Looking for new tow vehicle

[Frenchracer21]

Question for everyone. I have a 33ft sunset creek travel trailer that I pull with my 2013 f150. The camper`s dry weight is 6700 pounds but with 4 kids we most likely come in around 8200 with everything loaded. We are looking at getting a new vechicle that can tow this camper( have thought of switching campers but this has a double bunk and it's in great shape so we don't want to get rid of it). Looking for vechicles that can tow but allow for the most comfortable ride and most importantly a safe ride. We don't want our son in the middle of the bench seat in the truck so are exploring suvs and vans. We have it narrowed down to an expedition max, suburban/yukon, chevy express passenger van and Nissan nv nl 3500 van. Problem is the suburban would be at the highest rated tow capacity and I'd like some wiggle room and the rest ofthe choices we have narrowed down to I want real knowledgeable people that know what they can pull (dealers will tell you a car can pull but have no idea since they just want the sale). Are we going down the wrong roas and need to just stick to a pickup truck? Thank you in advance.

[afidel]

wintersun wrote:
For the most comfortable ride the best class 1500 pickups are the ones from Ram which have coil springs on all four wheels. Advantage of a crew cab pickup is havingt the rear bed for cargo. Add a fiberglass cap and you can use the space for gear, like firewood or a dog, that you do not want inside the cab or the trailer. Also adding a roof rack makes it relatively easy to transport kayaks.

Order the truck with the larger fuel tank and the electronic locking rear differential and the 3.92 rear axle ratio and the truck can tow up to 12,000 lbs safely. Add the Trailer-Tow Group to get the trailer brake controller, trailer TPMS, and trailer reverse steering control.

Did you miss where they said they have 4 kids? I've done 5 in a crew cab pickup for 5,000 miles and 2,500 miles and it's not a lot of fun, 6 would be downright bad. You technically could do it with a front bench pickup but a van is going to do it better from a comfort perspective.

[Grit_dog]

wintersun wrote:
For the most comfortable ride the best class 1500 pickups are the ones from Ram which have coil springs on all four wheels. Advantage of a crew cab pickup is havingt the rear bed for cargo. Add a fiberglass cap and you can use the space for gear, like firewood or a dog, that you do not want inside the cab or the trailer. Also adding a roof rack makes it relatively easy to transport kayaks.

Order the truck with the larger fuel tank and the electronic locking rear differential and the 3.92 rear axle ratio and the truck can tow up to 12,000 lbs safely. Add the Trailer-Tow Group to get the trailer brake controller, trailer TPMS, and trailer reverse steering control.

Save for Ecoboosts and 6.2L LS powered 1/2 tons, a 3.92 Hemi will dust the rest of the 1/2 ton engine/gearing combos out there and will be mostly on par with a new Eco boost or 6.2.
And the 8 speed trans is spectacular in a Ram 1500. Clear winner over GM/Ford 6 speed variants and just as handy as the new 10 speed GM/Ford slush boxes.
But the OE coil springs are the worst for load carrying and towing, by a country mile. Unless you shore them up with bags or timbrens or sumos.
Or to put it simply, I'd give up the fire breathing Hemi, class leading 8 speed and the ability to get factory 3.92s simply because of the coil springs, if given the choice.

And to that, if any of the new half tons ride too stiff for you with OE leafs, you're in the wrong vehicle and probably should be confined to your Lazyboy.

[Grit_dog]

falconbrother wrote:
I'm towing 5800 dry with a Suburban. The chassis handles the weight fine. The power is not great. A 2500 would be better. You'll pay a premium for one, especially now. The 6.0s with 4x4 bring a premium. The 8.0s are cheaper but, not as popular. I love my Suburban. The 5.3 makes it's horsepower at higher RPMs. Pulling mountains is where you have to pull the gearing down and let the RPMs up. Then it does fine. I would get the longer Expedition with tow package in a second.

I drive or have driven/towed with most every model and configuration of 1500 and HD LS powered truck in the last 20 years, and apples to apples, the 6.0 pulls marginally better in some scenarios and the result is the opposite in other scenarios. A comparable 2500 to whatever year 5.3 Burb you have is not a huge step up in towing power and potentially a bit more of a slug.

[wintersun]

For the most comfortable ride the best class 1500 pickups are the ones from Ram which have coil springs on all four wheels. Advantage of a crew cab pickup is havingt the rear bed for cargo. Add a fiberglass cap and you can use the space for gear, like firewood or a dog, that you do not want inside the cab or the trailer. Also adding a roof rack makes it relatively easy to transport kayaks.

Order the truck with the larger fuel tank and the electronic locking rear differential and the 3.92 rear axle ratio and the truck can tow up to 12,000 lbs safely. Add the Trailer-Tow Group to get the trailer brake controller, trailer TPMS, and trailer reverse steering control.

[falconbrother]

I'm towing 5800 dry with a Suburban. The chassis handles the weight fine. The power is not great. A 2500 would be better. You'll pay a premium for one, especially now. The 6.0s with 4x4 bring a premium. The 8.0s are cheaper but, not as popular. I love my Suburban. The 5.3 makes it's horsepower at higher RPMs. Pulling mountains is where you have to pull the gearing down and let the RPMs up. Then it does fine. I would get the longer Expedition with tow package in a second.

