Tow Vehicle Shopping Time

[weebl]

We bought a new to us 2010 Keystone Cougar 322QBS at the end of last summer. We took it home with the help of a relative and his truck.

With spring on the horizon (though with the weather here lately, that seems very far off), it's time for us to start looking at getting a tow vehicle.

We know what we want already, in terms of vehicle make, years, etc. The truck for us should be a 2007.5 or newer GM Duramax diesel, crew cab, 4x4. Preference is for a long box, and for SRW. The combined factors of budget and mileage preference seems to put us at looking at low mile units from about 2009 to 2012 model years.

Our trailer has a GVW of 11,800 lbs. I know that the 3/4 ton versions of these trucks have published tow figures that are capable, but they do seem close, and I think having a greater margin would be better. 1 ton versions seem to have a lot of room in terms of tow capacity.

The intention is to keep the trailer until all the kids are out of the nest, possibly even beyond, and my youngest is 3, so definitely no planned changes to the trailer in the foreseeable future.

Will a 3/4 ton truly be sufficient, or should we be looking solely at the 1 tons. Given a choice between two similar vehicles, a 3/4 ton and a 1 ton, I know I would go for the 1 ton, but what if I am faced with only 3/4 ton trucks in the age, mileage and price range I am looking at?

Thoughts and comments are greatly appreciated!