Buying new tow vehicle - advice
- Thread starter 3dognighttx
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Bohemian
Well-known member
I mean the specific truck with a specific ratings sticker.
Yes, the Ford F450 and the others manufacturers 4500 series medium duty trucks have even greater ratings than the light duty trucks in the 1500, 2500, 3500, 150, 250 350 series. Yes, the HD 2500, 3500, 250, 350 Pickup trucks are light duty trucks. Yes, heavy duty trucks have even greater capacity than medium duty trucks. If you spend enough money you can find a truck to pull your trailer.
In any case it's the specific trucks ratings that matter and the only thing that matters. Most people want to spend the least the can to pull the load they want. If money and size are of no concern then you might be right. An F450 can have a maximum payload of 4400 lbs or 7700 lbs depending on configuration about the same as an F350 or a Chevy/GMC 3500 or 4500
Yes, the Ford F450 and the others manufacturers 4500 series medium duty trucks have even greater ratings than the light duty trucks in the 1500, 2500, 3500, 150, 250 350 series. Yes, the HD 2500, 3500, 250, 350 Pickup trucks are light duty trucks. Yes, heavy duty trucks have even greater capacity than medium duty trucks. If you spend enough money you can find a truck to pull your trailer.
In any case it's the specific trucks ratings that matter and the only thing that matters. Most people want to spend the least the can to pull the load they want. If money and size are of no concern then you might be right. An F450 can have a maximum payload of 4400 lbs or 7700 lbs depending on configuration about the same as an F350 or a Chevy/GMC 3500 or 4500
I will pull it for the first time on Thursday June 19th when I take delivery from Holman and I will report back--I will top off everything but no Smart Car--I expect to get 7.5-8.5mpg at 62mph depending on winds--but the 2015 F450 is much more fuel efficient than my 6.4 09' with 1 Turbo instead of 2 Turbo's--My current f450 is chipped by SCT Live wire and I will be carefully towing in Extreme Mode with a close eye on EGT's.
I have a 5.9 Cummins that I love at 22-24mpg empty--But the F450 handles massive loads so effortlessly that I really don't care about Mpg--I've pulled well over 18k off my bumper with 15yds of wet mulch and no trailer brakes and I was amazed how well it handled the load
Very True! I initially had trouble with State Farm until I explained this was a King Ranch version and not a Cab and Chassis
we pick our 4200 up on Friday morning lol. I have a 09 f450 with 4.30's Dpf delete, 5 inch exhaust, sct tuner, and intake. That's why I was wondering what you got. I hoping for 8 mpg's. I can get 15-16 with no trailer and 65 Mph.
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
19.5 inch wheel is what you want for payload. you will not find a tire of the 17 that will carry more than 3200 lbs at 80 psi. The only tires that can are 19.5 inch. but, It aint the truck, the ford is a great truck, but you need to research the new ford diesel for problems you may not want to encounter, diesel warranty issues and inherent issues with the motor. It is probably the most powerful diesel on the market and a good transmission and no-one can badmouth the diff and chassis. But Ford has had a bad streak of luck with diesels even with the new one. Having said that, the technology is good and the motor is the most advanced.
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
When we start talking F450 we are talking out of my league. I have to use my rig in other places, I like a little overkill, but not a lot. My Ram 2500 combined is in the mid 20'e neighborhood and the transmission is the weak link there. The pin load is a problem for the SWD tires, not the diff. My rig can only get to about 22 to 23K combined and Im well within the published loads ratings. If I go with some rickson wheels and commercial tires, i'm good but the OEM tires are doing fine. I will see I know I'm inside the max load for them.
I have nothing bad to say about Fords, I almost bought one. In fact I was drooling to buy one. A King Ranch edition, I had taken several test drives and was impressed, I liked the builtins such as the hitch mounts, tailgate ladder, the onboard computer, and all the bells and whistles. The diesel was super quiet and it drove better than a car. BUT at the last moment a friend warned me about the diesel motor. He cautioned me that although the motor was designed from the ground up and was the most advanced diesel on the market, he said they were having problems with them. I started doing some research with that in mind and I found enough to confirm in my mind that perhaps I did not want the ford diesel. I bought the cummins instead. I did not buy a GM because I'm turned off by them, and that is saying a lot for a die hard chevy man. But I dont have anything bad to say about their diesel and their transmission. If I would have been going for a Gasoline motor, I would have bought the ford. After all ford is the one that forced the HD into the market when they boxed the frame and increased the size of all the suspension components.
I have nothing bad to say about Fords, I almost bought one. In fact I was drooling to buy one. A King Ranch edition, I had taken several test drives and was impressed, I liked the builtins such as the hitch mounts, tailgate ladder, the onboard computer, and all the bells and whistles. The diesel was super quiet and it drove better than a car. BUT at the last moment a friend warned me about the diesel motor. He cautioned me that although the motor was designed from the ground up and was the most advanced diesel on the market, he said they were having problems with them. I started doing some research with that in mind and I found enough to confirm in my mind that perhaps I did not want the ford diesel. I bought the cummins instead. I did not buy a GM because I'm turned off by them, and that is saying a lot for a die hard chevy man. But I dont have anything bad to say about their diesel and their transmission. If I would have been going for a Gasoline motor, I would have bought the ford. After all ford is the one that forced the HD into the market when they boxed the frame and increased the size of all the suspension components.
