Confused 1/2ton or 3/4ton ?

[Michiganmetzger]

Looking at purchasing our first tt and confused by all the different responses as to what truck we should get to tow it. It has a UVWR of 5295 lbs hitch weight of 635lbs. Most are saying to go with a 3/4 ton yet the 1/2 ton is rated to 7000 lbs. So I'm asking you towing veterans what would you use?

Thank you

[BenK]

PS...just donated a 1980 Silverado C10 with a 350 in it....Big Ten and the 'fake half ton' of that era (meaning it was the highest rated half ton without going into the marketing badge C20...AKA 3/4 ton)

Last year it still hauled about 3,000 lbs of wood pellets on one trip...about 2,400 lbs of fire wood...about 1/3 yard of gravel & dirt several times.

Towed a rental stump grinder and it's trailer. have no idea how much that thing weighed. Round trip was about 20 miles and on local hills. Sure slow going, but it did it without complaining and of course poking at around 50 MPH

Donated it because the wiring was becoming an issue and didn't want to anymore. 38 years old and the best, IMHO, to get the most out of a vehicle...keep them until can't/won't fix them anymore.

About time to replace the rear axle bearings...if not done on a regular basis (about every 3-4 years), they would deform the roller cage to allow them to come out. Meaning the rear axle was way overloaded and the bearing took the brunt of it...okay, understand and willing to take the hit for abusing it like that....why changed out my 1973 K5's suspension to a Dana 60 front and GM 14 bolt rear. Along with positive arched front leaf springs and new rear leaf springs....knew it was still a half ton

New does NOT mean much to folks like me...but know the Fashion Statement crowd won't get in mine...

[BenK]

mhamershock wrote:
snip....



I love this one. a Dodge 1/2 ton with a 360? When was this, 1988? Obsolete technology totally irrelevant to today's 1/2 ton trucks.

Mike

Only true if 'go' is the only metric in gauging towing...

There is so much MORE to towing than just go power...

Even then...it still will produce power & HP and tow whatever it is rated to tow...minus any wear and tear over the miles/years

[mhamershock]

mowermech wrote:
When the fifth wheel went away, and we sold the horses so we didn't have to haul hay anymore, I got rid of the one ton dually and bought a nice little Dodge half ton 4X4, 360 V8, SWB, quad cab.
It was great until I hauled a bunch of stuff for my radio club to a swap meet in Sheridan, WY. I-90 across the rolling plains of Eastern Montana has a LOT of hills. That poor truck did a lot of shifting on those hills.
When I got home, I put the half ton up for sale and found a 3/4 ton CTD truck. It tows that trailer, with 2 ATVs in it, no problem at all, and I know I will never overload it.
I am much happier with the 3/4 ton.

I love this one. a Dodge 1/2 ton with a 360? When was this, 1988? Obsolete technology totally irrelevant to today's 1/2 ton trucks.

Mike

[richclover]

Grit dog wrote:
...

Keep the adapter for 1 off situations and get a 2-1/2" hitch stinger, or your certain to bend the hitch pin and/or wallow out the receiver holes eventually using the adapter for heavy/ repeated use.

Good idea, thanks for the tip!

[BizmarksMom]

I've stuck with my half ton truck because it was paid off before I got my first trailer. Yes, it does a perfectly adequate job with the trailer I own. When this truck dies, I'll get a 3/4 ton. I'd rather have "tows like a rockstar" than "does an adequate job."

If I was buying a truck now, to pair with a long trailer, I'd go with a 3/4 ton from the get-go.

[Grit_dog]

richclover wrote:
Guess I overdid it...
Got a very good trade on my 2009 Dodge 2500HD so I sprung for a new Ram 2500HD crew cab, short bed Tradesman, 4x4. Cummins, of course.
First clue was the Class 5 hitch receiver. It came with the Class 3-4 adaptor so my 10,000# hitch will work. Max for the Coleman TT is way less.
The truck is rated for near 17,000# trailer.
It’s a great “daily driver” 😉

Keep the adapter for 1 off situations and get a 2-1/2" hitch stinger, or your certain to bend the hitch pin and/or wallow out the receiver holes eventually using the adapter for heavy/ repeated use.

[mowermech]

When the fifth wheel went away, and we sold the horses so we didn't have to haul hay anymore, I got rid of the one ton dually and bought a nice little Dodge half ton 4X4, 360 V8, SWB, quad cab.
It was great until I hauled a bunch of stuff for my radio club to a swap meet in Sheridan, WY. I-90 across the rolling plains of Eastern Montana has a LOT of hills. That poor truck did a lot of shifting on those hills.
When I got home, I put the half ton up for sale and found a 3/4 ton CTD truck. It tows that trailer, with 2 ATVs in it, no problem at all, and I know I will never overload it.
I am much happier with the 3/4 ton.

