I’m afraid that this thread is going to go off the rails to a Gasoline vs Diesel or SRW vs DRW battle. Any way ...
I’m curious why your dealer only wants to sell to people with diesels, but will sell to someone with a SRW. If you are going for max capability, might as well go for a DRW, too. The diesel only affects the rated payload since the TC will be sitting primarily on the rear axle. I will say the diesel is nice if your are driving the mountains of Montana/Idaho. I’m not saying that gasoline engines can’t go up them, but they will definitely be working harder. I’ve pulled a 4000 lb boat trailer up some of these mountains with a gasoline engine. They are starved for air at the higher elevations and really start reving. I will say that if you don’t plan to tow a heavier trailer behind the TC and don’t mind going slower up the mountains, the gasoline engine will be fine. Gasoline is cheaper most of the time, but you’ll lose range with tanks of the same size.
I’ve carried my current TC in my signature with both SRW and DRW. My wife really prefers the F450 DRW, and it isn’t close. If you can get by with a DRW, get a DRW. My F450 is overkill, but we still like it. I drove my TC for 8 1/2 years with a SRW. We’ve had the DRW for 4 years. I had the SRW because I couldn’t park a DRW where I worked, and it was my daily driver. I did add 19.5s to my SRW to increase the tire capacity. By the time you do that, it would be easier to just buy the DRW. The DRW is going to get less MPG. To drive the SRW, I paid very close attention to what we brought along to keep the weight down. With the DRW, I’ve been under my GVWR carrying everything I wanted for a greater than 1 week trip. I setup both trucks almost the same except with the SRW having Rancho 9000s and the F450 with Bilstein shocks. My mods are in my signature.
Other than the obvious width and disadvantages empty, the DRW is a better choice. There are plenty of people who have both. It all depends on what you want to trade off.
