Deciding on new tow vehicle

[lgroat]

Hi.
We are fairly new to campers. We purchased a nice gently used 2010 Jayco Jayflight 22fb a few months ago and are thoroughly enjoying it. Unfortunately our current truck is a little under powered. It is a 2008 Dodge Ram manual with the small V8 and 20 inch wheels. Our trailer's day weight is 4600lbs. The truck really struggles on our little hill in the South.

We have great offers on 2 vehicles. Both are crew cabs. One is a Chevy Silverado Crew with the 5.3L V8 and a 3.43 ratio. The other is a Dodge 1500 with the V8, 8 speed transmission and a 3.92 ratio. The capacities seem fairly close and they should both be very nice for towing our current trailer. I probably like the Dodge a little more, but the Chevy price is a little better. We would be happy either way.

Any thoughts either way?

Thanks!

[LimogesMan]

fla-gypsy wrote:
The Dodge is the winner hands down IMO.

X2

[lgroat]

rkortes wrote:
You ask the holy grail question when the topic of pickem up trucks is involved. Most guys here would trade their wife or GF before giving up their "perfect" Ford, Dodge, or Chevy.... Ok... and Tundra.

I'm X2 on seeking out a 3/4 ton for pulling. Why? Many folks start out small and very quickly want something bigger... and bigger and.... you get the idea. Any of the brands out there will be great. I have a 2005 GMC 3500 SRW and love it! It's been quite the work horse. Not that comfy though.

Can't argue on the 3/4 ton being nice. I towed horses with 1/2 tons for a few years and bought an F250 with the 8L turbo diesel in 2001. The 1/2 tons felt too unstable to me, and both ended up having transmission issues. I drove that F250 for over 200K miles and finally traded it in in 2012 when I quit horsing. It was a towing dream, but a filling station nightmare. My husband has to commute to work in his truck and a 3/4 is just too expensive.

We did borrow a 1500 Hemi to pull our camper with on a fairly long trip before buying the Dodge (we bought it last night). I have to say that my expectations were very low after my 1990's experiences with 1/2 ton towing. I was ready to insist that we buy a 3/4 ton truck. To my surprise, it felt much more stable and powerful than the 1/2 tons I towed with in the 90's. So I think we will be happy with it for a long time.

[45Ricochet]

Camreal wrote:
Lots of opinions, I have been pulling trailers for the last 15 yrs with Dodge diesels. No complaints.

Wait... I know a guy from Texas who swear's there is no Ram truck's in Texas :B I kind of thought he was kidding me :W

[Camreal]

Lots of opinions, I have been pulling trailers for the last 15 yrs with Dodge diesels. No complaints.

[wrasse]

You can't go wrong with any of the 1/2 ton trucks these days. Just find the one with the comfort and features you want.
Ram with the hemi is a great option and should meet your needs.
I would say stick with 1/2 ton gas truck if this is a multipurpose truck and you don't plan to go nuts on trailer size in the near future.
Comfort when driving unloaded and better mileage, less maintenance/reliability hassles will be worth it compared to going to HD diesel truck.

[rkortes]

You ask the holy grail question when the topic of pickem up trucks is involved. Most guys here would trade their wife or GF before giving up their "perfect" Ford, Dodge, or Chevy.... Ok... and Tundra.

I'm X2 on seeking out a 3/4 ton for pulling. Why? Many folks start out small and very quickly want something bigger... and bigger and.... you get the idea. Any of the brands out there will be great. I have a 2005 GMC 3500 SRW and love it! It's been quite the work horse. Not that comfy though.

[lgroat]

Thank for the inputs all! Yes the current Dodge is the 4.7L V8 and it is weak to say the least 😞 We did the calculations before purchasing the trailer, but realized bringing it home the first day that it was going to be a big job for our poor truck.

We went over and sat in the Chevy last night. It really is a beautiful truck...that nice gray color. The Chevy numbers also came in a tad lower. None the less, we just weren't feelin' it. We both just felt better in the Dodge. The seats were a little more comfortable, the headroom was a little better, and that 8 speed transmission drives really nicely. The arrangement under the rear seats is also really super. You have your storage, but can also create a flat platform for canine traveling companions. Little factors, but they make a difference!

Thanks so much for the inputs. Neither of us has purchased a new vehicle in many years and we were pretty nervous.

[transamz9]

Engineer9860 wrote:

MM49 wrote:

Engineer9860 wrote:

MM49 wrote:
The Ram will pull a TT much better that the Chevy. The Ram's coil spring suspension uses both sway bar and a pan hard bar. These components limit the lateral movement in the rear suspension. The coil spring suspension will eliminate or greatly reduce sway.
MM49

Are you for real?

