Help me pick a tow vehicle

[RRTom]

We will be towing a Jayco travel trailer, 7500 lb loaded, 31 feet over all. We would like to find a used 2010 - 2012 gas engine, crew cab that would be suitable for towing this trailer. The truck would only be used for towing and the occasional errand to pick up over size items. I am not a techie, but would like some advice to start narrowing down makes and models. Thanks for any help.

[RobertRyan]

spud1957 wrote:
For basically the same money I would recommend a 3/4. Won't have to be concerned about exceeding any weights.

For the poster that said get a "US manufactured" truck not a "Japanese". Tundra is manufactured in the US and is the 3rd ranking US/Canada content truck built AND is quite capable of pulling that trailer.

We no longer have 3 domestic auto companies. Now down to 2.

Ford & GM are the 2. FCA is a European company with head office in London UK. It is not an Italian company anymore.

Rumour has it that Scania and MAN trucks are looking for an acquisition in NA. Navistar is the most likely target. PACCAR maybe on the menu as it was hit with a US $1Billion fine over their DAF trucks. As a result it made a loss this year.
Dieselgate VW Corporation, is now the biggest Automaker, beating Toyota. It also made 0.3 % profit. No Dieselgate did not account for the losses, they were a result of downturns in the economies of Brazil, Russia etc.
MAN and Scania have majority holdings held by VW

[gopherslayer]

I bought a 2500 Yukon XL for towing our camper that is 7900 maxed out . Still have my 1/2 ton Silverado but will never buy a 1/2 ton again. Too many advantages to a 3/4 ton not to have one. For short trips a 1/2 ton is ok but the difference is immediately noticeable when hooked up.

My unloaded mileage difference is not quite 1.5 mpg. Yukon does have a 37 gal gas tank though. Truck is 28 gal (03 Silverado)

[APT]

7500 pounds loaded puts many half tons over at least one of its ratings. They do not all come with the proper equipment for towing, so finding a used one can get tricky. However, every 2010+ 3/4 ton can comfortably tow 7500 pounds loaded - they all come with the minimum necessary equipment for towing. Since this is a dedicated TV, I would not think the non-towing benefits of a half ton are important compared to 3/4 ton. I highly recommend 2011+ GM 3/4 ton 6.0L. It comes with the bigger fuel tank, very reliable trans and engine, and plenty of payload to load up the bed while towing.

[IDoMyOwnStunts]

smkettner wrote:

IDoMyOwnStunts wrote:
Full disclosure: I used to own an F250 with a 5.4. Reliable, but couldn't get out of its own way.

4.30 gears?

05 3.7 with limited slip. We have a long on-ramp to the freeway where I live. Pulling my in-laws 5k trailer, it couldn't get up to freeway speed (60) by the end of the ramp. Otherwise, it was a great truck. It just wasn't enough for what I wanted to pull. Neither was my F150, but that's another story.

[KD4UPL]

I would get a 2500 series truck. If you find a 3500 that's fine too but not necessary. As for gas engine in that era I would go with the Chevy 6.0. However my favorite gas engines would require going back to 2007 for a Chevy 8.1L or going up to 2014 and getting a RAM with the 6.4.

[myredracer]

Another vote for 3/4 ton, esp. if you are in Ca. and expect to be towing up & down a lot of mountains and hills and on lots of curvy roads. I love the V10 and 4.10 gears in our F250. It never lacks for power, accelerates great, handles great and brakes great. Gets average mpg when towing but not that good for short local trips (not an issue for mostly towing use). If you can find the right truck, I'd avoid 4WD.

We bought our '09 F250 as a fleet return for a pretty good price. We upgraded from an F150 and would never go back to a 1/2 ton except for a shorter & lighter TT (now tow a 29' 7K lb TT).

[tmartin000]

Jap trucks usually have lower gear ratios to haul. So, when they aren't towing their mileage sucks. Any of the newer big-3, have bridged that gap with much better results..imho.

[time2roll]

IDoMyOwnStunts wrote:
Full disclosure: I used to own an F250 with a 5.4. Reliable, but couldn't get out of its own way.

4.30 gears?

[spud1957]

For basically the same money I would recommend a 3/4. Won't have to be concerned about exceeding any weights.

For the poster that said get a "US manufactured" truck not a "Japanese". Tundra is manufactured in the US and is the 3rd ranking US/Canada content truck built AND is quite capable of pulling that trailer.

We no longer have 3 domestic auto companies. Now down to 2.

Ford & GM are the 2. FCA is a European company with head office in London UK. It is not an Italian company anymore.

[therink]

Definitely 3/4 ton minimum if towing without concerns is your goal. If going with gasser I recommend a 4:10 axle ratio to get best gearing.
The problem with many 1/2 tons with load that high is instability with softer P rated tires and excessive load on rear suspension with 1,000 lb tongue weight plus added weight from the gear you would normally load in the bed.

[1ofmany]

Iraqvet05 wrote:

skiles wrote:
I would get a 3/4 ton if it were me. You would pretty much max out a 1/2 ton, IMO.

x2

Better to have extra capacity than to be short a bit....

[IDoMyOwnStunts]

Another vote for a 3/4 or 1 ton. Sure is nice not having to worry about how much firewood you put in the bed. Price wise, I'll bet you can find one very competitively priced with the 1/2 tons of that year.

Probably the only one I wouldn't consider if I were you is the 2010 Super Duties with the 5.4. The only reason being that in 2011 the 6.2 was introduced, which would be a much better choice. Full disclosure: I used to own an F250 with a 5.4. Reliable, but couldn't get out of its own way.

[time2roll]

F150HD if you can find one. Otherwise I would be partial to a one-ton srw but a 3/4 is fine.

[SouthpawHD]

As already stated, a 3/4 ton from any of the big 3 would be the best.

I pulled around 5500 pounds with a GMC max tow, and it did very well. But not sure I'd pull 7500 pounds with it unless you are going on all short trips on back country roads.