Tow Vehicle Preferences

[cemmett]

We are carefully planning our investments for a fifth wheel and tow vehicle. We have had some experience with Ram 3500 dually, diesel and have read good reports on their performance. We see a lot of GM products and Fords towing the larger fivers, which is what we are considering. We are also paying attention to rear end ratios and have been told that 4.73 is about the right ones for towing. So, the question is what advice, pro and con, will be helpful? The seasoned RVers (you guys) can offer the best firsthand input. Thanks for your reports.

[Coach-man]

A couple of years ago there was a post on another site showing the engine internals, Ford, Duramax, and Cummins! The side by side pics were dramatic, hands down Cummins was much beeffer than either of the other competators by a whole lot, i.e. Connecting rods both Ford and GM were like fingers and Cummins was an arm! In line six simple rugged and durable, can not beat that. That said both Ford and Chevy have creature comforts and things that may interest you! Drive all three, and go with what suits you!

[Gib3633]

GM only offers 3:73 with the Duramax and I travel the speed limit through the mountains hauling a 19000 lb. DRV . I should say if 2011 and newer.

[bigdon68]

My preference is a Freightliner Sport Truck. Just don't have the money yet. Check it out Freightliner Sport Truck

bigdon68

[racer4]

OP,

Here are some specs for Ram trailer weight ratings and axle ratios.

copy and paste from "2015 Ram 3500 Trailer Towing Chart – SAE J2807 Compliant"

All the following are for Ram 3500 CREW CAB LONG BOX, 4X4, DRW 6.7L CUMMINS DIESEL with the A6 68RFE transmission ($600 option) or the A6 AS69RC (Aisin) transmission (~$2900 option):

Axle Ratio___Max. Trailer Weight Rating A6 68RFE_____A6 AS69RC
3.42_______________________________16,660 lbs_____20,510 lbs
3.73_______________________________18,660 lbs_____23,510 lbs
4.10_______________________________21,660 lbs_____29,010 lbs

If you get the DRW option, you should be OK on payload. It is up to 5,680 lbs depending on options. Figure about 240 lbs less on a Longhorn compared to the base Tradesman.


Measure your weights twice and buy once.

FWIW, I am most likely buying a Ram 3500 CC LB DRW 4x4 Laramie with the Cummins, Aisin AS69RC transmission and 3.73 axle ratio to pull a FW with about 16000 GVWR.

Good Luck and Happy RVing.

[DHCamper]

mileshuff wrote:
Quick summary of this thread.
Dodge is better than Chevy which is better than Ford which is better than Dodge.

You hold the answer to the ultimate mystery of the Universe! Thanks for sharing!

[rattleNsmoke]

Overseas Nissan supposedly makes a beast of a 1 ton pickup that rivals anything Detroit can produce. I haven't seen it in pics which means it prolly doesn't exist. :E

[Me_Again]

mileshuff wrote:
Quick summary of this thread.
Dodge is better than Chevy which is better than Ford which is better than Dodge.

RAM is better than Chevy which is better than Ford which is better than great old Dodges.

[mileshuff]

Quick summary of this thread.
Dodge is better than Chevy which is better than Ford which is better than Dodge.

[cummins2014]

Dtank wrote:
As others have posted - get an idea of the size and weight of what you plan on towing.
Consider - that you *may* want to upgrade to a heavier trailer sometime. Will your TV be adequate?

Sooooo - which tow vehicle?? -

A friend is a Ford man - blue oval forever.
Wouldn't have any other brand.

BIL is a Chevy/GMC guy - nothing but a bow tie will do.

I have had an equal number of each (cars/trucks) - never a Dodge.
My present TV is a 1T Dodge CTD. Very satisfied.

BTW - I have a 2005 - and, IMO - you can't see much of the engine on newer CTDs either, LOL!

Anyway...*NOT* being brand loyal.....how did I choose?
(I would do the same again - if I was looking for a new TV)

My suggestion for you also...
Spend time on the diesel forums for *EACH* brand.
(Plenty of gas burner forums also)
See what the *owners* are reporting/asking/etc.

Problems? - Return for warranty work? - Down time for same?..:@
Search out the good-bad-ugly for each.
Then - start your shopping & pricing plan/s.

.

I have spent time on the forums, this one included. Heres my take you got the fan boys, and the bashers, not much in between. There is no way a forum can decide for you.

IMO the diesel forums are the worst of the bunch ,here again the fan boys, and the bashers, who do you listen to.

Best advice go drive them ,figure your budget, and pick the one you like the best , looks ,feel or whatever. I will guarantee you ,you can get the best you have ever had or the worst with all three. If you don't believe me refer to paragraph two ,and go read those worthless forums when it come what to buy, this one included.