Yes I am!
I pull 9500lb TT with a 2014 2500 coil spring suspended RAM. I experience Zero sway,passing vehicle push or any disturbance. The coil spring suspension preforms much better in every way than the leaf spring suspension.
MM49

The OP isn't asking about a RAM 2500 now is he?

And since you brought up 2500 series trucks how many people on here complain about towing stability with their leaf spring 2500/250 trucks?

I think the point he was trying to make is that the Ram 1500 is set up the same way his 2500 is set up (coil 5 link). I have had the pleasure of going from leaf spring suspension to 5 link suspension in the same truck pulling the same load and there is a big stability increase with my 5 link.

IMHO though, the increase was due more to the fact that my 2500 did not have a sway bar factory and now that I have air springs instead of steel springs the side to side stiffness is greatly improved. Most people that go from a srw to a drw think that the stability increase is due to the two extra tires but in fact most of the time it's because the drw will have an added sway bar or one that is bigger. 😉

[APT]

More details please? Are these both new 2014 models? Used 2005 models?

Ram 5.7L/8-spd would be best powerwise.G M 6-spd with 3.42 is not as far off Ram's 5/6-spd for net wheel torque, but way less than the Ram 8-spd. However, the payloads are the lowest in class so you might only have 400 pounds left for people and cargo in the bed. 2014 GM has the highest typically equipped on dealer lots payload with about 600 pounds more than typical Ram.

So besides which truck you like to sit in, drive, pay for, you need to balance payload vs. power. A 2009+ GM 6-spd/3.42 will be better than your Ram 4.7L. A 2014 GM will be even more so. And the Hemi 8-spd the most powerful.

[pitch]

I was in the same boat as you. 5000 pound trailer, pulled by a 2012 Ram with the 4.7. Ram claimed I was good for 6800 pounds. I was good downhill or on the level,but any hill or headwind would be right down to second gear.

I traded for a 2013 5.7 Ram and all is good!

[Engineer9860]

MM49 wrote:

Engineer9860 wrote:

MM49 wrote:
The Ram will pull a TT much better that the Chevy. The Ram's coil spring suspension uses both sway bar and a pan hard bar. These components limit the lateral movement in the rear suspension. The coil spring suspension will eliminate or greatly reduce sway.
MM49

Are you for real?

Yes I am!
I pull 9500lb TT with a 2014 2500 coil spring suspended RAM. I experience Zero sway,passing vehicle push or any disturbance. The coil spring suspension preforms much better in every way than the leaf spring suspension.
MM49

The OP isn't asking about a RAM 2500 now is he?

And since you brought up 2500 series trucks how many people on here complain about towing stability with their leaf spring 2500/250 trucks?

[dshelley]

lgroat wrote:
Hi.


We have great offers on 2 vehicles. Both are crew cabs. One is a Chevy Silverado Crew with the 5.3L V8 and a 3.43 ratio. The other is a Dodge 1500 with the V8, 8 speed transmission and a 3.92 ratio. The capacities seem fairly close and they should both be very nice for towing our current trailer. I probably like the Dodge a little more,, but the Chevy price is a little better. We would be happy either way.

Any thoughts either way?

Thanks!

Either will tow the trailer fine, but it seems you have answered your own question. I agree, I like the Dodge a little better too, although the 2014 Chevy is a very fine and capable truck.

[FishOnOne]

lgroat wrote:
Hi.
We are fairly new to campers. We purchased a nice gently used 2010 Jayco Jayflight 22fb a few months ago and are thoroughly enjoying it. Unfortunately our current truck is a little under powered. It is a 2008 Dodge Ram manual with the small V8 and 20 inch wheels. Our trailer's day weight is 4600lbs. The truck really struggles on our little hill in the South.

We have great offers on 2 vehicles. Both are crew cabs. One is a Chevy Silverado Crew with the 5.3L V8 and a 3.43 ratio. The other is a Dodge 1500 with the V8, 8 speed transmission and a 3.92 ratio. The capacities seem fairly close and they should both be very nice for towing our current trailer. I probably like the Dodge a little more, but the Chevy price is a little better. We would be happy either way.

Any thoughts either way?

Thanks!

I'm assuming your 2008 truck is a 4.7 OHC V8 which is a real turd for pulling.

From the towing comparisons I've seen of the RAM 5.7 Hemi vs the Chevy 5.3 V8's is that the 5.7 Hemi out performs the 5.3 Chevy.

[MVH1]

I currently tow 7,000 lbs with my 04 dodge ram and it performs excellent. I have the Hemi engine and love it. The truck has plenty of power for towing. I pulled it through some mountains in NC on our way to ashville from Florida and it did a great job. The new ram has a terrific suspension that was mentioned in another post. I think it also has an air bag system to adjust ride height for towing or highway driving.