3/4 ton advice

[2rad4u]

Originally Posted by Lzerarc

is there anything from the Big 3 that makes a certain HD gaser better than the other?

Chevrolet of course

[cmysstailights]

Originally Posted by Lzerarc

is there anything from the Big 3 that makes a certain HD gaser better than the other?

I know its all subjective, all personal, and they are all probably "good".



I have had 2 F150s Ecos with no issues (beyond recalls). First traded at about 80k and my current one (purchased new) now has 43k.



My late father has had a suburban (tranny went out at 90k) and a GMC Yukon XL (tranny went out little over 100k)- both of these were used to tow a 7k TT

A 2012 Expedition V8 (used to tow a 8500, 36' TT- yes, don't criticize!)- Mom still drives it, no issues. has 115k on it. Purchased new in 2013.

2 F150s (1 5.0 and 1 eco) both traded off at 100k without issue

He was on his 3rd F150 when he died.



My wife has a 2018 Chevy Traverse that has had constant transmission issues and its less than 7k miles. Dealer gives the classic response "its not acting up" when we take it in. It makes it difficult for me to want to look at GM trucks.



I do not honestly know anything about Ram. I have only heard "they are awesome" or "they suck". I do really like the way they look, especially the interiors. I certainly plan on checking them out before I make any decision as well. I am not a big fan of their back bench seat and the hump in the floor. I am used to the flat floors offered in the F series. I also love all of the cup loaders Ford gives you. It doesn't sound like a big deal but when your wife brings 7 things to drink at once on a trip, it is a big deal.



My go to was an F250, and I have driven one. This, like the OP, is the daily driver also at about 15k miles a year, 5k of it towing. Most highway miles.



I can get a used Ram for cheaper than a used F250. Also if the Ram rides smoother that may be a better option as well. I just have no experience with the durability of the Hemi engines and their transmissions.

All depends on payload. Which option truck can carry the most.

[Gonefishing1]

Originally Posted by cmysstailights

All depends on payload. Which option truck can carry the most.

Want comfort and class look at the F250 King Ranch. They are a very nice truck and I don’t think the ride cane be beat. Been buying them since the 80’s love them. Have had diesels however, 2019 I changed to a gasser. Loving it.

[JohnD10]

I always laugh when people say the Chevy 2500HD's ride rough...

Mine is smooth as silk...unless I'm off-road with it!

[2rad4u]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

I always laugh when people say the Chevy 2500HD's ride rough...

Mine is smooth as silk...unless I'm off-road with it!

Like a Cadillac!

[itat]

Originally Posted by Gonefishing1

Want comfort and class look at the F250 King Ranch. They are a very nice truck and I don’t think the ride cane be beat. Been buying them since the 80’s love them. Have had diesels however, 2019 I changed to a gasser. Loving it.

If you're buying a Super Duty / HD pickup for the extra payload, and you want the King Ranch trim level, you might want to forget about a F-250 and go up to the F-350. All that bling eats too much payload capacity. Same thing for a diesel engine. If you can afford the bling of the King Ranch and/or the diesel, an extra $1000± to upgrade to the F-350 won't be difficult to handle.

[dbctmc]

Originally Posted by itat

If you're buying a Super Duty / HD pickup for the extra payload, and you want the King Ranch trim level, you might want to forget about a F-250 and go up to the F-350. All that bling eats too much payload capacity. Same thing for a diesel engine. If you can afford the bling of the King Ranch and/or the diesel, an extra $1000± to upgrade to the F-350 won't be difficult to handle.

I will be getting WT/XL/Tradesman level, with a max possibly (if the deal is really good) of LT/XLT/SLT. Don't need anything fancy. The base models I have driven so far still have power windows & locks, heated mirrors, bluetooth connection for my phone, backup cameras (I think they are legally required now) and trailer brake controllers. That's all I really need.

[cmysstailights]

Originally Posted by Gonefishing1

Want comfort and class look at the F250 King Ranch. They are a very nice truck and I don’t think the ride cane be beat. Been buying them since the 80’s love them. Have had diesels however, 2019 I changed to a gasser. Loving it.

I liked the interior of the high country chevy. She serves me well. 2700lb payload works just lose payload with a high option truck, so added airbags and no issues.

[jdbunch1630]

One other truck too look at with what your towing is the gas version of the Nissan XD titan, not quite a 3/4 ton truck, but not a 1/2 ton either. They are calling it a 5/8 ton, but if you look and compare the numbers to the gas 3/4 tons they are right in the same area except bed load capacity. I left the house about 3 months ago ready to by a 2018 F250 XLT crew cab gas truck, drove it and priced out my best deal from a local dealer that I'm friends with. I also have a friend that works at a Nissan dealership, so I went too look at the XD, after looking at the numbers and driving it, I really liked it, so he let me take it home so I could pull my camper to try it out. It was just as stable as my 04 F250 was, by the way I have a 30ft KZ tow hauler that weighs about 8500. After running the numbers the XD was 8K cheaper for the same optioned out truck, since then I have towed my toy hauler on 2 trips about 1500 miles, it pulls as stable or better than the F250, yes my previous truck had more power since it was a diesel, but I'm very happy with the XD


Good luck

[Crabman]

Originally Posted by dbctmc

I will be getting WT/XL/Tradesman level, with a max possibly (if the deal is really good) of LT/XLT/SLT. Don't need anything fancy. The base models I have driven so far still have power windows & locks, heated mirrors, bluetooth connection for my phone, backup cameras (I think they are legally required now) and trailer brake controllers. That's all I really need.

