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04-10-2019, 09:30 PM
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#1
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 17
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Need truck advice - Possible 1/2 tons?
Alright guys, I have a scenario I could use some input on.
Currently have a 2003 Ford F250 that is just strictly my pulling truck for my TT.
TT is a 2015 Jayco Jayflight - 28BHBE - UVW is 6,135 lbs.
I have an everyday driver which is a 2018 Colorado but it is a work truck and I am switching jobs.
I would like an every day driver that I can also tow the TT with and not struggle. We probably only use this / pull the TT I would say 10 - 12 weekends a year.
Looking for something in the 2015 to 2017 year range.
Wondering what or any 1/2 ton trucks would get the job done. Not against going with a 3/4 ton if I have to, but of course would really like the better gas mileage and better ride when not towing.
From reading some, it looks like the Ford F150's do pretty well but not sure if my TT is too heavy. I would be fine with any of the top 3 (Dodge, Ford, Chevy) if one of the 1/2 tons would get the job done.
Appreciate any input and advice you might have.
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04-10-2019, 09:40 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 1,643
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Strictly talking full size trucks.
I don't think a half ton drives any better than a 3/4 ton.They don't get any better mileage or ride smoother or are easier to park.
I don't consider a Colorado or Ranger or Tacoma or Ridgeline half ton trucks
__________________
Professional mechanic.
2018 Ram 2500 HD Mega cab.
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04-10-2019, 09:46 PM
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#3
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mobilemike
Strictly talking full size trucks.
I don't think a half ton drives any better than a 3/4 ton.They don't get any better mileage or ride smoother or are easier to park.
I don't consider a Colorado or Ranger or Tacoma or Ridgeline half ton trucks
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In regards to the Colorado, I just meant I was losing my everyday driver and didn’t mean for it to come across like I was referring to it as 1/2 ton as it is far from it.
I was thinking a full size 1/2 ton would get better gas mileage than a 3/4 though.
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04-10-2019, 09:48 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Dallas,OR
Posts: 4,584
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Lets get real for a minute. UVW or Dry, or Shipping weights of your trailer are totally useless. No one has or ever will tow a trailer totally dry as some draftaman at the factory calculated the number for a brochure. You need to come back and tell us how much the trailer actually weighs ready for a trip. Im guess 8000+ pounds which is at or beyong real world weigh limits of 150/1500 truck in the years your looking at. So get a 2500 and go happy. The 6.0L in GM products offers good reliability in a reasonable package. The Ram 5.7L Hemi can be a pulling beast too and are usually cheaper.
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Don and Lorri
Resident Dummy.
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04-10-2019, 10:28 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Oregon
Posts: 6,654
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Any of the newer 1/2 ton Fords and even some GM's will handle that TT for your purposes. BUT you'll need to make sure you have the Max Tow option on the Ford and whatever the equivalent is for GM's if you're at all interested in a GM. Ram trucks have consistently low payloads so they're out of the running. Tundra is really marginal.
You'll want the 3.5 Ecoboost and if you're looking at super crew then try and get the 6.5 bed.
Daily driving will be nicer and mpgs better. Towing wise the 1/2 tons won't fair any better than a gas 3/4 ton for mpgs.
Something like this. https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...Type=spotlight
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04-11-2019, 04:15 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: North Ridgeville, OH
Posts: 2,455
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I doubt gas mileage would improve. Stay with a 3/4 ton truck. The 2007 Tundra I had was technically rated for 10K, but when I towed a 28' travel trailer at approximately 8K, you could tell that it wasn't something I would want to keep doing. We were trading in that trailer anyway, and the Tundra was great for towing a 6500 lb. Minnie. Your trailer is probably well over 7K loaded and you'll be much happier with a 3/4 ton (or 1 ton) truck and you'll also have a lot more options if you should decide to buy a different trailer.
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Retired but busier than ever!
2012 Newmar Bay Star 3302
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Brake Buddy, 2015 Chevy Malibu
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04-11-2019, 04:47 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: "Murvul", TN
Posts: 1,665
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That trailer has a GVWR of 9250 lbs, so actual tongue weight, could be in the 1200 lb range if you are loaded to near capacity. Add in another 75-100 lbs for a good W.D. Hitch and you're at maybe 1300 lbs. Now try to figure out how much "stuff" you are going to put in or on the truck in additional to the 1300 lbs of tongue weight and hitch. Truck bed toolbox, passenger(s),...firewood, generator, bicycles, grill, ....anything and everything that will be placed as weight on the truck. Only you know our can figure/calculate those numbers. Most F150 truck's have payload capacities in the 1200-1800, maybe 1900 lbs range, and a good average is probably 1400-1500 lbs. Ford does make 1/2 Ton truck's with the available HDPP...Heavy Duty PAYLOAD Package, but they are about as scarce as hens teeth and 99 times out of 100, they have to be ordered...you will almost NEVER find one on a dealer's lot as part of their inventory. So the bottom line for my answer is you may find a 1/2 Ton truck that will work for you, but the odds are very, very slim....again, depending on how much stuff you are taking along while camping...AND....how close do you want to be to the maximum payload rating of the truth with little to no reserve capacity.