[richclover]

Guess I overdid it...
Got a very good trade on my 2009 Dodge 2500HD so I sprung for a new Ram 2500HD crew cab, short bed Tradesman, 4x4. Cummins, of course.
First clue was the Class 5 hitch receiver. It came with the Class 3-4 adaptor so my 10,000# hitch will work. Max for the Coleman TT is way less.
The truck is rated for near 17,000# trailer.
It’s a great “daily driver” 😉

[Beowolf]

Michiganmetzger wrote:
MNGeeks is correct it is the mossy oak 23rls the gvrw is not listed anywhere.Possibly in the neighborhood of 6300lbs? Truck payload? my wife and myself and gear 1500lbs probably less.

It's on starcraft website
https://starcraftrv.com/floorplan/mossy-oak-travel-trailer-23rls/

Gross Vehicle Weight (GVWR)

6,950 lbs.

Unloaded Vehicle Weight (UVWR)

5,445 lbs.

Dry Hitch Weight

650 lbs.

[troubledwaters]

mkirsch wrote:

troubledwaters wrote:
There is no end to "better, safer, stronger"; that's where common sense and reasonableness comes in.

You stop at the 3/4 ton precisely because of "common sense and reasonableness." ...

No!! I stop at 1/2 ton because of "common sense and reasonableness." There is no problem with a 1/2 ton towing up to it's ratings without exceeding any. If I wanted a "Rock Star" I'd use a class 8. What I want is a truck that will do the job towing and still excel as a Daily Driver.

[blt2ski]

CaLBaR wrote:
..............
I think some of you are still in the early 2000's and don't realize that the 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton and 1 ton trucks of today are very different than they used to be. Materials are stronger, brakes better, cooling better etc than the old trucks. There are solid engineering reasons that all trucks are rated to tow a lot more than they did even 5 or 10 years ago.

Setup correctly any of the trucks will tow safely to their ratings. Right tool for the right job.

Early 2000's?!?!?!?!?

Try 60's and 70's for some of us, where a blinken BB V8 if it were lucky had 175-200HP! maybe 300 lb ft of torque. A standard engine in a 8Lug truck was a 300 CI inline 6, with maybe 100-125 hp! Oh, lets not forget, one of them emanual transmissions with a three in the tree! brakes, steering were also manual with some hydraulic help! Might even be a few with some of the flathead style engines!
Or when International made V motors to be BOTH gas and Diesel, depending upon the crank, heads, intake, compression etc
2000's.....sheesh! that was yesterday!

Marty

[CaLBaR]

You guys kill me for always pushing a newbie to buy a massive truck for a trailer under 8 - 9000lbs and then talking about the tail wagging the dog.

A 1/2 ton weighs about 6000 lbs give or take a few hundred pounds, so about 60% of the tow rating that most have. A 1 ton weighs in at what about 9000lbs and I think that is high and most will have a tow rating in the 16000 - 18000 lbs range or much more so 60% - 50% of tow rating max. I know that there is more to towing than weight of the TV, such as frame, brakes, cooling, axle capacities, axle ratios, full floating vs semi-floating rear axle and on.

I think some of you are still in the early 2000's and don't realize that the 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton and 1 ton trucks of today are very different than they used to be. Materials are stronger, brakes better, cooling better etc than the old trucks. There are solid engineering reasons that all trucks are rated to tow a lot more than they did even 5 or 10 years ago.

Setup correctly any of the trucks will tow safely to their ratings. Right tool for the right job.

[mkirsch]

troubledwaters wrote:
There is no end to "better, safer, stronger"; that's where common sense and reasonableness comes in.

You stop at the 3/4 ton precisely because of "common sense and reasonableness." Using a Class 8 tractor to tow a 5400lb GVWR travel trailer is not reasonable. It's also common sense to upsize one "level." Where a 1/2 ton would do the job adequately, a 3/4 ton will do it like a rock star.

[burningman]

troubledwaters wrote:

burningman wrote:

There are plenty of half tons that will tow that trailer, but a 3/4 ton will do it better and be a safer better stronger setup. That’s just how it is.

If you want better, safer, stronger, why aren't you using a Class 8 for your load? Seems like you just settled for Good Enough; just like the people that use a half ton within its ratings.
There is no end to "better, safer, stronger"; that's where common sense and reasonableness comes in.

Well actually I do use a Peterbikt 385 for the heavier stuff.
Before the StableLift I even used to load my camper onto my pickup with a crane.
So... uh... yeah.