2500HD to 3500HD dually

triplebvalp · 08-27-2019, 12:21 PM

Any Eagle HT FW owners pulling their HT (specifically a 27.5) with a 3500HD dually ? I'm considering "upgrading" from a 2500HD 6.0L gas to a 2019 3500HD diesel dually. What I am mainly interested in mpg while pulling and (your opinion) on the increased cost of maintenance for a diesel.

georam1 · 08-27-2019, 12:45 PM

Well I don't have a 3500hd but I do have a 2500HD diesel. MPG while pulling my 321RSTS run between 10-11MPG. If truck is in regen it's less. I've had both gas and diesel 2500 trucks. Maintenance on diesels is most certainly higher. Takes 2.5gal of oil $30 and a $14 filter. That's me doing it myself. Transmission/transfer case fluid runs $40 a gallon. Holds a butt load of antifreeze and has two thermostats. Then if you have any emissions problems pray that your still under warranty. Oh and don't forget the cost of DEF. It's about $2.75 a gallon. If you have a failure of your CP4 fuel pump you're looking at between $9000-$12000 to get that fixed.
Now that I have you scared to death, I wouldn't have anything but a diesel to pull my RV with. It has so much more power than a gas burner. I can set my curse on 65MPH and it almost never comes out of 6th gear. No more gas engine screaming at 5000rpm's to get up a hill. You just have to stay on top of the maintenance a little more with a diesel or it will hit you in the pocketbook hard.

TxLoser · 08-27-2019, 12:59 PM

You’re going to need more trailer....

Maintenance will of course be more, but it’ll be worth it you’ll find the first time you hook up. Buy new or lightly used for the warranty if feasible. You’ll like the 6.6. I really enjoy mine. 3 years and 37K now. At the risk of jinxing myself, no big issues. Mine is a daily driver, but I don’t work 9-5.

Edit: as for the increased mpg.. the poster below makes a good point that while the mpg is higher, so is the cost of diesel vs gas. Probably a wash or even better towards the gas side. That being said, my favorite part of this side of the equation is the slightly increased range. Additionally, the ability to use the truck lanes. Again, the cost of convenience. Like an RV vs a tent.

JohnWedell · 08-27-2019, 01:04 PM

I pull the trailer below (15,000 pounds) with a 6.4 hemi it revs up on hills but other than that I would never own a diesel again unless I had to have one for the mountains. I average 8 miles per gallon towing however the gas is cheaper than diesel and the maintenance is a lot cheaper so it may come out better in the long run. The bedrails are also a lot higher off the ground so you may have a problem with the HT.

Jim Smyth · 08-27-2019, 02:28 PM

18 F350 6.7 SB SRW 4X4. I get on average 17-18 mpg in mixed driving and not towing. Towing a 28.5 RSTS Eagle HT I get 11-12 mpg and you dont even know your pulling a trailer.

Kahoneys · 08-27-2019, 02:46 PM

For the weight your pulling you can easily go with a HD diesel SRW. Save yourself $500 every time you need tires and then its a bit easier to park in a lot!

Les7h · 08-27-2019, 03:47 PM

X2 on the SRW the diesel isn’t cheaper to drive but it’s night and day better Les

BeachRetreat · 08-27-2019, 05:16 PM

The only thing I would caution you about this conversation is to separate the SRW experiences from the DRW experiences. I went from a 2013 Silverado 3500 SRW diesel to a 2016 Silverado 3500 DRW and saw a significant drop in MPG. Both DEF vehicles and similar towing characteristics. The DRW also had lower bed rails because of the smaller tires and spring setup. Just be sure your choosing apple to apples.

triplebvalp · 08-27-2019, 05:39 PM

Thanks for all the opinions folks … I've decided to keep my 2500 due to the increased cost of ownership with a diesel. I would agree with the ones that said the SRW would be a better choice. I just happen to find a DRW that was priced right.

AKRUEBBE · 08-27-2019, 05:42 PM

You can see my TV in my signature. Would not pull a 14,000 to 17,000 5er without a DRW. My MPG while under tow averages 10.7 no matter if I'm pulling mountains or flat out. The 4.10 axle ratio sacrifices MPG but is a work horse. RPM's at 65 MPH is 1,750. BTW, I believe RAM offers a maintenance contract. When I bought mine the first 4 oil & filter changes was included at no charge.

Big1 · 08-27-2019, 06:30 PM

Diesel here is cheaper than even regular unleaded but anyway it look like that you may up your mind, I had a gas 2014 2500 hemi 6.4L with the 4.10 gears man it was a nice truck but I wanted a diesel because I live in the PNW.

