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Old 01-13-2016, 09:18 PM   #1
Bdb
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If you were me

Hello everyone!

Looking to upgrade my TV this spring and was wondering what others would do in my situation.

I have a 26ft TT (6000-6500 wet) and currently towing it with my '08 1500 ram with the 5.7. Inside the truck, wife, 5 yr old, 2 large dogs and myself. Live out in Utah so canyon driving happens no matter where I go. The 1500 does okay... flat travel, I have no issue. Going up any sort of incline, now that's a different story. Truck struggles on the hills and head winds. Drives me absolutely crazy!

So, looking for a better tower. Leaning towards a 2500 Ram with the cummins, but also thinking about sticking with a 1/2 ton and getting the 3.5 ecoboost. This truck will also be my daily driver (40 mile commute each day).

Which way would you go? Really looking for an effortless tow. I know the cummins will handle things with ease, but I wonder at times if I should just stick to the 1/2 ton since it'll be a daily driver.

Thanks everyone!
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Old 01-13-2016, 09:27 PM   #2
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Get a 2500 diesel for way better towing in the mountains and better payload.
Or wait for the new Nissan Titan comes out with the Cummings.
However, the hemis in the 1500 dodge has a height towing capacity than you currently have with your dodge, but payload is around the same.
Are you keeping the 26 foot trailer or planning on upgrading that too in the near future?
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Old 01-13-2016, 09:40 PM   #3
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The diesel will pull much better than a gasser IMHO.
We pulled 4800# HTT with a 5.4 gasser and now pull 12700# 5th with 6.7 diesel. The gasser got 9-ish and the diesel gets 12-ish mpg. Night and day. My exact TT and TV combi's are below.
Our 1st TV would have been over with your weights and it was a bit less than a 1/2 pickup. Have you hit the scales? I'm a solid believer in getting weighed.
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Old 01-13-2016, 10:37 PM   #4
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I like a larger and more powerful tow vehicle but I tow a lot. Just makes the long hours behind the wheel less stressful. Also gives you the option to upgrade without having to invest more money later.

You can never have too much TV.
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Old 01-13-2016, 11:09 PM   #5
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Based on my experiences, the ecoboost with the turbos will probably solve your power problem on the hills although you may experience much larger hills more regularly than I do in the midwest. I have been on a 5-6% grade with it and it had no problem accelerating thru 70 (which you shouldn't do anyway with a trailer). My issue was I was over payload with a growing (and increasing in weight) family, your TT is lighter it appears. Make sure you understand your loaded trailer weight and tongue weight before you commit is my best advice. There was the feeling that the trailer sometimes pushed the truck around a bit, I think its just because its a lighter truck, but I assume you experience similar with your Ram 1500. I also really wish I had LT tires, the stock tires were very squishy. The F150 is a great daily driver.

I haven't had the pleasure of towing with my new 2500 yet, Its OK for a daily driver but not as convenient as the F150 was. I am down around 4MPG average as a daily driver so far, which I expected. Its around a 1000lb more truck curb weight. My biggest complaints on the 2500 is its height compared to the F150, and the one I got does not have a full time 4WD option, when its in 4WD you definitely know it when your making sharp turns, and you really don't want to do it on dry pavement at all. I stuck with the 6.4 hemi for cheaper fuel and to save the money out the gate, I just don't tow enough for the increased mileage towing to make a huge difference. I actually expect the gas in the 2500 might not have as much torque and power as the ecoboost had, but I am hoping i am wrong :-). If I towed a lot, I would probably have gone with the Diesel for the turbos.

I really think it comes down to as others say, are you going to get more trailer, and then also whats your towing miles vs daily driver miles. If you got the ecoboost route, I would definitely encourage you to go with the HD payload option, it cant hurt and isn't a lot more if your buying new. Had I had the HD Payload option with the extra few hundred pounds of payload, I probably wouldn't have bought a new truck.
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Old 01-14-2016, 04:28 AM   #6
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I bought a 2015 F150 XLT supercrew 4x4 with 3.5 Ecoboost and max tow package. Ford specs the towing at 11,700 pounds (not that I would try towing that much with an F150) as well as approximately 1900 pound (don't have the exact number in front of me). My camper weight is roughly the same as yours.

I have not had the opportunity to tow with it yet but based upon everything I have read I can't wait to try it out. Many others on this site have towed much larger campers with the F150 with Ecoboost and praise the truck.

I don't think you would go wrong with either truck with your current camper. If you plan on upgrading to a much larger camper then you may want to consider the 2500. You also need to consider alot such as mpg, maintenance and comfort if it is going to be your daily driver. Good luck!
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Old 01-14-2016, 04:38 AM   #7
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IMO, go with the Ram & Cummins. I started out with a Tundra and White Hawk combination, and while I had no issues with the Tundra, the switch to the Ram/Cummins was like night and day.

The Ram is also my daily driver (40 - 140 miles depending on which office I'm in) and i'm averaging ~19mpg. Towing was about 12mpg.
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Old 01-14-2016, 08:22 AM   #8
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The big questions is do you think you might upgrade to a bigger unit in the future. If I could afford it now, I would go with the Ram 2500 diesel. I switched from the 5.9 cummins to the newer 6.7 and what a difference that makes. Night and day! Get great mileage whether towing or daily driver.
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Old 01-14-2016, 08:26 AM   #9
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If you want effortless towing, then the cummins would give you your best chance at that.

I've towned with the 3.5 ecoboost, and the cummins. I think most all gas motors will struggle in the mountains. If you don't want that struggle, diesel will likely cure that.

