New tow vehicle

[Stan827]

Looking for a new tow vehicle to pull a 5000lb travel trailer. Not interested in 4 wheel drive and currently favoring the new chevy half ton extra cab with 5.3 and towing package. Curious as to what others may like or feel and why.
Thanks for your help.....

[Skip426]

As far as a tow vehicle goes , you need to be aware of how a vehicle tow rating is calculated.
Most P/Us " UP TO " tow rating is calculated with only a 145lb driver in the truck. So everything , people, pets and other stuff in the truck takes away from trailer weight capacity.
From personal experience , I know it is possible to go over a 1/2 ton Dodge Quad cab's GVWR with 6 people in the truck.
So it is very important to know what you intend to carry and tow before you buy your tow vehicle.

A complete read of the " Sticky " post at the top of the Trailer Towing & tow vehicles discussion page , the link " Tow vehicle sizing ", will help, If you haven't read through it already.

[CD]

You may be able to make the 1/T fit per the numbers but most 1/2Ts have P series (passenger) tires.They are a soft riding tire that lack the stability needed for towing that much. Also RVs tend to use the min. cap. tire and that puts more on the TV for the stability. IMHO you would be much better off with a 3/4T.

[KD4UPL]

A 5,000 pound trailer would be easily handled by that truck. Being a 2 wheel drive you should have extra payload available for the tongue weight. The 6 speed trans. in the new trucks is a vast improvement in towing over the old 4 speeds.
The only problem you might have is if you plan on carrying a lot of people and/or gear in the truck. If you plan to load it heavy with 6 people, firewood, coolers, generator, etc. You may eat up all the payload and not have enough for the tongue weight.

[tuffr2]

I pulled a 5,000 lb trailer with a 5.0 litre 2011 F-150. The truck did fine. Not great but fine. I used a weight distribution hitch which tied the trailer to the truck nicely.

I would get the beefed up 1/2 ton truck with all the towing packages. Oh - don't forget the rearview camera. That is a great option if towing stuff. You can not go too wrong with any of the 1/2 ton trucks.

I have not seen the redesigned 2014 Chevy yet. Usually the redesign is a better truck then the previous design. Better means stiffer frame, better mpg, better interior and better engine with more HP and torque.

[Roam America]

look into the F-150 with Eco-Boost and towing package. Economy when not towing, but power when you are.

[tuffr2]

I second the F-150 eco-boost. If yoy test drive it you will be amazed at the torque. When I bought my 5.0 litre the eco-boost engine F-150's were not available yet.

Even though the 5.0 litre is no slouch the eco-boost engine much more powerful.

An example of the power.

Ford F-150 5.0 litre 0 - 60 mph in 6.9 seconds
Ram 5.7 Hemi - 6.8 seconds
Ford F-150 3.5 litre eco-boost - 6.2 seconds

But then again - you can not really go wrong with any of the new 1/2 ton trucks.

[gggplaya]

I like the GMC look better, when i configured the chevy and gmc on the website, there didn't seem like much difference in price.

The gmc will get better mpg over the ecoboost towing and not towing. I read a shootout where they compared all the trucks, and the ecoboost got about 10-11mpg towing while the gmc and chevy (same powertrain) got the best mpg at around 12-13mpg. The new GM trucks are supposed to get 23mpg highway empty i think.

Ecoboost is nice if you want a diesel like experience with tons more power. But i'm always concerned about the longevity of a highly tuned twin turbo engine. That means 2 turbos to maintain and replace as well. Plus most ecoboost owners can't seem to keep their foot off the throttle, and get more like 18-20mpg.

[Roam America]

Originally Posted by gggplaya

The new GM trucks are supposed to get 23mpg highway empty i think.

we all heard something similar about the new Ford diesels in the Super Duties. Not many getting that 20+ mpg. don't put a lot of faith in what you read.

[jamesrxx951]

Originally Posted by gggplaya

But i'm always concerned about the longevity of a highly tuned twin turbo engine. That means 2 turbos to maintain and replace as well. .

Actually this engine is detuned. That engine is capable of a lot more than rated power. They are detuned for the car market and detuned for the trucks to keep the 6.2L as the most powerfull engine available for an F150 option. Think of a gas powered V6 diesel and that is what this engine is. Very robust internal components.

[gggplaya]

Originally Posted by K-Star

we all heard something similar about the new Ford diesels in the Super Duties. Not many getting that 20+ mpg. don't put a lot of faith in what you read.

I didn't even know they rated heavy duty trucks???? Does it even matter, all of our heavy duties are filled with a few thousand pounds worth of tools as these trucks were designed for heavy duty, not driving around empty.

These guys seemed to get the right numbers:
2013 Light-Duty Challenge: Mileage Drive - PickupTrucks.com Special Reports

[gggplaya]

Originally Posted by jamesrxx951

Actually this engine is detuned. That engine is capable of a lot more than rated power. They are detuned for the car market and detuned for the trucks to keep the 6.2L as the most powerfull engine available for an F150 option. Think of a gas powered V6 diesel and that is what this engine is. Very robust internal components.

That's not what i meant by "tuned". I mean the software, sensors, and relationships between mechanical parts are very highly tuned to work in unison. If any one of the key elements wears out and isn't operating within spec. You'll have problems.

The guy who designed the software to run the engine is a soviet laser weapons systems expert. Ford refers to the software as "the secret sauce".
Ford EcoBoost successful because of Soviet laser weapons system expert? - Autoblog

A NA generally follows the KISS principle, and is less prone to failure IMO. And in my experience with diesel HD trucks and AG equipment. When everything is working, it works great. Some owners think highly of their vehicles and they'll be reliable for the whole life of the engine. But, there are those that have gremlins that no one seems to be able to solve on the first try. Today's turbo diesels need alot of sensors and add ons to be EPA compliant, which makes for more problems.

[jamesrxx951]

Originally Posted by gggplaya

That's not what i meant by "tuned". I mean the software, sensors, and relationships between mechanical parts are very highly tuned to work in unison. If any one of the key elements wears out and isn't operating within spec. You'll have problems.

The guy who designed the software to run the engine is a soviet laser weapons systems expert. Ford refers to the software as "the secret sauce".
Ford EcoBoost successful because of Soviet laser weapons system expert? - Autoblog

A NA generally follows the KISS principle, and is less prone to failure IMO. And in my experience with diesel HD trucks and AG equipment. When everything is working, it works great. Some owners think highly of their vehicles and they'll be reliable for the whole life of the engine. But, there are those that have gremlins that no one seems to be able to solve on the first try. Today's turbo diesels need alot of sensors and add ons to be EPA compliant, which makes for more problems.

There really are not that many sensors on any Ecoboost engine when compared to normally aspirated engines. The biggest difference with earlier versions is they use several MAP sensors to monitor boost levels. But, they are all compared to each other to determine if they are within calibration limits prior to a failure. Some of the newer versions when back to the MAF instead. Nothing scary going on with these engine lines as far as sensors are concerned. Like I said, everything must be within calibration limits and if something goes to far out, the engine will failsafe or if a failsafe is not needed just a check engine light.

[garyswann]

All the new 1/2 ton trucks should make you happy. They are so plush. A 3/4 ton is always better but will give you a rougher ride. The only Complaints I had about my f150 and 7500# toyhauler was the 7 mpg towing and not having 4x4 when boondocking.
Good luck