out how the leasing might work for you . Each car company, GM, Ford, Chrysler etc. has their own leasing programs and can vary from one to the other.

AS to the electric brake controller and other stuff, it depends on what packages a given truck has. You need to find this out. They will come with an installed hitch receiver, mine has an integrated brake controller. I do not have trailer mirrors, I just use add on one's when I need them. Some trucks will have integrated brake controllers, transmission and radiator coolers, trailer mirrors, extra heavy suspensions etc, etc. Depends on what you want, what type of terrain you are going to tow through and how much weight you will have to pull. The WD bars, hitch bar, sway bars etc. are part of your trailers package and seperate from the truck.

[OTW]

Actually if leasing wasn't too awfully expensive, I'd consider it. However I'm now opening up my brain to the possibility of giving up on the cargo van idea and going with a truck. I was under the impression that "cargo van" meant nice driver's seat, etc. but just a rough and unfinished back. And that a cargo van "WT" is a "work truck" version which has bare bones seating, and often no power locks/windows or anything else particularly civilized. Someone just told me that "cargo van" means that, whether it says WT or not. (Still not sure that's true but if so, then I would not want to sit in horrid seats every time I get into it, particularly driving across country.)

[Cudedog]

Actually if leasing wasn't too awfully expensive, I'd consider it. However I'm now opening up my brain to the possibility of giving up on the cargo van idea and going with a truck. I was under the impression that "cargo van" meant nice driver's seat, etc. but just a rough and unfinished back. And that a cargo van "WT" is a "work truck" version which has bare bones seating, and often no power locks/windows or anything else particularly civilized. Someone just told me that "cargo van" means that, whether it says WT or not. (Still not sure that's true but if so, then I would not want to sit in horrid seats every time I get into it, particularly driving across country.)

The front bucket seats (not bench seats) in my "cargo" van (it just has the two front seats, no back seats) are more comfortable than the seats in my Nissan Versa. Both seats have armrests that fold up or down, the van also has a good am/fm, two 12 volt recepticles, powerful a/c, great heater. . . I don't need much more than that.. I actually prefer to drive my van somewhere rather than my Nissan because the van gives a *much* more comfortable ride, so I am not sore and stiff when I "get there" as I am when driving several hours in the Nissan.

Why not go to your local Chevy or GMC dealership and take a look at one? Check it out? Doesn't cost anything to look, and might be fun. Most places around here have one or two on the lot. Probably do in your area too. That way you can see for yourself if you like what it is or not, and not take the word of a he said/she said - who may or may not know the straight story. Go and see for yourself.

Um. . . for me, my van is very civilized. True, it does not have power windows or power door locks or remote keyless entry - but you pay for these things. The various "power" goodies can add up to a thousand dollars or more on the price. For a fast $1,000 or $1,500 I figured I could just manually roll the windows up and down myself.

If the difference in price was, say, $1,000, I am the type that would be asking myself how much it cost me each time I rolled down the windows (with a/c one doesn't roll down the windows that much anymore). $20 a pop to have the windows roll down automatically? No thanks.

Another thing to think of is that pickup trucks are quite a popular item. Cargo vans far less so. This will affect the price that you pay. Look around. You might be able to buy a new cargo van for the same or less money than you might pay for a comparable used pickup.

The way I found the deal I got on my van is that I registered with

http://www.Edmunds.com

and

http://www.kbb.com

(Kelley Blue Book). I put in what I was looking for, the area I was looking in, and a salesman called me with the van of my dreams. It would have been just the same no matter what kind of vehicle I was looking for. Don't register at other sites that promise you the world - these are generally bogus. Edmunds and Kelly Blue Book are well known, industry standards.

However, when you do this you need to put some precautions in place first, because you are required to put in your contact information, and once you put in your information you can NEVER stop the emails and the telephone calls from coming in. So what I did, before I started, is that I created a special email address just for this purpose at gmail.com. Then I purchased the cheapest TracPhone http://www.tracfone.com/ that I could find, and paid for a month's service (about $30 for the phone and the month's service, total). Then I "registered" on these sites, and the calls and offers started coming in. Once I found my van, I discontinnued the gmail address, and just turned off the TracPhone. I still have it for emergencies, but since it is mostly turned off it doesn't ring - and I didn't set up voicemail on it, so no one can leave me a voice mail.

