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Old 07-02-2019, 05:38 PM   #21
busterbrown
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Originally Posted by travelin texans View Post
if you were blindfolded & put into a 1500 & a 2500, unless you have very sensitive cheeks, you'd be hard pressed to tell which was which after a short drive
I'd have to disagree completely. I test drove GM and RAM 1/2 tons prior to the purchase of my current RAM 2500. My butt, back, and torso recognized the difference when I pulled out of the dealer's lot with the 2500.

Even my wife, not knowing anything about trucks, said the RAM 2500 felt like a tank on the first test drive.

With the 5th generation RAMs, FCA designed them to be even more forgiving and more "passenger car-like" than a "truck-like". Why not, given people want comfort and car companies want "high profit margins".
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Old 07-03-2019, 02:21 AM   #22
ctbruce
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Dont be frightened by the sound of 250/2500 vs. a 150/1500. They are the same size cab and bed. The 250/2500 is a little taller and a stouter. They will go down the road the same, except for stiffness of suspension.

If you could drive a 150/1500, then you can also drive a 250/2500 or a 350/3500 for that matter. Dont let psychology limit your choices.
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Old 07-03-2019, 02:54 AM   #23
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Avoid getting into the same situation you're in right now, consider a 3/4 ton now and it'll be paid for when your family grows into the next, larger RV..... John

After 40 years of towing rvs, & every other type of trailer, believe me that if for no other reason than piece of mind, bigger/more is better & nowadays the ride, the mileage & the price are all about equal between big & not enough. Danny

They, along with a couple other fellas have hit the nail on the head. The new Ford F150's with the military grade aluminium and bloated payloads will leave you wanting.
Get the 3/4 Ton, once you tow with it you will have that moment of enlightenment feeling, and not just in your wallet :P
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Old 07-03-2019, 02:59 AM   #24
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P.S. You're aim is to haul this big cube as safely as possible, if you're worried about fuel grab a nylon tent and a Prius and hit the open road
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Old 07-06-2019, 05:17 AM   #25
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Originally Posted by linux3 View Post
OK a little bit bigger than my Passport.

Lots of folks here just go crazy about bigger is better.

My wife and I go to all the RV shows we can find and talk about why our TT is better. If you feel this way.

I have a 2017 Chevy Silverado with the tow package, NOT the max tow package.

5.3L V8, 3.42 gears and a double cab.

Ford version, if you must would be the F150 tow package you don't need Max Tow but you do need tow package for the bigger cooling. True for Ford and Chevy.

The first year I pulled our TT with a Ford Explorer Sport with the 3.5 EcoBoost. It too was rated for 5K lbs but I was not happy.

My Silverado 1500 is my daily driver but if you go to a F250 or bigger you get a solid front axle and bad gas millage and bad ride.

Unless you KNOW you plan to go bigger in the next few years look for a 1500 or 150 with the tow package and around 3.42 or 3.55 gears.

You will have a truck that pulls your TT with ease and is also a good daily driver.
Well, hot off the presses... We bought our truck!

2019 Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss LT with towing package. Crew cab, short box, 5.3L V8, with 8 speed transmission.

Truck came with running boards and sprayed in bed liner, so I had then throw in underspray, window tinting, add a hard tri-fold toneau cover. Here in Canada Costco just switched to GM this week, we saved $5000 with Costco and got a $500 gift card on top. Also got top dollar for my trade in.

Payload is 1685 lbs
Towing is 9600 lbs

My trailer tongue weight is 425 + weight distribution bars, so 500 lbs total.

With bikes, myself, wife, kids, dog, and more, we're still well under our payload limit towing.

Truck looks awesome, and does better on gas than my 2016 Traverse. Truck will be a daily driver.

We're really excited to pick it up Wednesday.

Thank you everyone for all of the advice!
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Old 07-06-2019, 11:55 AM   #26
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Originally Posted by Bechard View Post
Well, hot off the presses... We bought our truck!

