3/4 chevy, ram or ford?

Cdentler · 07-03-2017, 07:38 AM

Wife and I are thinking about getting a 5th wheel or around a 32'TT and need a reliable diesel to take us from South Texas to Montana ( glacier national park) and back.

We need a reliable 3/4 ton TV to make it happen. Which make would you buy?

Also, I've never owned a diesel. What is an acceptable mileage and what other things should I look for in a used truck?

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Javi · 07-03-2017, 07:54 AM

I'd suggest you forego the 3/4 ton and look for a 1 ton SRW or a Dually... The price either new or used will be close to the same as a 3/4 ton and the 1 ton will provide you a lot more flexibility in trailer choices...

Pulling a 5th wheel or larger TT you'll get about 10-12 mpg with a diesel and those brands.. I'd spend more time worrying about fuel capacity and load capacity than Brand... Although I do like my latest truck better than any of my dozen or so truck of past years..

Cdentler · 07-03-2017, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Javi

Pulling a 5th wheel or larger TT you'll get about 10-12 mpg with a diesel and those brands.. I'd spend more time worrying about fuel capacity and load capacity than Brand... Although I do like my latest truck better than any of my dozen or so truck of past years..

10-12 mpg? I get that with my 1500 z-71 silverado with a 28' TT. I would think a diesel would get me up to 15-17 mpg

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canesfan · 07-03-2017, 08:12 AM

Realistically I get 9 mpg pulling my Raptor. Last rig, a little smaller and lighter 10-11.

Cdentler · 07-03-2017, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canesfan

Realistically I get 9 mpg pulling my Raptor. Last rig, a little smaller and lighter 10-11.

With a diesel?

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Javi · 07-03-2017, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cdentler

10-12 mpg? I get that with my 1500 z-71 silverado with a 28' TT. I would think a diesel would get me up to 15-17 mpg

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Empty with 3:73 gears 18 mpg, town, 12 to 14mpg... pulling 12K... 9 to 12 mpg

I've hand tracked every gallon and every mile in an Excel spread sheet since I bought this truck... overall is 13.6 to date...

I ain't gonna debate it with you... that's what you're gonna get, based of several hundred miles pulling trailers with diesels over the past 30 of years...

notanlines · 07-03-2017, 08:23 AM

Cdentler, when you have a man telling you he is getting 15-17 towing his travel trailer with his diesel he is lying to you. He is not "stretching the truth" and he is not just "exaggerating." Most of the members here are "pickup people." They know towing; what's good and what's bad. Throw your 15-17 out the window. Your average gas truck will get 7-9 towing a small 5v'er. The diesel will get 9-12 towing an average 5v'er. Take Javi's advice and jump to a 1-ton. And Canesfan knows mileage. He's towing a Raptor. Oh, and by the way, welcome to the forum!

Cdentler · 07-03-2017, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by notanlines

Cdentler, when you have a man telling you he is getting 15-17 towing his travel trailer with his diesel he is lying to you. He is not "stretching the truth" and he is not just "exaggerating." Most of the members here are "pickup people." They know towing; what's good and what's bad. Throw your 15-17 out the window. Your average gas truck will get 7-9 towing a small 5v'er. The diesel will get 9-12 towing an average 5v'er. Take Javi's advice and jump to a 1-ton. And Canesfan knows mileage. He's towing a Raptor. Oh, and by the way, welcome to the forum!

Nobody told me that. I assumed it because of more power/torque than a 1/2 ton so it would pull it easier which relates to better gas mileage than a 1/2 ton.

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canesfan · 07-03-2017, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cdentler

With a diesel?

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Duramax Diesel/Allison. It's in my sig. I have no reason to lie about it. It's depressing sometimes. But I can get 21-22 mpg going down the freeway at 70 mph empty.

