Community Forums

RidgeTop · 11-14-2005, 07:40 PM

Hey Guys,
I am a new member who recently attended the 2nd Annual So Cal Rallye @ Dove Springs Last weekend. Let me begin by saying what a cool OHVA and even cooler group of people. I had a great time and great ride. A bad fall and knee injury cut my riding short but I still had a great time. (Thanks Kris for the medical expertise and advise. By the way you MOVE on that XR.) After towing our WW FB 2600 over 700 miles with our 1997 F250 4x4 (460 GAS) we've come to the conclusion a new diesel is in order. I have been seriously considering a 2006 Dodge King Cab SLT 4x4 2500 6 speed CTD of course. Any advice on MPG,dependability,pricing,and comparisons I would be really interested in. Iam a Ford man at heart but I think that the Cummins and Duromax might be hard to beat. Any thoughts and advice appreciated.
Thanx,
Phil and Erin

RidgeTop · 11-14-2005, 07:40 PM

Hey Guys,
I am a new member who recently attended the 2nd Annual So Cal Rallye @ Dove Springs Last weekend. Let me begin by saying what a cool OHVA and even cooler group of people. I had a great time and great ride. A bad fall and knee injury cut my riding short but I still had a great time. (Thanks Kris for the medical expertise and advise. By the way you MOVE on that XR.) After towing our WW FB 2600 over 700 miles with our 1997 F250 4x4 (460 GAS) we've come to the conclusion a new diesel is in order. I have been seriously considering a 2006 Dodge King Cab SLT 4x4 2500 6 speed CTD of course. Any advice on MPG,dependability,pricing,and comparisons I would be really interested in. Iam a Ford man at heart but I think that the Cummins and Duromax might be hard to beat. Any thoughts and advice appreciated.
Thanx,
Phil and Erin

Ctimrun · 11-14-2005, 08:55 PM

You won't go wrong with whatever diesel you choose, but do yourself a huge favor and do some research or ask around about weights. GET a 3500 Dodge or Chevy or the F350 Ford!!!

I had a 2005 2500 Dodge and was very overweight on my trucks GVWR with the family in it and the tongue weight of my WW FS2600 trailer on it too.

I just upgraded to an F350 and am glad I did. Good luck with whatever you decide.

C.CARNEY · 11-14-2005, 09:01 PM

Phil,

I traded in my 2000 F350 on a new one with the tow boss option in the end of July. After pulling my heavy Alfa over the Baker/ Halloran Summit grade to Vegas and back this weekend, I'm even more impressed than ever.
Yes, you can't go wrong with any of the big three, but make sure you get a 1 ton.
You won't be sorry...

Clark

RRC/AMC · 11-14-2005, 10:35 PM

Well we talked on this subject at the Rally and you can see here what my choice would be...

gOOd luck...

RidgeTop · 11-15-2005, 02:45 PM

Good advice guys. When you say 1ton are you referring to a dually or a SRW. Would a 2500 with air bags do just as well as a 1ton SRW but ride a little nicer. Also any MPG comparisons.
Thanx,
Phil

C.CARNEY · 11-15-2005, 04:10 PM

Phil,

You could pull your 26' trailer with a 2500 and air bags, yes. There are many people out there pulling 30'+ trailers with 3/4 tons. A diesel powered truck will pull just about anything, you get the same motor in a F250 Ford as you do in a F550. It comes down to suspension, and most importantly braking power. Just about all the newer trailers have 4 or 6 brakes depending on axels and with a good quality brake controler they generally stop OK. It is that rare panic stop that one has to make where you are going to get into trouble or in the instance of having to make a quick manuver that the suspensions stability will cause a problem. Personally I believe that if you are going to pull a trailer 30'+, you need a 1 ton truck. You need a dually if it gets over 35' and has 3+ slides. Many new trailers are getting into the 13,000 lb+ range. Especially tow haulers, where they are built heavy to withstand the loads people place into them, and then get loaded with anything from a bicycle to a full blown jeep.

I'll start off right now saying that I have in the past towed being overloaded for the tow vehicle. Even though I was confident in my abilities to control the truck, it was always in my mind while I was traveling that something could happen and I'd be toast in the eyes of the law and insurance. When I bought my current trailer, the posted weight was very close for my older dually and when I weighted it loaded and found the actual weight was about 2000 lbs over the trucks limit, I bought a tow boss Ford F350 that put me in a safe zone by just over 2000 lbs. Now, even fully loaded, there is no way for me to max out my trucks limit.

I see overloaded trucks everyday on the road, and most of them will probally never have a problem. But is it worth the worry or the legal hastle IF something does happen.