2019 Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss LT with towing package. Crew cab, short box, 5.3L V8, with 8 speed transmission.

Truck came with running boards and sprayed in bed liner, so I had then throw in underspray, window tinting, add a hard tri-fold toneau cover. Here in Canada Costco just switched to GM this week, we saved $5000 with Costco and got a $500 gift card on top. Also got top dollar for my trade in.

Payload is 1685 lbs
Towing is 9600 lbs

My trailer tongue weight is 425 + weight distribution bars, so 500 lbs total.

With bikes, myself, wife, kids, dog, and more, we're still well under our payload limit towing.

Truck looks awesome, and does better on gas than my 2016 Traverse. Truck will be a daily driver.

We're really excited to pick it up Wednesday.

Thank you everyone for all of the advice!
Attachment 22677
Good on you.
I like to shift in to "L" aka lockout just before a hill. This drops the tranny out of over drive before the system out do it.
If you just start up a climb eventually the ECM will tell the tranny to down shift but you will be lugging for a bit. If you shift to "L" just before the climb you will be in a lower gear.
OK, OK you don't have to do this but I think it saves gas and engine wear. JMHO.
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Old 07-06-2019, 11:59 AM   #27
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Bechard, that is a beautiful looking truck! Congratulations!
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Old 07-11-2019, 07:47 AM   #28
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Up until this year I towed a 2017 Cougar "xlite" 30RLI with a 2002 Ram 2500 Cummins. That truck lacked power for a "lite" RV. So, I upgraded the truck with a 2016 Ram 3500 with the HO Cummins and Aisin transmission. The truck has factory 5th wheel package. I went to that extent just in case we upgraded to a 5th wheel. And we did. A Solitude.
So, some on this forum advocate go big and others buy to meet immediate needs. Personally, I would go big again. You may look odd towing a single wheel TT with say a 3500/F350 with a diesel, but, you may after some time start looking at larger and heavier TT or 5th wheels.
My humble opinion.
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Old 07-11-2019, 07:54 AM   #29
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I found that a ratio of 1 to 1.3 in power is sufficient. example 5000 lb towing capacity to 500lb trailer = a ratio of 1 to 1. The 1 to 1.3 has the ability to maintain speeds on flat ground and capable of holding a comfortable speed on inclines (as long as you don't ram the throttle to the floor and cause over heating) More power is always better but budget and requirements for tow vehicle always comes into play. Also are you going to want to upgrade to a larger trailer - better to buy to much now than have to upgrade again and take the hit on depreciation again.
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Old 07-11-2019, 08:49 AM   #30
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Get a diesel 2500 or so and never look back. Pulled a 30 ft trailer for five years with a Chevy 1500 and it could do it. But, was making the truck work too hard, especially in the Rockies. Replaced it with a 2 year old diesel Chevy 2500 and have not regretted the upgrade for a microsecond. Went to a kind of auction guy told him what we wznted, low mile, late model, crew cab, diesel and worked great . You won't regret moving on up. Hardly know trailer is there.
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Old 07-11-2019, 10:09 AM   #31
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So MANY opinions. Smartest thing to do is buy the biggest and heaviest trailer you can afford and ask your salesman what truck will be needed to tow it! They are paid professionals, after all.
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Old 07-11-2019, 12:46 PM   #32
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So MANY opinions. Smartest thing to do is buy the biggest and heaviest trailer you can afford and ask your salesman what truck will be needed to tow it! They are paid professionals, after all.
Yes, right.
Paid to lie is more like it.
I gotta go back to my wife and I put many Kmiles on and our light weight TT and its just fine.
I have 37K miles on a 2017 Silverado with a small TT and we have enjoyed it all.
Our goal is to see America and Canada and enjoy the journey.
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Old 07-11-2019, 12:56 PM   #33
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I agree with Canonman's advice. I owned an 4 door crew cab F-150 and pulled a 19' trailer with it successfully for 4 years until I bought my 2011 Cougar. To handle the extra weight, I put airbags on the rear axles to keep the truck from "squatting" too much. I traded up to an F-250 in 2017 and it made a world of difference. If you do get an F-150 make sure it has the towing package on it if you buy used (Heavy Duty Radiator, Transmission Cooler, pre-wired for the brake controller)

One note on 3/4 ton trucks. Fords are called Super Duty's as they (F250/F350) all come from the factory outfitted with the aforementioned towing package. Whereas Chevy, GMC and Ram sell a 2500 model and a 2500HD model. The HD indicating the towing package items.

