TV Recommendations - What to Avoid

[rockfordroo]

itat:

Not trying to talk you into/out of any specific brand, just trying to give you my thoughts and experience.

I don't have anything against Fords, I've just never been into them, and my past experiences with Chrysler ruled out Dodge (Ram). I already had a 1/2 Ton Chevy Silverado that I bought used. I was happy with it, except I felt I needed a little more margin. So I recently (6 wks ago) bought a 2016 Chevy 2500HD 6.0 gasser. I'm getting about 9mpg towing and 15 mpg not towing.

I've only got about 1250 mi on it, though. I'm expecting (OK, hoping) the mileage will improve a bit as she breaks in.

Consumer Reports preditcs above average reliability for the 2016 Chevy 2500 HD, for what it's worth.

Since you had a Ford you seem to have liked, I'm guessing you'll end up with another one.

[MCTroy]

We are a GM and Chrysler household. We love our 2011 Ram 3/4 ton 5.7 hemi. Never a worry about it being able to handle a trip. Towing is about 10mpg while driving is about 15mpg. We like the light load TPMS option. We can lower the rear tires pressure and it softens the ride when not towing. It eliminates the rear bounce on rough roads. Good luck shopping! We told a local dealer what we wanted in a truck. He called us the minute this one hit the lot, and then hid it in back! After we took the test drive there were already two people wanting to look at it! Not too many clean low miles 3/4 tons available around here.

[grhodes50]

Originally Posted by itat

......I'll likely have go with a 250/2500 gasser. The gasser will have a lot more payload than a diesel and like I've said I don't tow heavy enough or often enough or in any mountains to justify the diesel.

FYI - I once owned a 2010 F-250 with the V-10. The truck handled my tt easily, but man was that V-10 thirsty.....loaded and unloaded. Around 8-9 mpg's towing and 12.5-13 mpg's unloaded.
I was within a couple of years of retirement and I found a great deal on a 2012 F-250 Lariat diesel. I was also thinking I might buy a 5'er when I did retire.
Well, I retired last Nov and a couple of days ago I pulled a brand new 5'er home. Glad I had this truck. It pulled the new trailer with ease.
On the approx. 90 mile trip home from the dealership I got 11.6 mpg. Unloaded I'll get 17-19 mpg's depending on how much highway driving I do. An oil change at the dealership cost me $120.
I believe it was in 2011 Ford started placing the 6.2 V-8 gasser in the F-250's. I don't have any experience with those, so can't help you there.
Just something to think about.

[Major Oz]

Originally Posted by TonyD

Some of us have "luxury" trucks because some of us have wives but in my case I prefer the heated and cooled seats, heated leather rear seats, heated steering wheel, navigation, touch screen controls, and moonroof too!

Some can't understand this and that's ok; I'm still trying to figure out why people spend thousands on a new camper only to go to a campground where there are other campers with loud kids/dogs/people to the right and left of them or even better, go camping but want to know if a campground has WIFI, Cell service, etc..etc.. :-)

x2

I have a truck/trailer because I can't afford a MH with the luxury DRIVING features. And, as I have said elsethread, we are travelers, not campers.

Again, the trailer is a place to eat, sleep, and ****.

The adventure is the TRAVEL.

So.....I got a platinum with all the creature comforts, except the sunroof; and I really want a sunroof.

......next truck.....

[The_Rhino]

Originally Posted by itat

I was 600# over GVWR and 220# over on the rear axle. ... I take it from previous comments that I should be looking at 2011 or newer trucks? Any helpful comments would be appreciated.

When looking for our first (used) TV my goal was to find something that was affordable, yet rust-free & also benefiting from newer engine/tranny tech for better MPG/performance.

In 2013 I found a 2 year-old Ram 2500 CC ST for $14,000 w/ 5.7 Hemi, no rust & balance of power train warranty left. It only has stock trim - but IMO it's more comfy than the Honda Accord that it replaced. No cruise control (never use it anyway), but it has a strong A/C, power windows/locks, and a radio I can plug my phone into & listen to Pandora, etc. A $100 refurbished Garmin w/free updates serves as my NAV. A bonus with the stock seats is that we can legally seat 6 which allows our kids to bring a friend along...

My 2011 w/3.71 gearing has a payload of 3,000 but GCVW of only 15,000 compared to 17,000 for the 2012+ models w/only minor changes... I added a $500 like-new fiberglass cap from CL & load it up with generators, kayaks, firewood, etc. Even near GCVW our Hemi has been strong towing throughout the Smoky Mountains. We tow an 8,000 lb. TT w/Equalizer 4 1200 WDH. I swapped the OEM brake controller for a P3 & we can stop fast (forced to last trip...)

At the time, the available used Ford, Chevy/GMCs 3/4 tons all seemed to have more trim options, so they were more money... I would have had to get older engine/tranny tech with no warranty & more rust. IMO finding one without rust was #1 priority since everything else can be swapped-out. I can get a rebuilt Hemi w/3 year warranty for $3,000 but I can't swap-out a rusty frame... My 2 cents...

[Major Oz]

Originally Posted by The_Rhino

When looking for our first (used) TV my goal was to find something that was affordable, yet rust-free & also benefiting from newer engine/tranny tech for better MPG/performance.

In 2013 I found a 2 year-old Ram 2500 CC ST for $14,000 w/ 5.7 Hemi, no rust & balance of power train warranty left. It only has stock trim - but IMO it's more comfy than the Honda Accord that it replaced. No cruise control (never use it anyway), but it has a strong A/C, power windows/locks, and a radio I can plug my phone into & listen to Pandora, etc. A $100 refurbished Garmin w/free updates serves as my NAV. A bonus with the stock seats is that we can legally seat 6 which allows our kids to bring a friend along...

My 2011 w/3.71 gearing has a payload of 3,000 but GCVW of only 15,000 compared to 17,000 for the 2012+ models w/only minor changes... I added a $500 like-new fiberglass cap from CL & load it up with generators, kayaks, firewood, etc. Even near GCVW our Hemi has been strong towing throughout the Smoky Mountains. We tow an 8,000 lb. TT w/Equalizer 4 1200 WDH. I swapped the OEM brake controller for a P3 & we can stop fast (forced to last trip...)

At the time, the available used Ford, Chevy/GMCs 3/4 tons all seemed to have more trim options, so they were more money... I would have had to get older engine/tranny tech with no warranty & more rust. IMO finding one without rust was #1 priority since everything else can be swapped-out. I can get a rebuilt Hemi w/3 year warranty for $3,000 but I can't swap-out a rusty frame... My 2 cents...

Sounds like a fun package.

Enjoy.

[anthonymu]

2015 F250 crew 8ft bed. 6.2 motor pulls great rides well stay away from fx4 package. Brutal ride. Get about 10 towing 12-15 depending on my foot around town. Mostly 12 I have a heavy foot. lol