DOWNgrading truck - sanity check please

[Dougie123]

Hi All.

Advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I currently have 2011 Ram 2500 Hemi w/4.10 rear axle. 11400# towing, 2300#payload.

RV is 23’ Shamrock hybrid 4900# dry, 6200# GVWR.

Had a 2005 Suburban that was terrible at towing....when adding 4 kids, 150lbs of kayaks, and 6 bikes. Not surprising since suburban payload capacitywas 1400#. Even with WDH and sway control, towing with the Burb was SCARY.

Got the 2500 Ram and barely knew the RVwas back there. Just a dream to tow. Looking back the 2500 might have been overkill.

We are now down to 2 kids, same camper, and only 4 bikes. I need more of a daily driver, with something better on gas, and am considering dropping down to a f-150, with 9000lb towing capacity, and 1800-2000lb payload capacity.

My concern is a.). GCVW limits (gvwr 7050# for the truck + gvwr #6200 for the camper) (GCVWR for the truck is 14,100)and b.) squishy 35psi rated LT truck tires.

I’m willing to live with some more “wiggle” when towing, but don’t want the tail wagging the dog.

Anyone hearing alarm bells or seeing red flags switching to a f-150 for a new TV?

Many thanks!
Doug

[1stgenfarmboy]

an F150 or a 1/2ton of any brand is only going to get 15-17mpg in mixed real world driving, the truck you have is really really nice, there is no way I would trade if I didn't half to.


And all the defective parts have been replaced so you are good to go.. :B

[Dougie123]

Thanks All.

Yes, keeping my Ram and using the $10k for a "nice" economy car is really more like a pretty old Honda (I already own a 2009 Honda CRV).... with extra insurance, property tax, maintenance, etc...

I was studying the numbers again, and my "downgrade" is really not that much of a downgrade.

SPEC CURRENT 2011 Ram2500 PROPOSED 2015 F-150

GVWR 8800 7850
GCVWR 18,000 16,200
TOW 11,400 10,800
PAYLOAD 2360 2660
GRAWR 6000 4800


This gets me into a much smoother riding truck with (on paper) a 5-6mpg increase.

Now trying to find a used F-150 with HD Payload option....that's a different story!

[Grit_dog]

^ Eggzactly. It doesn’t typically math out.
I ran those numbers a bunch of times and it was cheaper to keep the wife in a nice truck for all miles (only 1 personal vehicle at the time for years) than have the nice truck for when it was needed and a decent commuterd car for day to day.
Now, it’s differnet, because we can afford for it to be differnet. Not because it costs less.
If I was broke, she’d be driving a 10 year old Nissan Versa!

[Fordlover]

mkirsch wrote:
I did the math on the "smaller car for commuting" thing and that doesn't pencil out either. First off most people want a reliable, decent-looking car, not some falling-apart old rustbucket so that means a payment. Second off you have to pay for upkeep on the commuter car, an additional expense. Third off you have to buy gas for BOTH vehicles. All this has to come from the fuel budget of the big truck.

Even if you get a car that gets 2X the mileage of the truck, gas has to be up around $4 a gallon before you even come close to breaking even.

It just doesn't work.

IMHO, get the new F150. For the trailer you have it'll be fine, and if you can live with that size trailer or smaller going forward, you'll be golden.

Different strokes for different folks. All 3 vehicles in our fleet are paid for and have been for years. None are rust buckets, and none have any defective features or issues because they are maintained, garaged, and two out of 3 are FoMoCo products (just kidding on the last one).
I have a commuter car because I enjoy a stick, drive 50+ miles round trip, and prefer a sporty car to do it in. NOT because the math worked out.

[Cummins12V98]

Keep driving what you have!!! Nothing worse then having NOT enough truck.

[mkirsch]

I did the math on the "smaller car for commuting" thing and that doesn't pencil out either. First off most people want a reliable, decent-looking car, not some falling-apart old rustbucket so that means a payment. Second off you have to pay for upkeep on the commuter car, an additional expense. Third off you have to buy gas for BOTH vehicles. All this has to come from the fuel budget of the big truck.

Even if you get a car that gets 2X the mileage of the truck, gas has to be up around $4 a gallon before you even come close to breaking even.

It just doesn't work.

IMHO, get the new F150. For the trailer you have it'll be fine, and if you can live with that size trailer or smaller going forward, you'll be golden.

[JIMNLIN]

Should I be concerned with a 7050gvwr f-150? Or do I have my numbers wrong?

Thanks!

See my reply on the first page about the 7050 gvwr package payloads can overload the trucks small 4050 rawr. The 4050 rawr is good for around 1600-1700 lbs in the bed. Remember rawr carries all the load in the bed...not gvwr.

If you need a F150 that can carry 2000 lb plus then the truck with a 4550 rawr or 4800 rawr will work.

Use this from fleet ford specs. Shows all the GVWR and RAWR packages.
https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/topics/techspec.html

[Mike_Up]

Dougie123 wrote:
.

We are now down to 2 kids, same camper, and only 4 bikes. I need more of a daily driver, with something better on gas, and am considering dropping down to a f-150, with 9000lb towing capacity, and 1800-2000lb payload capacity.

My concern is a.). GCVW limits (gvwr 7050# for the truck + gvwr #6200 for the camper) (GCVWR for the truck is 14,100)and b.) squishy 35psi rated LT truck tires.

I’m willing to live with some more “wiggle” when towing, but don’t want the tail wagging the dog.

Anyone hearing alarm bells or seeing red flags switching to a f-150 for a new TV?

