What truck to tow my tow hauler?

[fergie1111]

So have a 2011 Ford F150 with the ecoboost V-6 engine that is supposed to tow 11,500 LBS. It does but wont pull at elevation and high temps without overheating. Ford has no fix for this problem as of yet and has been working on this for the past year. So im in the market for a newer truck. I will only be using the truck to tow my 22' toy hauler. the hauler weighs 5200 dry and probably 9000lbs at the most if its fully loaded. My ford is all over the road when its windy. My buddy towed my camper with his Dodge 3500 and I couldnt even tell it was back there. Im open to all suggestion about a new truck. Diesel or gas? Dodge 1500 or 2500, Ford 250 gas or diesel? Chevy 2500 gas or diesel?

[pronstar]

Ric Flair wrote:

I wouldn't tow 5 1/2 tons of payload for any distance with a V6, turbocharged or not.

But if those 6 cylinders are arranged in a straight line, that's alright 😉

[steiny93]

per the gmc site the 2014's in a 1500 are 11,200 for 'conventional trailering'

[Ric_Flair]

flyinguy68 wrote:
...I must be out in left field on this but I thought the only half ton on the market as sold by the mfg to tow 11k is the Ford Eco-boost?

I wouldn't tow 5 1/2 tons of payload for any distance with a V6, turbocharged or not.

At this risk of sounding like the weight police, 11K LBS is 3/4 ton diesel territory if you want to get from A to B comfortably.

And if you're at the dealer anyway, may as well take the big step and get a DOOLIE and never have to hear us nag you again about being under-trucked. 🙂

[flyinguy68]

steiny93 wrote:
i'm all about getting a big truck (as you can see in my sig)

but at 11k of trailer the 3/4 diesel is a lot of overkill
i'm very surprised to hear you are having issues with a 1/2 ton and that weight

my daily is a gaser and if I only had 11k of rv to pull I wouldn't be in a diesel

I must be out in left field on this but I thought the only half ton on the market as sold by the mfg to tow 11k is the Ford Eco-boost?

My guess was that most half ton's are max'd between 7500 & 9000 depending on what 1/2 ton you have, meaning rear ends, 4x4 and extended/crew cabs play a lot into that max trailer weight. IMHO 11k way too much for a half ton.

[steiny93]

i'm all about getting a big truck (as you can see in my sig)

but at 11k of trailer the 3/4 diesel is a lot of overkill
i'm very surprised to hear you are having issues with a 1/2 ton and that weight

my daily is a gaser and if I only had 11k of rv to pull I wouldn't be in a diesel

[mitw44]

Your weights, and experience, sound about like mine. I owned a 2004 Toyota Tundra with the 4.7L. It was a great truck, and was a decent towing platform for boats, utility trailers, and even my first TT, a Surveyor 235, that I think was 3100 lbs dry.

Then I bought a "half-ton towable" Forest River Work and Play 18EC. It is 5100 lbs dry, and has a max weight of 9500 lbs or so (don't have the sticker in front of me). It is also a much higher profile trailer, with more wind resistance.

Well, I pulled it with my Tundra for a few trips, typically no more than 50 miles from home. Although I didn't weigh it, I figured I was at or overweight on my limits. The Tundra had a 3750 lb RAWR. The 04's didnt have the yellow sticker, but it had a 6600 lb GVWR, so I guesstimated my payload somewhere between 1000-1200 lbs. The Tundra just didn't feel in command of the trailer, and I never loaded toys in it, mainly just used it as a Travel Trailer.

I just bought a 2009 F250 4x4 with the 5.4L V8. It met my budget, and I don't feel I make enough trips to justify a diesel in my daily driver, but won't argue that they are built for towing. The main thing I was after is the increased payload.

My RAWR went from 3750 to 6100 lbs, GVWR went from 6600 to 9200 lbs, etc. The engine is even an improvement, going from 245 to 300 hp, and 315 to 365 ft-lbs of torque.

Advertising guys try to get you to think about the engine (think "Eco boost"), when payload is so much more important to those of us who tow anything bigger than small boats and utility trailers.

In addition, I also got a beefier transmission and brakes. Not to mention a great set of towing mirrors. It never hurts to see what you are doing.

There is a night and day difference between 1/2 and 3/4 and bigger trucks.

[64thunderbolt]

IOWASTROKER wrote:
F-450, modified, but with 4:88 gears, forget any good mileage...but going down the road in style...and quite safely!!!!! Bigger brakes, etc. etc. Buy what you can afford. Do you have a sway bar setup currently?? Equalizer??? Good luck and have fun looking:))))

LOL if I were worried about mpg's I would drive a Prius and stay in a motel 6.

I would be nervous pulling a popup with a 1/2 T.

[64thunderbolt]

dually with a 5th wheel is the most comfortable towing experience and the safest.

OP, when they say "1/2 T towable that means 35 mph going to the corner station not 9-11 miles of 6&7% grades. One thing most forget is the brakes. You can't depend on the trailer brakes to be there everytime you hit the pedal. Things fail occasionally & I want to stop if the trailer brakes fail.

[IOWASTROKER]

F-450, modified, but with 4:88 gears, forget any good mileage...but going down the road in style...and quite safely!!!!! Bigger brakes, etc. etc. Buy what you can afford. Do you have a sway bar setup currently?? Equalizer??? Good luck and have fun looking:))))

[2btowed]

All three are good brands,and there are lemmons in each one.If you can find a used truck in great shape,it will not matter to much who makes it.The thing to look at is 2500,3500 and single or dually.I would go with a 3500 even if you think the 2500 would be enough truck.It gives you wiggle room when purchasing a TH,not to many people I know go down in size in their next trailer,just keeps from having to upgrade truck again.If you are looking at anything over 12k,start thing dually.They drive so much easier and give a great 'safety' feeling when driving in any wind bad roads,downhill,etc.I've towed with both and pull a 8k trailer daily.The worst decesion I made was getting a 2500,kept it 1 year and comming down the hill from Flagstaff,it went all over the road....ASAP I went bigger,F450,and dually.Its supposed to be fun when camping and it was'nt with the 2500.For the little price diff,go big..JIMO..See ya on the road...

[kjk66ss]

three letters for you " LBZ"!!

[flyinguy68]

Got me a 2011 GMC Duramax dually. I recently took a 300 mile one way interstate trip. West bound the trip computer put me at 18.5 mpg, coming back home east bound reset trip computer and it showed 21 mpg. Many variables hills tail winds etc, but I'm happy with a highway mpg of 18-21 mpg. City I'm getting between 13-15mpg.
Downside Diesel is usually +.40/gallon give or take than regular unleaded.

Obviously this was a non-towing trip.

[pronstar]

Surprising that the OP mentions the EcoBoost loses so much power at elevation...forced induction should minimize altitude-related power loss.

[lincster]

LowRyter wrote:
I am a little surprised that the F150 won't comfortably pull a half-ton rated toy hauler.

Another sales pitch..... 1/2 ton rated toy hauler...... No such thing with anything over 21'.
Maybe a 16' model.

Folks don't understand what happens when you add 100 gallons of water, 30-40 gallons of fuel, full propane, toys etc. Stuff adds up very, very fast.

[LowRyter]

I am a little surprised that the F150 won't comfortably pull a half-ton rated toy hauler.

I am pulling my small fifth wheel toy hauler with a Duramax. Before that I pulled it with a standard (not HD) 2500 gasser, 1999 Chevy 6.0. It pulled it fine but the diesel is no contest. The diesel will get significantly better mileage than a gasser too. Towing I went from 7 mpg (as low as 5) to almost 12. Around town I went from 13 to 17.