Forum Discussion

Devocamper's avatar
Devocamper
Explorer
Sep 22, 2016

Diesel vs gas for truck campers?

Have posted a few questios phere on the truck camper forum asking for help in down sizing to a TC and thanks for the help so far, I have been going over the weights of the TC's that we have looked at and all are over weight for my truck(07 Chevy 3500HD long bed Ext cab dual rear wheel diesel) but I do understand I can add suspension upgrades and maybe handle the bigger units but looking at replacing the truck and with the gas trucks having more capacity my question is do the gas 3500 or 350's handle the load of a heavy TC ? I know about towing and my current diesel is great for pulling around a 15k fifth wheel but do you need the diesel to have a good truck setup for a TC . Some of the newer 3500's and 350 have much higher load capacities when they have the gas motor. I think Chevy is around 7200 and ram may be higher with gvwr's around 13000 compared to my 07 at 11400. Thanks for any help and info
Mike
Truck Campers

140 Replies

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  • Bob__B's avatar
    Bob__B
    Explorer
    Sep 23, 2016
    All my trucks til my current one were gas .... Now I can't think of any reason I would go back to gas.

    My truck still has over 5000 Lbs payload capacity with the diesel.
  • GeoBoy's avatar
    GeoBoy
    Explorer
    Sep 23, 2016
    My gas GMC has a slide-in camper rating of 4,913 lbs. and my AF 990 weighs 4,880 ready to go. The OP is looking at a Host triple slide-in camper that will weigh close to 6,000 lbs. ready to go. I wouldn't attempt to carry that camper on anything less than a 5500 series truck with a gas or diesel engine.
  • egarant's avatar
    egarant
    Explorer III
    Sep 23, 2016
    EXHAUST BRAKE! If you want that and I can't stress what a life changer that is, you HAVE to get a diesel that has it. All of the newer diesels by all the big three do.

    I hall my TC almost full time on the truck and at 57,100 miles I still have the OEM brakes on it.

    In tow/haul mode with the exhaust brake on you have COMPLETE control of any downhill situation.

    They are truly amazing.
  • Buzzcut1's avatar
    Buzzcut1
    Nomad II
    Sep 23, 2016
    The engine weight is almost totally on the front axle. Camper weight is almost all on the rear axle. Yeah you lose some gvwr with the diesel but not any rear world rear axle weight carrying capacity
  • MORSNOW's avatar
    MORSNOW
    Navigator III
    Sep 23, 2016
    My gas truck had a 700 lb payload advantage over the same truck with a diesel when I ordered it. Towing, the diesel won, hauling the gas won. I've never felt the need for more power or torque and I'm almost always towing a 16' aluminum trailer with an ATV or two. Every trip includes going through the mountains, not 14,000' passes like in Colorado, but one or two Alaskan passes each trip.
  • TxGearhead's avatar
    TxGearhead
    Explorer II
    Sep 23, 2016
    I didn't see where you are getting the payload capacity. If you are looking on the manufacturers website that number can change. Example...my Ram Laramie showed 4200# payload capacity on their website. After I ordered/added options of full length steps, spray in liner, and bucket seats, I was down to 4018#. So be careful. I would go look at several trucks and their yellow tag. Maybe buy one off a dealers lot so you know what you're getting.
    Just me, I would go diesel and tune the options to get the payload you want. I traded Ford on this Ram because of payload/GVW issue. Looking at SRW trucks, the ones I saw anyway, Ford was lowest, Ram highest, with Chevy in the middle. The very similarly equipped Ford I traded had a payload of 3267. I saw several on lots with less. Not sure if that comparison carries over to DRW.
  • bcbouy's avatar
    bcbouy
    Explorer
    Sep 22, 2016
    well,my gasser hauls my boat and camper around like a champ.call it around 4k. worth of weight.i live in bc so i travel up and down 4 different mountain ranges at any given time.never said to myself i need more power.
  • deltabravo's avatar
    deltabravo
    Nomad
    Sep 22, 2016
    Me personally, DIesel all the way, because I want the power for mountain driving.
    And I tow at the same time i have the camper on the truck.

    Also, after spending the better part of 2 summers doing RV transport around the Pacific NW, with a different diesel powered truck, there's no way I'd want a gasser again for hauling.

    The two trucks are listed in my signature.
  • jimh406's avatar
    jimh406
    Explorer III
    Sep 22, 2016
    It's not "much" higher. The difference in engine weight based on a previous thread is a few hundred lbs. How they rate the truck is a different matter. From the previous discussion, it's almost random how they are rated.

    The standard rules apply and are that you find the TC you want, and then look for a truck that's big enough for it.

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