wintersun wrote:
I would be interested in the price you paid for your rig and what the cost is for new tires and brakes and fuel as compared to your 1-ton truck.
Hard to spend more than $70,000 for any 3500 diesel pickup and the used Freightliner M2 trucks I have looked at all cost over $120,000. I agree about getting a Class 4 or 5 truck at a certain amount of tow load but that does not apply to 99% of the travel trailers being pulled on the highway.
80% of the 5th-wheel travel trailers I see being pulled down the highway are pulled by 2500/3500 trucks that are SRW and doing so with no problems.
Howdy wintersun,
I "assume" your questions are directed to me as the original thread starter. I paid $25,000 for the Freightliner Columbia as it now is. Since buying the truck I have spent a total of around $1,200.00 in repairs and fluid changes this included NEW brakes all the way around new brake shoes and hardware and two new drums in the rear, cost for this was a tad over 800 bucks they will last till long after I am dead or have sold the truck to another person, the truck cam e with new tires they will dry rot long before I wear them out, I get better fuel mileage with the Freightliner then I did with the one ton dually.
An M2 is a medium duty truck, they are WAY over priced for what you get and most have an engine that is the same size or slightly larger then what you can get in a light duty pickup and really won't do that much more then a light duty truck when it comes to towing but they will do a little bit better job of controlling the trailer and stopping it simply because of weight and larger brakes, still they are no where the same league as a heavy duty truck. Its not uncommon for medium duty trucks to get worse mileage then a light duty truck again the same engine is dragging more weight.
"I" am not talking about towing the normal sized RV trailer most of which weigh less then 10,000 pounds, I agree a pickup will do a good job of that, my trailer grosses out at 20,000 pounds and there isn't a light duty truck made that will pull such a trailer as safely in ALL aspects of that word as my HDT.
Try towing a 15,000 pound or more trailer with an light duty truck in the mountains and be able to maintain speed going up the mountain and maintain a decent speed SAFELY going down the mountain, try to control that same trailer on a slippery surface with a truck that weight LESS then the trailer, try to maintain control of the trailer if you have tire go down on your single rear wheel light duty truck. There is no way I am say any of this can't be done, just that "I" am not going to try doing it. I don't think you have read the entire thread if you had you would have seen that I NEVER claimed what I did was the ONLY choice but that it was "MY" choice after going to heavier trailers and what "I" found lacking in a light duty truck and a one ton dually is a light duty truck. Read the whole thread, all of your questions have been answered not only by me but others who have also posted opinions and personal experience regardki9ng the subject at hand.
I'll say it again, I wish I had made this move in tow vehicles years ago, I am very pleased with my choice and would encourage others who tow 15,000 or more in mountainous terrain to seriously consider buying a truck built to do the job, economically and SAFELY.
Dave
