Speaking from the viewpoint of someone who has towed
with the 4.3L V6 ('93 AWD AstroVan) mated to an automatic,
I'd suggest getting an 8. Not sure whether the new inline 6
is going to be available in the pickups. Still, the 8 is my choice.
Hard to believe the 8500# tow rating... Not if anything approaching
a highway speed is needed, anyway. With the typical "Honda on a
trailer" setup likely to run 3500#, you might get away with it, but it
will force compromises in speed/economy by having you run in 4th
with the stick.
My experience is that I got the same towing mileage with the Astro
as I now get with the full size G20 van ('94) and a 5.7L V8. The big
difference is that I can now actually maintain 70+ on all but the biggest
hills. The newer Vortec 8's have more punch and get better economy
than the TB version in my van.....
Your wife will appreciate the automatic, and the resale on those is
far better. If you are like me and expect to keep the truck for a while,
bust the budget a bit and get the 3/4 ton 2WD set up for towing. At the
end of next season you'll be happy you did. Think 5.7L, but if you need
to, get the smaller 8, it will do ok.
Alan Sheidler
In a message dated 10/30/01 0:24:47 PM Pacific Standard Time, Scott R Sawyer <
reddog_es22@juno.com> writes:
> OK, so the car shopping isn't going quite as planned. The MR2 Spyder has
> too little storage space for a daily driver and Acura is only offering
> 6.9% financing on the RSX. The Miata may still be an option, but my wife
> and I have started thinking along different lines. We're also throwing
> the possibility of a truck into the mix. Chevy is offering 0% financing
> which makes their trucks very tempting. I wanted to poll the collective
> wisdom of the list for some advice.
> A big diesel dually would be great to tow with but not as good around
> town daily, especially since it will be driven by my wife most of the
> time. It's also out of the price range we're looking at. I did a little
> research at edmunds.com and it looks like a V-6 Silverado would get the
> job done very nicely. I'm only planning on towing a Honda Civic (~2200 #)
> on an open trailer, and the V-6 is rated to tow 8500#'s. They only list a
> 5 speed, is a manual better or worse than an automatic for towing? Can
> you get an automatic with that engine? Will I be absolutely miserable
> towing with the 4.3L V-6 or will it be "sufficient," if not ideal? Is
> there any reason related to towing that makes 4wd better than 2wd? We
> live in NC so winter weather is pretty much a non-issue.
> She absolutely HATES Dodge trucks (I think they are the best looking) so
> they are out. She was raised in a Chevy family so there is no way I'll
> get her into a Ford. Toyota puts a 3.4L 6 in the Tundra rated at 5200#,
> but the 8 cylinder Tundra is stretching our budget. Would the six
> cylinder be too small?
> Of course, if we get a truck the next round of questions will be about
> trailers and towing :^) Thanks for the advice!
>
> Scott Sawyer
> 1991 Honda Civic Si, HS 22
> Team Underdog Racing, Underdog F&C
> http://www.teamunderdog.com
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