1500 vs f250

[livin the good life]

I have been reading the forum for 7 months and thought I would post my first question.
I recently sold a TT with GVWR of 9900 lbs. and want to up grade to a fifth wheel with a GVWR of 10500 lbs. I have a 2015 Silverado 1500 that has a payload rating of 1982 lbs and tow rated at 11900 lbs. I would be 1400 lbs under the tow rating but right at the payload number give or take 20 lbs. with the fifth wheel I am looking at.
I am retired and like everything about my 1500 (ride, fuel economy, options, paid for) and its a daily driver. I am looking at a 2015 F250 diesel but worried about fuel economy and maintenance cost for a truck to tow with a few times a year.
We live in Texas and it is flat. I would like to travel to the mountains to camp and know the F250 would be best for that but the 1500 should be able to handle it.
I would like your thoughts

[Kaadk]

That F250 Diesel's probably going to be in the same payload range. When I was looking at different 3/4 tons, the diesel ate about 800-900 lbs off the available payload. My gas F250 has a payload of 2900 lbs, so minus 800-900 for diesel and it would have been around 2000-2100 lbs.

I'm not sure what the regs are in Texas, but up here I went 3/4 because anything over 4500 KG (9900 lbs) GVWR required annual inspections. If you don't have a limiting factor like that, then maybe consider a F350 instead in order to not be capped on payload, especially if you think the fiver you want will max out your 1900 lbs payload.

[DieselDrax]

Keep in mind the payload rating doesn't include the 5th wheel hitch or even the driver. If you're figuring 20% of the GVWR on the pin max, which is 2,100LB, then you'll potentially be over payload by 118LB plus the weight of the 5th wheel hitch before you even get into the driver's seat.

As mentioned above, that diesel F250 will likely have similar payload limits as your 1500. Check the yellow payload sticker on the door.

A rough estimate to see how much payload capacity you need would be to take the potential max pin weight (2,100LB), the weight of all potential vehicle occupants (including you, the driver), the weight of the hitch gear, the weight of any other gear you might have in the truck, and add it all up. Then add a bit more to give yourself a buffer.

For example...
Pin - 2,100
Driver - 220
Passenger - 150
Hitch - 125
Gear - 150
Buffer - 250
Total payload capacity needed - 2,995LB.

That puts you in 1-ton truck territory or a high-payload/GVWR gas 3/4-ton. Open the driver's door on various trucks on the lot and look at the yellow payload placard, see what kind of truck is needed to get that amount of payload capacity.

[goduc]

You may or may not gain more payload by jumping up to an F250 diesel. Most all 3/4 ton diesels are in the 1900-2200 range. What you will gain though is a huge jump in RAWR.
6200-6500 depending on MFG. My 18 Ram 2500 6.4 has 2971 for payload and 6500 for RAWR. My 2012 Ram 2500 CTD had 2176. Regardless of brand, a diesel sucks up payload. 3/4 tons are limited to 10,000 GVWR. 3500's are up to 11,500 or so.
If you're going diesel the skip the 3/4 ton and go 1 ton. Only $900-1,000 more. You'll eat some of that up when you need to add air bags to a 3/4 ton for sag.
If you already had a 3/4 ton then IMO it would be fine. But given the choice then why not have enough truck from the get go.

[polishdon]

No way in heck I'd pull a 5th wheel with a 1500 or F150, like others said, you'd even be pushing the limits with a 2500/250.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by polishdon

No way in heck I'd pull a 5th wheel with a 1500 or F150, like others said, you'd even be pushing the limits with a 2500/250.

x2!

