Needing to upgrade my tow vehicle...

[Javi]

It ain't the motor that needs breaking in. It's the rear end. At least 500 miles

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by Cyncwby

As far as power, they all have plenty, now that Dodge has upped the Cummins to 900 lbs. ft it will be interesting if Ford upgrades the later '16 Powerstroke but I'm sure the ugly '17 will have more.

I haven't figured out yet why they think they need all of that power at the expense of fuel mileage. I guess for hot shotters who are loading up 40' flatbeds with some insane loads trying to make a dollar. To be honest, since I'm only towing 15k and not at all concerned about hooking up to 35k I hope a fuel mileage war is in he future instead of a max towing war. The more emphasis they put on trying to beat the "other guy" on HP and torque numbers forces upgrades in transmissions and other drive train components, all at an additional cost. For example, the 900 ft lb Cummins is only available with the Aisin as the other Ram transmissions will not stand up to the power. I just want a reliable truck that will do what I need it to at a reasonable price....considering some of the current $70k plus price tags, that may be a thing of the past, unless consumers stop buying them......yeah right!

[rhagfo]

Originally Posted by bsmith0404

I haven't figured out yet why they think they need all of that power at the expense of fuel mileage. I guess for hot shotters who are loading up 40' flatbeds with some insane loads trying to make a dollar. To be honest, since I'm only towing 15k and not at all concerned about hooking up to 35k I hope a fuel mileage war is in he future instead of a max towing war. The more emphasis they put on trying to beat the "other guy" on HP and torque numbers forces upgrades in transmissions and other drive train components, all at an additional cost. For example, the 900 ft lb Cummins is only available with the Aisin as the other Ram transmissions will not stand up to the power. I just want a reliable truck that will do what I need it to at a reasonable price....considering some of the current $70k plus price tags, that may be a thing of the past, unless consumers stop buying them......yeah right!

You do realize that in the last 15 to 20 years, power and towing capacity of diesel and gas engines has gone through the roof, and mileage wile not towing has remained the same or gone up, and towing milage has improved also.

[larry337]

Originally Posted by bsmith0404

I haven't figured out yet why they think they need all of that power at the expense of fuel mileage. I guess for hot shotters who are loading up 40' flatbeds with some insane loads trying to make a dollar. To be honest, since I'm only towing 15k and not at all concerned about hooking up to 35k I hope a fuel mileage war is in he future instead of a max towing war. The more emphasis they put on trying to beat the "other guy" on HP and torque numbers forces upgrades in transmissions and other drive train components, all at an additional cost. For example, the 900 ft lb Cummins is only available with the Aisin as the other Ram transmissions will not stand up to the power. I just want a reliable truck that will do what I need it to at a reasonable price....considering some of the current $70k plus price tags, that may be a thing of the past, unless consumers stop buying them......yeah right!

I agree. I said this 5 years ago. We already have enough power for the average guy. Prices are getting stupid on these things. Start focusing on fuel economy. I drive semi for a living and we can get 7 mpg towing 80k. And we get by with average TQ/HP of 1500/350, some more some less. The power to weight ratio on these new pickups is insane. And so are the prices. But we keep buying them, so they will keep making them. I admit it is fun, kind of reminds me of the muscle car wars. But at this stage I would sacrifice some power for fuel economy.

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[jsmith948]

Well, forget about hp/torque. 11.9 to 12.4 mpg towing, 22 mpg empty @ 57 to 60 mph. Happy, happy.

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by rhagfo

You do realize that in the last 15 to 20 years, power and towing capacity of diesel and gas engines has gone through the roof, and mileage wile not towing has remained the same or gone up, and towing milage has improved also.

Yep, and I also realize you can't make power without fuel. GM Duramax is the lowest rated diesel of the big 3 and gets the best fuel mileage. Trust me I have compared notes with MANY owners of all 3 while I was transporting, mileage is money and we all compare notes. We have enough power for the average consumer, the power wars claiming best in class towing numbers in the 30k range do nothing for me. I would much rather have bragging rights of how much money I saved on fuel instead of how much power I have and will never need/use.

[C130]

If I were going to buy the F350 DRW with max tow I'd go ahead and get the F450. I think there's very little difference in price between the two. After owning my F450 for almost a year I would definitely buy another F450 vs the F350 with max tow. Both will do the job very well but the wheels and tires alone on the F450 make up the difference to me. The only issue with the tires is you can't get them worked on at just any tire place. I just got a large screw in one of my rear tires and had to take it to a shop that does commercial tires, NTB wouldn't touch it.

A co-worker/friend just went through the whole truck fiasco after buying an F250 to pull his new 5th wheel he bought earlier this year. He was coming from a motor home and I told him to buy a DRW truck or he'd be trading within a year. He just traded to a 2016 F450. Dealer had several on the lot, including black and white Platinum's. He ended up with the white one, beautiful truck. I'm very happy with the F450 towing a large toy hauler. I know they are expensive but if going Ford they are hard to beat. All three manufacturers are putting out to great trucks though.

[old timer]

I got my truck with a purpose in mind. I wanted a truck to haul my 14,000 pound 5th wheel. I am planing a cross country trip next year and so I went with the diesel F250 with the lariat package 4x4 SRW.. Now I know DRW may have been the best but I don't want to buy 6 tires when 4 is right at my pay grade. LOL I do want to report that my truck does just fine on the road. Big trucks dont bother it. Trailer doesn't pull it around at all. Feels very safe to drive. Exhaust brake does a fine job which you cant get in a gas truck. I didn't buy it for fuel millage but as much as I tow it saves me lots in fuel cost. My trip will be about 3 months long so lots of towing across the states. I did add the 5th wheel hitch and air bags. I recommend air bags to guys that just drive them around. It smooths out the ride. As for H/P and Torque. There is never enough. I have a GT500 that came from the factory with 500 H/P and that wasn't enough so now it has 630. LOL The prices of trucks keeps going up. The top of the line F150 will cost in excess of $70,000 next year. I bet they will sell. Not sure why trucks need some of the stuff they put in them these days. I guess its for the deep pocket guys. Fod sold more than 65,000 trucks this for the 2015 M/Y. They keep making them better and more expensive. LOL

[bsmith0404]

I know you were somewhat tongue in cheek, but yes when it comes to HP and torque, there is a point where enough is enough. For me the point is when cost vs benefit starts falling to the negative side. Bigger HP and torque numbers mean the transmissions and other drive line components need to be upgraded to handle the power, that all costs money. When I'm pulling my 5er, I don't care how fast I can get it from one red light to the next. I've never found a mountain pass I can't cruise over and I don't need to stop and add fuel at every gas station. My engine coolant temps, transmission temps, and EGTs are all at very good numbers for reliability.

Since I'm a GM guy, I pray GM doesn't decide to enter the "power wars". Maybe they will stay with their current formula since sales numbers are doing so well. For the first 6 months of 2015 GM had nearly a 20k lead over Ford and 164k more than Dodge. Will be interesting to see what year end numbers are.

As for my other cars, my corvette has 425 hp which is more than enough. I haven't found a tire that will hold that much HP yet. Of course it's an older vette and the widest tire I can put on it without doing serious modifications is a 255.

[Desert185]

Keep going. I just popped another bowl of popcorn.

[LittleJoe]

.. Now I know DRW may have been the best but I don't want to buy 6 tires when 4 is right at my pay grade.

A DRW trucks tires will last (enough)longer to cancel out the additional cost of 2 extra tires. A SRW pulling hard will eat rear tires as compared to DRW.

Also the cost of replacing 4 , 18 or 20" tires is equal or higher than the cost of replacing 6, 17" tires.