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2016 F350 Crew Cab Dually Diesel King Ranch 4x4
2018 Grand Design Momentum 394M Toy Hauler
Excessive Payload Capacity is a Wonderful Thing!
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04-11-2019, 04:51 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Northeastern Nebraska
Posts: 969
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Stick with a 3/4 ton. Just air your tires down when you are not towing. When i do tow with my 2500 i run them up to 80 like it says on the tire. When I'm not towing I run them at 60.
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06 forest river Cardinal 34 TS towed by 03 freightliner Columbia HDT 435 hp 60 series Detroit, 10 speed, 3:55 gears with full locker. 260 inch wheel base. I am a Father, Farmer, and A Trucker.
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04-11-2019, 05:24 AM
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#9
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cumminsfan
Any of the newer 1/2 ton Fords and even some GM's will handle that TT for your purposes. BUT you'll need to make sure you have the Max Tow option on the Ford and whatever the equivalent is for GM's if you're at all interested in a GM. Ram trucks have consistently low payloads so they're out of the running. Tundra is really marginal.
You'll want the 3.5 Ecoboost and if you're looking at super crew then try and get the 6.5 bed.
Daily driving will be nicer and mpgs better. Towing wise the 1/2 tons won't fair any better than a gas 3/4 ton for mpgs.
Something like this. https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...Type=spotlight
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If that truck would be capable of towing my TT, it is about perfect for me. The color I was wanting with some of the options I was wanting and within a reasonable driving distance to look at.
I just want to be sure that it will pull my TT just fine. I understand it might not be as great as a 3/4 ton for pulling but if I am using it 90% of the year for my daily driver and and only 10% for towing, I would rather go with the F150.
Everything I read states that the 1/2 tons will get better mileage (of course not when towing but majority of its use will not be towing).
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04-11-2019, 06:01 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Palm Coast Florida
Posts: 12,995
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If you can swing for a 2015 F-150 with the Eco-Boost 3.5 litre engine is probably your best bet in a half ton truck. In 2015 Ford redesigned the F-150. 2014 has a steel body and 2015 has the aluminum alloy body and is bigger. Ram and Chevy caught up to the F-150 in 2019 with bigger half ton trucks.
If you are towing that trailer with a 2003 F-250 (yuck) you will really like the much more powerful and refined 2015 F-150 3.5 Eco-Boost.
Also sounds like you only tow this trailer 10's and 100's of miles and not 1000's of miles. If this is the case I think you can use a half ton truck for your towing duties.
A 3/4 ton truck will get 13 - 15 mpg while a half ton truck gets 16 - 18 mpg. And a half ton truck will ride like a big car, not so for a 3/4 ton truck. The 3/4 ton truck rides much much better than they used to but so do the half ton trucks.
All trucks were improved in 2011. Then incremental improvments until 2015 for Ford and 2019 for Ram and GM.
Go to YouTube and watch the F-150 3.5 Eco-Boost towing. That is the most powerful engine in a half ton truck. The Ford 5.0 coyote engine competes with the Ram 5.7 Hemi which are also nice engines. Chevy seems to be the weaker truck compared to Ford and Ram.
Good luck
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04-11-2019, 09:52 AM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 1,643
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wellsj54
Everything I read states that the 1/2 tons will get better mileage (of course not when towing but majority of its use will not be towing).
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Half tons get better mileage because they have smaller engine options and rear gear ratios for better highway use.
Half tons and 3/4 tons with the same engine and gear will get the same mileage.
Now you need to decide if the smaller engine and higher gear will be good to pull your trailer. If not go with the bigger brakes and axle rating of the 3/4 ton.
__________________
Professional mechanic.
2018 Ram 2500 HD Mega cab.
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04-11-2019, 09:57 AM
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#12
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 36
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I'd look at the F150 with the 3.5 EcoBoost. More important than the Max Tow is the Heavy Duty Payload Package (HDPP). If you're buying a crew cab, you have to get the 6.5 foot long bed in order to get the HDPP package. Without the HDPP, the truck is probably not going to have enough payload for your trailer.
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04-11-2019, 10:58 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Palm Coast Florida
Posts: 12,995
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A 3/4 ton truck still weighs 1,500 lbs. more than a 1/2 ton truck is one reason it will never get the same MPG as a 1/2 ton truck.
Look at the yellow door sticker and pick the truck in your budget with the highest cargo capacity.
I do not know about used but new 1/2 ton and new 3/4 ton are very close in price. It might be fair to say a Ford F-150 Platium trim will cost more than a 3/4 ton Lariat trim...and 3/4 XLT by a bunch of $$$.
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04-11-2019, 12:46 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: St. George, UT
Posts: 1,950
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It boils down to either the luxury of driving a 1/2 ton everyday, or having a bigger TT when you occasionally go camping.
IMO TT’s are just a tool to get us in the outdoors.
We do a lot of Hwy driving at 80 to 85 mph. 3/4 ton trucks sit up way higher. Not only is it harder to get in and out of, but at those speeds they get horrible mileage.
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Owners of a 2018 Lance 1995
St.George, UT
Former 02 Intrigue by Country Coach
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