Hi, we are a young couple with 2 small children, 2 large dogs and a new 24' travel trailer. We purchased a Jeep Grand Cherokee (against Dad's advice) and have had nothing but trouble without even towing. Needless to say the Jeep is gone and we are searching for the ideal tow vehicle and daily driver for our family. The decision is definitely a GMC pickup truck with cap, 4 doors for 2 car seats and it must be a 4x4. My wife will be driving it 20 miles per day with children.I have always wanted a diesel but my Dad says the cost of ownership is way more then a gasser for the amount of towing we will be doing. If we go with a gasser, what rear end do you recommend for a 6000# trailer and at most 10,000#? I will be taking a yearly trip thru mountains to visit inlaws but most less then 100 miles. I believe a 2500 is in order because years ago I had a 1500 that just didn't have what I felt I needed to tow my 5000# "toy jeep". We also want the longest bed available.I guess my biggest questions that I have is do I go gas or diesel and why? Do I go with a big rear end or smaller for daily driving?My Dad has always had a 454 in his trucks to tow with and the 4;10 rear end and is telling me I need to go big from the start but stay away from diesel. Please give me your advice or tell me of your experiences.THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Go with the diesel; you won't regret it. And yes, your dad is wrong; cost of ownership is a bit more but not substantially more. I'll never tow with a gasser again. No reason to stay away from the diesel.

If your going used, look and drive a Ram MegaCab. The interior room will blow you away. GM has one of the most dated interiors until you get the the last couple of years. Ram has one of the nicest. Fords are simply overpriced. A gas motor is fine for your smaller TT. So unless your going much bigger in the next couple years get a gaser. Diesels can be a bit more expensive for oil changes, but get better fuel economy. So its a wash in my book. Besides diesels tow way more and better than a gas motor.BTW your dad is way behind the times. Big block gassers were the only game in town 20 years ago. A lot has changed since then. Modern diesels are great motors with lots of pulling power and great fuel economy.

"The decision is definitely a GMC pickup truck with cap, 4 doors for 2 car seats and it must be a 4x4. My wife will be driving it 20 miles per day with children."Why limit yourself to one choice? The GMC Duramax diesel is a great way to go but so is the Ram Cummins. Especially the Mega Cab as mentioned above.BTW, the 454 has gone the way of the dodo bird. Today's smaller gas engines have more horsepower, more torque, and get double the gas mileage. Heck, my old Tudra Crew Max (same cab as the Dodge Mega Cab) had 381 hp and 401 ft lbs of torque. Got around 14-15 mpg daily driving. Fantastic tow vehicle too in its class.

For such a lite trailer. A diesel is just over kill. Yes it has higher main cost. But it also has much higher cost up front. Plus your diesel comes in a 2500, or 3500 truck. both are larger, and less manageable than a 1500. Meaning harder to park, and maneuver. You want a GMC./ Foe me a much better choice than it twin Chevy. Same truck, GMC just looks better. You ask about the rear gear. Get a 3.73, and the largest V8 GM offers, and you will be fine. A 24' 6000lb TT, is perfect for a 1500 GMC with the 5.3, and 3.73 rear gear. Also look at the GVWR. Nothing under 7000lbs

You don't need a diesel to pull 6000 lbs. Yes, it will make for a better towing experience when you hit the mountains but the newer gas engines (6.4 Hemi, 6.0 GMs and 6.2 Ford) will be more that adequate for pulling 6000 lbs.Diesel engine maintenance is more expensive. Expect to pay about $100 to have the oil changed ($25 filter, 3 plus gallons of oil (based on my work F550). Not sure how easy the Duramax motors are easy to work on, but the Powerstrokes are wedged in the Fords. Last year, my work truck (6.4 diesel) blew an injector pump to the tune of $4200 and last month blew a power steering hose at $600. She's an older truck with 63k miles but I'm just trying to give you an idea of the labor cost of some of these repairs when things go south.

Help us decide on tow vehicle and daily driver | Good Sam Community

DaveF-250SD
Explorer
Jan 19, 2018
Jake1962,
I think you will be most happiest with a 3/4 ton gas engine truck for the size loads you will be carrying. You will never have to be counting every pound of stuff you bring, etc., as you will have well more than enough payload for whatever comes up. Both My trucks are gas, an F-250 Super Duty with a V-10, and (need to update my signature) a '78 GMC C-35 one ton SRW pickup, yes, with a 454. Great engines, timeless and bullet proof. Your Dad is not the only 454 fan out there. :)
blt2ski
Moderator
Jan 19, 2018
A 15 series truck will generally speaking, not have what could be the need for 2000-3000 lbs of payload. 6-8k of trailer is upwards of 1200lbs for hitch. 2 large dogs....my two salutes were 150 each with crates. 2 adults...except and I are 450 lbs. 2 kids......mommy daddy can we bring 2 friends.....now you are a family of 6. We were 1200-1300+ when I had 4 adult sized teen kids.
Anyway, I had a 9200 gvwr sw 3500 usually running down the road at 9000-9500 lbs with 6500-7000 on trailer axles. 2500-3000 lbs of people etc in truck!
Any current gas motor will move you better than a 454. I had a couple of 454's. Decent motors. Tranny options sucked.
My 02 on this from my experience.

