Best balance of tow vehicle and everyday ride?

[Smiletwice]

OK, our trailer is 6300 dry and 7600 gross. We don't travel with fresh water so rarely would exceed 7000 lbs. My GMC Sierra 1500 does fine for the most part and I'm well within all thresholds for weight. Having said that, mountain inclines are typically 50 MPH adventures at best. Thinking about stepping up to a 250/2500 but whatever I get will be my everyday ride. The 1500 is really nice, rides great, good mileage. 5.3 gas engine. Never owned a diesel but not totally averse.

Interested in thoughts on a the best balance between a comfortable ride with decent mileage for every day use that will also make the towing experience that much better. Thanks for your input!

[wyo700]

What year is your Sierra? Maybe buy a newer model with possibly the 6.2. I’m sure that would pull your camper really well. I personally own a 2013 tundra crewmax 5.7 and a pull a 7200 pound loaded toy hauler. That I pull 6-10 times during summer months. I am at capacity of my truck but my truck pulls my camper great but the rest of the year when it’s used as a daily driver to run various errands or running my kid around town and to take me ice fishing all winter it works out perfect for all that. I know many people that own diesels to pull there camper that is about the same size as mine and the same amount I do. But also own another truck maybe compact to drive around town or do other things because the bigger diesel truck doesn’t work for that. Their are many that do use diesels as daily drivers and works out great. The other thing that pushed me away from a diesel just because I knew my truck would be my daily driver is all the emissions garbage on them now. That stuff doesn’t work well as a daily driver in stop and go and idling. We have a Cummins at my work that gets driven around town and it has been hell on that truck with the emissions stuff. It’s always In the shop. Diesels serve there purpose but in my opinion not as a daily driver.

[MontyPP]

We liked our Tundra and it road better with a little weight in the backend, but had to down size. Finally got a Nissan Frontier because I hated a car.. I'll go either with the Titan with its 9200 - 9700 towing capabilities or back to a Tundra when I change vehicles in a year or so.

[bikendan]

Well, my vote is for a F150 3.5 Ecoboost.
I can get 20mpg highway and 9-11mpg towing.
Rides very comfortably.

[Mad Cow]

Yeah, a turbocharged 1/2 ton like the Ford Ecoboost would be better for overall use. Especially for crawling grades at any significant elevation. Any naturally aspirated engine is gasping for air. And something like the GM 6.2L Ecotec is going to be a wallet buster since it requires premium gas when it is working. I refuse to pay the exorbitant prices for premium fuel. I ignore any vehicle that uses the stuff. The 6.2L in the 1500 is more for the sports car crowd.

I have traditionally owned GM pickups, and I am in the 3/4 ton arena, so my recommendation is unbiased. Based on practicality.

[SailorSam20500]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Well, my vote is for a F150 3.5 Ecoboost.
I can get 20mpg highway and 9-11mpg towing.
Rides very comfortably.

X2. On my trips down I-75 over the mountains in Kentucky and Tennessee, I only dropped below 65 when I wanted to (prep for going down the other side).

[oldjim]

i'm going to keep a close eye on this thread as i'll be changing trucks next year. thinking F250, but considering the 3.5 ecoboost.

[Kimber45]

IF you can pull what you are pulling safely with a 1/2 ton I would not go up. I just went from a ram 1500 to 2500 because I got a bigger unit. My 6.4 liter gets lousy gas mileage all the time weather I'm towing or not and rides like a lumber wagon compared to my 1/2 ton.

[pibi]

3.5 Ecoboost f-150 with max tow does a great job for me. I've a rockwood 2703ws ( around 8000 lbs) and the truck with the 4p Equalizer do pretty good.
When I first saw the trailer i thought It was going to be too big for the truck, but she does well. No need to upgrade.

[JohnD10]

I'm from the school of buy the correct truck for the haul.

If you are worried about gas mileage...then maybe a small pop-up camper is in order!

If you want to haul a big camper...you need a big truck!

And you don't need a diesel to pull what you have!

A 250/2500 gasser is all you need!