[ronheater70]

Originally Posted by livin the good life

I have been reading the forum for 7 months and thought I would post my first question.
I recently sold a TT with GVWR of 9900 lbs. and want to up grade to a fifth wheel with a GVWR of 10500 lbs. I have a 2015 Silverado 1500 that has a payload rating of 1982 lbs and tow rated at 11900 lbs. I would be 1400 lbs under the tow rating but right at the payload number give or take 20 lbs. with the fifth wheel I am looking at.
I am retired and like everything about my 1500 (ride, fuel economy, options, paid for) and its a daily driver. I am looking at a 2015 F250 diesel but worried about fuel economy and maintenance cost for a truck to tow with a few times a year.
We live in Texas and it is flat. I would like to travel to the mountains to camp and know the F250 would be best for that but the 1500 should be able to handle it.
I would like your thoughts

You don't need a diesel for that if you don't want, any 3/4 ton gasser would handle that pretty well..But I would definitely recommend at least a 3/4 ton..Im guessing that f250 diesel doesn't have a whole heck of a lot more payload than your 1500 since its a diesel, maybe 2500 or so? Mine is a gas 2500 and my available payload is 3200.

[livin the good life]

thanks for every ones insight. I had seen F250's with 8000 lbs gvwr and payloads of 2195 and 10000 lbs gvwr with 3150 lbs payloads. I really do not want to tow with a 1500. I was figuring my present payload with two people two dogs and the hitch weight, everything else in the trailer and I was right at payload.

[B and B]

Originally Posted by Kaadk

That F250 Diesel's probably going to be in the same payload range. When I was looking at different 3/4 tons, the diesel ate about 800-900 lbs off the available payload. My gas F250 has a payload of 2900 lbs, so minus 800-900 for diesel and it would have been around 2000-2100 lbs.

I'm not sure what the regs are in Texas, but up here I went 3/4 because anything over 4500 KG (9900 lbs) GVWR required annual inspections. If you don't have a limiting factor like that, then maybe consider a F350 instead in order to not be capped on payload, especially if you think the fiver you want will max out your 1900 lbs payload.

Not true. F 350 does not require annual inspections if licensed for personal transportation.

[Dustyhd]

Chevrolet limits pin weight to 1500lbs max on the 1500 series regardless of payload rating.

[Kaadk]

Originally Posted by B and B

Not true. F 350 does not require annual inspections if licensed for personal transportation.

Not according to my research. It is correct that you don't need a CVOR if it's for personal use, as per:

CVOR: Commercial vehicle operator's registration

Operators that don't need a CVOR certificate

Carriers that operate certain types of vehicles do not need a CVOR certificate. These vehicles include:
{snip}

• pickup trucks that:

• have a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of 6,000 kg (13,227 lb)
• are being used for personal purposes without compensation
• are fitted with either the original, unmodified box installed by the manufacturer, or an unmodified replacement box that duplicates the one installed by the manufacturer
• are not carrying or towing a trailer carrying commercial cargo or tools, or equipment of any type normally used for commercial purposes

However, they're still supposed to still need an annual inspection, as per:

Commercial vehicle safety requirements

Annual and semi-annual inspections

An annual inspection is valid for 12 months.
Trucks, trailers and converter dollies, alone or in combination, with a total gross weight, registered gross weight or manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of more than 4,500 kg require an annual inspection.

I know some people interpret it as "That only applies to you if you have a CVOR" but my interpretation of the page was that it applies to everybody, because elsewhere on that page they specifically call out whether or not certain things apply based on a CVOR, like here:

Hours of service

Ontario's hours-of-service regulation governs the maximum driving times and minimum off-duty times of commercial vehicle drivers (bus and truck) who require a Commercial Vehicle Operator's Registration (CVOR). They are based on the National Safety Security Code Standard 9.

Italics and bold emphasis added.

Since the part about the annual inspections doesn't include such a clause, it implies that the annual inspections are required for any vehicle over 4500 kg, even if you don't require a CVOR.

You actually know better since you actually drive a 1-ton, so I'll defer to your experience, but at the time I was shopping, based on this kind of information, I was informed that going over 4500 kg would require inspections, I didn't want that headache, so I limited myself to a 3/4 ton.

However, this has gone on a complete derailment. The OP is from Texas, so these Ontario regs don't apply to him. I was just saying that if he had the capability to go to a full 1-ton, without these kinds of regulations, then he should consider doing so, as that will allow him both the pulling power of a diesel, as well as a sufficient enough payload for the fiver he wants.