Marty
mhamershock
Explorer
Jan 19, 2018
My 2018 F150 has a 2400 lb payload. You put an ARE cap with the cargo rack on it and it will handle you and your family, plus dogs, trailer and boat on top and have a few 100 lbs left in payload. I drove a LOT of trucks before I ordered it. The GMCs and the RAMs were too primitive inside, and I didn't want a gas motor w/o turbos (hate to hear a motor tow at 5000 rpm) and the diesels were too expensive, and too big for a DD.

The F150 was MT Truck of the Year for a reason. The HD version with the 3.5EB and 10 speed is an amazing truck.

M
Jake1962
Explorer
Jan 19, 2018
bikendan wrote:
guidry wrote:
One other thing to consider, with a 1/2 ton truck; they size of the gas tank. Towing with my Tundra, I had to stop every 2 hours to fill up. That caused a big problem trying to find a gas station and was very inconvenient on a long trip.

A newer F150 with Max Tow Package will get you a 36 gallon fuel tank.

Ford always had the larger fuel tanks as I remember Dad filling both the front and rear tanks on our conversion van. I believe one was 16gal and other 18 gal.
Remember, since this will be her daily driver,I have to make my bride happy, that's why I'm asking all of your experiences.
I should mention that I drive a older sedan 30+ miles one way to work and it sits in a open area all day or night. I want my family to have the newest and safest. Thank you again ALL.
bikendan
Explorer
Jan 19, 2018
guidry wrote:
One other thing to consider, with a 1/2 ton truck; they size of the gas tank. Towing with my Tundra, I had to stop every 2 hours to fill up. That caused a big problem trying to find a gas station and was very inconvenient on a long trip.

A newer F150 with Max Tow Package will get you a 36 gallon fuel tank.
rexlion
Explorer
Jan 19, 2018
Considering your bad experience with the Jeep, I can appreciate staying away from Ram; after all, they're both FCA vehicles. However, I've never been a GM fan and I do read some negative comments about repairs/reliability of GM stuff. I agree with danrclem, a 3.5L ecoboost Ford will give you diesel-like performance without any of the diesel downsides. That engine has proven itself in reliability, and oil changes and other maintenance is pretty familiar and straighforward... no fancy low-ash oil, etc.

Diesels were great. With DEF and all the emissions junk, not so much now IMO. And when they break, hoo boy... they can break the bank. I hear tales of 5-figure repair bills to fix engine problems. Too rich for my blood!
danrclem
Explorer
Jan 19, 2018
A 3/4 ton gas truck will pull what you have easily but (and you probably already know this) they don't get very good fuel mileage. I have one but don't put many miles on it. If you don't mind the poor mileage a gasser would be an excellent choice. If you don't mind spending more money a truck with a diesel would be an excellent choice and get better everyday mileage than the gas.

I know you said GMC but a F150 HD with a 3.5 Ecoboost will pull your TT without breaking a sweat and will get good everyday mileage also. If I had a smaller trailer that's what I'd get.
KD4UPL
Explorer
Jan 19, 2018
MFL wrote:
Since you say buying new, I'd just get the GM 2500 with 6.0 gas. AFAIK, the new ones come standard with the 4.10. With the 6-speed transmission, and high HP 6.0, you will have ample towing power to go bigger, when the time comes. The gas trucks have lots of payload too.

Jerry

This,
GMC is a great truck. You're wise in getting a 2500 instead of a 1500. It WILL come with 4.10 gears. My '15 Chevy 3500 at work has the 6.0 gas engine and 4.10 gears. It handles up to 10,000 pounds quite easily. More than that and I wish for more power.
I've owned several diesel and gas GM trucks over the last 15 years. I love the diesels for hauling and towing heavy. I use my '05 diesel dually for such duty regularly and it's great.
However, for your application I see no need to spend the extra money on the truck, the fuel, or the maintenance of a diesel. The GM 6.0 is a solid proven engine. That makes more HP than the old 454 and even the early Duramax diesels.
MFL
Nomad II
Jan 19, 2018
Since you say buying new, I'd just get the GM 2500 with 6.0 gas. AFAIK, the new ones come standard with the 4.10. With the 6-speed transmission, and high HP 6.0, you will have ample towing power to go bigger, when the time comes. The gas trucks have lots of payload too.

Jerry
kw_00
Explorer
Jan 19, 2018
A gas 3/4 ton will pull what you have easily. No need to go diesel unless u have to or just want one.

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