We will purchasing a Big Country 3650RL next month. We are looking at a Chevy HD2500. Since you have had a 2500 Diesel, do you think that would be a good choice or do we need to go up to a 3500HD. We are going to be full timers but we are not going to be travelling the entire country on a regular basis. We chose a fifth wheel so we would feel comfortable staying longer in the places we like. Thanks for your advice.
G-Town
G-Town
Bohemian
Well-known member
I chose a Ram 3500 dually for jut that possible purchase. I felt I could get by with a Ram 3500 Long bed SRW for that model, but not less. The short bed model had too little payload capacity.
Bohemian
Well-known member
http://fifthwheelst.com/2015-three-quarter-ton-truck-towing.html
//heartlandowners.org/showthread.ph...Truck-Payloads?p=386013&viewfull=1#post386013
//heartlandowners.org/showthread.ph...Truck-Payloads?p=386013&viewfull=1#post386013
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
If you want to avoid buying a dually, go talk to a RAM truck specialist. They have a 2500 HD SRW with the payload you are looking for. The 3900 lb payload that became available in 2014 is a game changer in the RV world. All brands can pull the 15,500 lb trailers, within the truck published specifications, that is not the issue. The issue is payload. Tell RAM that you are interested in the new suspension system that will allow 3970 max payload, in a 2500HD.
Sorry G-Town, I've been offline so long I forgot my password to log in!
I agree with your choice of a 5th wheel to full time in, especially if your not going to be moving around a lot. We just spent 4 days in Marble Falls, (2 days with another couple) and there is just so much more usable space in a 5th wheel. I don't know anything about the 3650RL but Big Country makes a quality product that I'm sure you'll enjoy. This being our 2nd 5th wheel the thing I love most about this one is the AUTOMATIC 6 point hydraulic leveling...IT'S AMAZING!!!
This is THE most stable RV we've ever owned to include a 36ft Pusher we once had. I hate a wobbling RV when someone is walking around...And the jacks are powerful enough to lift all axles off the ground with ease making changing a flat a breeze! Also, from the time I back in a slot I'm leveled, plugged in with slide out in 10mins or less...If this is an option I HIGHLY recommend you order it! Personally, if I were buying a TT I'd choose a single rear wheel setup. However, running around with 3-4k pressing down in your bed I'll ALWAYS recommend a dually for towing a 5th wheel! I had a flat on my rig last year when i got home from picking my new unit up in Cincinnati and I don't even know when it went flat??? Only noticed when my outside dual was hanging off my driveway and I noticed the inner tire was flat! Had I been hauling this 17000lb rig with a 4000+ hitch weight with a single rear wheel setup at 70mph when it went flat, I may not have been here to tell you about it! Good Luck With your purchases
FYI...with 110gals of water, 30gals of generator fuel, and a smart car in the garage I'm pulling just over 20k with my F450 Dually...I drove home today from Marble Falls in super heavy rain all the way to San Antonio and I drove with one hand on the wheel because the dually is so stable and provides such confidence..Our last RV (Domani DF310) weighed exactly 10,000 and I had to have a white knucked 2 handed death grip on the wheel with even the slightest cross winds in my 2500 Dodge Cummins Single rear wheel tow rig...Trust me, todays Dodge, Ford, and Chevy diesels are good trucks... 115k on my F450 with ZERO problems...the extra 2 wheels are much more important when hauling a Big 5th wheel vs. what "Brand" of diesel is pulling your rig
caissiel
Senior Member
I hear about more flat problems with Duellies than SRWs. Most of the problem come from not changing both tires when running with a flat dual. I did have a flat with my SRW GM 2500 and it was a none event as I thought my rear axle had developed a vibration.
The higher capacity larger tires make hitting a pot hole less likely to cut a tire. I experienced that with our work trailers when we had tire problems with Duellies and moved to super singles.
And having driven 21 years pulling over 13000 lbs 5th wheels with 3/4 ton trucks I can assure that I never experience white knokle driving.
Buying I would recommend at least a 350/3500 SRW. But I prefer availability over price and for me SCs were not available localy in 350/3500 series.
The higher capacity larger tires make hitting a pot hole less likely to cut a tire. I experienced that with our work trailers when we had tire problems with Duellies and moved to super singles.
And having driven 21 years pulling over 13000 lbs 5th wheels with 3/4 ton trucks I can assure that I never experience white knokle driving.
Buying I would recommend at least a 350/3500 SRW. But I prefer availability over price and for me SCs were not available localy in 350/3500 series.
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Jim.Allison
Well-known member
Do the math......RV sales people don't know anything, they will tell you you can tow with a Toyota Tundra, and car dealerships will say "oh yea its no problem." But I would be looking at a Ram 3500 with the new air suspension, In a SRW. If they have a guy that knows about towing he can walk you through it, but you gotta do the math yourself. My BC has a generator, two industrial batteries in teh battery box and an inverter which weighs about 600 lbs, and contributes to the pin at about 400 lbs. With that the payload is 23% of the trailer weight at about 14,800 so youcan see how fast "payload" evaporates. Rules of thumb are great but 23% is way different than 20%. Point being is you have to do the math well.
BLHFUN
Well-known member
Agreed! They are all good. It's just a preference if your buying new. You do need to know the nuances if your buying an older truck. Several had issues!