I’ve owned F-250’s, 2500 Dodge Rams, 2500 GMC. Had pros and cons on all.
Curious what are your recommendations on 3/4 ton trucks and why?
Curious what are your recommendations on 3/4 ton trucks and why?
New 3/4 ton diesel trucks.
- Thread starter Allday.sixpack
- Start date
I like the combo of Duramax and Allison tranny in the GMs.
New? Prepare for sticker shock, but you prob already know that.
New? Prepare for sticker shock, but you prob already know that.
My next door neighbor owns a diesel repair shop. He says that the Dodge has the best engine but the truck and transmission is inferior. The Chevy is the best truck and transmission and the motor is second behind the Cummins. He loves the Fords because they keep him in business. Not my words. He previously owned two GM’s but currently is driving a new Ram.
After about 30k miles everything in a Ford rattles. All my family that farms including myself have always been GM but then my uncle decided to get a Ford. He had it about a year and half and got rid of it because literally everything in the cab started to rattle. Dodge has the Cummins and GM has the superior ride.
To add on to DCD’s point:
All of our company trucks have always been GM 1500 or 2500 until one of my coworkers decided to get an F-250. No one ever wants to ride with him on trips because the truck will beat you to death riding in it. The ride is horrible compared to our GM 2500s.
All of our company trucks have always been GM 1500 or 2500 until one of my coworkers decided to get an F-250. No one ever wants to ride with him on trips because the truck will beat you to death riding in it. The ride is horrible compared to our GM 2500s.
Not only the sticker price but a 3/4 ton with a trim level higher than a work truck are getting hit hard with a "Market Adjustment" right now.
How much weight/how often are you towing?
I tow a 31' RV @+/- 8500 lbs for about 25% or so if my miles. It's too heavy for a half ton, but wasn't really requiring a diesel. I ended up with a F-250 with the small V8. It pulls fine and handles great. Just drove 800 miles through some of the windiest, steepest mountain passes in the country on my way up to Glacier NP and back. 11.5 mpg towing and 16 mpg when not towing.
Someone talked me into getting a gas burner and I am glad they did. Diesel isn't necessary unless you are towing 12k+ more than 50% of your miles IMO. If you can make a gas burner work, I would consider it. Will probably save you lots of money right now as diesel trucks are going for well over sticker still. And the gas burner is just so much quieter and smoother to drive when not towing. It feels like a half ton around town.
As others have said, the F250 rides like a brick for the first 10-15k miles. It's ugly as sin too. But when I bought, it took 6 months to even get a call back on a GMC/Chevy on ordering one. The Ford was available and at a really good price.
I tow a 31' RV @+/- 8500 lbs for about 25% or so if my miles. It's too heavy for a half ton, but wasn't really requiring a diesel. I ended up with a F-250 with the small V8. It pulls fine and handles great. Just drove 800 miles through some of the windiest, steepest mountain passes in the country on my way up to Glacier NP and back. 11.5 mpg towing and 16 mpg when not towing.
Someone talked me into getting a gas burner and I am glad they did. Diesel isn't necessary unless you are towing 12k+ more than 50% of your miles IMO. If you can make a gas burner work, I would consider it. Will probably save you lots of money right now as diesel trucks are going for well over sticker still. And the gas burner is just so much quieter and smoother to drive when not towing. It feels like a half ton around town.
As others have said, the F250 rides like a brick for the first 10-15k miles. It's ugly as sin too. But when I bought, it took 6 months to even get a call back on a GMC/Chevy on ordering one. The Ford was available and at a really good price.
Never pay market adjustments. If a dealer won't drop it, find another one. Most will drop it.
I had a dealer tell me that they only do it to prevent other dealers from poaching off their lot due to lack of inventory. But there are people who go in there and pay it, so they're not going to turn down free money.
I ordered a F350 in early December and still waiting for any information about the build and delivery.
Honestly I don't know that I would. We spent a lot of time RV shopping and the thing we noticed is every 25'+ RV geared towards half ton towing was making lots of sacrifices to cut weight. The great thing about the traditional 5th wheel is they are not trying to cut all of the weight that travel trailers are cutting.
That means heavier duty frame, suspension, and most importantly... finishes. We looked at a Cougar ultra light 5th wheel and it had some of the flimsiest finishes of any RV we looked at because they are trying to cut weight for half ton towing.
