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Towing a truck!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by iaowings, Sep 19, 2006.

  1. iaowings

    iaowings New Member

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    Uh I need to pull a horse trailer that weighs 6000 pounds plus three horses and a Winnebago. I know the prius is a small car, but do you think even though the manual says do not tow anything that the car can handle towing 12000 pounds. Friends told me that I should use a truck but I think I would rather use the prius or maybe buy one of those new smart cars to tow all this.

    What do you all think about outfitting the prius to be a tow truck so I can get back some of the money spent on the hybrid premium.

    I was wondering can you equip the prius with a 5th wheel set up so I can tow a semi trailer and use the prius as a fuel efficient tractor-trailer.
     
    #1 iaowings, Sep 19, 2006
  2. daronspicher

    daronspicher Active Member

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    Believe it or not, this can be done.. With any project like this, you'll need to do some mods to the prius in order for it to work.

    Start off by replacing the back axel with the back axel from a F250 ford dually. Bring the springs too, you're going to need to beef up the suspension for that weight. A couple other things and you're ready to start pulling.

    First, get rid of the prius body, frame, cabin area and front half and replace that with the body, cabin and drivetrain that used to be hooked to that F250 axel you robbed earlier.

    Mount the ball in the bed of the Prius/Truck and hit the road.

    Fairly straight forward really. I'll do the conversion for you for $98,000 if you need me to.

    With those mods, it will look like a F250, but really it's a Prius modified to tow a horse trailer.
     
    #2 daronspicher, Sep 19, 2006
  3. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    I'll get the job done for $96,500.
     
    #3 TonyPSchaefer, Sep 19, 2006
  4. daronspicher

    daronspicher Active Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Sep 19 2006, 08:05 AM) [snapback]321560[/snapback]</div>
    Tony must be non-union to be able to undercut me like this. :angry: :angry:
     
    #4 daronspicher, Sep 19, 2006
  5. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    well if you get it done at the dealer, you're looking at about $220,000, which puts you on course to make back your hybrid premium in approximately 942,000 miles at a gas price of $3.89/gal. no sweat!

    :lol:

    IAO, what kind of bird is that in your avatar?
     
    #5 galaxee, Sep 19, 2006
  6. parrot_lady

    parrot_lady Member

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    pff Tony's the engineer with the know how.

    IAO nice Eclectus... looks like she/he is a young bird? Know the subspecies (vos, solomons, etc)?
     
    #6 parrot_lady, Sep 19, 2006
  7. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    ah, leave it to the parrot lady for the bird ID :D

    completely off topic but since this isn't a serious thread, we just got our senegal last weekend!! hooray!
     
    #7 galaxee, Sep 19, 2006
  8. iaowings

    iaowings New Member

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    http://parrotchat.proboards106.com/index.cgi?

    This is a bird chat site for those interested.

    The bird in my avatar is my 15 week old Solomon island Eclectus named Carmen.
    She is still on formula and being weaned (well she is taking her time with it, typical ekkie slow to wean.)

    I try to visit her on a daily basis. A little trivia for non-bird folk, all female Eclectus are red and all males are green regardless of sub species.

    She is a feisty red head but I love her.

    I also have at home
    2 cockatiels (both male)
    2 lovebirds (male and female)
    1 Indian ring neck (male)
    1 budgie (female)
     
    #8 iaowings, Sep 19, 2006
  9. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    Oh, just ride the horses where you're going. Skip the trailer, keep your money, and park the car. It might take a little longer, but think of the money you'll save, and all that time you don't have to spend working for it. :)
     
    #9 hyo silver, Sep 19, 2006
  10. parrot_lady

    parrot_lady Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Sep 19 2006, 10:30 AM) [snapback]321602[/snapback]</div>
    :blink: :D

    Congrats Galxee, this your first? With three of them and plenty of experience with Poicephalus species (meyers, sennies, and Jardines) lemme tell you good luck! Sennies are a joy, but of all the birds I've had they are the most PICKY little creatures.

    IAO, congrats on the Ekkie. I've never had one myself, but always admired them from afar, I'm curious to know if she (I'm assuming the bird is DNA'd or surgically sexed since you said she) is still fully flighted and fledging or if shes clipped. I've seen the out come of both ways and my prefrence in raising birds (I have a few breeder pairs) is that they are better off left flighted for as long as possible (it does however make them a PITA to catch and handle for a while). Hope you have the best of luck with her! 15 weeks I'd say is right on track--- large birds go for the 4+ months of being handfed... we had the joy of raising an amazon and it was almost 4.5 months before he was weaned.
     
    #10 parrot_lady, Sep 19, 2006
  11. iaowings

    iaowings New Member

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    No need to sex with Eclectus they are sexually dimorphic. The females are always red and males always green. To tell the sex you just have to wait for some feathers to grow.

    I have read about birds that did not get to fledge I don’t want that to happen to her so she will remain unclipped for as long as possible. She is a strong flyer and can get around very well with her wings. Her favorite thing to do is fly low to the linoleum floor put her feet down land and slide. The first time she landed and slid, she looked around like what was that, after that it became fun for her. Like kids with socks on and a slippery floor.
     
    #11 iaowings, Sep 19, 2006
  12. jamarimutt

    jamarimutt New Member

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    Just being stupid... indeed.
     
    #12 jamarimutt, Sep 19, 2006
  13. Pinto Girl

    Pinto Girl New Member

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    Just jack up the radiator cap and drive another car underneath. You'd better do something about that radiator cap while you're at it.
     
    #13 Pinto Girl, Sep 19, 2006
  14. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(parrot_lady @ Sep 19 2006, 12:39 PM) [snapback]321669[/snapback]</div>
    thanks :) yes, he's our first. and i say "he" because that's what we were told, but likely it's just a guess. so far he's been fantastic, a very intelligent little guy, loves to cuddle and imitate funny sounds. and he's learning how to behave very nicely. he already has "parroted" :)D) a few words, started right up on me the first morning we had him! he's only about 4 months old so we're very surprised to see this much from him already!

    i can see a few picky qualities though, i'm sure as he gets older he'll get set in his ways. he's now sitting on his favorite perch making his favorite noise over and over and over again. and for instance, we have yet to convince him that baths and vegetables are fun. :lol:
     
    #14 galaxee, Sep 19, 2006
  15. Salsawonder

    Salsawonder New Member

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    Not a bird person myself but I have always enjoyed this friends bird. He talks alot and is sort of a smart aleck. She got really concerned though when HE laid an egg!!!
     
    #15 Salsawonder, Sep 19, 2006
  16. curtissac

    curtissac New Member

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    You should have gone with the Camry :p
     
    #16 curtissac, Sep 20, 2006
  17. Paul R. Haller

    Paul R. Haller Member

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    You could park the Prius on the hood of my F450 and tow whatever you want. :rolleyes: -Paul R. Haller-
     
    #17 Paul R. Haller, Sep 20, 2006
  18. TJandGENESIS

    TJandGENESIS Are We Having Fun Yet?

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Curtis SAC @ Sep 20 2006, 02:08 AM) [snapback]322132[/snapback]</div>
    Yup.
     
    #18 TJandGENESIS, Sep 20, 2006
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