[moose074]

I agree if you don’t need a bigger truck don’t get one most will say bs but I feel that my Tundra pulls better than my 6.7 my grandfather always said by biggest engine with lowest rearend the 6.7 does that with the 3:55 but the Tundra with the 4:30 was very responsive I know the 6.7 more power and torque just press the long pedal harder

[Smiletwice]

Originally Posted by pibi

3.5 Ecoboost f-150 with max tow does a great job for me. I've a rockwood 2703ws ( around 8000 lbs) and the truck with the 4p Equalizer do pretty good.
When I first saw the trailer i thought It was going to be too big for the truck, but she does well. No need to upgrade.

This one strikes a chord. I don't feel like I necessarily need to go to the 2500, but we are closing in on retirement and will be going on more trips and we do have mountains out here in the Northwest! I'm also not a GM vs Ford guy as we're relatively new to RVing and if pressed I would say I'm not even a pickup guy!

So...question about the EcoBoost. Would the F 150 with max tow package and the 350 EcoBoost solve some of the incline issues without giving up the mileage and comfort during every day use? I'm not clear on how it works but have heard good things. Any difference in payload or tow capacity that would create issues with my set up?

I don't want to start a Ford vs GMC thread but am interested in learning more about the Ford.....

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by Smiletwice

This one strikes a chord. I don't feel like I necessarily need to go to the 2500, but we are closing in on retirement and will be going on more trips and we do have mountains out here in the Northwest!

I don't want to start a Ford vs GMC thread but am interested in learning more about the Ford.....

If you are even remotely thinking about getting a bigger trailer in the future, then you should consider getting the bigger truck now instead of having to do that all over again in a couple of years.

I have a just under 10,000 pound when loaded 5'ver and I've been pulling it (and stopping it) around the Colorado Rockies and surrounding states with a 2015 Chevy 2500HD gasser with the 4.10 rear end.

Sure, the gas mileage sucks...but I feel safe in the fact that I never have to worry about not having enough truck!

I had a Dodge Ram 1500 pulling an 8000 pound when loaded TT before this and the only way I'll ever go back to a 1/2 ton truck is when I stop pulling an RV.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Smiletwice

This one strikes a chord. I don't feel like I necessarily need to go to the 2500, but we are closing in on retirement and will be going on more trips and we do have mountains out here in the Northwest! I'm also not a GM vs Ford guy as we're relatively new to RVing and if pressed I would say I'm not even a pickup guy!

So...question about the EcoBoost. Would the F 150 with max tow package and the 350 EcoBoost solve some of the incline issues without giving up the mileage and comfort during every day use? I'm not clear on how it works but have heard good things. Any difference in payload or tow capacity that would create issues with my set up?

I don't want to start a Ford vs GMC thread but am interested in learning more about the Ford.....

Well, we had thought about getting a 5th wheel when we retired.
But that changed when we decided to build our dream home.
One, we used up the money needed to buy a bigger truck and the 5th wheel we wanted.
Two, our new home didn't have room for a bigger truck to get to the front door.

So we adjusted our choice to get a couple's TT that could be towed by a shortbed 1/2 crewman truck.

My research led me to a F150 3.5 Ecoboost with the Max Tow package and higher payload than my old truck.
The F150 is the best in payload and towing capacities, in the 1/2 truck world and the 3.5 Ecoboost is a towing beast.
My new to me 2014 has everything I wanted, including paint color. I'm very happy with it.

[Harvey9]

Originally Posted by Smiletwice

This one strikes a chord. I don't feel like I necessarily need to go to the 2500, but we are closing in on retirement and will be going on more trips and we do have mountains out here in the Northwest! I'm also not a GM vs Ford guy as we're relatively new to RVing and if pressed I would say I'm not even a pickup guy!

So...question about the EcoBoost. Would the F 150 with max tow package and the 350 EcoBoost solve some of the incline issues without giving up the mileage and comfort during every day use? I'm not clear on how it works but have heard good things. Any difference in payload or tow capacity that would create issues with my set up?

I don't want to start a Ford vs GMC thread but am interested in learning more about the Ford.....

The 3.5 Ecoboost will pull your trailer just fine and you will get fairly good gas mileage. There's a million threads on the Ecoboost on this forum.

