Heavy Duty / Super Duty Truck as Daily Driver

Look at the 2017 Nissan Titan XD Pro-4X Crew Cab.
Cummins 5.0 L V-8 turbo- diesel,310 HP, Torque 555 @ 1600 rpm, 6 speed transmission, 3.91:1 rear axle ratio, 12,030 towing capacity, 19,450 lbs. GCWR, Length 20 ft. 3.5 in. ,151&1/2 WB.
MPG 18.5 (13 mpg towing),5 year 50,00 mile basic warranty.
This will be the next truck I will be look at.
G.reed.

I Tow a 2017 Open Range trailer that’s 33 feet long and weighs in at roughly 8K LB I purchased a new 2017 Ford F-250 with the Diesel engine the power and torque is awesome. As a daily driver it really wasn’t too bad but when the wife said let’s get a small car for you to drive to work I though ok then I can keep the miles down on the truck. I still drive the truck once a week and on weekends just cause I love driving it and can’t just leave it in the driveway. This new F250 is a luxury vehicle on a truck chassis. The adaptive cruise control is the best especially while towing. We have the super cab and the three kids have plenty of room in the back seats for a comfortable trip. We typically take a long trip down to California from the Seattle area every December to see family during the kids Christmas break. Been planning our trip now for this December.
My advice would be to buy the biggest truck you can afford. you will then have plenty of towing power for the future. Good Luke on you decision

we used our 2004 duramax as a daily driver and for long unloaded trips as well as towing for 150K miles. Doing the same as our 2015 Duramax.

Both are crew cab 4x4 and frankly, DW and I along with our kids prefer the duramax for long trips vs. their or our cars. And as a daily driver, not an issue either. Drove the duramax to work every day for 12 years, about 10 miles round trip.

on the highway we average 18-19 mpg unloaded vs. 24mpg for our sedan. not enough difference to worry about.

Now if it was a dually or a long bed, another story. the CC SB takes up two spots lengthwise in parking, especially if the hitch is in. And a dually is pretty wide. Neither is as "daily driver" friendly IMHO

I guess I am going to break with the crowd here. I am not a fan of using a 2500/3500 as a daily driver.

When speaking of my 3500 CC DRW long bed, it is hard to park, especially if I need to go downtown or in a parking garage. It gets terrible fuel mileage, especially comparing it to smaller vehicles (like your Pilot), and if you do a lot of miles, the running costs (like a set of tires will run over $800 all in, and last less than 1/2 the miles a car does). Drive throughs are a challenge, and automated car washes are impossible.

I'll likely always have a 3500. But I have another car to daily drive.

I tried to use my CC Dually as a DD. I have about a 70-80 miles commute and I work an office job in the middle of a city, and we have a parking garage.

My dually was a PITA as a DD.

I now have a F150 SCREW with the 5.5 ft bed. Talk about the best of both worlds. I can tow a decent trailer (NOT 35 ft!) and its easy to handle in my parking garage and down town. It can still get tight from time to time.

I could probably edge up to a 6.5 ft bed 2500/3500 series without much problem.

But let me tell ya, that "Little bit rougher ride" over 80 miles Every...single...day... can turn into a kidney killing, back aching, machine. Of course, the new 2500's ride much better than my old F350 Dually.

When we upgrade to a heavier duty truck it will be a 2500 CC Short bed.

YMMV and Good Luck!

Thank!

Jeremiah

Most of the last fifteen years I have towed with and advocated towing with HD pickups. I liked the options that 3,400 pounds of payload provided when it came to the various trailers I owned. Now that I tow only small travel trailers, I am enjoying my F-150 with its 2,300 pound payload. 20+ mpg empty and 12 mpg towing with a better ride make for a very enjoyable daily driver without giving up too much towing ability.

My previous Sierra 2500HD (diesel) was used as a daily driver the last couple of years before I retired - even parked it in the parking garage at the hospital. I would not want to do the same with the long bed DRW we have now, though.

I have also come to the conclusion that most people will be sorry in the long run if they purchase a 3/4-ton truck with a view toward getting a bigger trailer in the future. The drive trains are the same on the 3/4- and 1-ton trucks... it's the payload limitations on the 3/4-tons that will come back to bite you. The cost difference between a SRW 3/4-ton and SRW 1-ton with the same trim and options is minimal. Go with a SRW 1-ton. Gas or diesel is your choice (but you'll wish you had a diesel if you get a bigger trailer and pull in the mountains!).

Rob

So where do you think all those people are going when they're driving SD trucks with out something hooked to it?

I just purchased a 2500 chevy to pull my 28ft TT. I had been using a 1500 which seemed to be under powered. The new TV does much better towing the TT, but expect much worse gas mileage. I dropped from approx. 20mpg with the 1500 to around 15mpg (at the best). Towing, I get about 6-8mpg. It was the right choice but has resulted in me sparingly using the 2500 as a daily driver.

I daily drove my Excursion for years! No issues. you get used to and appreciate its size.