Many thanks!
Doug

I pull my 29' trailer with my F150 which fits what you're looking for, check out the specs in the signature. The "ACTUAL" means what my truck can do as configured and optioned. That's an ACTUAL 1890 lbs payload with a 7000 lbs GVWR, 3450 lbs front axle rating, 3800 lbs rear axle rating, and an ACTUAL 10,720 lbs tow rating.

The only thing I'd say is to get some LT tires as the P series sidewalls wallow a bit. Actually not as bad in my '16 as it was with the '12. But I'm considering LT Goodyear Adventurer tires mainly for the snow capability that my stock fortitude tires don't have. My '12 F150 Screw 4WD had BFGoodrich KO2 and they recommended 47 psi which was correct checking by the chaulk system.

Also since my aluminum truck only weights 5110 lbs, it's like towing with a steel midsize truck, as was my previous 2008 Sport Trac 4.6L 3 Valve V8 midsize truck.

I use the Blue Ox which is great but strong side winds can make it a bit unstable, especially next to a 3/4 or 1 ton truck.

If you go used on the previous generation (2011 - 2014), make sure you get the Max Tow option with 7700 lbs GVWR or your payload will be really low. On the 2015 - 2017 generation, the GVWR is higher on all trucks, to give them the suspension/payload upgrade that the Max Tow package truck use to have. On the 2018 trucks, the 20" wheel option brings higher rated springs and axle ratings but the GVWR is still the same. 20" wheels on 2015+ trucks have complaints of rear wheel hop with the stock shocks which isn't surprising with their short sidewall height especially if aired higher than 35 psi. I personally don't like 20" wheels, but would never consider them if towing.

Good luck on finding something.

[bstar1952]

OP, just did that very thing. Went from a 2015 Chevy 2500HD, 6.0, that was a really great truck, to a new F-150, 3.5 eco, 3.55 rear-end and max-tow package. We own a 32' Jayco While Hawk that weighs in at about 7600lbs loaded. We take 1 long trip a year, 4-6K miles, out West in the mountains, and a couple of 150 mile trips to the Texas coast. Here's my reasons:
1. Mileage, 9 MPG towing, which in itself was OK. Solo, 13mpg - that sucked.....
2. Solo, my HD drove like a HD truck. Live about 10 miles down a pretty rough road and when not towing was bbaadd.
3. The new F150, 3.5 EB, is a towing beast - 375h/p and 470 torque. My configuration can tow up to 11,000 lbs. Payload is fine for us at 1780lbs.
4. Because of gas mileage and using the truck to tow only a couple of times a year, just couldn't justify such crappy solo mileage.
5. I wanted a new truck.

Only towed the TT once for a test drive and it did great. Yes, you can feel crosswinds and the semi's passing you a little more because the F-150 is much lighter than the HD, but my WDH is dailed in and it wasn't a "while knuckle" experience by any means. In fact, in some areas the F-150 towed better. I have no regrets in my decision to downsize. Good luck in whatever you decide OP.

[Devocamper]

Are sure your not going to move to a larger or heavier trailer in the near future and be looking for a larger truck in a few years ? We have always had a small used daily driver to use for work or running around which is currently a Toyota echo that gets 35 mpg . The truck is used for our travels and occasionally out for a ride . As others have said you can never have to much truck .
Mike
.

[BenK]

Even if didn't have four vehicles (2 seater is being restored, so not driven in years...power to weight ratio planned/expected to around 6:1), I'd get a +8.6K GVWR pickup. TV is a K3500 Suburban. Daily is a 2000 Odyssey

Just turned 70 (along with surviving cancer {kinda sorta in remission}, bad back/neck, etc, and 'ride quality' is NOT on my "have to have" list. The 1980 Silverado is getting old and close to NOT willing to fix much anymore. starting to look for a 3/4 or 1 ton replacement. Since still own rentals, gotta be capable of the occasional hardware/garden supply/firewood/etc duty...must be long bed and +8.6K GVWR. SRW or dually, but neighbors might not like the dually parked outside on the street...so SRW would be okay for me. Extended cab for sure...with a maybe crew...either will have long bed...this even if only owned one vehicle

Personal stuff and there is no one size fits all. It is a truck for me. Ditto the Suburban. 'Cars' are the Odyssey and 2 seater. A maybe lux sedan for my old age...miss the LS400/S500 the ex got in the divorce, but past pain that easily fixed with a new, used sedan...was looking at a S63 or Flying Spur, but dependent on the deal/condition/etc find...when go shopping for it

Again, personal stuff and no right/wrong one size fits all thing. Dependent on each scenario per person.

[Grit_dog]

Didn’t realize the OPs truck was problem prone, that factors in, but no the extra cost if talking about going to a 5 year newer truck. 1/2 and 3/4 ton gassers are prettty comparable in price if the trucks are comparable.
Again, by your calcs, that is not a lot of weight and any decently equipped V8 or Eco something 1/2 ton will do what you’re wanting to do without issue.

[jerem0621]

I did the downgrade...I love my F150. It’s much better at DD than my old Dually was. It’s very comfortable. I’m going to be purchasing a trailer of similar size to yours.

Next truck will probably be another F150, but with a 3.5 EB and the Max Tow package.

They are not perfect but they are good trucks.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[Dougie123]

Thanks. This is what I’m calculating.

RV GVWR : 6200lbs (probably more like 6000)
Tounge weight: 15% or 900 lbs
WDH: 75lbs
2 kayaks: 150lbs
4 bikes: 40lbs
Kayak rack: 40lbs
3 passengers: 550lbs
_____________________
Subtotal: 1750lbs
Weight back on to camper from WDH: 15% or 262lbs

Total payload: 1570lbs.

Should I be concerned with a 7050gvwr f-150? Or do I have my numbers wrong?

Thanks!