Purchasing truck to tow 2016 Rockwood 2504s

[aceinspp]

Go with at least a 3/4ton diesel manufacture of your choice. Cover most bases. Later RJD

[rlocicero]

I love my ecoboost. We tow an 829fkss about 7500 lbs loaded and it puls it great.

[archer59]

I tow our 2504s with a Silverado 1500 with HD towing, with a 5.3 V8. The TV has a GCWR of 15000# and can tow 9500#. It tows nicely.

[wnelsonfl]

I tow a similar weight trailer with the 5.2 V8 silverrado. 4x4 Ltz. Went all through the Rockies last summer. No problem. Set the cruise control and go. I don't have Max tow package but have the middle range gears with that tow package. Better than average mileage and still rated at over 9000 lbs towing.

[jbhodj]

Great advice all around. Like mentioned look strongly at the 1500 Ram Ecodiesel or F150 Ecoboost. The dually ton truck is massive overkill for what your trying to do IMHO. Baby steps first

As mentioned a 3/4 ton would be an option to look at and good for most applications for towing that you will need

Personally think you would be perfectly happy with a half ton, and bonus is these can be daily drivers too

Good luck

[mike.t]

Originally Posted by wnelsonfl

I tow a similar weight trailer with the 5.2 V8 silverrado. 4x4 Ltz. Went all through the Rockies last summer. No problem. Set the cruise control and go. I don't have Max tow package but have the middle range gears with that tow package. Better than average mileage and still rated at over 9000 lbs towing.

5.2?

[OldBob]

We are towing a 6000 lb Wildwood with a RAM 1500 EcoDiesel and it tows it with ease. We are presently camping in the mountains of NC and the EcoDiesel doesn't even break a sweat. Personally I'd never go back to a gas truck because we are getting over 16 mpg when towing and 30 mpg on the highway when not towing.

[tuckerdog1]

Like buying a safe. If you can afford it, go one size bigger than you think you need. Before you know it....you need it.

Tuckerdog1

[Too Tall]

I heard no mention of axle ratio. Unless you go with a diesel, IMO, get a 4.11 rear axle with any gas engine. Personally, I was 1 mile out of the RV dealer when I realized I'd be diesel shopping the next day. I'm only towing 4800 and my 2013 Chevy 5.2 with 3.42 axle didn't cut it for me. Take that max tow rating and cut it in half. You'll be towing in 4th gear on flat land and every time you go over an overpass, the tranny will downshift. I couldn't live with that. If you can go it, you won't be disappointed if with a 2500 diesel. Monarch pass will Humble a diesel. You can't overkill the tow vehicle, especially in CO.

[shorthorn]

Think long and hard prior to purchasing a TV. I bought my 1/2 ton chevy to pull our little 24' TT... then we upgraded trailers a year later and opps, overloaded the 1/2 tons rear axle so I got a 3/4 ton with the Cummins... was a great truck, but then after my father in law died, I needed more room for the mother in law to travel with us... so after a year search a 5er was picked out... yep you guessed it, too big for the 3/4 ton... I will tell u, this dually in incredible pulling everything I can find to throw at it. Life happens... I would advise getting more than you think you will need to leave room for future growth. Honestly if you are thinking of possibly a 3/4 ton, you might as well get a 3500 SRW.. the Ram 6.4 is a great motor too

[Kevinwak]

I have a 2504S and am current pulling with an 07 F150. All loaded for a week in the mountains I am 2-300 pounds over the trucks gvwr, all of that on the trucks rear axle. My F150 has a 1850 pound payload capacity as per the yellow sticker.

That being said I have looked at 334 ton diesels, but most only have a 2400 pound payload capacity. Since I am already 200 pounds over my 1850, that will only leave me within 400 pounds of the upgraded trucks payload. That leaves no room for upgrading anything, and my 2 and 4 year old boys will only grow and their toys/bikes/etc will only get heavier.
To me this means I either need a 1 ton SRW diesel or if I wanted to stick with a 3/4 ton then I would need to get a gas job to get be e additional payload. Since I want diesel I will probably have a one ton SRW pulling my 2504S in the next year.