So, for the cost of a fast $30 I didn't have to make telephone calls all over the place, or drive hundreds of miles visiting dealerships that didn't have what I wanted. This might not work for you, but it certainly worked for me.

Also, since cargo vans are *not* a Hot Item (as are pickup trucks) often a new cargo van will be lonesome on the lot when the new year models roll in. When this happens, the dealership starts to get a bit antsy to get the previous year model cargo van gone. Again, this is not true for new pickups (which are generally gone) or even used pickups (which generally sell really well).

Speaking of which - this being January, and since new models generally hit the lot in October - this might be just the time to score a new 2016 cargo van, when the 2017's have already arrived, and have already been sitting there a while (with that little ol' 2016 over there in the corner, all by it's lonesome).

Good luck in finding whatever it is that you finally decide on. Registering online with the sites I mentioned is a good way to go. But I wouldn't do it without the temp Google email and TracPhone. The emails and calls will come in hot and heavy for a while - from hungry sales people. Talk to all of them. Get a feel of what they have, and how badly then want to get it sold.

Then it's dickering time!

Good luck!

Anne

[OTW]

Oh Anne! You have NOOO idea how much you just helped me. None. Yesterday I sort of gave up on the vans and started looking at trucks. First waking thought: "But I really. want. a van."

They are not as plentiful on the used market as I thought they'd be. To the contrary. But the way you went at shopping, I love it! Fantastic procedure.

So now, you say YOUR cargo van's seats are comfortable? I can't see from your photo but what kind of van you have. Is it a GMC?? What year?

Thank you!!
Carol

[Cudedog]

Oh Anne! You have NOOO idea how much you just helped me. None. Yesterday I sort of gave up on the vans and started looking at trucks. First waking thought: "But I really. want. a van."

They are not as plentiful on the used market as I thought they'd be. To the contrary. But the way you went at shopping, I love it! Fantastic procedure.

So now, you say YOUR cargo van's seats are comfortable? I can't see from your photo but what kind of van you have. Is it a GMC?? What year?

Thank you!!
Carol

Hello Carol.

Happy to oblige.

Used cargo vans are not as plentiful as are used pick up trucks. One reason is that they are built to be sold to haul. . . cargo. Thus the target market for them is somewhat limited from the get-go (unlike a pick up). Lots of other reasons for this relative scarcity over pick-ups, what comes to mind (again) is that, to some degree, a pick up is a vanity item. Many folks that drive pick ups trade them in regularly, so that they always have the latest and greatest to drive. Cargo vans, on the other hand, are generally used for. . . cargo. No vanity, no latest-and-greatest, involved.

So, quite often (but not always) cargo vans are beat to death and run into the ground. They are driven until they wear out, and only then traded in. Pure economics for people that use them for cargo. The mileage on a cargo van is often all about running in stop-and-start traffic on local streets and byways, all day, every day, as things are picked up and delivered - and rarely on freeways, or in long distance driving. Stop-and-start is extremely hard on any vehicle. On a large, heavy vehicle like a cargo van, it is even more so.

I would like to mention again the importance of the different email address and the different phone. For a while, your calls and emails will be about vehicles. But then the emails will begin to change after a while, with totally bogus "offers" for things like viagra (all us ladies need our daily dose of viagra, right?), your "lottery winnings" or maybe your "Discover Card update click here" and etc. (I NEVER click on links in emails I don't know their origination - virus time). It pretty much goes downhill from there.

About then would be the time to cancel your Google account and turn the TracPhone off. Hopefully you have found your new vehicle by then.

By the way - the procedure for registering at the sites I mentioned work for both new vehicles and used vehicles.

Yes, my cargo van seats are eminently comfortable. Again, more comfortable than the seats in my Nissan. I have a few things to do this morning, if I have time later today I will take a couple of photos of the seats and post them. But what I have in my van is "standard". I have peeked at other vans of my type in parking lots and dealerships, just for fun, and the seats are always the same - a high-back seat with armrests (that fold up or fold down, depending on one's preference).

My van is a 2011 GMAC Savanna. But the only difference I can see between the GMaC and the Chevy is that one has the "Chevrolet" emblem on it, and the other has the "GMC" emblem on it. The bodies look the same. Maybe the seats are different between the two makes, but I doubt it.

