What do you use for towing.

[Toahk]

Id like to buy a pickup truck to tow my 240 to track events. I really want just a late 80's early 90's toyota pickup or nissan hardbody, but I dont know if they will be able to tow my car. I wont be going on any hills just all flatland here in the valley. Will either of these work, say towing 2500 lb 240 on the dolly. Any other recommendations (no big gas guzzling trucks). Thanks

[skatanic28]

another 240 ?

on a more serious note, i think either of the 2 you listed would manage.

[95_240sx]

another 240 ?

on a more serious note, i think either of the 2 you listed would manage.

Hahaha thats me modeling one of our ka-t.org shirts!!

Rick

[C-Kwik]

I wouldn't recommend using anything less than a Full-size truck or SUV to tow a car. Pulling the car around is easy enough, but trying to do so with a car not rated for that kind of load(keep in mind the ratings are max ratings) can be scary. When the weight of the car being towed is a large percentage of the weight of the truck that is towing it, it can be difficult to control. I watched my friend nearly lose it several times when he used to trailer his PT Cruiser from show to show using an Isuzu Trooper. He finally did lose it while towing a slightly heavier car. IF you do decide to go with a light truck or SUV for this duty, make sure you take necessary precautions. Most light trucks can't handle a high tungue weight safely and can really make the truck unstable as it puts a high load on the rear wheels and tends to make the front end light relative to the overall weight on the 4 tires. This makes steering sloppy and slow. There is an ongoing project on http://www.nissanperformancemag.com which involves prepping a Pathfinder for Tow Duty. That may give you some hints. But if you can, I'd highly recommend a larger truck. My friend eventually started borrowing a friend's dually and it was stable as a rock towing his trailer with car.

[Toahk]

I understand that but I cant buy a full size truck right now because it wouldnt be practical as a daily driver. I need something that gets decent gas mileage that can also tow my 240 down the highway at 55mph with a dolly. My main concern when asking this if the trucks of that era would be Able to tow my 240 on a dolly. I know they both offer 4 and 6 cylinder options, would the 4 cylinder have enough power to tow it?

[C-Kwik]

I'd have my doubts that a 4 cylinder would be very comfortable to use as a tow vehicle. It would likely struggle a bit at the least. The Nissan KA24E also had more power than the 22RE from Toyota. Not sure what powered the Tacomas though. The early 90's trucks had the 22RE. I'd probably look for at least a V6.