[JRTJH]

We had a 2010 F150 with a 5.4L/3.73 gears and towed a 7000 pound 26' Springdale fifth wheel. The very BEST we ever got at 65MPH was 9 and we averaged around 8 MPG on most trips. When a tree fell on the fifth wheel we upgraded to a 31' fifth wheel (about 9000 lb loaded) and a 2013 F250 with a 6.2L/3.73 gears. We averaged around 8 MPG with that rig on two trips of over 8,000 miles. When we decided to upgrade to a diesel I bought a 2015 F250 with the 6.7L/3.31 gears. Towing the same 31' Cougar we average about 11.5MPG at 65MPH. If we increase the speed to about 68 mileage goes down to about 10.5. We have two long trips with this truck, one about 6500 miles and one that was 9200. The mileage figures I've given are not estimates, they are right out of my log book that I have kept on every vehicle I've ever owned. So, if someone tells you that you'll get 15 or 18 MPG with a diesel and 12 or 13 with a gas truck towing any fifth wheel weighing over 8000 pounds, don't believe what they say and ask them for documentation... I've towed travel trailers ranging from 20' to 34' for almost 50 years, used trucks from each of the big 3, and I can tell you that with the exception of maybe one tank of fuel on a "better than ever before" kind of day, I've never gotten over 13MPG with any rig, gas or diesel.

Now, solo mileage, with our F150 we got around 15 average, almost 18 at 70MPH solo and about 2MPG across the board less on the F250 gas. On our current diesel I average around 18 in town, about 21 at 70 when solo and with the trailer, it's listed above.

As for which brand of truck, someone recently said that Ford was the most expensive and RAM the cheapest. As for quality, they all are good, some have options not available in others, so it depends on what you're looking for, what you want and what you can afford....

As for F250/F350, there's about a $500 additional cost for the F350 but depending on what's on the lot, around here (northern Michigan) the "out the door price" is about the same for either model.