A final note about looking for vehicles:

In the past, a used vehicle was nearly always less money than a new vehicle. This began to change about 2008 or so, at the time of the Great Recession when it looked like, for a while, the car companies were about to go belly up like a dead fish. While that is still true (price of used less than price of new) - basically - often a new vehicle these days will be the better deal.

Aside from the obvious reasons - with new you know what you are getting; it should be dead reliable; it will come with a 3/year 36,000 mile warranty - or better; when one can maintain it oneself from day 1, it is likely to really last - there are more subtle reasons that many people are not aware of:

Used vehicles hold their value like never before, so the difference in price between new and used might not be that great. For example, when I started out looking for a van, I found a beauty - 10 years old, 35,000 miles. I took a test-drive, it had some odd rattles and shudders and groans that I couldn't identify. When I did the walk-around, I peeled up the rubber mat in the back (vans have, or should have, a rubber mat on the floor covering the entire floor from the seats to the back door) the floor ridges (the metal in the floor of a van in the back is not level, it is ridged - this adds strength to the body) were filled with about an inch of sand. Really odd. At first I thought maybe this van had spent time at the beach (I am in California) but now I think that maybe the sand was there on purpose - sand is very heavy, and it might have been intended to make the van ride more smoothly. Or maybe to help disguise some other problem.

Although it was a bit more than I wanted to pay, I made an offer. The salesman turned me down cold, wouldn't take a penny off the price. I still wanted it - badly - so when I got home I emailed the manager with my offer. Nothing doing. It was tough - I was in love - but I decided to look elsewhere.

About this time the call came in for the new van. The price quoted to me on the phone was quite a bit less than I knew the price of new vans to be (homework in these things is very important) so I went down to take a look. When I drove it the van seemed a bit "bouncy" as though there might be something wrong with the shock absorbers (dopey me - it's a cargo van - so of course, empty, it will be bouncy - once I did the conversion - which added weight - the van rides like a dream).

But, despite the bouncy-ness the price was what I was pretty sure I would not be able to easily find elsewhere, so I dickered and got the price down even further. The van was mine (the expression on the face of the salesman was pretty funny - he finally asked my why someone like me (little old lady - although he didn't use those words) would want a cargo van.

Anyway, the price of this brand-new van, out-the-door, turned out to be only $6,000 more than the 10-year-old "sander" that I almost bought.

And that's not all.

When financing a used vehicle, the interest rate is always more than the interest rate in financing a new vehicle. This is because with a used vehicle you are getting a loan from a bank, which almost always entails a higher interest rate. With a new vehicle you are might be going through the manufacturer's bank, i.e. "GMAC Financing" (or somesuch), so the interest rate can be significantly less. Which means that the interest chunk on your monthly payment is less, so that the loan principal comes down quicker.

Additionally, the loan with a new vehicle can often be stretched out over more years than for a used vehicle. More years means lower monthly payment. What I like to do, and what I did with my van, is finance it over as many years as possible, because of the lower payment factor. Why? Because, if something "happens" I can hopefully still afford to make the lower monthly payments.

But what I did in actuality, is get a longer loan (the loan for my van was for seven years), with a lower interest rate (because it was new), which made the payments relatively low - and then I made larger payments each month that I could - keep in mind, that anything over the regular payment goes against the loan principal. I recently paid off the van in 4 years, rather than in 7 years. But it was nice to have the longer loan, with lower payments, "just in case".

So, if you figure all this in together: new vs. used, interest rate new vs. used, payments on new vs. used, condition of the vehicle new (known) vs. used (unknown). . . and the $6,000 difference in price between the new van that I purchased and the 10-year-old-van-with-mystery-noises that I almost purchased - gets to be even closer.

Although I am not a math whiz - I always run my numbers before I go shopping for a Big Ticket Item.

Good luck!!

Anne

[bertk523]

Roberta-- Wow, that's a sensitive alarm system you have. So your truck is a 250 diesel - what make and year? I'm learning about cargo vans but starting from total ignorance, and add more to the ignorance level when it comes to diesel vs. gas. The one thing I remember about diesel is someone said (this was some time ago) that diesel used to be great before emissions equipment was required, but that it did not play well with emissions stuff. I don't know if that's been resolved or as of what year it would have been (important since I'd be buying used). But just curious what your 250 diesel is pulling in terms of weight.

