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zztinker's avatar
zztinker
Explorer
Mar 06, 2017

Need a new truck

Want to know if a 2017 Ford 250, or dodge 250 gas would pull a 2010 Jayco
Eagle Super Lite Fifth Wheel Series M-31.5 RLDS. Its about 11,000 lbs on scale. I hate to spend the extra $ 8,000 for a diesel.

18 Replies

  • I 2nd this. I tow 10k with no problems. You will want to get the optional 4.10's on the Ram instead of the standard 3.73 gears. this takes you over a 15k tow rating.
  • My last truck was the 2014 Ram 2500 6.4L Hemi in my sig pic. I towed a 12k 5er (37' with 3 slides) with it all over and through the Canadian Rockies. I was very satisfied with the performance. I wouldn't hesitate to buy the same truck again for pulling a big load occasionally. I got 7-9 mpg pulling that load, most times it was 8 mpg.

    With the Ram 2500, I had 3000# payload, and was under all of my ratings (GCWR, GVWR, GAWRs, and max tow rating) while hitched up. Oh, and there was very little sag and a nice ride (empty and loaded) with the rear coil spring suspension. The pic below is all stock. No airbags needed, even with the big 5er.

    Did it use high RPM to climb big grades? Yes.
    Did that bother me? Nope. That's where the big Hemi made max power.

  • 408f150 wrote:
    Cummins12V98 wrote:
    zztinker wrote:
    Want to know if a 2017 Ford 250, or dodge 250 gas would pull a 2010 Jayco
    Eagle Super Lite Fifth Wheel Series M-31.5 RLDS. Its about 11,000 lbs on scale. I hate to spend the extra $ 8,000 for a diesel.


    I see you are from central California. If I remember there are lot's of BIG grades. If you like your engine SCREAMING at you and crawling up those grades go for it!

    Diesel it the way to go!


    I agree, I'm also in CA and no matter which way you go (I-5, I-80, etc) you almost always have to get over a major grade to get out of the state. If you just float around CA and don't need to get over the sierras often a gasser will probably be fine but diesel gives you a huge comfortable towing margin and you'll get almost all of that money back in resale vs a gasser. You can get a mid-trim 2016 Cummins 2500 with under 20k miles for around 40k


    You can get a well optioned Tradesman 2500 Cummins for ~42k brand new too!
  • Cummins12V98 wrote:
    zztinker wrote:
    Want to know if a 2017 Ford 250, or dodge 250 gas would pull a 2010 Jayco
    Eagle Super Lite Fifth Wheel Series M-31.5 RLDS. Its about 11,000 lbs on scale. I hate to spend the extra $ 8,000 for a diesel.


    I see you are from central California. If I remember there are lot's of BIG grades. If you like your engine SCREAMING at you and crawling up those grades go for it!

    Diesel it the way to go!


    I agree, I'm also in CA and no matter which way you go (I-5, I-80, etc) you almost always have to get over a major grade to get out of the state. If you just float around CA and don't need to get over the sierras often a gasser will probably be fine but diesel gives you a huge comfortable towing margin and you'll get almost all of that money back in resale vs a gasser. You can get a mid-trim 2016 Cummins 2500 with under 20k miles for around 40k
  • zztinker wrote:
    Want to know if a 2017 Ford 250, or dodge 250 gas would pull a 2010 Jayco
    Eagle Super Lite Fifth Wheel Series M-31.5 RLDS. Its about 11,000 lbs on scale. I hate to spend the extra $ 8,000 for a diesel.


    I see you are from central California. If I remember there are lot's of BIG grades. If you like your engine SCREAMING at you and crawling up those grades go for it!

    Diesel it the way to go!
  • Ford releases a good Towing Guide with specs by truck: Crew Cab or Supercab, 4x4, etc. with engines and axles. That's the best place to start your research. The diesel will pull better but have less payload than gas which is a bigger deal on a F-250 than F-350 for a 5er.
  • Carrying the load should not be a problem. Wouldn't hurt to put Firestone air bags on it.
    The question is where are you going to be towing at. If you are doing any amount of mountains you are going to want the diesel. That 8K seems like a lot up front but in the end you get a better tow vehicle and a better future trade in value.
  • My last truck was an F250 with the V10. I was closer to 12,000 lbs and it was fine. According to the site below, you should be fine with an F250. Personally, I would go with the 350 (which is what I just did) to give me a little more payload and the price was not much more. My 2016 F350 rides nicer than I thought it would too.

    http://www.ford.com/trucks/super-duty/2017/models/f250-xlt/