Hi All. Advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I currently have 2011 Ram 2500 Hemi w/4.10 rear axle. 11400# towing, 2300#payload. RV is 23’ Shamrock hybrid 4900# dry, 6200# GVWR. Had a 2005 Suburban that was terrible at towing....when adding 4 kids, 150lbs of kayaks, and 6 bikes. Not surprising since suburban payload capacitywas 1400#. Even with WDH and sway control, towing with the Burb was SCARY. Got the 2500 Ram and barely knew the RVwas back there. Just a dream to tow. Looking back the 2500 might have been overkill. We are now down to 2 kids, same camper, and only 4 bikes. I need more of a daily driver, with something better on gas, and am considering dropping down to a f-150, with 9000lb towing capacity, and 1800-2000lb payload capacity. My concern is a.). GCVW limits (gvwr 7050# for the truck + gvwr #6200 for the camper) (GCVWR for the truck is 14,100)and b.) squishy 35psi rated LT truck tires. I’m willing to live with some more “wiggle” when towing, but don’t want the tail wagging the dog. Anyone hearing alarm bells or seeing red flags switching to a f-150 for a new TV?Many thanks!Doug

Goodness no. The specs on that trailer are a match made in heaven for any half ton. The LT tires should be rated for far more than 35 PSI. If not, they are P tires. I ran LT on my half ton with 55 to 60 and it made a huge difference. Check the sidewall rating and be aware the rims if not rated for an LT won't cope with full PSI- I believe it's the valve stems.I can't see a single issue with what you are proposing.

Having to much truck is a blessing when things go wrong. Are you talking about a big difference in mpg ? Do you drive enough miles that it would be a large savings?. Are you talking about a new truck with payments vs maybe no payments on your current truck? does your 2011 have a lot of miles on it so that maybe reliability is a factor. Of course sometimes we just want a new truck because???I wouldn't go down to a 150 or 1500.

The slight fuel savings isn’t worth the extra cost to acquire a new truck imho unless you have more reasons to want something new. How many thousands of $$ will you have to pay for a different truck to gain a couple of mpg? It would take years to recoup the difference if you could at all. You’ll be losing capacity while down grading to a 1/2 ton while gaining little, if anything, in ride quality. Doesn’t seem worth it to me.

camp-n-family wrote:The slight fuel savings isn’t worth the extra cost to acquire a new truck imho unless you have more reasons to want something new. How many thousands of $$ will you have to pay for a different truck to gain a couple of mpg? It would take years to recoup the difference if you could at all. You’ll be losing capacity while down grading to a 1/2 ton while gaining little, if anything, in ride quality. Doesn’t seem worth it to me.Comparing a 2500 hemi to a new F150, its more than a couple MPG.But more to the point, the F150 is simply a better daily driver. The ride is more than a "little" better, while having better roadholding, braking, turn-in etc.And not all versions of the F150 would even be losing any payload. Yes, some could lost quite a bit since they very so much, and some even have more than a 2500.

Thanks all. I appreciate the feedback. Because my truck has 4:10 rear, it gets 15mpg highway keeping it around 65mph, , 11-12 around town. I drive it very conservatively, and it has never seen a plow blade, etc. I bought it new, but it has given me a lot of issues, and it only has 56k miles on it. In that time, the major things are: 2 drive shafts, torque converter, all new rear brakes at 30k, and all new front brakes at 50k miles. So I have not been happy with it’s reliability. The 150 does have a much better ride, but I don’t want to go back to “porpoising” and “floating” down the highway when towing. (I run 300lbs of tube sand and low pressure (45psi) rear tires when not towing to try and soften the ride). I’m looking at having to put about $10k into a 2015-2016 The Ram is payed off.

DOWNgrading truck - sanity check please | Good Sam Community

40 Replies

IdaD
Explorer
Feb 25, 2018
Based on mileage alone it's a poor choice. You'll save maybe $500 a year on fuel with the F150 and that's being generous. Now if you don't like the Ram because it's given you trouble or you just want something newer go for it, a new F150 should handle that trailer fine if properly outfitted. But don't kid yourself about it being the economical choice.

And to echo the above, if your goal is mileage for $10k you could get yourself into something that would save you a more meaningful amount of fuel expense.
PDX_Zs
Explorer
Feb 25, 2018
I don't know man.

That's the fun part of all this, there is no right answer.

I can relate, as I just kicked my daily driver over to our daughter and am looking for a new one as the tow beast is suboptimal as a daily.

I do know that if I already had a 3/4 ton truck and a $10k budget, I would have a hard time not just keeping the truck and buying a nice used car.

