towing 9,000 lb camper 13 hours

Welcome to the Forum.
As far as " will starting and stopping a diesel motor 30 times a day 5 days a week hurt it?"

Keep in mind that most all UPS delivery trucks are diesel and they turn them off and on at each delivery stop..

9000 lb. camper and 6 people...I'd go diesel.

Welcome to the forum! You don't mention the age of your current 250, but if you get a newer 250 with 6.2 gas, and 6-speed transmission, you should have no problem towing that trailer with your family aboard, especially if you opt for the 4.30 gears.

Jerry

For your current trailer, a newer F-250 2015-??? is fine with either engine option, gas particularily so with the taller gears. The other thing you may want to consider though is that if you are carrying a family of six currently with that weight trailer, there is a fair chance that you may want to increase the size of trailer as they grow, and for that, the diesel would give you more options.
Also if the truck is to be a work vehicle, with many starts and stops, the diesel may make sense from a longeviety standpoint. Gas models typically are lasting 200K miles, but the diesels do go even longer if that is a consideration.

Towing in mountains or areas with steep grades the diesel is nice to have. Towing in mostly flat terrain and generally shorter trips a gasser will be fine.

Personally I would go gas. I’m towing a 9k lb trailer with a V-10 Excursion (basically an F250). I’ve had 4 adults, 3 kids and a German Shepherd in it along with a cooler and some firewood. Never had an issue.

The new gas engines are great! Unless you haul a heavy load regularly I would go gas.

Don't F250 Diesels have a low payload compared to F250 Gas ?

Only thing I saw in Key West that was interesting, A guy riding a bike came to a stoplight beside my wife but didn't put his feet down. My wife helped him up and told him he was too drunk to ride he'd better push the bike. He agreed.

Gas or diesel really depends on the terrain you are dealing with. Where are you located? Do you plan to tow in the mountains? Is this 13 hour trip a one time thing or do you plan to go on long towing trips regularly.

Welcome to the forum, lots info here. The answer to your question is in the weight of all you carry. Every truck has a max cargo capacity as well as max towing capacity.

You will usually run out of cargo capacity first. You need to know the weight of family, toys, camp gear, and all the misc. stuff that get tossed into the vehicles when you are on the road. Then you can add the loaded trailer tongue weight. You are the only one that knows what your family cannot live without.

You are going to be spending big bucks for a new tow vehicle, so a guess will not do. You need an accurate weight and that means the CAT scales.

CAT scales give you an accurate weight on each axle.

Since you usually drive two vehicles. On you next trip, stop by the scales and weight your rig. Next weight the second car, empty people and stuff out of the car and weighs the car empty.

That weight difference is going to be added to your new truck.

All of the is a real pain to do, or you can guess weights and take you chances like most folks. Unfortunately guesses are rarely correct.

As for gassers or diesels it is mostly personal preference. I would not own a diesel but my neighbor loves them. He even ordered his zero turn lawn mower with a diesel engine.

I live where it gets very cold sometimes. Admittedly diesels have come a long way in recent years, still I want minimal hassle and expense when it comes to my vehicles.

Good luck

The 13 hour trip is a 1 time thing but there will be several 6 hour trips a year. Thanks for response guys and giving good advice