Will it pull my trailer?

ppine wrote:

Grit dog wrote:

ppine wrote:
If you want to pull something get a real truck.

Hey, your buddies called. They want you to come over and beat your chest with them.
Make sure you show up in a 1 ton diesel so they don't laugh at you though!

Maybe you have never pulled big horse trailers, or large RVs or a backhoe. Nobody keeps the same lightweight trailer for the rest of their lives.

If you want to pull someting get a real truck. Then you don't to sell your other truck and find a new one. Then you don't have to borrow your friend's truck. Then you don't have to worry about burning up the transmission. If are going to be a dick go somewhere else.

Not everyone pulls a backhoe or horse trailer. I'll probably go most of my life without doing that. a half ton will work just fine with 90% of the trailers i see in camp grounds. There's no need to over buy a truck for the one time in your life you might need it. No one keeps the same trailer for the rest of their lives just like no one keeps trucks for the rest of their lives.

A v6 may not be his best choice but a V8 1/2ton will certainly be enough truck.

.

My neighbor and I both have TT's similar to the OP's. We have similar trucks, his is a six cylinder Chevy, Mine a GMC 5.3. His is a dog when pulling, Mine is a joy. My 5.3 V8 gets better mileage than his both loaded (pulling) or unloaded (as a daily driver). His needs to work harder whereas mine just loafs along except for the steep mountain roads where the Tow/Haul feature comes in handy.

Grit dog wrote:

ppine wrote:
If you want to pull something get a real truck.

Hey, your buddies called. They want you to come over and beat your chest with them.
Make sure you show up in a 1 ton diesel so they don't laugh at you though!

Maybe you have never pulled big horse trailers, or large RVs or a backhoe. Nobody keeps the same lightweight trailer for the rest of their lives.

If you want to pull someting get a real truck. Then you don't to sell your other truck and find a new one. Then you don't have to borrow your friend's truck. Then you don't have to worry about burning up the transmission. If are going to be a dick go somewhere else.

The only one who can say if it tow satisfactorily is you. My 25 ft. Dutchmen crosses the CAT scales at 6200 lbs. 750 lbs. of that is on the tongue. I have a E-boost F-150 and it has towed just fine in my book for the last 35,000 miles.

Would a bigger truck be better? Sure. You can never have too big a truck However you can have too expensive a truck.

The only person who knows which it is you.

Your truck was a max cargo limit and a towing limit that is what it was designed to do. Few folk know or worry about close to or over the limit they are.

Having started the rv adventure with 3 popup trailers followed by two travel trailers before purchasing our first MH this spring, I tend to think the better investment will be a full sized V8 1/2 ton pickup at the minimum. Unless money is no object, buy a truck that will allow for future trailer purchases and minimize future costs by buying one truck and keeping it for the long haul. Then, if you choose to move up to a larger trailer to meet changing needs or wants, you won't have to add the cost of changing vehicles.

By not changing tow vehicles, you could take the savings and buy a used, fuel efficient car for your daily driving needs.

IF you think you may want to eventually tow something that will weigh 8K or more when loaded, then consider going diesel if possible. I never went that route, but if you get the diesel now, then you can move up to a fifth wheel trailer if you eventually want a rig for longer stays and more extensive traveling.

BUT...yes, it sounds like the truck you are looking at will tow the trailer. However, any future trailer changes will be very limiting with that truck. And...make sure you crunch the real numbers i.e. payload, realistic weight of the trailer with added gear, impact of carrying bicycles for the family (if applicable), etc.

tragusa3 wrote:
I don't feel like the V6 offers that much advantage in economy when not towing. It probably doesn't do quite as well with economy towing. There's too little reason to not just go with the larger engine options. Penny wise, pound foolish.

I towed that weight trailer on a cross country trip with the same weight you have. I did it with the Ecoboost 3.5 in an F150. What a pleasure that trip was! I could just about drive as if I didn't have a trailer. A year later, since I knew my truck was capable, we moved up in trailers to twice the weight. I didn't have to buy a new truck again and saved a ton. Don't underestimate how things change.

There's more truth to this the newer the truck is.
With today's high powered ecus, AFM, cyl deactivation, 6-10 speed trans, the gap is even closer.
Although I believed that more heartily until recent. I was used to getting 15-17mpg unloaded in my 2016 5.3 Silvy. Idk if the dealer re flashed it when I had the trans serviced or what, but it's dropped to 13-15mpg immediately. Also everything was reset in the dic which tells me they screwed with something.
on topic, I'd try to drive a couple trucks, v6 v8 same loop same conditions and see what the actual daily driving mpg difference is.

ppine wrote:
If you want to pull something get a real truck.

Hey, your buddies called. They want you to come over and beat your chest with them.
Make sure you show up in a 1 ton diesel so they don't laugh at you though!

ZINGERLITE wrote:
You'll need a 1 ton durastrokin's to pull your pop up twice a year!

Yup that's where this thread is headed! Already got diesel reccomendations from the peanut gallery!

Some people can't see past their own noses unless they're looking down them...lol.
If the OP is asking about a base model 5 year old 6 banger pickup, he's probably not in the market for a diesel anything.

One word of advice for the OP, look at '15-16 model Sikverados. '14 is a first year model and I personally had some big issues with a couple '14s. Haven't seen any of that in the '16 and newer trucks we are running.

If you want to pull something get a real truck.
Some day you are likely to have a heavier trailer.

DB Cooper wrote:
I can't believe anyone is actual concerned with the OPs set up. Unless I missed something - I thought we were talking about a 3800 lb dry weight. Any lighter than that would be a tent trailer.

Not concerned about the OP’s safety with the 4.3...my recommendation is based on bang for the buck. Why sacrifice 80 ish HP and several lb/ft, For a false economy. The V6 will have lower resale value when old than a similarly old V8 version.

Yea, it can do it, yes. The chassis is more than strong enough. The motor is more than enough for this trailer

BUT... the OP is shopping for a truck...this is not a question of can my V6 Silverado handle this load...the question comes from the prospect of a purchase of a truck.

Sure, the OP may buy this trailer and be perfectly content for the next 10 years. Or they may get bit by the upgrade bug early as instead of just shopping for a new trailer they will be shopping for both a truck and a trailer.

This is the same place I came from with the Pentastar V6 in the Ram. It’s fantastic..but for just about $1,000 more I can have a much more capable V8 that gets pretty good MPG but has the power to do whatever I may need a half ton to do and do it well.

Thanks and JMHO!

Jeremiah