[LarryJM]

Frenchracer21 wrote:
We test drove the van and it wasn't too bad. It was pretty bumpy though. Does it ride better once you get the weight of the camper on the back.

As for the expedition or suburban. Expedition would be ideal but as someone said it is pricey and not sure we want to spend that on a car when we have 4 young kids (spilling drinks and food lol). I did do a quick search on Facebook market place and found an 2013 2500 suburban with only 69k miles on it.

The 3/4 and especially 1T Vans generally have a HUGE payload and the tire sticker generally has the psi for max load and unloaded unless you inflate your tires based on actual load the ride can be a kidney killer for sure.

Larry

[SloeJoe]

I agree. Definitely research the 6.0. I recommend that you talk to real owners, especially commercial owners. My best resource was a local company with four of them. The owner had simple advice:
> Follow Ford's maintenance schedule religiously.
> The 6.0 lasts just fine if the driver takes it easy.
It's a stock diesel truck, not a 5.0 Mustang.

[Frenchracer21]

My wife and I appreciate all the insight provided as well so thank you all for sharing with us. Please keep it coming as well.

[Frenchracer21]

Yeah I have been reading that. Dealership got back to me saying it would be a total of 7900 for parts and labor with a discounted rate. But stated there are other oil leaks that need diagnosed. That's a hard no for me lol.

With the way the markets are for cars my wife and I have runt he idea of just sticking it out and waiting for the market to come back to normal a little bit more or wait for that good vechicle and price.

[wowens79]

Frenchracer21 wrote:

FordMastertech wrote:

wowens79 wrote:
I really wish Ford would bring back the Excursion for families like this. It seems it would be the perfect vehicle in this situation. My son and I saw one the other days and were talking about what a shame it was they quite making them.

Agree Ford already has the platform to build it and people would by it.
I have a 2000 Ford Excursion Limited 4x4 7.3 diesel with around 103k on it and plan on taking this to my grave, best vehicle I have ever owned but I will say she is a garage queen and only comes out for towing and traveling, I have other vehicles for daily drivers as the Excursion can not be replaced if some idiot hits it.

I looked up the excursion and they seem really hard to find in good shape and in relatively miles. I came across one thst us roughly 45 minutes from me that has the 6.0 diesel in it has roughly 179k miles. They want 12500 but say that it needs some work they will do at a "discounted price" the truck from the pictures looks in really really shape. I emailed them about what issues it has and the "discounted price" to repair. Does that sound like a good deal I am very wary that it needs parts replaced and it has that many miles. But I have thought of doing something similar to what you said where I juat buy a "tow vechicle" that would be way cheaper than a newer car

Be very leery of the 6.0, they have a bad reputation. Supposedly with the right upgrades they can be reliable, but that would scare me away.

[Bionic_Man]

Be sure to research the 6.0 Power Stroke before you get too excited about it. There is tons of info on that.

And if you are a “by the numbers” guy, you need to look at the tow rating of the 2013 2500 Burb. It is way less than you think.

[Grit_dog]

Bottom line, based on your posts, OP, buying a 15-20 year old vehicle of any condition is a poor choice, unless you literally find that low mile cream puff and even with that, things age out and/or fail more so than a comparable newer vehicle.

[Grit_dog]

^Negative ghost rider. Unless you are a diesel mechanic, stay as far away from a 6.0 Powerstroke as you can.
Even IF you fix or preemptively “bulletproof” the 6.0, they are still needy, finicky engines.
And that’s best case…

[Frenchracer21]

FordMastertech wrote:

wowens79 wrote:
I really wish Ford would bring back the Excursion for families like this. It seems it would be the perfect vehicle in this situation. My son and I saw one the other days and were talking about what a shame it was they quite making them.

Agree Ford already has the platform to build it and people would by it.
I have a 2000 Ford Excursion Limited 4x4 7.3 diesel with around 103k on it and plan on taking this to my grave, best vehicle I have ever owned but I will say she is a garage queen and only comes out for towing and traveling, I have other vehicles for daily drivers as the Excursion can not be replaced if some idiot hits it.

I looked up the excursion and they seem really hard to find in good shape and in relatively miles. I came across one thst us roughly 45 minutes from me that has the 6.0 diesel in it has roughly 179k miles. They want 12500 but say that it needs some work they will do at a "discounted price" the truck from the pictures looks in really really shape. I emailed them about what issues it has and the "discounted price" to repair. Does that sound like a good deal I am very wary that it needs parts replaced and it has that many miles. But I have thought of doing something similar to what you said where I juat buy a "tow vechicle" that would be way cheaper than a newer car

[FordMastertech]

wowens79 wrote:
I really wish Ford would bring back the Excursion for families like this. It seems it would be the perfect vehicle in this situation. My son and I saw one the other days and were talking about what a shame it was they quite making them.

Agree Ford already has the platform to build it and people would by it.
I have a 2000 Ford Excursion Limited 4x4 7.3 diesel with around 103k on it and plan on taking this to my grave, best vehicle I have ever owned but I will say she is a garage queen and only comes out for towing and traveling, I have other vehicles for daily drivers as the Excursion can not be replaced if some idiot hits it.