Keystone Cougar vs. Heartland Wilderness (Quality)

RVers tend to add about 1000 pounds of stuff to their trailer. Typical storage locations of TTs tends to increase TW by more than the 10-15% of the whole trailer. Expect 200 pounds over dry tongue weight rating. I bet I'm closer to 300 with dual golf cart batteries and storage.

Hi all, we have a 2015 Cougar 28RBS and tow with a 2013 F-150 EB, crew cab, 6.5' bed, max tow/HD package and Anderson hitch. This setup tow's very well. We decided on the Cougar based on overall quality, looked at many TT's and thought the Cougar was above what we looked at. BTW, my truck payload is 2512.

goducks10 wrote:

borninblue wrote:
Looking at the Ram's Payload in the 2500, kind of surprised the ratings are not higher. Really they will only be a few hundred pounds more than the new F150's when you compare apples to apples, but it will be a all around more capable truck for towing.

Last time I got my oil changed at the local Ram dealer I took the time to walk around and check door stickers. Most Ram 2500 6.4's were 3000lbs+/- for payload. Drop a 6.7 CTD in and the payload dropped to 21-2200lbs. These were Laramies and Long Horns type models.

You won't come near that with an HD F150 Crew Cab 6.5 bed. On top of that you'll get a true 3/4 ton truck. My guess is if you order an HD F150 with the 3.5 EB and mandatory 3.73 gears you will be real close to the 6.4 in mpg. The 6.4 has cylinder deactivation to help with mpg on the hwy. Around town it could be a wash. Maybe some 6.4 owners could chime in on mpg. Right now Rams giving away 2014 models around here.

Actually last year year F150 was rayed at 2330 with max payload option. Granted that is with no options on supercrew 6.5 bed.

goducks10 wrote:

borninblue wrote:
Looking at the Ram's Payload in the 2500, kind of surprised the ratings are not higher. Really they will only be a few hundred pounds more than the new F150's when you compare apples to apples, but it will be a all around more capable truck for towing.

Last time I got my oil changed at the local Ram dealer I took the time to walk around and check door stickers. Most Ram 2500 6.4's were 3000lbs+/- for payload. Drop a 6.7 CTD in and the payload dropped to 21-2200lbs. These were Laramies and Long Horns type models.

You won't come near that with an HD F150 Crew Cab 6.5 bed. On top of that you'll get a true 3/4 ton truck. My guess is if you order an HD F150 with the 3.5 EB and mandatory 3.73 gears you will be real close to the 6.4 in mpg. The 6.4 has cylinder deactivation to help with mpg on the hwy. Around town it could be a wash. Maybe some 6.4 owners could chime in on mpg. Right now Rams giving away 2014 models around here.

FWIW I drive my 2500 everyday. I just don't get the need for a cushy ride thing. It's a truck that needs to be stiffer to tow a heavy load. That's why all the 1/2 ton owners are always on the forums asking for sway control help. The stiffer heavier truck always wins. I suppose if you only tow a few times a year then the 1/2 ton would work. But IMO and we tow 4-5000 miles a year and I put another 7000 on it running empty, it's a fair trade off. If I was on the 10,000 empty/2000 mile towing scenario it would be different. But then why buy a $30-40,000 TT and $45,000 truck only to go out a few times.

borninblue wrote:
Looking at the Ram's Payload in the 2500, kind of surprised the ratings are not higher. Really they will only be a few hundred pounds more than the new F150's when you compare apples to apples, but it will be a all around more capable truck for towing.

Last time I got my oil changed at the local Ram dealer I took the time to walk around and check door stickers. Most Ram 2500 6.4's were 3000lbs+/- for payload. Drop a 6.7 CTD in and the payload dropped to 21-2200lbs. These were Laramies and Long Horns type models.

You won't come near that with an HD F150 Crew Cab 6.5 bed. On top of that you'll get a true 3/4 ton truck. My guess is if you order an HD F150 with the 3.5 EB and mandatory 3.73 gears you will be real close to the 6.4 in mpg. The 6.4 has cylinder deactivation to help with mpg on the hwy. Around town it could be a wash. Maybe some 6.4 owners could chime in on mpg. Right now Rams giving away 2014 models around here.

F-150 HD payload package is also limited to 6.5' bed with crew cab, same as the HDs.

What do you have to order on the F-150 to get Max Payload in addition to HD Tow. I would go that route if the 3/4 tons don't suit your DD needs. I would not want to drive my F250 everyday either.

Looking at the Ram's Payload in the 2500, kind of surprised the ratings are not higher. Really they will only be a few hundred pounds more than the new F150's when you compare apples to apples, but it will be a all around more capable truck for towing.

Thanks for the reply. Yes I already own a 2011 5.0 Platinum. I keep going round and round with this. Don't really care for the 250's. I like the Chevy 2500 and Ram 2500 out of the 3/4. Neither will fit in the garage with the four door package which is a must for the family. I am ok with parking in the driveway but the MPG as a daily driver keeps me coming back to F150. Can't have my cake and eat it too. Ram seems like best all round deal right now considering both price and mpg.

An F150 HD will price out so close to a F250 it's almost not worth it. You get more of everything in the F250, but mpg will suffer somewhat. You could tow what ever TT you wanted with an F250 gasser though, and you probably won't be coming back here posting about sway issues.

JMHO, but after towing a 7300lb 31' TT with a MaxTow (1857lb CCC) and a Ram 2500 there's really no comparison between the two. If you're okay with just getting by then go with the F150. If you want to know that you have plenty of truck and won't be worrying about what you can or can't pack for a trip then go 3/4 ton.

Sounds like your're really leaning towards Ford but IMO a Ram 2500 6.4 will get better mpg than a Ford 6.2 and with rebates will probably be less than ordering an HD F150.

In the end I suppose you could just get the Laredo and tow it with the F150 and if you don't like it upgrade to a 3/4 ton. That would be the more expensive route. Buying a smaller TT would be the least expensive route.

Just to clarify things, I'm assuming you already own an F150?