Fifthwheel ordered - now I need new truck - advice please

[Hedgehog]

We sold our diesel pusher and just ordered a 2016 Montana 3160RL. The fifthwheel has a dry weight of 11,700 and a pin weight of 2570. I know I need a 1 ton and prefer to stay with single rear wheel because this will be my every day driver. What I am torn between is the gas vs. diesel debate. I know that all of the big 3 can tow the weight I need with the proper axle ratio but in the case of ford, I would have to order because I can't find a truck on the lot with 4.30 gears. in the past, I owned a fifthwheel and towed it with a 6.0 power stroke so I know that diesel tows better. What is making me nervous about buying another diesel is the reliability. I see issues all over forums about problems with def systems, injection pumps, injectors, etc. this will be my everyday driver to get me to work everyday along with towing the new fifthwheel under 2,000 miles a year. Another thing that is important to me is resale value. I put approx. 15,000 per year and usually trade them at under 80,000 miles. I know most of the time I will be under warranty but breakdowns are still a major aggregation, especially if it's your only vehicle.
Are the newer diesels that problematic?
Do the newer diesels have better resale or do they loose that advantage due to the cost factors of repairs once out of warranty?
Is the diesel worth the investment when 90% of its life will be just driving it for transportation and doing Home Depot runs, etc.
I'm not trying to start a gas vs. diesel war because I like them both and if the epa wasn't involved in these vehicles, I already know what I would buy. Even a friend of mine that works as the service manager at a local ford dealership told me that a lot of there fleet customers are switching to gas. Why?

[FishOnOne]

Probably could get by with a gasser but the new diesels are so powerful it's crazy including respectable fuel economy, and towing is so uneventful.

I drive a '12 Ford 6.7 diesel as a daily driver with ~68k miles to date and not a single emissions related problem or concern.

Good luck...

[Lantley]

My thought is the OP could get away with one of the new gassers, however the exhaust brake ultimately becomes the deciding factor for me when it come to RV towing. A newer 3500 SRW diesel is the way to go. Personally I like the dually but SRW will be fine assuming you stay below 14 K loaded.

[Mickey_D]

I had to buy a new truck last year after buying a new trailer. I thought real hard about the gas vs. diesel debate, but between a 11K gross trailer and a 13K equipment trailer, diesel was a no brainer. I have pulled my equipment trailer with my old 5.3L GMC and my neighbors 6.2L 2500 Ford and neither engine was really happy with the load. With the 6.7 Cummins in the new truck, the tall RV with a lot of wind drag and the heavy equipment trailer are both easy tows.

The main reasons that I went with Ram was the CP 3 injection system seems to be a little more reliable than the CP 4 in the Ford and GM, the Ram interior and infotainment systems are a lot better than the others, and Ram had a lot better pricing.

I do use this truck as a daily driver (16K miles so far) and have not had any problems out of it, though I have noticed that the back tires are wearing faster than the fronts - must be something wrong with the pedal on the right. As far as which truck is right for you, I don't think you could go wrong with any diesel 3500, and if you get the right hitch you can even get by with a short bed that makes it a lot easier to drive on a daily basis (at least you can fit in a regular parking space).

[Greene728]

transferred wrote:

BurbMan wrote:

ib516 wrote:

transferred wrote:
Diesel is the only engine for towing more than 5,000 lbs.

LOL

LOL X2! I tow 9000 lbs and pass folks going uphill, and that's with the old 4 speed transmission.

They were cruising nicely at 55 until they let it upshift to 3rd, then never recovered that momentum. Again, the OP lives in MA, there are no grades like this in the northeast.

I exaggerated with 5k but I if you go past 10k gassers are downright dangerous on 5% grades, they simply can't do it and keep moving with the flow of traffic. As for you passing people uphill, well you're either similar to the diesel guys who claim they get 19mpg towing or you're trailer is not 9k. You're truck can safely tow 9k, but it isn't going up more than a molehill at >50mph.

Im pretty sure that I've never seen more useless rhetoric in my life. I Assure you that my truck can and will pull my 9500# fifth wheel up a 5% grade and do it at more than 50mph. It may drop to 3rd or even 2nd gear and tach at 35-4500 rpm, but it will do it. Will a diesel do it easier? Yes. Will a diesel have some power to spare? Probably so. But your thoughts and posts concerning the newer gas engines and their abilities are flawed and just not accurate. And I dont care what video you watched!

[Greene728]

OP
In a nutshell without all the banter, a gas will be just fine but a diesel will pull better. It's nothing more than getting either one configured in a manner and equipped to handle your 5th wheel. If only towing 2000mi or so a year, then the upfront cost and added maintenance probably isn't worth it. Unless you just really want a diesel and don't mind the extra cash up front (pretty substantial) and added cost of ownership (not a big deal) I believe you will be fine with either one. And as someone else pointed out, if you plan to trade at roughly 80,000mi, then the diesel seems kinda pointless to me considering your needs and plans.

