Decisions, decisions....

[vizwhiz]

Wow - that's a great area to be in - I was actually down there, just around the corner from that this week, looking at some equipment for Englewood...too funny.

Anyway, shoot me a PM when you get nearby and we'll make some plans - meet up at a dockside restaurant or something so we can see your boat too!

[tom clayton]

just thought you'd like to see my tow vehicle http://www.flickr.com/photos/tibusm37/

[vizwhiz]

Nice Jeep! Gives me hope that it doesn't take that much to pull one of these successfully...especially since we'll probably be in an S and not an M to start out with...

I did look up the towing capacity on the Taurus SW - not much.
Will double-check the Colorado when I get it in a few months...gotta get the company vehicle up to 100k...just over 3k to go!

We were planning to upgrade the station wagon anyway, and it just looks like we're going to have to do that no matter what. We were originally planning to upgrade it with a used Dodge Magnum set up for towing (wifey is a little thing) so we could have a "car" and a "truck" (the Colorado), not two trucks. I had read a lot of very negative reports about the Dodge Magnum trannies though, especially when towing...

We'll be exploring this again when we get close to "buy time"!

[JoeVacs]

Chyrsler has had terrible transmissions for the past 15 years. There engines aren't very dependable either, past 60k.

[kmclemore]

Chyrsler has had terrible transmissions for the past 15 years. There engines aren't very dependable either, past 60k.

While I agree their trannys aren't the best, they can be made pretty reliable by simply changing the fluid regularly with the *correct* transmission fluid. The problem with Chrysler transmissions is that if they even *smell* another fluid other than AFT3 or ATF4, they will go belly-up pretty rapidly. The worst mistake is adding Dextron... like if the fluid is a bit low and you add some Dextron to top it off because that's all you have to hand... that's bad news... your trans will likely go in another 5-10,000 miles, since those trannys do NOT like Dextron one little bit. The issue with the Chrysler transmissions (and Honda trannys, too) is that the computer contollers rely on a certain amount of friction-induced 'slip' in the transmission, and if the friction changes (by virtue of another type of fluid) the computer can't cope and the transmission starts juddering and slipping on each shift... and it doesn't take long to cook the trans when that's happening.

[Sumner]

Get a Suburban (96 or newer), the engines/transmissions will go over 250,000 miles and they tow great and are comfortable and get decent mileage and have tons of room inside. With our '99 we get a consistent 17 mpg without the boat and 11-12 with it on the highway. I never thought I would like one, but we love this one. Of course we have other vehicles to use on trips if we don't need the room. You can get one with 150,000 miles on it cheap.

Tom the jeep is nice, but I wouldn't do any long distance towing with one. It is too light and has too short of a wheelbase for mountain towing. We have a Jeep Scramble that is bigger and has a longer wheel base than yours. I was going to tow with it, but one trip towards Lake Powell with sharp down-hill curves and such convinced me that it just wasn't safe. I still love the jeep for what it does do and won't be selling it.

c ya,

Sum

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[Catigale]

Chyrsler has had terrible transmissions for the past 15 years.

Disagree. I had four transmissions in my Voyager and each one was better than the last.

[JoeVacs]

Catigale, you're a funny guy

[kmclemore]

Catigale, you're a funny guy

In the words of Claus von Bülow, "you have no idea".

[vizwhiz]

Resurrecting an old post...not the worst thing someone can do...but I felt it was appropriate...

Had some personal changes recently...Mom passed ...we knew it was coming and were prepared, very sad, yes...BUT... ...gonna get enough "boat bucks" within the next couple weeks/months ...to fund "the decision" (Thanks Mom!!)

***I'm not heartless or cruel or anything - loved my Mom - just confident that she's doing much better than she ever did and is in a much better place now!***

Sooooo...wifey and I are talking the other night, and we both know we have to put a fence up around the backyard first (to protect the boat)...and I PROMISED MYSELF I would be really, really good and NOT say ANYTHING about a "b-word" just because Mom took her Heavenly Elevator Ride...so I talked about the fence, about doing the patio, getting some trees for our bare yard...la-la-la...ho-hum... WIFEY says...yeah, we need to hurry and get the fence SO WE CAN GET OUR BOAT!! Woooohooooo!!!

Time to put shopping into high...um...double headsail mode!!

[Rafael]

Viz,

I'm sorry for your loss and happy for your gain.

Maybe you should name your new boat with a chinese character that translates into "Mom's gift"

P.s. - Is the extra $$ going to bump you into an X or M???

[vizwhiz]

No...not quite that much. Wifey wants an M - well, I want an M too - but that would be too large of an expense, plus I'd have to upgrade tow vehicles, etc. I just don't have the hardware to pull it...so it is a much bigger expense than this could cover. But it will easily cover an "S" for us, and that's a good start for what we want to do, what our car can pull, etc.

[pokerrick1]

If wifey wants an - - I'd get an Strike whilest the iron is HOT

Rick

[bscott]

I've owned 5 high mileage Jeep GC, just traded my 03 4.7 with 167,000+ miles with no trans problems--tow lots of different trailers over our high passes. Changed trans and transfer case fluids at 50,000 miles.

Bob