Take the above advice and just get the 1 ton and be done with it. At that cost a couple hundered $ either way doesn't matter.

canesfan · 07-03-2017, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by notanlines

Cdentler, when you have a man telling you he is getting 15-17 towing his travel trailer with his diesel he is lying to you. He is not "stretching the truth" and he is not just "exaggerating." Most of the members here are "pickup people." They know towing; what's good and what's bad. Throw your 15-17 out the window. Your average gas truck will get 7-9 towing a small 5v'er. The diesel will get 9-12 towing an average 5v'er. Take Javi's advice and jump to a 1-ton. And Canesfan knows mileage. He's towing a Raptor. Oh, and by the way, welcome to the forum!

+1 +2 AND +3. I started to go there but stopped. Thank you for going there.

Cdentler · 07-03-2017, 08:40 AM

Say I go 1 ton. Now that I know that the only thing I won't be passing is a gas station.
What make (pro/con)? What is an acceptable used mileage? Dependability? What other things to look for in a diesel.

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Javi · 07-03-2017, 08:45 AM

See my pm

Javi

Ruko · 07-03-2017, 08:49 AM

I switched from a 1/2 ton to a 1 ton srw. I get pretty much the exact same mileage as Javi stated above. While pulling my old trailer my mileage dropped quite a bit from about 8 mpg, with the 1/2 ton, to about 12 mpg with the 1 ton. So the diesel will get you better mileage for sure if you want to compare apples to apples pulling the same trailer. Although the whole reason for the 1 ton was to get a bigger trailer so we stepped up to a 5th wheel that weighs almost twice that of the old one. Even with the extra size and weight of the new trailer I am still getting better mileage with the diesel, about 9 mpg, then the 1/2 ton was with the old trailer at 8 mpg.

Also definitely look at a 1 ton over a 3/4 ton regardless of the brand and especially if you see a 5th wheel anytime in your future. The 3/4 tons just don't have the payload to safely and legally handle most 5th wheels.

canesfan · 07-03-2017, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cdentler

Say I go 1 ton. Now that I know that the only thing I won't be passing is a gas station.
What make (pro/con)? What is an acceptable used mileage? Dependability? What other things to look for in a diesel.

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Oh, you can pass things, even a gas station now and then, I pass things all the time no problem. The truck likes to go. Just watch your foot on the accelerator. That right there can help some with mpg.

bsmith0404 · 07-03-2017, 10:02 AM

Everyone is avoiding your question because asking which one to get is like asking what your favorite color is. Personally, I like the duramax, that's why I have one. The Allison is without a doubt the best transmission in the industry.
Stay away from 6.0 fords.

As for mileage, I personally would just try to stay under 100,000 miles. Any of them will run for well over that, but you will start to run into other things that wear out.

Frank G · 07-03-2017, 01:13 PM

My 2 cents. I get an easy 21 to 22 MPG empty and 8 to 10 pulling. (head wind makes a real difference) If cash is an issue and you get a fifth capable of being towed by a 3/4 ton, (and there are many) the 3/4 ton is much easier to find.

The brand is your choice, There are issues with all of them. Repairs are expensive so make sure it has a lot of warrantee left. Buy certified if you can.

I just picked up a Certified 2016 with 18500 miles on it and it came with a Chrysler 7 yr 100000 mile powertrain warrantee.

Autotrader.com is your friend when looking for a new or used vehicle.

2016 2500 Ram Laramie 4x4 CCSB Cummins auto

**chuckster57** · 07-03-2017, 02:31 PM

I towed my previous fiver with both a 3/4 ton gas rig (460 on steroids) and my current diesel rig. I wouldn't tow with a gas rig again.

**JRTJH** · 07-03-2017, 03:29 PM

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.

ctbruce · 07-03-2017, 03:34 PM

I had a 2015 1500 that got 6.5 mpg. Traded up to a 3500 diesel and now I get 12. I'll take that increase any day.

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bsmith0404 · 07-03-2017, 04:14 PM

I've towed over 60k miles with my current truck. I did RV transporting for 10 months so I've towed about every size trailer there is including my current 5er at 15k. The best I've ever gotten with small light weight trailers was 12, my current one is the heaviest I've towed, I get 9.5-10. The others are all in between, but as you can see it's not a large range.

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