[bighatnohorse]

Hedgehog wrote:
I put approx. 15,000 per year and usually trade them at under 80,000 miles.

Are the newer diesels that problematic?

Is the diesel worth the investment when 90% of its life will be just driving it for transportation and doing Home Depot runs, etc.

. . .a lot of there fleet customers are switching to gas. Why?

The newer diesels are more reliable.
I followed the Ford 6.7 diesel forum for several years and it was downright boring. No problems.

Dodge was also a contender. No engine problems but there were still lingering issues with the front end questions up to early 2015

Using the diesel 90-percent of the time as a "grocery getter" and basic transportation is a waste of money.
If your retirement account is well funded and the kid's college education taken care of, then yes, maybe you could squander cash on a grocery getter.

Fleet customers may be switching to gas powered trucks due to a history of problems with the diesels.

[transferred]

BurbMan wrote:

ib516 wrote:

transferred wrote:
Diesel is the only engine for towing more than 5,000 lbs.

LOL

LOL X2! I tow 9000 lbs and pass folks going uphill, and that's with the old 4 speed transmission.

They were cruising nicely at 55 until they let it upshift to 3rd, then never recovered that momentum. Again, the OP lives in MA, there are no grades like this in the northeast.

I exaggerated with 5k but I if you go past 10k gassers are downright dangerous on 5% grades, they simply can't do it and keep moving with the flow of traffic. As for you passing people uphill, well you're either similar to the diesel guys who claim they get 19mpg towing or you're trailer is not 9k. You're truck can safely tow 9k, but it isn't going up more than a molehill at >50mph.

[transferred]

ib516 wrote:

transferred wrote:
Diesel is the only engine for towing more than 5,000 lbs.

LOL

You can make your teenaged quips but the video proves it. Get anywhere north of 10k and a gasser falls on its face when it comes to hills. Sure, you could avoid hills for evermore but the whole point of a 5th wheel is you go to places different to where you live.

[Me_Again]

transferred wrote:
Here's the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeWhXy_ciuM

2.8mpg and a max of 30mph from the 6.4 gasser even with 4.10 rear end. Diesel is the only engine for towing more than 5,000 lbs.

12,500 trailer and tank in bed, in First gear doing 30 MPH up the pass, no thanks. What would it be doing with 15K to 16K that it is rated to tow?

Chris

[BurbMan]

ib516 wrote:

transferred wrote:
Diesel is the only engine for towing more than 5,000 lbs.

LOL

LOL X2! I tow 9000 lbs and pass folks going uphill, and that's with the old 4 speed transmission.

They were cruising nicely at 55 until they let it upshift to 3rd, then never recovered that momentum. Again, the OP lives in MA, there are no grades like this in the northeast.

[ib516]

transferred wrote:
Diesel is the only engine for towing more than 5,000 lbs.

LOL

[transferred]

Here's the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeWhXy_ciuM

2.8mpg and a max of 30mph from the 6.4 gasser even with 4.10 rear end. Diesel is the only engine for towing more than 5,000 lbs.

[transferred]

Hedgehog wrote:
At first I was dead set against a diesel but I'm not sure now. Why is that the manufacturers de tune there gas engines in trucks over 10,000 GVWR? Will that be a issue if I purchased a gas truck?

You'll do 2mpg up grades at 30mph if you buy a gasser. Honestly. You'll get at least 6mpg with one of the new diesels and that's with c.20k in trailer, hard to go wrong with the 2015 diesel 1-ton SRW from Ram, GM or Ford (incidentally, I'd rank them in that order but it's close enough to be splitting hairs).

The 2013+ SRW 3500s are very stout indeed. Bigger discs, factory exhaust brakes, 4,000b payloads even for 4x4 Crews. I much prefer a SRW to DRW, though we did keep the old F450 as dually are king where campers are concerned. Towing, well anything below 17,000lbs loaded I'd stick with SRW. Above that, or when you get to 40'+ in length think about a dually or preferably a 5500-Series.

[guidry]

I use my 3500 Duramax as a daily driver and love it. It is a single rear drive and 4x4, which I have had to use a few times. Pulls my 5th wheel great, especially downhill with the exhaust brake.

[C_Schomer]

My QC LB dually was my only vehicle for 9 years and the only reason I got the Jeep was to go to the desert and mtn trails and to keep the miles off truck. For you, I think it's a toss-up as long as a srw will comfortably handle the weight AND payload. In my experience, the diesel premium was completely paid back at the time I sold them.
Old truckers, like me, used to base the necessity for diesel on how many miles driven and it was 2000 miles/month, not 2000 miles/year. I went from a gas to a diesel TV when we started RVing and driving a LOT. We camp in the mtns. and the exh brake is awesome but I'd have no problem going back to gas for your use.
I would favor diesel more if the new ones were as reliable as the older ones but all the electronics alone scare the bageezers out of me and my luck with anything that has a lot of electronics, sucks! Craig