When looking at lower trim levels consider the Ford 250 XL with the STX package. It dresses up an XL nicely and is almost always package discounted. Add in the power convenience group and you have a nicely but not overly equipped truck, at an affordable price, and a healthy payload of over 3200lbs. with the 6.2.

[babock]

What I find interesting are the many 3/4T trucks with the tiny 1/2T style mirrors. Why would you not change them out to OEM camper mirrors? Fairly easy swap! I see a bunch of the clip on mirrors...poor excuse for a mirror after I used them a few times on an older truck. On my 1/2T F-150, I ordered the truck with the camper mirrors.

[clarkbre]

Originally Posted by Crabman

When looking at lower trim levels consider the Ford 250 XL with the STX package. It dresses up an XL nicely and is almost always package discounted. Add in the power convenience group and you have a nicely but not overly equipped truck, at an affordable price, and a healthy payload of over 3200lbs. with the 6.2.

The lower trim and higher payload is a selling point for sure. Even my '16 steel body f250 in my signature has a payload of 2766. It was quite an increase from the 1529 payload of my f150. The '18 XLT I looked at had a 3200 payload.

[dbctmc]

Originally Posted by babock

What I find interesting are the many 3/4T trucks with the tiny 1/2T style mirrors. Why would you not change them out to OEM camper mirrors? Fairly easy swap! I see a bunch of the clip on mirrors...poor excuse for a mirror after I used them a few times on an older truck. On my 1/2T F-150, I ordered the truck with the camper mirrors.

Yeah,my 2010 f-150 I got with the max tow pkg with the towing mirrors. All the 3/4 tons I have driven havehad the towing mirrors also. I won't buy one without them.

[JohnD10]

The slide on mirrors have improved immensely in the last few years...

The old clip-ons are so 1990's!

[babock]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

The slide on mirrors have improved immensely in the last few years...

The old clip-ons are so 1990's!

What I am talking about are the stupid Cipa mirrors. PITA. I used them twice.

Like I said before, best money spent is put in some OEM mirrors even if the truck comes with the dinky mirrors. Then you get power adjust and sometimes power fold.

[CurtPutnam]

Originally Posted by babock

What I am talking about are the stupid Cipa mirrors. PITA. I used them twice.

Like I said before, best money spent is put in some OEM mirrors even if the truck comes with the dinky mirrors. Then you get power adjust and sometimes power fold.

Just sold the CIPA mirrors we tried for the Tundra, Now I need to sell the power mirrors that came with the truck. We replaced them with real, extensible mirrors from eTrailer. On the Chevy, anyway, they aren't tiny - just don't stick out far enough for towing.

[BigH]

Originally Posted by dbctmc

I will be getting WT/XL/Tradesman level, with a max possibly (if the deal is really good) of LT/XLT/SLT. Don't need anything fancy. The base models I have driven so far still have power windows & locks, heated mirrors, bluetooth connection for my phone, backup cameras (I think they are legally required now) and trailer brake controllers. That's all I really need.

I didn't like Ford's Sinc system and I didn't try any techno stuff out on the Ram.

You can get nav with any of the trucks but I really like (love) plugging my phone into the Chevy and projecting my Google maps, drive or Waze onto the trucks screen and being able to change directions by just talking to it. I also have a gps running so I can have a couple routes going at the same time. All that might sound excessive to some but I like driving (we have a habit of covering a lot of miles in a day) and it allows the wife make changes to routes at the last minute while still having a current route actively guiding us. (sometimes we change plans on the fly)

The wifi in the Chevy is nice too...the wife can look at a potential gas station or restaurant from space/Google maps on a tablet/phone to check out access. -no unwelcome surprises.

Good luck.

[Orlando bull]

Originally Posted by babock

What I am talking about are the stupid Cipa mirrors. PITA. I used them twice.

Like I said before, best money spent is put in some OEM mirrors even if the truck comes with the dinky mirrors. Then you get power adjust and sometimes power fold.

Yep, I am running the clip ons and hate them, however, to upgrade to the factory ones for my F150 is $1500... I am going to upgrade truck at some point before I spend that to do the mirrors. That was the first thing I looked at when we decided to get the TT, but, the $40 clip ons let me see enough and I take them off when not in use. Not for nothing, but, the ford factory non-towing mirrors are awful anyway. Very bad visibility in my opinion compared to my previous RAMs.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by BigH

I didn't like Ford's Sinc system and I didn't try any techno stuff out on the Ram.

You can get nav with any of the trucks but I really like (love) plugging my phone into the Chevy and projecting my Google maps, drive or Waze onto the trucks screen and being able to change directions by just talking to it. I also have a gps running so I can have a couple routes going at the same time. All that might sound excessive to some but I like driving (we have a habit of covering a lot of miles in a day) and it allows the wife make changes to routes at the last minute while still having a current route actively guiding us. (sometimes we change plans on the fly)

The wifi in the Chevy is nice too...the wife can look at a potential gas station or restaurant from space/Google maps on a tablet/phone to check out access. -no unwelcome surprises.

Good luck.

I know you said you didn't like Ford's SYNC system but I am able to do all the things you mentioned in my 2017 F-250 SD.

Like you, being able to plan a route and casting it to the center screen is a nice way to travel. We also often travel with with other couples so once at the destination, 4-6 folks traveling in our truck is not unusual. The WIFI allows everyone to pick points of interest (and get us there) and the 120v power points keep the laptops running too!

[Lzerarc]

comparing a Ram to a 250, it looks like the 250 has about 10" more in wheelbase over the Ram. It is about 12" over in overall length than the Ram too. Does anyone think this will aid is slightly more towing stability?
The shorter length will certainly bit in the garage better....