Starting to Look - Need Opinions
First off, wanted to say hello...first time poster although I've browsed this site for probably a couple years and have gained a lot of information. I apologize in advance if this gets long, but he...
Forum Discussion
I've spent MANY miles and hours towing a 25'TT that was in the 6500-7000 lb range with crew cab pickups. Including myself, spouse and our four kids too! Very doable if the kids do not know better, or know that more roomy options are not in the cards for different reasons shapes and forms.
Issue as has been pointed out, it is not the gvwr of the tow rig you need to worry about, but PAYLOAD!PAYLOAD!PAYLOAD and PAYLOAD! Do not worry about the door sticker 25x or 35x etc, With 6 people in a rig, you will be one to two gvwr sizes larger than the couples on this forum. My old CC was a 9200 gvwr rig, with an empty wt of 6600 lbs. We were ALWAYS at 9000-9500 gvw for the truck! 1200-1300 of people, add in the 2 dogs at 120 or so lbs ea. Rack on the bed, cross bed tool box, canoe, bikes, firewood.....700-750 lbs of hitch wt. Adds up quick!
Frankly a 2500 burb as many have suggested, only have at best 2000-2500 lbs of payload. A Gas sw CC like my old K3500, will be less wt than my diesel, unless you get a leather pkg, then all bets are off. A gas LB CC truck should be in the 6200-6600 empty range. With gvwr's from 9200-9900 for most, a few in the 10,xxx range. Also, GM trucks typically are the lightest wt overall, with equal options, dodge in the middle, ford the heaviest. BUT, the gvwr for the gm is the least, dodge then ford the highest.....BUT, GM is on par and sometimes has more PAYLOAD than the other brands. At the end of the day, ALL three crewcab trucks will do as you wish. Dodge MC is the biggest cab, then ford and gm maybe an inch or so behind the ford. Even my sons that are 5'16" tall have no issues with my 96 or my current 05 for long trips in the back seat. Worst no matter how you slice it, is the middle front!
If you go much larger in a trailer than 8-9K lbs, get a dually! You then go from 2500-3000 lbs of PAYLOAD, to 4000+ lbs. Amazing what kids want to take etc.
Motor wise, not sure it matters. I saw some tests awhile back, showed the GM 6.0 gas to be close to the dmax in overall times, speeds etc. Not enough difference to say the 6.0 was a dog! Especially with the new 6sp auto. If you make the road steep enough, the 6.0 with 4.10s will stall out later by 5% points or so than a dmax. But the dmax will out do the 6.0 speed wise under that! The only place a turbo diesel will out do a gas, is at elevation. But put a super charger on the gas rig, and the 2-3% loss per 1000' of elevation above sea level you are, is negated!
Choose your poison, there is not BEST tow rig for families of 6 or larger per say. ALL have negatives, you have to choose which negative vs positive in your mind is best. Overall room in the rig, a van wins hands down. Next an suv, but not by much IMHO, then a crew cab pickup. BUT, with a pickup, you can put your gas generator and fuel in the bed, and not smell it in the trailer or back of the van or suv. There is not best choice, other than the one with the MOST PAYLOAD!
Did I mention look at PAYLOAD when buying the rig?!?!?!?!?
marty
Issue as has been pointed out, it is not the gvwr of the tow rig you need to worry about, but PAYLOAD!PAYLOAD!PAYLOAD and PAYLOAD! Do not worry about the door sticker 25x or 35x etc, With 6 people in a rig, you will be one to two gvwr sizes larger than the couples on this forum. My old CC was a 9200 gvwr rig, with an empty wt of 6600 lbs. We were ALWAYS at 9000-9500 gvw for the truck! 1200-1300 of people, add in the 2 dogs at 120 or so lbs ea. Rack on the bed, cross bed tool box, canoe, bikes, firewood.....700-750 lbs of hitch wt. Adds up quick!
Frankly a 2500 burb as many have suggested, only have at best 2000-2500 lbs of payload. A Gas sw CC like my old K3500, will be less wt than my diesel, unless you get a leather pkg, then all bets are off. A gas LB CC truck should be in the 6200-6600 empty range. With gvwr's from 9200-9900 for most, a few in the 10,xxx range. Also, GM trucks typically are the lightest wt overall, with equal options, dodge in the middle, ford the heaviest. BUT, the gvwr for the gm is the least, dodge then ford the highest.....BUT, GM is on par and sometimes has more PAYLOAD than the other brands. At the end of the day, ALL three crewcab trucks will do as you wish. Dodge MC is the biggest cab, then ford and gm maybe an inch or so behind the ford. Even my sons that are 5'16" tall have no issues with my 96 or my current 05 for long trips in the back seat. Worst no matter how you slice it, is the middle front!
If you go much larger in a trailer than 8-9K lbs, get a dually! You then go from 2500-3000 lbs of PAYLOAD, to 4000+ lbs. Amazing what kids want to take etc.
Motor wise, not sure it matters. I saw some tests awhile back, showed the GM 6.0 gas to be close to the dmax in overall times, speeds etc. Not enough difference to say the 6.0 was a dog! Especially with the new 6sp auto. If you make the road steep enough, the 6.0 with 4.10s will stall out later by 5% points or so than a dmax. But the dmax will out do the 6.0 speed wise under that! The only place a turbo diesel will out do a gas, is at elevation. But put a super charger on the gas rig, and the 2-3% loss per 1000' of elevation above sea level you are, is negated!
Choose your poison, there is not BEST tow rig for families of 6 or larger per say. ALL have negatives, you have to choose which negative vs positive in your mind is best. Overall room in the rig, a van wins hands down. Next an suv, but not by much IMHO, then a crew cab pickup. BUT, with a pickup, you can put your gas generator and fuel in the bed, and not smell it in the trailer or back of the van or suv. There is not best choice, other than the one with the MOST PAYLOAD!
Did I mention look at PAYLOAD when buying the rig?!?!?!?!?
marty
