Point is, a good 3/4 ton is as cheap or even cheaper to buy than the most beefed out 1/2 ton from the OEM. You can thank the OEM marketing department and general market demands for that. For instance, a Chevy 1500 Z71 max tow with 6.2L and 8 speed with costs more than a Chevy 2500 Z71 standard 6.0L gasser, yet the 2500 has a payload of 1000 lb more than the 1500 and a tow rating of 2000 lb more.
In 2015, I bought a 2500 Double cab, Z71, LT, 6.0L with 4.10 diffs. Including snowplow prep and tow package with gooseneck/5th wheel prep and integrated brake controller. Got it for $39,000, driving off the lot with a Line-X bed liner job thrown in, along with Auto Armor paint protection package and rust protection package. Good luck getting a 1500 with 6.2L Max tow Z71 LT with equivalent goodies off the lot for that low of a price. And while the 6.2L might have a little more HP and Torque, it means very little if one cannot actually use it all effectively. And the 6.2L would be limited to Premium fuel, which in some areas is the highest cost fuel going right now. Where as the 6.0L in the 2500 could use anything but diesel in it. Any grade of gasoline and is flex fuel.
While one can do a lot to get a 1/2 ton to do the same things as a 3/4 ton, one is dollars ahead by just getting the 3/4 ton to begin with. including beefier frame and brakes over what is offered in the Class 1 1/2 tons.
I realize that some might like to think their 1/2 ton is a truck, but in many cases a 1/2 ton is just a car or SUV on steroids. Even the jump from class 1 to class 2 is a major jump.
