Best Truck for Pulling

[lmccown]

I have a 2004 Dodge Ram 2500 with Cumings Diesel. Want to get a newer truck for my 31' Open Road Travel Trailer 11,500 weight. Looking at Fords. Anyone have a Ford and how does it pull and how is it on gas?
Diesel gets 10 miles per gallon pulling trailer. Heard the newer Dodges are terible on gas.

[gmw_photos]

downtheroad wrote:


Seriously, Pulling your 11,500 lbs trailer is going to get you around 10 mpg no matter what the badge on the hood says.
Most of us would take any of the new big 3 trucks and be more than happy with it.

My only suggestion is that you should consider a 1 ton for the payload and not really much more money.

....hey I sometimes only get 10 pulling my little 4000 pound camper !

[Fisherguy]

Yes they're all pretty much the same, but if you do any work on them yourself like I do, open the hoods of the V8's and compare to what's under the hood of the Dodge, I know what I'd rather own.

[Bionic_Man]

My '03 CUMMINS pulled my 17,000 pound boat & fiver in tandem just fine. No reason you should feel like you need to upgrade your truck. If it is a matter of power, consider a Smarty JR. It will really wake up that engine.

If you want to upgrade your truck, go for it. As was stated, any would be fine (my preference would be to stick with RAM). They will all get about the same MPG (although I doubt they will match what you currently are getting).

[Bamarickandlisa]

I like all 3 ,,,
BUT
How many v8's are in 18 wheelers, bulldozers, tractors ,backhoes . trackhoes , Etc...
Got to be a reason !!!

RollTide !!!

[Bamarickandlisa]

jrat wrote:
out of warranty injector job @10k$!!!! .

What ?
Injector $3 to 5 hundred.
Put in in yourself.

[Paul_61]

Of the big three I would go with Ford I have a Dodge pre-bail out but would have to go with Ford now. Will not say any more do not want to get in trouble with first post. But all aside Ford is probably the best now anyway.


Dodge 2500 5.9 diesel
Rockwood 2608ws

[jrat]

2014 Ford F350 4x4 LWB Crew Cab 11500GVW daily driving 16MPG - city. Towed 8000# TT a week ago and got 14.3MPG.

This is the new 6.7litre Ford V8 diesel.

[chr_]

Well since we are talking about mileage, I'll pipe in here. I'm a bit light on TV. I have a Ford Explorer Sport Trac Adrenalin 4.6 V8. It's a Mustang with a bed. It brakes and handles great with four corner independent suspension, and it rides really nice. It has a 7K tow rating and I tow a 6K TT loaded. I averaged around 12MPG with stock tune and 91 Octane gas and 10-11 with 87 unloaded. This is oxygenated stuff, and I do 85 on the freeway to work. With the trailer, I have gotten as much as 10 on flatlands (Phoenix-Tucson) and as low as 7 on hilly trips with several 6% grades (Phoenix-Kingman), but this is also keeping up with traffic at 65-70MPH. I'm sure I can eek out a bit more with the trailer if I kept it at 55 but then I'd fall asleep at the wheel. Without the trailer, at 55 on a long trip, I got 22.

I now have an SCT X4 programmer and so far the 91 octane Tow tune is returning 14.5 MPG in daily driving. A performance tune was too harsh. Looking forward to towing next weekend with the tow tune.

I agree with everyone, any of the Domestic 3, Gas V8 or Diesel. I'll probably go with a Diesel next time, but I like the smaller form factor Pickup as it is my daily driver and it is easy to park. Unfortunately, the Imports are just as big, and Pass them up those 6% grades with my trailer all day long.

I'm hoping someone chimes in here about the new Dodge 3.0L diesel. Id bet it is a strong puller, but what about as a daily driver? Italian reliability? ???

I would like a smaller cummins option, in a half ton, for example.

Too many issues with the older Ford 6.0, any one here have the newer Hot Vee 6.7? I'd like to hear about that. How about the 6.4's?

have not heard any issues with the Duramax, and two friends have them and love them.

[jrat]

FWIW - I recently ditched my @2010 Dodge Ram CTD as it was facing an out of warranty injector job @10k$!!!! It pulled my 30 TT great. I switched to a 2014 Ford F350 long box diesel. It pulls the trailer well and has more payload. I do think the jake break on the Dodge was better but overuse may have led to my injector issues. The Ford sure has more luxuries for sure.

[Grandpere]

Stick with the diesel in a 1 ton truck, the low end torque and fuel economy is much better than with a gas engine. Just as an FYI, my mechanic told me that if I were to get a diesel make sure it is a Cummings, it is cheaper to work on, not any better, just cheaper to repair. This means that you will buy another Dodge. Not my preference but then I am a Ford person tolerating the Chevy 454 in my mh. As soon as it blows up, I will be putting in a Cummings diesel with an Allison 6 speed tranny.

[knshook]

Going on a year now with our 2013 Silverado 2500 Duramax 2wd, towing a 31' Fvr. Tow/Haul-Exhaust brake combo has been excellent so far. Smooth/Quiet driving for a diesel. Average freeway Mpg. (no load) shows 21-22 on the Driver Information Center. Have seen 13-16 mpg on the DIC while towing on the freeway. Previous TV had a 8.1 liter gas eng. Got 6-7 mpg. towing. Love the torque the diesel puts out. Have doubled my MPG while towing. Very impressed. Going on a 1 1/2 month trip June 7th. to Idaho, Montana, So.Dakota, Iowa. Will be a good test for this TV. Hope you find the right TV for your application!!

[Kafn8td]

dave17352 wrote:

Kafn8td wrote:
my '14 F250 with the 6.2 gasser is just starting to get broken in and I get 13.5 around town unloaded and 9 - 10 towing my TH. Very happy with it so far.

What does it get on the highway empty?

I'm not sure. No long trips empty to get an accurate number. The readout (which is accurate around town) Settles in around 15.5 - 16 on short 65mph freeway trips.

[mpfireman]

Are you referring to a gas powered or diesel powered truck. Gas powered vehicles, towing your trailer will have far worst MPG than a Diesel powered vehicle. Any diesel powered truck, 2500 3500 , will do the trick, but if you switch from Diesel to Gas, you will be sadly disappointed. My 98.5 Ram, Cummins powered, pulling our 10,000 Lb fiver will get between 12 to 14 MPG, gas powered, i bet you would only see around 8 MPG.

[kennyd63]

BB_TX wrote:
I am with the above. There is so little difference in the big 3 that the best truck for towing for YOU is the truck that fits YOU the best. Try all three and get the one that YOU like best.
And yes, I do have a Ford.

I agree with BB TX, and yes I also have a ford.:W