Yes, I think a leaf blower would be better for cleaning out a car/truck/van than a compressor. It's kind of fun actually.

I have a 2015, Ford F250 diesel. I love it!! it is a much more comfortable ride than the 2004 we had previously. It handles as easily as a car. YES - there were some issues with diesels for a while. My 2015 is nice, quiet, good comfy ride, roomy, etc........BUT EXPENSIVE to buy new. I put just over 30,000 the first year - so it is DRIVEN. lots of those miles were towing. It will tow a WHOLE lot more than I pull with it. As I understand it, the only difference between 250 and 350 is suspension. the 350 will handle heavier loads because of the suspension, but the 250 is a better "ride". MOST used trucks are like the cargo vans - they were used for construction and beat up. the only known issue with the newer ford diesel is difficulty with moisture in the fuel system - there is an after market fix I read about - asked my FORD service people about it and they strongly recommend it. I read about it in Trailer Life. The FORD service manger asked if he could make copies as he said the article was excellent and gave very nice instructions for installing.

Get what you are comfortable with - you will be sitting in it!! I got the crew cab because I have grandkids and also because I toss a lot of stuff in the back seat rather than opening the bed up. I have a cover on the bed made out of some kind of fiber stuff. A ton (2000 pounds) can be set on top without damaging the cover. it is totally water sealed. it locks!! it weighs only 40 pounds so 2 people could easily remove it if I needed to load something tall. I use the bed to keep tools and towing parts - so I've never pulled the top off the bed.

My biggest suggesting in hunting and buying is to take it to some parking lots and see how easy/difficult it is to get it in a spot. My truck is my only vehicle - it is not as easy as a car, but not as bad as the older truck as I think they have improved turning radius over the years. it is not terrible to park. it fits in my garage with 18 inches to spare lengthwise and 3 inches to spare in height. If I could not get it in the garage - I would not have sold my car.

The newer diesels are much quieter than older ones. they also are easier to start in the cold than older ones. I can start mine up and drive immediately in the cold and don't have to heat the engine first. BUT - I don't have hot air for almost 10 minutes. so I generally start it up and wait a bit in the winter. I got a remote start put on it - so I can easily start it up ahead of time. i can start it while i am in line at the grocery, etc. if it is cold and i am running in the drug store or post office or at a rest stop, i get out and start it up and let it run until i return. SAME for very HOT weather as that way the AC is on!!!

Happy hunting - we are all different - we have different priorities - different reasoning - different comfort level with things - SO we all have different opinions on tow vehicles. if you like it and it is best for you - that is all that counts. as for me - i LOVE my truck. i was fortunate enough to have money to buy new, which was a blessing as it made things easier. i "should" have done other things with that money for financial reasons, but HEY - when my money starts to give out - i will consider selling my house, if i am still enjoying travel as much as i do at this time. Time will tell..

[bertk523]

Forgot to address the alarm system on the truck. it is the factory system that activates when i lock the truck with the key fob. the alarm is very sensitive - NICE most of the time. NOT NICE occasionally when it goes off at times when there is no danger.. BUT the comfort of knowing it is sensitive is reassuring to me. For example, brushing against the running boards will SET IT OFF. When i park on the street in front of my son's house and a car is going too fast down the hill the air draft will set it off. BUT i hope it scares the folks who are speeding.. LOL.. If they are going fast enough to make enough air draft to set it off - they NEED to slow it down. the speed limit is 35, but since it is on the downhill many vehicles go much too fast.

The other safety feature which complicates matters - is the lock/unlock button has a very short range. This prevents unlocking from a distance and allowing someone to sneak in the truck - but when the alarm goes off I cannot shut it off unless i am very close to the truck - so it may sound for a while until i get close enough to shut it off. OR - if i am too far - it shuts itself off after a bit.

The remote start works from a LONG distance - it locks up the doors - and starts the truck. Even if someone was in the truck, or manages to sneak in when i unlock the door - it cannot be put into gear unless the key is in the ignition. My grandson knows the door unlock code - i don't have to worry if i start it and he gets to the door before me and gets into the truck.. it will NOT go anywhere!!

that's it - again - happy hunting.

roberta.