Tundra will be paid off in Nov...but...

[texhater42]

I have a 2008 Toyota Tundra w/tow package (4.7L...don't judge, gas was almost $4/gal when i bought it lol). It handles my 4700 (dry) lbs Passport, but I definitely know it's back there. I also find myself micromanaging everything that my wife tries to put in the camper lol. I am considering upgrading the tv. I am just starting the whole process, and have been looking at the 5.0 V8 options that Ford offers. Anybody have experience towing with that eng? The frustrating part of this is I have only towed with my 'yota so i have no idea how any other vehicle, let alone engine would perform. That's a lot of money to drop on a underwhelming tv. Also, my truck is about to be paid off, so I'm torn on if I should upgrade anyway (no vehicle payments sure would be nice...decisions. Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

[tech740]

I don't have experience with the 5.0, but the 3.5 ecoboost has served me very well. Much more low end torque. Handheld my 2920bh with ease especially on hills. Just a thought plus i get almost 20mpgs commuting.

[GaryWT]

I use to have a 5.4 in my 150 and it was great not sure about the 5.0. Food for thought, buy a truck that will tow your next trailer and not your current one.

[hdxbonez]

There's a lot to be said for having no payments. It the current truck does what you want it to, is reliable, and you are satisfied with looks, performance, etc., then why take on payments? I think I would try to save the amount that a new one would cost me every month and apply that to a down payment when the time comes for eventual replacement. $400 a month would put nearly $5000 a year into a truck fund. Combined with trade in, that would put a big dent in the monthly payment or reduce the terms, and your budget would already be accustomed to the payment

[texhater42]

Originally Posted by hdxbonez

There's a lot to be said for having no payments. It the current truck does what you want it to, is reliable, and you are satisfied with looks, performance, etc., then why take on payments? I think I would try to save the amount that a new one would cost me every month and apply that to a down payment when the time comes for eventual replacement. $400 a month would put nearly $5000 a year into a truck fund. Combined with trade in, that would put a big dent in the monthly payment or reduce the terms, and your budget would already be accustomed to the payment

Outstanding thought. It does what I need, yet it would be nice of upgrade. I appreciate the input

[texhater42]

Originally Posted by GaryWT

I use to have a 5.4 in my 150 and it was great not sure about the 5.0. Food for thought, buy a truck that will tow your next trailer and not your current one.

Yeah, I feel ya there.

[mtofell]

For what you're towing I'd 2nd the person suggesting the Ecoboost (and I'm a Ram owner ) Those seem to get great MPG and the owners speak very highly of them.

I had a 5.4 Ford before I towed much and it was okay. A buddy had a Chevy 6.0 that routinely left me in the dust. I've always thought of the 5.0 Ford as more of an engine for the Mustangs so I'm not sure what to expect towing with it.

[sourdough]

The current 5.0L makes 385hp and 387 torque. Well over a hundred hp more than the 4.7 you have and almost 100 more in torque so should do the job. Your trailer isn't really HEAVY (about 6800lbs gvw) but a little more "oomph" would definitely come in handy. The Tundra has approx. 1425 for a payload so with 880 - 1000 lbs of tongue weight you're going to be pressed. The price for the 5.0 and the EcoBoost is only $300 difference so that shouldn't be an issue. Folks seem to be really impressed with the 3.5. Just be sure and do your homework and get one of the new 1/2 tons (if that's what you want) that has a substantial payload.

You may want to save for a year as one poster suggested which is a good idea. You can put almost 5k in the bank by saving but remember that at the same time you are adding miles and the trade in will be for a year older truck. You will lose part, if not a large part, of what you saved.

I can tell you this; if you keep the truck and intend to keep paying payments to yourself....DO IT. It's extremely easy to just let "life" start taking that money for other things and when the time comes to replace the truck you've already allocated that money to other things.

Good luck on your search and decision.

[x96mnn]

Originally Posted by hdxbonez

There's a lot to be said for having no payments. It the current truck does what you want it to, is reliable, and you are satisfied with looks, performance, etc., then why take on payments? I think I would try to save the amount that a new one would cost me every month and apply that to a down payment when the time comes for eventual replacement. $400 a month would put nearly $5000 a year into a truck fund. Combined with trade in, that would put a big dent in the monthly payment or reduce the terms, and your budget would already be accustomed to the payment

I plus 2 this comment. As well if your looking at another half on I don't think you will see much difference in "knowing the camper is back their". Not sure of your hitch setup but may a few dollars into a anti sway hitch is of more values.

[notanlines]

Let me pull a "Dave Ramsey" here. Financing everything is not the answer. How about paying off your truck between now and August. Put your regular note money plus $100 every month for two to three years and put the whole shebang on a fairly late model 3/4 ton truck. Seem like a reasonable idea?

[jsmith948]

Well, I think you need to run the numbers - ALL of them. Many times, we read on here that Member "X" won't ever own a diesel because of initial cost plus higher maintenance/upkeep. Member "Y" won't own a U.S. built truck because "they are poorly built" or foreign brand XYZ is more dependable.
IMHO, you have to have all of the factors in the equation to make a decision. How much will it cost to 'rent the money'?
How much will the unit cost to buy?
How much do these units bring at trade-in?
How much for scheduled maintenance?
How much fuel will the unit use? (many members on here still do not understand that the newer trucks are more efficient - money saved in fuel will more than offset higher maintenance costs)
How does your current vehicle stack up against a newer truck? Will you have more power? Better braking? Improved safety?
And then there is the most important reason to consider - Do you WANT a new truck? If you can afford to 'upgrade' your TV - then GO FOR IT!
My DS towed his Springdale TT (something like 6600#) with a 4.7L Tundra. He said it was a bit light in the knickers on hills. He upgraded to a 5.7L Tundra (his DW loves Toyotas/hates Fords). He recently upgraded to a 1ton SRW long bed CC. He says he smiles every time he calculates his mpg and he really grins every time he presses down on that skinny pedal on the right side of his floor board. Good luck with your new truck!

