Considering new truck

We are on our 2nd dually truck because it is what we felt best for towing. Driving in the winter months only 6 months sitting in our garage. Wife loves being in a truck.
chevman

I use my truck quite often during the week and would not want to live with a DRW truck, in your case where it will be solely used as a TV I would strongly consider one. That being said, be realistic about the size of 5er you want as many can be towed comfortably with a SRW 1ton and don't require a DRW.

StClairDean wrote:
Another option would be to purchase the trailer that you love first. Then get the truck that you need to tow it. That should make your truck decision a lot easier.

Just my 2 cents.

This is what we are doing. We decided on the 5th wheel and then looked at the truck. We will be going with a F350 DRW.

camp-n-family wrote:
The highest payload will be a regular cab base model with gas engine. Bigger cabs, options, and Diesel engines eat up payload.

Yep, this.... probably not the truck you want but that 350/3500 2WD gasser with vinyl seats can carry one hell of a 5th wheel. Albeit not very quickly at times but you'll be legal.

Another option would be to purchase the trailer that you love first. Then get the truck that you need to tow it. That should make your truck decision a lot easier.

Just my 2 cents.

I really enjoyed my Ram 2500 with the 6.4L Hemi. Your preference may be different though. Best to decide what 5er you're going to get then go truck shopping.

Last year we went thru this drill. We wanted a new larger 5th wheel. In the fall of 2015 we bought a new RAM 3500 CC 4x4 SB Laramie with Aisin tranny. The Aisin cuts into the payload by 150 lbs, however it is well worth the lost of that payload. Yellow sticker is 3664 and tow guide says 3920 for a CC 4x4 SB, so Laramie, running boards and other things lowered it almost 300 pounds. The Long bed is listed as having 410 more lbs of payload. And GVWR is LB 12,300 vs SB 11,700. However the Long Box is rated a few hundred pounds less for allowable trailer.

Moving onto trailers. We had our 29 foot Cardinal for 12 years and wanted a new Cardinal, however only their smallest one had a light enough pin weight for the SRW, on we went to Montana dealer to also find only that one their smallest one had a lower pin weight. What we figured out with help form the Cardinal owner forum was the Cardinal had move the axles back on the larger units thus creating a higher pin weight configuration.

We found the Bighorn and Cedar Creeks in the size we wanted both started with pin weights in the 24xx range, while the Cardinal's and Montan's were pushing 3K for dry pin weight.

So we have a 39'4" Bighorn 3575el and it matches up with the truck just fine. We towed to Arizona this year via 93 in Nevada in 40 MPH side and head winds and did not get pushed around.

The new gen trucks, Ford in 2017, RAM in 2013 and GM in the last couple years greatly increased the strength of their frames in their trucks and the result is a much better tow rig from all three. Chris

Go drive them all, then try for the best deal on the one you (wife) like best. From what I have read Ram will have the best prices, while Fords will be the most expensive out the door. And GM will be somewhere between.
Before you discount a dually you need to figure out how big your will probsbly go for. SRW trucks are limited by tire load ratings, so you will need to be far more careful than with a dually. BTW, duallies are no harder to drive or park than a similarly equipped SRW.

whatimmadoboutmylegs wrote:

DwnSth wrote:
...would like to avoid the DRW if possible. The truck for us is not a daily driver and used only for hauling and towing...

Those two points seem to contradict each other. Ultimately, it's your money, your truck, etc., but if you never "have" to drive the truck, one would think you would want to maximize its ability to tow and haul, which is its sole purpose in life.

Well, that opens up a whole other debate between the wife and I - the much dreaded Class A vs Truck/5th wheel. Ease of parking while not in campground is an issue for us. We spend much time at national parks etc. and hiking is a huge part of our travels. Parking at trail heads is tough enough in my F150 so hoping to keep it reasonable, it may just be perception. Now if my wife see's this, it'll be back to looking at class A's and towing one of our jeeps...;)

DwnSth wrote:
...would like to avoid the DRW if possible. The truck for us is not a daily driver and used only for hauling and towing...

Those two points seem to contradict each other. Ultimately, it's your money, your truck, etc., but if you never "have" to drive the truck, one would think you would want to maximize its ability to tow and haul, which is its sole purpose in life.