$10k cash, patience, and a bargaining attitude buys a lot of fun on Craigslist

Here's a nice Hemi Charge by you...
https://hartford.craigslist.org/cto/d/dodge-charger/6483562445.html

How about a 2013 BMW 328?
https://newlondon.craigslist.org/cto/d/2013-bmw-328i-xdrive-all/6475857371.html

Think about it.

Tons of stuff out there that would change the comfort of your commute, and your MPG significantly.
bid_time
Nomad II
Feb 25, 2018
Get the heavy duty payload package with the 3.5 ecoboost (which comes with the 10 spd tranny) and you'll be livin the dream.
DutchmenSport
Explorer
Feb 25, 2018
KEEP THE CURRENT TRUCK! If you go "lesser" you'll regret it! Instead, pick up a new (or used) car (small, gas, get's 35 mpg or better) and use it for a daily driver. BIG mistake if you drop down with your truck!

We have our 3500 dually Diesel, 4 door crew cab, long bed pickup for towing and as a backup daily driver or if we both need to go separate directions. We have a much smaller Chevy Equinox as our primary daily driver. I also have a utility trailer I tow with the truck.

This is a much better approach. You need the truck for towing the camper. Get a second small car that's economical on fuel.
KD4UPL
Explorer II
Feb 25, 2018
So you get 15 MPG now. Let's say the F150 gets 20. At $2.50 a gallon you would have to drive 240,000 miles to save the $10,000. There's no way I'd trade just for the fuel savings.
I wouldn't trade anyway. Too much truck is never a bad thing, too little always is. Personally I will never buy less than a 3500 truck. But then, I use a truck to tow and haul, not to just ride around.
Dougie123
Explorer
Feb 25, 2018
Thanks all. I appreciate the feedback.

Because my truck has 4:10 rear, it gets 15mpg highway keeping it around 65mph, , 11-12 around town. I drive it very conservatively, and it has never seen a plow blade, etc.

I bought it new, but it has given me a lot of issues, and it only has 56k miles on it. In that time, the major things are: 2 drive shafts, torque converter, all new rear brakes at 30k, and all new front brakes at 50k miles. So I have not been happy with it’s reliability.

The 150 does have a much better ride, but I don’t want to go back to “porpoising” and “floating” down the highway when towing. (I run 300lbs of tube sand and low pressure (45psi) rear tires when not towing to try and soften the ride).

I’m looking at having to put about $10k into a 2015-2016 The Ram is payed off.
carringb
Explorer
Feb 25, 2018
camp-n-family wrote:
The slight fuel savings isn’t worth the extra cost to acquire a new truck imho unless you have more reasons to want something new. How many thousands of $$ will you have to pay for a different truck to gain a couple of mpg? It would take years to recoup the difference if you could at all. You’ll be losing capacity while down grading to a 1/2 ton while gaining little, if anything, in ride quality. Doesn’t seem worth it to me.

Comparing a 2500 hemi to a new F150, its more than a couple MPG.

But more to the point, the F150 is simply a better daily driver. The ride is more than a "little" better, while having better roadholding, braking, turn-in etc.

And not all versions of the F150 would even be losing any payload. Yes, some could lost quite a bit since they very so much, and some even have more than a 2500.
camp-n-family
Explorer
Feb 25, 2018
The slight fuel savings isn’t worth the extra cost to acquire a new truck imho unless you have more reasons to want something new. How many thousands of $$ will you have to pay for a different truck to gain a couple of mpg? It would take years to recoup the difference if you could at all. You’ll be losing capacity while down grading to a 1/2 ton while gaining little, if anything, in ride quality. Doesn’t seem worth it to me.
Farmerjon
Explorer
Feb 25, 2018
Having to much truck is a blessing when things go wrong.
Are you talking about a big difference in mpg ? Do you drive enough miles that it would be a large savings?.
Are you talking about a new truck with payments vs maybe no payments on your current truck? does your 2011 have a lot of miles on it so that maybe reliability is a factor. Of course sometimes we just want a new truck because???
I wouldn't go down to a 150 or 1500.
smurfs_of_war
Explorer
Feb 25, 2018
Goodness no. The specs on that trailer are a match made in heaven for any half ton. The LT tires should be rated for far more than 35 PSI. If not, they are P tires. I ran LT on my half ton with 55 to 60 and it made a huge difference. Check the sidewall rating and be aware the rims if not rated for an LT won't cope with full PSI- I believe it's the valve stems.

I can't see a single issue with what you are proposing.

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DOWNgrading truck - sanity check please

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