Pickup, Cargo-van or Trailer?

[MX265]

Pickup, Cargo-van or Trailer? I am planning on getting a hauler soon. Possibly in the next 6 months. Just wondering what most of ya'll prefer.

I would love a pickup. 4x4 6cyl Extend Cab Pre-Runner to be specific. But what in the heck do you do with your bike on those over-nighters?

Cargo-Van seems pretty good. Problem being it's a 3rd vehicle in my already small driveway. I could get rid of one vehicle and use the van for my main transportation but it'll cost me upwards of $100.00 in gas a week for my commute. Currently costs me $30-$40.

Trailer seems good, but it seems like a pain to load up and haul. Also if it is open, what do I do on those over-nighters. If it is closed, they can be quite heavy and will eventually cut the life of my wifes Jeep by a 3rd. We don't want that. :eek:

I'd prefer the pickup. It can be a main car and a bike hauler. But what do you do with your bike on over-nighters to prevent theft? This is why I am trying to think this out in advance. At this point I have been borrowing my fathers pickup (also Toyota BTW) or I have been renting a trailer from U-Haul. I would love to load my bike up and just go.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? All are appreciated right about now.

 

[penguin]

6X10 enclosed trailer amd a pickup big enough to pull it, use the pickup for weekday transportation. The increased gas bill is part of the price most of us pay to support our sport. You gotta deal with bike security on those overnighters, that means a mobile garage to lock em up in.

 

[Budda]

I just bought a 96 Ford E150 the other week after having pickup trucks for years. I happier than I have ever been in regards to hauling my bike and stuff. I think the only disadvantage is no four wheel drive. This van rides and runs so smooth, I could never go back to pickups, especially after seeing someone at the track with a pickup get soaked by a sudden downpour while I sat inside my van!

 

[MX265]

Penguin,

I took your advice, which I appreciate. I just traded in my RAV4 yesterday and picked up a '96 Toyota T100 XtraCab. It has a 3.4L V6. Towing capacity is 5200 LBS. I'm psyched. I'll post a picture as soon as I get one. At least this will get me and the bike to the track locally. Next I will have to get one of those enclosed trailers for longer hauls. Thanks for the input. I love this truck.

Andy

 

[Highbeam]

I'm a former toyota owner myself and I really appreciated the quality of build on my 85 pickup, up until 265000 miles in fact. However, my fullsize chev with a 5.7 liter engine is only rated to pull 6500 lbs.

If I were you I wouldn't get near tow rating of 5200 lbs. That poor engine will be pretty stressed out pulling 5200 lbs over a pass. I only mention this because once you buy the trailer you're a bit stuck. The best scenario would be to test tow something with the kind of weight you expect to be able to tow and see how the 3.4 handles it.

Hope you enjoy the new toy.