Truck tips please

You may also want to look at Suburban and Navigator as a tow vehicle for that weight of trailer. Just make sure the vehicle has the capacity for cargo, people and TT.

A Crew Cab pickup will be comfortable up to a point. There is plenty of leg room in the rear seat even for 3 adults. I would choose diesel for the added torque for hill climbing but be sure to get an exhaust brake for down hill. The ride will be like a truck, especially when empty. The suburban/navigator will give you a better ride.

The chevy/GMC duramax with allison transmission is a great combination and seemed to be free of issues in 2007 or 2008. Some of the earlier years had problems.

Good luck in your hunt.

With a max weight of 7600 and the kids, you might want to look at a Chevy Express 3500 van. I see 2012s with under 20000 miles on the odometer for around $22000 all the time. 10000 lb towing capacity and plenty of room for kids.

the bear II wrote:
You may also want to look at Suburban and Navigator as a tow vehicle for that weight of trailer. Just make sure the vehicle has the capacity for cargo, people and TT.

A Crew Cab pickup will be comfortable up to a point. There is plenty of leg room in the rear seat even for 3 adults. I would choose diesel for the added torque for hill climbing but be sure to get an exhaust brake for down hill. The ride will be like a truck, especially when empty. The suburban/navigator will give you a better ride.

The chevy/GMC duramax with allison transmission is a great combination and seemed to be free of issues in 2007 or 2008. Some of the earlier years had problems.

Good luck in your hunt.

Thanks for this info, I did look at the suburban and it seemed the 2500 was quite rare, in Texas anyway. The 1500, there are plenty but not good for my tow weight.
The leg room isn't the problem, does the back rest have any adjustment?

Early build 2007 Dodge Cummins 5.9l would be a great candidate. Especially with the Megacab. Avoid the Ford 6.0l Diesel. This sounds like one long road trip? Duramax in those years would be good. The 3/4 Suburban would be a great candidate.

So it seems only the 3 big trucks in the 2500/250 series will cut it. Or maybe something else?

Only a 2500/250? I would think any 350/3500 would do the job as well or better than any 250/2500.

autorot8 wrote:
With a max weight of 7600 and the kids, you might want to look at a Chevy Express 3500 van. I see 2012s with under 20000 miles on the odometer for around $22000 all the time. 10000 lb towing capacity and plenty of room for kids.

Make sure you get the 6.0L Vortec engine on the GM. Also, 2010+ have the 6 speed transmission. The smaller V8 engine has lower towing capacity.

A turbo diesel for 7600 lbs is pure overkill. If you have the money to spend on it - go for it! But if the money would be better spent on travel expenses, you don't need a turbo diesel for that kind of weight.

The Ford 5.4L V8 or the GM 6.0L V8 will handle that kind of weight no problem (they will rev high going upgrade (which is just noisy, doesn't hurt the engine or trans any bit)).

7600 lbs can easily be handled by a modern 1/2 ton properly equipped pick up. A 3/4 will do it better if that is what you want. The real key is make sure you have a payload rating comparable to the tongue weight and cargo you plan to carry.

We traveled 2 seasons with our crew cab pickup and 3 kids. We now have a Suburban. 3 Rows is fantastic for the travel time for us.

3/4 ton SUVs are rare. I looked for about a year before buying a new one which was also rare. If you are open to a full sieze van, you can save a lot of money or buy a lot newer/better condition one. I like GM 6.0L/6-spd we have which is available in the vans. Fords, I like the V10.

I am a gmc duramax owner .
for your unique usage it seems to me that a ram mega cab with the cummins diesel is the first place to look .
one of my buddies has one and they have lots of room .
used rams are less money than the same vintage duramax .
cummins diesel will be much quieter inside while towing than any gasser .
resale is better on high mileage diesels than high mileage gassers .
I think you will lose less for depreciation when you factor in 25,000 additional miles .
the advantage of having the pickup bed for camp gear like bbq, propane tank , ez-up , beverage cooler , will pay off while your are mobile.
a 9200# gvw tow vehicle pulling a 7600# gvw tt is better than a 7600# gvw tow vehicle pulling a 9200# gvw tt. physics 101 ...

2500 suburban 6.0 or 08 2500 crew cab GM truck 6.0 6 speed. Look on cars.com just what I prefer, others will do good too.