[SADLY]

Money is VERY cheap right now.

If you WANT or NEED a new truck, and are ultimately going to get one in the near term, "saving" for a new truck is a waste in my mind.

This "saving" is costing you time and depreciation on your existing trade. And what benefit do you get by taking this time? You save on some interest... But not much.

I bought a new Grasshopper mower 18 months ago. Cost was just over $8,000.... I could have paid cash... But they were offering ZERO percent interest for 48 months. Why on earth would I take the money out?

Likewise when I bought either my new Ram or my wife's new Jeep Grand Cherokee, just walked in and signed my name and left the dealership. $0 down ($0 cash but had equity in trade)... Rates were 1.99% at the time.

[cant_remember_ID]

Originally Posted by notanlines

Let me pull a "Dave Ramsey" here. Financing everything is not the answer. How about paying off your truck between now and August. Put your regular note money plus $100 every month for two to three years and put the whole shebang on a fairly late model 3/4 ton truck. Seem like a reasonable idea?

I second this idea. After I paid off my Tundra in '11, I ran down and bought an F350 with the 6.7. I had car payments again. Now I have the F350 paid off, my plan is exactly what is said above. I'll bump up my company stock purchase program and by the time the new model 2017 Fords have their bugs worked out, I should have enough too pay cash for my next truck with the trade.

[Ken / Claudia]

I will not attempt to tell you how to spend your money, that's up to you. Think about what your RVing future will be. Most upgrade if they like to RV especially if the family is growing and that normally means bigger. I like what another said Buy a new truck that will meet your future trailer needs. If you might get a bigger trailer in the near future, the truck to pull it will be cheaper now than 5 years from now. And will always pull a smaller trailer but, as you know a smaller truck will not be what you want to pull a larger trailer.

[NWTTrailer]

Originally Posted by jsmith948

Well, I think you need to run the numbers - ALL of them. Many times, we read on here that Member "X" won't ever own a diesel because of initial cost plus higher maintenance/upkeep. Member "Y" won't own a U.S. built truck because "they are poorly built" or foreign brand XYZ is more dependable.
IMHO, you have to have all of the factors in the equation to make a decision. How much will it cost to 'rent the money'?
How much will the unit cost to buy?
How much do these units bring at trade-in?
How much for scheduled maintenance?
How much fuel will the unit use? (many members on here still do not understand that the newer trucks are more efficient - money saved in fuel will more than offset higher maintenance costs)
How does your current vehicle stack up against a newer truck? Will you have more power? Better braking? Improved safety?
And then there is the most important reason to consider - Do you WANT a new truck? If you can afford to 'upgrade' your TV - then GO FOR IT!
My DS towed his Springdale TT (something like 6600#) with a 4.7L Tundra. He said it was a bit light in the knickers on hills. He upgraded to a 5.7L Tundra (his DW loves Toyotas/hates Fords). He recently upgraded to a 1ton SRW long bed CC. He says he smiles every time he calculates his mpg and he really grins every time he presses down on that skinny pedal on the right side of his floor board. Good luck with your new truck!

The numbers don't lie. The dealer gave me $9500 for my 2004 tundra limited that and a decent down payment I made out pretty good. Besides I would rather have more truck than needed. I get better fuel mileage both towing and not than I ever did with my Tundra. Plus I don't have to count every pound that goes into the trailer

[Desert185]

I don't like big hit depreciation or payments, so I buy used and pay cash (except for offroad toys that I buy new). I also like 20-21 MPG diesel mileage and tend to keep vehicles for a long time. Lot of input for you to consider. Good luck in your quest.

[bsmith0404]

If you are thinking a new truck, now is a great time to buy. The dealership I work at is running specials on XLTs for 29,999. Truck month is always a good month. If you look around, you may still find some 15s on the lots. We were discounting them over $8k last month, they didn't last long. That gets you new and still gets rid of the initial depreciation hit. NADA trade value on a 15 with 5k miles was higher than we were selling them.

[KSH]

Ram 1500 eco diesel. Great mileage, will tow that trailer all day long without a problem. But I would probably opt for no payments and a good sway control system and just slow down a bit to what the truck could handle.

[B-O-B'03]

Since the original question was regarding pulling a 4700, dry, trailer, with a Ford 5.0 I will respond to that, given that is pretty close to what we have.

Our 2014 22RBPR has a spec'd dry weight of 4638 with a capacity of 1862 and we pull it with a 2013 F150, 5.0.

I have had zero issues with this setup and we pulled over 4,000 miles in our first year of camper ownership, averaging around 11 MPG, on every trip.

We camped in the following places, among others: Seminole Canyon SP TX, Big Bend NP TX, Collegiate Peaks CO, Buffalo River AR.

The Ford has the towing package on it, with the integrated brake controller and it works great, the tow/haul mode on the transmission is another excellent feature.

The DW and I knew we would be really happy with a smaller trailer, since it is just the 2 of us so we bought the truck first and spent the next year deciding on a trailer that best fit our needs.

If you plan on keeping the Passport or something similar, the 5.0 Ford will be fine (IMO).

If not, as others have said, buy a truck for your next camper.

Even 3 years ago the financing was excellent (1.7 on our Ford, through PenFed)... money is cheap, not sure how long that will last.

Good luck, keep us posted.

-Brian