A 3/4 ton truck, heavy duty suspended, with an air bag will handle weight as well as a 1 ton SRW will. BUT, for a few hundred dollars more, you can buy a 1 ton and have a higher tow rating right off the bat. They will ride just about the same, and there will be no difference in fuel mileage. I talked to 2 brothers this past weekend in Las Vegas who had new Ford trucks, 1 a 3/4 ton and 1 a 1 ton. They were pulling the same type of pull trailer also. They said there was no difference in actual towing power as they both had diesels. The guy with the 3/4 ton stated that he made a mistake in not spending the few extra dollars though, as he was limited to how much weight he could place in the bed of his truck. He thought he initally didn't need the bigger truck, but when he loaded his toys he realized his mistake. That was just his opinion.

It really boils down to what you are going to tow and carry. If you are within the limits of a 3/4 truck, go for it. If you have an idea that somday you are going to upsize, go bigger initally.

Any of the big 3 trucks are going to do the job, even a few of the imports are awesome also. Just think everything out, look at weights of the trailer and the toys you have, and then think will I ever go bigger as most of us do. If the cost of a 1 ton isn't that much more than the 3/4 ton, go with the bigger truck. By the time you add airbags and a few other items to the 3/4 ton, you'll be at the price of the 1 ton.

I know there are many out there who will agree or disagree with me on this subject. I'm just giving my .02 worth.

Good luck on your choice, let us know.

Clark

RidgeTop · 11-15-2005, 05:18 PM

Right on Clark. Thanks for the advice. I think it will probably be a 1 ton. The only advantage I can think of getting the 3/4 ton with air bags is registration fees. I imagine it costs more to register the 1ton. As far as I know the only mechanical differance is added leaf springs in the back. I think the running gear and brakes are the same.
Phil & Erin

diirk · 11-16-2005, 02:41 PM

RidgeTop,
Glad you had a good time at the Rally. Next year will be even better.

I'll 2nd everyone elses statement about getting a 1-ton. For only a couple of hundred dollars you're better off. I wish I had done it.

Also consider if you want to lift your new truck as much as your old one. If so, with the Dodge, you're limited to about 6" without spending crazy money. Ford can easily go at least 8" without problems. Not sure about Chevy.

WWFan · 11-16-2005, 05:11 PM

RidgeTop:

'ol Clarkie Baby's hit it right on the head of the nail...I, too, have a 05 F350 TowBoss, and wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. But I do need to warn you, if you're in California, that the weight fees can be a tad surprising- anything over 8800# you'll be paying them. But the trade-off is WELL WORTH IT.

#1 rule is to be safe- trumps everything else in my book!

Sean

RRC/AMC · 11-16-2005, 10:32 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RidgeTop:
Right on Clark. Thanks for the advice. I think it will probably be a 1 ton. The only advantage I can think of getting the 3/4 ton with air bags is registration fees. I imagine it costs more to register the 1ton. As far as I know the only mechanical differance is added leaf springs in the back. I think the running gear and brakes are the same.
Phil & Erin </div></BLOCKQUOTE> IF you are staying SRW I would go 2500 for the registration reasons alone! Ours was $590.00, Rediculous if you ask me! I would hate to see what it would be on a 1 ton! You are correct, the ONLY difference is the overloads. So once again you are right, airbags will replace the overloads (even if I had the SRW 1 ton they would replace them!)

SAS! · 11-17-2005, 01:45 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RRC/AMC:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RidgeTop:
Right on Clark. Thanks for the advice. I think it will probably be a 1 ton. The only advantage I can think of getting the 3/4 ton with air bags is registration fees. I imagine it costs more to register the 1ton. As far as I know the only mechanical differance is added leaf springs in the back. I think the running gear and brakes are the same.
Phil & Erin </div></BLOCKQUOTE> IF you are staying SRW I would go 2500 for the registration reasons alone! Ours was $590.00, Rediculous if you ask me! I would hate to see what it would be on a 1 ton! You are correct, the ONLY difference is the overloads. So once again you are right, airbags will replace the overloads (even if I had the SRW 1 ton they would replace them!) </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Strange? Registration on my 2004.5 3500 srw was $495.00 at puchase and I just renewed for $466.00 and that included a $200.00 weight fee?

SAS!

Vette Racer · 11-17-2005, 02:03 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Strange? Registration on my 2004.5 3500 srw was $495.00 at purchase and I just renewed for $466.00 and that included a $200.00 weight fee? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Man, it costs that much each year? Wow, and I thought ours was expensive. We pay 95 a year for the tag and I think when I bought mine new it was around 1400 for the tag and tax. Thats based on the msrp, not the weight.

But, depending on what you are going to tow, the pin weight and all that makes a big difference. I notice that you have the 2600 and don't know the weight on that but keep this in mind. Unless you plan on trading vehicles quite often, if you ever want to upgrade your trailer you might need a larger tow vehicle. Seems like that always comes into play.

Good luck on your search.

RidgeTop · 11-17-2005, 04:05 PM

Hey guys Just got a quote on a 06 Dodge Quad Cab SB 4X4 SLT with clearance lamps 6 speed tranny from cars direct.com. 37000 OTD. Any ideas.Any MPG estimates.Can I close the tailgate with two full size dirtbikes in the back. Any advice appreciated.
Thanx,
Phil and Erin