The stability of the 2500 will be a night and day difference towing compared to any 1500. No doubt.

My fuel mileage is about the same between the 3.5 ecoboost and cummins. Unloaded I'm 18-20 mpg. With travel trailer about 8,000lbs I'm 9-10 mpg. (ecoboost towing was about 7-9 mpg).

Plus, if you decide to move to a larger camper, you won't have to get a bigger truck (possibly...)

The Ram 2500 rides pretty good. If you want a comfortable daily driver, GM & Ram 3/4 ton trucks ride good.
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Old 01-14-2016, 03:41 PM   #10
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Appears the majority are thinking along the same sort of lines I am here. I don't have any plans to upgrade the TT anytime soon, but you never know? Jsallman1 pointed out something that I forgot to mention in my OP. I, too, feel like the TT is in control instead of the truck.

It may seem like I've made up my mind, but I guess it's the daily driver portion that has me coming back to the ecoboost. Daily driving will far exceed tow miles. However, looking at some pricing up in Idaho, a 2500 ram/cummins isn't a whole lot more than the 3.5 EB with max tow. The dealers just need to let me hook my rig to the truck and let me tow it around for a while!
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Old 01-14-2016, 04:38 PM   #11
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My thoughts, for what they are worth...

The Ecoboost with max tow and max payload rides pretty rough and gets up there in price.

A 2500 with the Cummins will have more power, more payload, more stability, a higher ceiling for what you can tow and will be an all around better vehicle for towing. The Cummins can get low 20's on the highway. I average about 18 with mostly suburban driving. The 2500 with coil suspension is surprisingly gentle. I think it feels smoother than my 2010 Tundra, which I thought was a pretty smooth truck.

IF IT WERE ME, I would buy the Cummins all over again. Vehicles are depreciating assests, but the Cummins won't depreciate nearly as fast as a gas engine truck will.
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Old 01-14-2016, 04:39 PM   #12
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I was in the same boat as the OP and opted to go all in on a new 2500 Ram CTD. We all acknowledge that the Ram with the diesel tows great so I won't belabor that point. I will say that the Ram is, IMHO, much more comfortable than my daughters 2014 F150. So much so that the Ram has become my daily driver! I have a 60 mile round trip commute that I used to do with a 2008 Yaris. Now the wife gets the Yaris for her 20 mile round trip commute!
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Old 01-14-2016, 06:56 PM   #13
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Appears the majority are thinking along the same sort of lines I am here. I don't have any plans to upgrade the TT anytime soon, but you never know? Jsallman1 pointed out something that I forgot to mention in my OP. I, too, feel like the TT is in control instead of the truck.



It may seem like I've made up my mind, but I guess it's the daily driver portion that has me coming back to the ecoboost. Daily driving will far exceed tow miles. However, looking at some pricing up in Idaho, a 2500 ram/cummins isn't a whole lot more than the 3.5 EB with max tow. The dealers just need to let me hook my rig to the truck and let me tow it around for a while!

Everybody I know with an EB says their mileage is just as bad as their previous Tritons. Give the 6.4 2500 a drive. I went from a big tow Titan to mine. Best gasser I've ever driven, and don't have all the crazy maintenance of a diesel.
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Old 01-14-2016, 07:28 PM   #14
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The dealers just need to let me hook my rig to the truck and let me tow it around for a while!
Now Wouldn't that be nice! At the same time, RV Dealers should let you test tow the new campers and head on over to a scale before you commit!
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Old 01-14-2016, 08:47 PM   #15
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Everybody I know with an EB says their mileage is just as bad as their previous Tritons. Give the 6.4 2500 a drive. I went from a big tow Titan to mine. Best gasser I've ever driven, and don't have all the crazy maintenance of a diesel.
I'll likely check the 6.4 out as well. Sounds like most people like it, but I have read complaints that are similar to my OP when it comes to canyon towing. How would you say your does with steep grades?
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Old 01-14-2016, 08:48 PM   #16
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Now Wouldn't that be nice! At the same time, RV Dealers should let you test tow the new campers and head on over to a scale before you commit!
Agreed!
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Old 01-14-2016, 10:12 PM   #17
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I'll likely check the 6.4 out as well. Sounds like most people like it, but I have read complaints that are similar to my OP when it comes to canyon towing. How would you say your does with steep grades?

I haven't had any issues with my combo. I would definitely go with 4.10's. I live in Utah county, and have towed to Vegas twice, Colorado Springs, Mesa Verde, Grand Junction, Rifle Gap, Bear Lake, Red Creek, Fish Lake, etc. I don't believe in towing over 65mph, but I haven't had any issues. Yes the gas engine revs higher, but that's to be expected.
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Old 01-15-2016, 09:46 AM   #18
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You really have to watch payloads when looking at 3/4 ton trucks with diesel engines. In many cases the added weight of the diesel cancels out the increased suspension and you are left with a payload number equal to some of the higher payload 1/2 ton gassers. This is especially true of higher trim level 3/4 tons.
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Old 01-15-2016, 10:50 PM   #19
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One other thing no one mentioned is that the ecoboost uses a smaller motor. Basically producing more HP per cubic inch.

This creates more strain on the engine and although I am speaking in generalities here, could cause premature fatique\wear.

P.S. If you are not too picky about what you drive, a daily driver can be had for less than the cost of a lawn mover.
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Old 01-16-2016, 08:17 AM   #20
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I second the 6.4 vote. I'm super happy with mine and I've been a Cummins guy all along. No beating the Cummins, but the 6.4 is a great midline option for those of us that don't really need all that expensive power.
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