The most important thing to factor in when matching an RV and truck is payload IMO. I had a crew cab f150 with a 3.5 Ecoboost. It was rated to tow around 11k lbs, but it only had around 1750 lbs of payload capacity. Every 5th wheel we looked at had 1100+ lbs of pin weight. Add in a family of 4 and other crap and we were pushing 1800 lbs of payload. Every decent sized travel trailer we looked at had 800+ lbs of hitch weight. You do not want to get over 80% of that payload capacity in my opinion, the sway gets nasty at higher speeds and you end up driving much slower which adds to your travel time substantially.
If you plan on driving out west in the mountains and wind, I can't recommend a 3/4 ton enough. The crosswinds out here are brutal and even in a 3/4 ton with weight distributing hitch you feel it. Even more than the wind, coming down a 7% grade would be a nightmare in a half ton.
When I was still trying to keep my half ton, I was getting frustrated at how limited my options were. We wanted dedicated bunks for the kids and enough space to live in for a few weeks with tons of solar and batteries for off grid boondocking. It just wasn't possible.
I ended up getting a gas burner 250 and paired it with a 30 foot Airstream that has a twin over Queen bunk in the rear and a queen up front. I have 3300 lbs of payload and Airstreams are known to pull really well, but I absolutely feel it. Cruising down I-90 I'm June I had to choke down to 65mph in an 80 because of the crosswind. Passed a half ton with a similar size trailer doing maybe 45 mph with it's hazard lights on. In the RV parks, it's almost exclusively 3/4 ton and up pulling stuff.
All that said, if you are just running from Jackson to Starkville for tailgating and plan on keeping it below 60mph and really want a half ton and fifth wheel rig... Grand Design Reflection 150 series was by far the best I looked at during my shopping days. For a half ton towable travel trailer with dedicated bunks, I liked the Lance 2185.
Lightest 5th wheel is going to max out the most capable half ton
The lighter 5th wheels are still going to put about 1200-1400 pounds of pin weight on your truck. Unless you are looking at a single cab half ton with a long chassis that has more than 2k of payload capacity, you are overloaded once you get passengers in the vehicle. That's not factoring in your gear or impact on your pin weight from the camper payload either.
It irritates me that some of these 5th wheels are marketed as half/ton towable - there really isn't a practical/safe combo out there unless your 5th wheel is one of those novelty things like a Scamp (which are pretty cool IMO).
Could a 1/2 ton tow a lighter one? Yes. Safely? Maybe. Would you want to be in an at fault accident and an easily overloaded truck? No way. Definitely pick up a 3/4. Consider the extra price peace of mind.
The lighter 5th wheels are still going to put about 1200-1400 pounds of pin weight on your truck. Unless you are looking at a single cab half ton with a long chassis that has more than 2k of payload capacity, you are overloaded once you get passengers in the vehicle. That's not factoring in your gear or impact on your pin weight from the camper payload either.
It irritates me that some of these 5th wheels are marketed as half/ton towable - there really isn't a practical/safe combo out there unless your 5th wheel is one of those novelty things like a Scamp (which are pretty cool IMO).
Could a 1/2 ton tow a lighter one? Yes. Safely? Maybe. Would you want to be in an at fault accident and an easily overloaded truck? No way. Definitely pick up a 3/4. Consider the extra price peace of mind.
Do ya'll know where to get one that isn't the price of a small house? I'm looking for a Chevy 2500 custom. I don't need all the **** that's in my 1500 slt. A sensor went out and my *** buzzed for a whole year til they got the sensor in. (Yes, I know you can turn it off. But it's manual every startup.) Got a bigger bumper pull camper and can't get over 60 in the Sierra without it getting squirrelly.
It's one of the reasons I got the F250. The XLT has all I need and the small V-8 was plenty to pull my trailer. Under $50k new early last summer. Probably $55k today.
Other manufacturers make them too, but they are impossible to find and you'll likely have to order.
Other manufacturers make them too, but they are impossible to find and you'll likely have to order.
If you don't mind GMC badging, Laura GMC outside St Louis is your best bet. No BS markup and can get you what you want quickly. My 2500 took 10 weeks from ordered to delivery. Got it last week of June. If Chevy badging is a must I'd check Classic Chevrolet in TX.
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