Community Forums

madisonjon · 02-05-2020, 02:53 PM

I have in mind two travel trailers, both 33' long. On paper, the GVWR is 7,500 and 7,700 pounds. I have been doing a lot of reading on this site as well as others, and I wanted to see if I'm on the right track. I'm in Wisconsin and most of my travels will be within 3-4 hours or less, mostly State Parks.

I am thinking of either a

1. GMC or Chevrolet 3500 gas, or
2. GMC or Chevrolet 2500 diesel

both extended cab long box.

These seem to be enough to pull that sized trailer, but please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm on a budget of $15,000 or less for the truck so any opinions are welcome.

Thanks in advance!

mobilemike · 02-05-2020, 03:28 PM

If I was to look at 33 ft long trailer I would go 5th wheel instead. Many advantages to a 5th wheel once you get to that length.

mobilemike · 02-05-2020, 03:29 PM

IN addition a 2500/250 will pull or haul anything under 10,000lbs easily.

kdauto · 02-05-2020, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobilemike

IN addition a 2500/250 will pull or haul anything under 10,000lbs easily.

Hey Mike, from one mechanic to another, I'm curious to know what advantages you see in buying a 3/4ton (2500) vs a 1 ton (3500)? I am excluding dual rear wheels, just same configuration 3/4 vs 1 ton.

tuffr2 · 02-05-2020, 04:35 PM

Mind if I chime in on the 3/4 ton vs 1 ton SRW trucks.

There are no advantages that a 3/4 ton has over a 1 ton SRW other than dealers stock way more 3/4 ton trucks. Evey dealer I looked at the ratio was about 5 to 1. For every 1 ton SRW truck the dealer had the dealer had 5 3/4 ton trucks.

I went to two Chevy dealers looking for a 2020 3500 series truck with a gas engine. Both stocked the 2500 trucks with the gas motor but the 3500 trucks had diesel engines.

If you want a gas engine in a 1 ton truck you might need to order it.

That is the only advantage of a 3/4 ton truck...there are more of them in more trim options.

kdauto · 02-05-2020, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tuffr2

Mind if I chime in on the 3/4 ton vs 1 ton SRW trucks.

There are no advantages that a 3/4 ton has over a 1 ton SRW other than dealers stock way more 3/4 ton trucks. Evey dealer I looked at the ratio was about 5 to 1. For every 1 ton SRW truck the dealer had the dealer had 5 3/4 ton trucks.

I went to two Chevy dealers looking for a 2020 3500 series truck with a gas engine. Both stocked the 2500 trucks with the gas motor but the 3500 trucks had diesel engines.

If you want a gas engine in a 1 ton truck you might need to order it.

That is the only advantage of a 3/4 ton truck...there are more of them in more trim options.

That's pretty much what I see here. So many buy a 3/4 ton when they really need more. Pricing isn't much different nor is ride in my opinion. Those that say everything's the same, brakes, suspension and axles haven't given a proper look at things.

I'm still curious what Mike has to say.

madisonjon · 02-05-2020, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tuffr2

Mind if I chime in on the 3/4 ton vs 1 ton SRW trucks.

There are no advantages that a 3/4 ton has over a 1 ton SRW other than dealers stock way more 3/4 ton trucks. Evey dealer I looked at the ratio was about 5 to 1. For every 1 ton SRW truck the dealer had the dealer had 5 3/4 ton trucks.

I went to two Chevy dealers looking for a 2020 3500 series truck with a gas engine. Both stocked the 2500 trucks with the gas motor but the 3500 trucks had diesel engines.

If you want a gas engine in a 1 ton truck you might need to order it.

That is the only advantage of a 3/4 ton truck...there are more of them in more trim options.

Thanks for the info! That’s what I noticed just doing a quick search on Autotrader.

We just went to an RV show in town and looked mostly at travel trailers. I probably should have looked at 5th wheels too but they seemed so much bigger. Definitely new to this as we currently have a hybrid.

grindstone01 · 02-05-2020, 07:12 PM

Here is a (2018) summary of the big 3 on 2500 vs 3500 SRW trucks. There is not much difference between the 2 trucks and like others mentioned, there are alot more used choices among the more popular 3/4T trucks.
https://news.pickuptrucks.com/2018/0...0s-differ.html

madisonjon · 02-05-2020, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grindstone01

Here is a (2018) summary of the big 3 on 2500 vs 3500 SRW trucks. There is not much difference between the 2 trucks and like others mentioned, there are alot more used choices among the more popular 3/4T trucks.
https://news.pickuptrucks.com/2018/0...0s-differ.html

This is a great read, thanks!

tuffr2 · 02-05-2020, 10:06 PM

The difference between a 250/2500 series truck and 350/3500 series truck in SRW configuration are the axles the spring pack and some of the time gearing options.

For example a F-250 has a rear axle capacity of 6,200 lbs while the F-350 has a rear axle capacity of 7,230 lbs.

That is approx. 1,000 lbs. It will also have 1 or 2 more leaf springs to carry more weight.

You can get 4:30 gears on a F-350 that I do not believe you can get on a F-250.

CCrew · 02-05-2020, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tuffr2

You can get 4:30 gears on a F-350 that I do not believe you can get on a F-250.

Available axle ratios are the same for the F-250 and F-350; choices include 3.73:1 and 4.30:1 for the gas, and 3.31:1 and 3.55:1 for the diesel.

And the axles themselves in the case of GM and Ram are the same in the front, and in the rear except in the case of Ford where the rear axle for the gas F-250 and F-350 along with lighter-duty diesel F-250s is a Ford 10.5-inch rear end. The F-250 diesel can be optioned with the standard diesel F-350 rear axle which is the Dana M275

csuder99 · 02-05-2020, 10:57 PM

I'm gonna throw a wrench in here .... nothing wrong with the mentioned truck choices, but a 33ft trailer weighing 7500 or 7700 lbs is likely gonna be a piece of you-know-what. To build such a large trailer with such low GVWR requires a lot of "compromises". FWIW, my trailer with 7000 lbs GVWR is 22'4" long tongue to bumper. If you're already looking at HD trucks maybe look for something more solid and heavier.

Itchytoe · 02-06-2020, 05:34 AM

Either of those trucks will work fine. At less than 10,000 pounds, you don't need a diesel. You may want one for the engine brake and significantly higher torque, but you don't need one.

With a budget of $15,000 for the truck, I'd recommend a gas engine in either the 2500 or 3500 truck. That should save you quite a bit of cash.

mobilemike · 02-06-2020, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kdauto

Hey Mike, from one mechanic to another, I'm curious to know what advantages you see in buying a 3/4ton (2500) vs a 1 ton (3500)? I am excluding dual rear wheels, just same configuration 3/4 vs 1 ton.

There are no advantages of a 2500 over the 3500 but the ride. And that is subjective. I was convinced by the hype and the reviews the ride was better with the trailing arms and coils of the 2500 over the leaf springs of the 3500. The test drive confirmed that but is flawed by a couple of things. In my mind I was already convinced the 2500 was smoother by reading reviews and literature. The test drive is very short and not at all representative of daily driving.

I knew the similarities of the 2500 to 3500 and researched the actual capabilities of the 2500 not limited to the 10kgvw. It also filled the requirements for my uses.

BTW while I am a 10kgvw is BS guy, and my truck is registered at 12kgvw I am realistic about its limitations. The truck limits out pulling a 15500k 5th wheel. That is the ultimate limit. Even with bigger springs and airbags. I have put 4k in the bed and driven but that is over what I would even do. Anything above that and a 3500 duely is required.

In addition my truck is registered to my business so there are some DOT games played there.