[SailorSam20500]

Originally Posted by Smiletwice

This one strikes a chord. I don't feel like I necessarily need to go to the 2500, but we are closing in on retirement and will be going on more trips and we do have mountains out here in the Northwest! I'm also not a GM vs Ford guy as we're relatively new to RVing and if pressed I would say I'm not even a pickup guy!

So...question about the EcoBoost. Would the F 150 with max tow package and the 350 EcoBoost solve some of the incline issues without giving up the mileage and comfort during every day use? I'm not clear on how it works but have heard good things. Any difference in payload or tow capacity that would create issues with my set up?

I don't want to start a Ford vs GMC thread but am interested in learning more about the Ford.....

The 3.5 EB uses a pair of turbos to feed air and fuel into the engine. The main reason engines loose power as elevation increases is lack of oxygen to burn the fuel. The turbos solve that problem. If you have a light foot, you can also get very good mileage during normal driving because the engine is a 6 cylinder. I'm getting well over 20 during day to day unloaded driving and 9-11 towing. Unloaded, you can probably smoke all 4 tires in 4wd from a standing start if you hold the brake and rev the engine. My line on it - you can have Eco or boost, but not both at the same time. Engine has diesel level torque at low rpms which is good for towing. Downside, the 3.5 EB has less engine braking capacity than a V8 or diesel, so you need to be more prepared when going down - downshift early and watch your speed.

We find our F-150 to be very comfortable. I'm 6'2" and 200 lbs. DW is 5'2" and 110 lbs. We have a Platinum level with the "active seat" option which provides a really nice massage to your lower back and seat.

Fast Lane Truck guys pulled loads up I-70 from Silverthorn to the Eisenhower tunnel with multiple vehicles. 8 mile stretch with a 7% average grade. The F-150 with a 3.5 EB has handled the run multiple times without issue with loads of 8 and 10.8K Lbs.

https://www.tfltruck.com/tfltruck-hall-ike-gauntlet/

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by SailorSam20500

Fast Lane Truck guys pulled loads up I-70 from Silverthorn to the Eisenhower tunnel with multiple vehicles. 8 mile stretch with a 7% average grade. The F-150 with a 3.5 EB has handled the run multiple times without issue with loads of 8 and 10.8K Lbs.

https://www.tfltruck.com/tfltruck-hall-ike-gauntlet/

But comin' down it is a totally different story...

And Floyd Hill down to Denver...that is a scary one with a too-small truck!

[moose074]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

But comin' down it is a totally different story...



And Floyd Hill down to Denver...that is a scary one with a too-small truck!

Wonder what people did when they had big diesel pickup trucks but no engine braking seems to me more people made it down safely than didn’t even though they were heavier than the gas counterparts . I bet with modern transmission tow haul mode disc brakes on front and rear, lighter trucks and trls than just 10 to 15 years odds are drastically in the drivers favor

[SailorSam20500]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

But comin' down it is a totally different story...

And Floyd Hill down to Denver...that is a scary one with a too-small truck!

They also tested the brakes and the link has results. All trucks handled the 10K load downhill acceptably.

Anyway, if someone is really worried about stopping, upgrade the trailer to electric/hydraulic disc brakes. They stop a lot better.

[Mad Cow]

Originally Posted by moose074

Wonder what people did when they had big diesel pickup trucks but no engine braking seems to me more people made it down safely than didn’t even though they were heavier than the gas counterparts . I bet with modern transmission tow haul mode disc brakes on front and rear, lighter trucks and trls than just 10 to 15 years odds are drastically in the drivers favor

I come from the old school. I spent a lot of years running the mountains with commercial trucks upwards of 80,000 lb that had no engine brake at all! One just learned to slow down considerably before heading and drop several gears and go slow down the grades. Only had the service brakes and that was it. No transmission retarding thing, no engine brake, etc. And in a over a million miles of doing it without the benefit of the neat features now on trucks, never burned up any brakes and never had to hit a runaway ramp.

We have become complacent about driving skills since we have all these neat things now. We want to go up the hill at 65-70 mph and we want to go down the hill just as fast. The technology is wonderful, but it also means that many people do not learn the right way to do things to avoid problems. And when the cool features fail, all they have is themselves, and if they don't have the proper skills, it can be a disaster.