[DHCamper]

Dtank wrote:
As others have posted - get an idea of the size and weight of what you plan on towing.
Consider - that you *may* want to upgrade to a heavier trailer sometime. Will your TV be adequate?

Sooooo - which tow vehicle?? -

A friend is a Ford man - blue oval forever.
Wouldn't have any other brand.

BIL is a Chevy/GMC guy - nothing but a bow tie will do.

I have had an equal number of each (cars/trucks) - never a Dodge.
My present TV is a 1T Dodge CTD. Very satisfied.

BTW - I have a 2005 - and, IMO - you can't see much of the engine on newer CTDs either, LOL!

Anyway...*NOT* being brand loyal.....how did I choose?
(I would do the same again - if I was looking for a new TV)

My suggestion for you also...
Spend time on the diesel forums for *EACH* brand.
(Plenty of gas burner forums also)
See what the *owners* are reporting/asking/etc.

Problems? - Return for warranty work? - Down time for same?..:@
Search out the good-bad-ugly for each.
Then - start your shopping & pricing plan/s.

.

I prefer GM and Chrysler because I feel connected by way of my hard earned tax dollars saving their butts. I put my money where my money went...

[avvidclif1]

Dave H M wrote:
You mean the truck tires? They are 80 psi front and back for towing. At least on Fords and I suspect the other brands are the same. On my Ford the tire low pressure alarm is set at 65 psi so you can't really air them down lower than 70 psi.

I have never run 80 in my front F250 E rated tires. They run, perform, and wear best at 65 psi for me.

By the way, you put out some bad skinny on the on board TPMS. I run my tires at around 60 psi or less when empty. That warning threshold is adjustable and i had the stealer set mine at 55. So now i can air down and the F250 feels like riding in a well lets say something a little less than a log wagon.

My F350 SRW shows 65 lb front and 80 lb rear. It also came with the sensor to set the pressure.

[Slownsy]

Dave may I sugest you check your weights to pressure on a chard, I just today had my F250 at the scales front 4200lb rear 3040lb e rated at 70lb carying capasety only 1500lb.
Frank

[agesilaus]

I know it adjustable but as you point out you have to pay the dealer to do it or buy the tool yourself. Think it was $30+

[Dave_H_M]

You mean the truck tires? They are 80 psi front and back for towing. At least on Fords and I suspect the other brands are the same. On my Ford the tire low pressure alarm is set at 65 psi so you can't really air them down lower than 70 psi.

I have never run 80 in my front F250 E rated tires. They run, perform, and wear best at 65 psi for me.

By the way, you put out some bad skinny on the on board TPMS. I run my tires at around 60 psi or less when empty. That warning threshold is adjustable and i had the stealer set mine at 55. So now i can air down and the F250 feels like riding in a well lets say something a little less than a log wagon.

[valhalla360]

Water-Bug wrote:

roadking59 wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:
If you are looking at new trucks, the axle ratio isn't as critical as it once was.

In the old days of 3 speed transmissions (and to a lesser but still important degree 4 speed transmissions), the ratio was important. The lower ratio rear end would give you better economy running empty but when loaded, it would drop down a gear and you would have to run at inefficient high rpm when stressed at all. Going to a higher ratio would allow you to stay in the top gear most of the time.

With the newer 6-8 speed transmissions, they can compensate by selecting a lower gear when needed but with just a modest increase in rpm and dialed in for efficiency.

Really! Who uses a dually to go off road...Funny!

FUNNY IS RIGHT!! I didn't see the term "off road" anywhere in the quoted text.

While I agree, a dually isn't a great off road truck, I never mentioned anything about duallys or off road. It applies equally well to 1/2, 3/4 and SRW 1 tons.

The point is you have to look at the gear ratio from the back of the engine to the wheel.

In the past with only 3 or 4 speeds, If you had a 3.7 (or lower) rear end, once you dropped out of top gear, the overall gear ratio changed significantly, so if you did a lot of towing, you would be running high rpm with the engine relatively lightly loaded on a regular basis when you meet even modest hills. While it shouldn't damage anything, it's noisy and inefficent.

The old solution was to put a higher ratio rear end in so that the engine wouldn't drop down unless it was a really steep hill. The down side is when empty, the rpm will run a few hundred higher than the engine really needs, so it loses efficency when running empty.

Ultimately, you looked at how much driving around empty vs loaded and pick the truck that matched your use best with the higher 4.0+ ratios favored for heavy towing.

With the newer transmissions with more gear ratios available, the truck can run at relatively low rpm when empty in the highest gear and when you load it up, it has the option to select a gear that keeps the engine rpm and loading much closer to the ideal output of the engine rather than just winder her up to the red line.

One clarification: If you are pushing to the upper limits of the towing capability, the higher ratio rear ends, I believe, still get slightly bigger tow ratings.