LegalEagle · 08-28-2019, 04:27 AM

I have pulled with two different Ford's, (2003 F250 7.3 and 2016 Ford F250 6.7). I recently bought a 2018 GMC 3500 SRW 6.6 Duramax, because the Ford dealers took a total of 4.5 weeks this summer to repair 3 issues under warranty. I had to go to something else if I wanted to travel, as I can't have a truck that is in the shop for weeks at a time for repairs. All 3 have pulled my 13,000 GVWR Eagle, and here is my summary of performance of each of the above:
2003 7.3 - best engine and pure towing power of any of them. Got 11-12 mpg pulling the Eagle, and never lacked for power. I only sold it for comfort, as the truck was loud, and my wife was uncomfortable on long trips.
2016 6.7 - I really liked this truck and its performance. Got less fuel mileage, 9-10 MPG, but had plenty of power and I could set the cruise on 62 and forget about it until I needed to stop. The fuel tank was small (27gallons), but the real problem is Ford service. Just couldn't get it out of the shop for literally weeks at a time. Pulling this kind of weight, these trucks will need service. I have no problem with the routine issues the truck had, just that Ford does not commit to having enough personnel to service these trucks and who wants to pay for a truck that is in the service bay for 10% of the year?
2018 Duramax - I have pulled the Eagle with it for about 3,000 miles so far. Real good MPG, 12-13. Not as comfortable a ride as the Ford, but it is a one ton. 38 gallon fuel tank is really good to have. So far I am impressed.
I would not pull any RV over 9,000 GVWR with anything but a diesel. With gas, any slight incline in the road will knock you out of cruise and downshift. On average, I can travel about 10 miles per hour more with the diesel over my old gas tow vehicles, as it stays at a constant highway speed. When you are only semi-retired, and traveling on weekends and extended summer trips, saving that travel time is a big deal. Just this year I've made trips from Texas to Northern California and back, then to Sedona Arizona, and trips within Texas to Houston, Austin, San Antonio and DFW multiple times. Diesel gets me there much faster. Just my two cents. Good luck with what you decide.

DonaandDon · 08-28-2019, 07:44 AM

First 8 years of pulling a 5r with a gasser, now pulling a bigger 5r with a diesel. One vacation we traveled from Chicago to Phoenix. Big head wind with my Tundra and I thought we would never get out of 4th gear. I'll never go back to a gasser.

cariboocreek · 08-28-2019, 08:07 AM

If you need a diesel get a diesel. If you need a dually get a dually. What does need mean? Ah there is the rub. Many threads have gone off the rails trying to define “need”. Need, for me, is defined at the 80% mark. If I have exceeded 80% of my trucks capacity it’s time to upsize the truck up or downsize the camper. That allows me some fudge factor for poor planning.

So should you up or downsize? A calculator will hold your answer.

Mopar_Earl · 08-28-2019, 09:47 AM

I went from a 07 Ram 2500 regular cab 4wd diesel manual to a 18 Ram 3500 SRW crew cab long bed 4wd diesel auto. Best thing I ever did. I was overloaded on my 2500. 3500 is good by a few hundred lbs. We don't need or use a trailer to justify a dually, so we went SRW. The question is do you need a SRW or a DRW 3500?

No gasers for this guy,only diesels. Even my mower is diesel. Just never got into the gasoline engine. My car is diesel too. My first car as a teen was diesel. From there on, that's all I ever owned. I saw the light many years ago before diesels were main stream.

Earl

BassOverflow · 09-04-2019, 01:51 PM

I pull my 2020 29.5BHDS with a 2018 Denali 3500HD DRW and love it!

Gusto_man · 09-04-2019, 05:05 PM

Same here with my '16 F250 4X4 6.7 Crew cab and Eagle HT 28 5 RSTS. 😊

backpack1953 · 09-04-2019, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by triplebvalp

Any Eagle HT FW owners pulling their HT (specifically a 27.5) with a 3500HD dually ? I'm considering "upgrading" from a 2500HD 6.0L gas to a 2019 3500HD diesel dually. What I am mainly interested in mpg while pulling and (your opinion) on the increased cost of maintenance for a diesel.

I am pulling a Jayco Eagle 321 RSTS with a 2005 Chevy Silverado 2500HD diesel. I haven't had any problems pulling it fully loaded and I get between 9.5 and 10.2 miles to the gallon. Diesel costs more but they last longer and in my case there is less maintenance cost than a gas. My diesel is old enough that I don't have to use DEF thank heavens. The cost is more if you have the DEF system.

Here's a picture of my truck and FW.

BassOverflow · 09-05-2019, 07:35 AM

Here's my rig.

Marine71-76 · 09-05-2019, 08:06 AM

This may offend some and it isn't meant to offend - it was very good advice for us. When we were first looking at diesels (1999), called DW's uncle wanting advice, including the cost of maintaining a diesels. Why did we call him for advice? Because he had been towing 5vers for years and had diesels. The very first thing he said was if you are asking about the cost you can't afford it. Yes we have had diesels ever since (1999 F350, 2004 F350 and now a 2008 F450). We do carry an extended warranty on the truck - we had major engine/front end issues with the F450 in 2012.

As far as MPG, in the F450 with a 430 rear end, we get between 8 & 9 towing. Have seriously thought about putting in a larger fuel tank - replacing the current tank, not adding another tank.

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