[Kevinwak]

Originally Posted by Kevinwak

I have a 2504S and am current pulling with an 07 F150. All loaded for a week in the mountains I am 2-300 pounds over the trucks gvwr, all of that on the trucks rear axle. My F150 has a 1850 pound payload capacity as per the yellow sticker.

That being said I have looked at 334 ton diesels, but most only have a 2400 pound payload capacity. Since I am already 200 pounds over my 1850, that will only leave me within 400 pounds of the upgraded trucks payload. That leaves no room for upgrading anything, and my 2 and 4 year old boys will only grow and their toys/bikes/etc will only get heavier.
To me this means I either need a 1 ton SRW diesel or if I wanted to stick with a 3/4 ton then I would need to get a gas job to get be e additional payload. Since I want diesel I will probably have a one ton SRW pulling my 2504S in the next year.

Just talked to my dealer today and am buying a F350 diesel to pull my camper. So excited and I cannot wait. We went on another family trip to the mountains 600 miles away in June and traveled with some family members, one pulling with an ecoboost and the other a diesel. Well they got to the campground about two hours before us and we're way more relaxed.
The truck I am buying is a crew cab short box F350. It is an XLT with the XTR plus package, rear view camera, fifth wheel hitch prep, tailgate step, bucket seats, and factory spray in box liner.

[mike.t]

Your going to love your diesel Kevin.

[DreiHunde]

Beast of a truck, congrats!

[Kevinwak]

Originally Posted by mike.t

Your going to love your diesel Kevin.

I really think so. We looked at the F250 a lot, and it would be perfect for our current use with the 2504S. But decided for the small amount more to be future ready and get the F350

[OldBob]

Originally Posted by Kevinwak

Just talked to my dealer today and am buying a F350 diesel to pull my camper. So excited and I cannot wait. We went on another family trip to the mountains 600 miles away in June and traveled with some family members, one pulling with an ecoboost and the other a diesel. Well they got to the campground about two hours before us and we're way more relaxed.
The truck I am buying is a crew cab short box F350. It is an XLT with the XTR plus package, rear view camera, fifth wheel hitch prep, tailgate step, bucket seats, and factory spray in box liner.

You'll love your diesel. I never knew how pleasant a great TV could make the trip until I got my diesel. As for me, I won't have another gas truck. We're on the road right now and today's tow from the Tampa Bay area to Quincy, Florida netted us 16.6 MPG. With our gasser we could only manage 10 and below.

[DocGTO]

I agree on the boosted option. Turbochargers overcome the lack of oxygen in the higher altitudes and will outperform the NA counterparts. I'm a GM guy but in the 1/2 ton group, the 3.5 Ecoboost outperformed the V8 NA trucks from Dodge and GM in Colorado. After all these years though, I stick with s turbo diesel. You can't beat the truck all around. I daily drive a 3500 dually. Love it. For you, a nice 3/4 ton TD would be great and leaves room to upgrade.

[Kevinwak]

Originally Posted by Kevinwak

I really think so. We looked at the F250 a lot, and it would be perfect for our current use with the 2504S. But decided for the small amount more to be future ready and get the F350

As a note to the original poster, I am by no means saying you need a one ton diesel to pull the 2504S. I a just saying that for my purpose the one ton made the most sense in the long term for my family. One of the big things I never mentioned is we haul all of our water to our house and the water station is twenty miles away. For the water hauling we wanted to be able to upgrade our hauling capacity to reduce trips. This is one of the main reasons for the F350.
As for mostly camper pulling I think an F150 Max tow max payload would be perfect.

[Too Tall]

I'm only pulling a 2104 with the RAM 2500 diesel and IMO, it is by no means too much truck. On a recent camping trip west of Albuquerque on I-40, we ran in 4th gear for hours bucking a strong head wind and constantly climbing in altitude. And that was at 55 to 60 mph. I'm not as aggressive as most and tend to take it easy on my truck as much as possible. I was sure glad I had a little bit reserve.