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Old 12-31-2012, 07:07 PM   #21
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I had an f150 and it had 9500 lb tow rating with a 5.4. My trailer although not a fifth has a gvw of 7500 lbs and I found my truck to be. A little on the light side towing the trailer around. On flat roads it was ok but climbing the hills here in BC it was tough. We upgraded to a one ton and it is way more truck than we need but wife now doesn't hang on for dear life. Just my experience so far we were only at 75% of our max tow rating although we were very near our CGVW. A six speed transmission may have helped with climbing the hills, but glad we went to our current truck.
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Old 12-31-2012, 10:23 PM   #22
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Originally Posted by FoxFanRay View Post
Just throwing this out there for what it is worth. My Ford F-150 with max-tow package, 3.73 gears, and 3.5 Eco-boost is rated at 11,200# trailer capacity.
And at the other end of the spectrum is my Chev K3500 CCLB DRW 6.5L turbodiesel with tow package and 4.10 gears. With me and a full tank of fuel and my toolbox and 120# of dogs, I can haul a 7800# trailer.

Indeed, this truck supposedly comes with a factory recommended GCVWR of 14,500#. Yeah, right.
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Old 01-01-2013, 03:13 PM   #23
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In my opinion, you can never buy too much truck because there will be a bigger, heavier fiver in your future- JMHO- DD
Could not agree more. Recently moved up to a 1 ton dually and the difference is incredible. In the past 5 weeks I've logged nearly 8000 towing miles in every type of weather / road conditions and other than an occasional spin out going up some hills I've never felt like the trailer was overpowering my truck. For me I'll never go to a 1/2 ton for a tow vehicle again, maybe for a pop up......
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Old 01-02-2013, 11:05 AM   #24
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I'm not sure where you are located, but out here in California it's not that difficult to find a 3/4 ton 2wd pickup. Mine is a diesel and after owning it (even knowing that the maintenance is more costly since oil can be measured by gallon instead of quart!) I won't go back to a gas truck. If you want to go the diesel route, try cars.com and look for a good used one. Now that Ford has the new 6.7 you can probably find some very nice 6.4's out there. If you want to get into a 6.0, do your homework first - they can be, how shall we say, "interesting" to own? :hihi:
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Old 01-02-2013, 12:43 PM   #25
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If you do Rocky Mountain camping, I would think seriously about purchasing a 4X4. Last year we had a rare 1/2" snowfall on our driveway that has a slight incline. I had to use the 4wd in order to just get out of the drive. PU trucks are very light in the back end and you could have issues in the snow even when you are not towing, IMO.
You also may not need a slider hitch with the 5er you are thinking of purchasing. Many of the smaller units will clear the cab of a short bed truck when making sharp turns. I think the manufacture specs on this are pretty reliable. However, you definitely need a hitch with a floating head because it will be much easier to hook up your 5er on uneven terrain (please don't ask me how I know this! ).
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Old 01-02-2013, 11:53 PM   #26
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I would say try to get a 3/4 ton (diesel would be preferred). They keep upping the capabilities of the 1/2 tons, but I found when we were towing with our Tahoe that the suspension and drivetrain components were just not that heavy duty. We traded for the Ram Diesel after about 6 months of towing and it was rock solid (we also upgraded our trailer shortly after... the one hazard of owning a very capable truck). Any sketchy conditions or situations and you will be glad you don't have an ounce less of truck. $60k wasn't in the cards for us for a new diesel - we bought an older truck and have really focused on the maintenance and so far it's working out great.

Ford diesel's are great too (and have nicer cabs) but do some research about years to avoid - same with the Duramax. All of the really new trucks have lots of emissions equipment that for some model years may have been a bit "experimental." The Cummins trucks around '07 or older are pretty no-frills and very durable drivetrains (lots of them rolling around with 500k + miles).

I like 4x4 personally, but I hunt and fish and my adventures take me off-road frequently. I have had 4x4 come in handy towing when I drop a wheel off the pavement maneuvering in tight quarters but those situations are rare. Other than that, you may be concerned about snow in the mountains if you're traveling early or late season. The 2wd trucks usually tow as much or more and seem to go for a lot cheaper around the Pacific Northwest.
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