I again defer to Cannonman's logic.... if you can afford a 3/4 ton truck buy it for future trailer upsizing.


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Old 07-11-2019, 01:01 PM   #34
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Easy answer, go for a 2500/250 size truck if you can afford it.

Also, unless you intend to be traveling on slippery surfaces such as ice/snow or wet dirt roads, stick with 2WD. They have a larger payload capacity, cost less to buy and maintain(repair), less weight to carry in the running gear, less to go wrong with, and are a bit lower to the ground
Discovered to my grief yesterday that if you are looking for a 250 2WD in gas, you'll be looking a long time. Had to bite the bullet on 4WD just in order to find anything for sale.
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Old 07-11-2019, 02:49 PM   #35
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Discovered to my grief yesterday that if you are looking for a 250 2WD in gas, you'll be looking a long time. Had to bite the bullet on 4WD just in order to find anything for sale.


It may be a blessing in disguise. I've had nothing but 4x4s since 1990 I guess (truck/SUVs for family use). Back when I needed them because I went where I needed them. As I've gotten older I'm not nearly as adventurous but keep buying them. Why? I have had them come in handy in the weirdest of situations generally when I thought I would never need 4x4. So, instead of trying to get down in the mud/snow/rocks etc. trying to free my 2x4 up, I would rather "turn the dial" and drive away. It really can come in handy if you are in a dirt campground and it's been raining a couple of days. So, don't cry , it will be just fine.
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Old 07-13-2019, 09:14 PM   #36
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If shopping Ford, a MaxTow package is one to look at. It can't be ordered with the HDPP which is crazy. MaxTow is about $1295 but it includes 36 gallon fuel tank, trailer brake controller, 3.55 rear end gears, bigger front sway bar, and cooling for everything. You save over $2100 over buying those things separate.
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Old 07-13-2019, 09:26 PM   #37
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Ford also has a Trailer towing package for $999. But it doesn't include all that other equipment.
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Old 07-14-2019, 04:38 AM   #38
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Ford also has a Trailer towing package for $999. But it doesn't include all that other equipment.
They have 53a, 53b, and 53c. 53b is more or less just a class IV hitch and still severely limited. 53a includes an upgraded front stabilizer bar and auxiliary transmission cooler and steps up the capability quite a bit. Then 53C is max tow.
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Old 07-14-2019, 04:42 AM   #39
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I couldn't add the attachment when I tried to edit. This shows what each package has. Click image for larger version

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Unless something has changed, you CAN order max tow and HDPP, but the 3.73 gear actually carries a lesser gcvwr than the 3.55 non HDPP truck. In the Ford forums we speculate that it is due to the combo never being recertified for a greater load with the wheel/tire setup that comes on HDPP vs the ones max tow comes with.
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Old 07-14-2019, 01:34 PM   #40
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If shopping Ford, a MaxTow package is one to look at. It can't be ordered with the HDPP which is crazy. MaxTow is about $1295 but it includes 36 gallon fuel tank, trailer brake controller, 3.55 rear end gears, bigger front sway bar, and cooling for everything. You save over $2100 over buying those things separate.
I'm in the process of shopping a new F-250 now. My wife (the researcher) says she can't find any option that offers extra cooling, or anything named MaxTow or HDPP, in the current lineup. She found a "high capacity tow" in the diesel lineup, but we're looking at gas. Is there some other option we're missing, and where can we read about it?
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