Need a new truck

[zztinker]

Want to know if a 2017 Ford 250, or dodge 250 gas would pull a 2010 Jayco
Eagle Super Lite Fifth Wheel Series M-31.5 RLDS. Its about 11,000 lbs on scale. I hate to spend the extra $ 8,000 for a diesel.

[shepstone]

FishOnOne wrote:

zztinker wrote:
Want to know if a 2017 Ford 250, or dodge 250 gas would pull a 2010 Jayco
Eagle Super Lite Fifth Wheel Series M-31.5 RLDS. Its about 11,000 lbs on scale. I hate to spend the extra $ 8,000 for a diesel.

There's some Super Duty owners with a 6.2 and 4:30 gears reporting impressive towing performance.

X2 & combined with the torqshift manual mode it becomes a very capable towing platform.

[FishOnOne]

zztinker wrote:
Want to know if a 2017 Ford 250, or dodge 250 gas would pull a 2010 Jayco
Eagle Super Lite Fifth Wheel Series M-31.5 RLDS. Its about 11,000 lbs on scale. I hate to spend the extra $ 8,000 for a diesel.

There's some Super Duty owners with a 6.2 and 4:30 gears reporting impressive towing performance.

[FishOnOne]

troubledwaters wrote:
Well there's a winner, I pay $8K extra for a diesel and then I get to pay another grand to also have heat. What a sweet deal, where do I bend over at?

LOL....I don't recall the cost of the rapid heat option but I'm pretty sure it's in the noise when considering the price of the new truck.

[troubledwaters]

Well there's a winner, I pay $8K extra for a diesel and then I get to pay another grand to also have heat. What a sweet deal, where do I bend over at?

[FishOnOne]

^^^^ Super Duty diesels have a option to equip the truck with a rapid heat option that has a heating element that provides immediate supplemental heat until the engine heats up.

[ib516]

brooks379 wrote:
Can you use a rock to pound a nail into a wall stud ? Sure can but a hammer is the right tool for the job.

Can you use a butter knife to screw in a screw ? Sure can but a screw driver is the right tool for the job.

Can you pull a big 5er with a gas motor ? Sure can but a diesel with all it's torque and power is the right tool for the job.

Especially when you are running around the west coast in 100+ degree temps. and pulling long, steep grades.
The new diesel trucks cost more but one thing is for certain when you are loaded down on a long trip you can leave your worries as far as your equipment home when your 5er is hooked to a high torque diesel !! Ever see any of the guys towing 5er's , TT or any other type of trailer for a living using anything but a diesel pickup ?
Good luck with what ever you decide to get.

ronharmless wrote:
Most people use their truck less than 10 percent of the time towing, and use it 90 percent of the time for commuting. What makes sense when your using your truck to make a living pulling trailers may be way different then what makes sense when your using your truck for commuting and once in a while pulling your trailer.

Will the diesel perform better than a gasser when pulling a heavy load? Yes.

But, for a guy like me, and ronharmless, the gas engine made more sense. The diesels I had made me freeze every day on my commute to work in the winter. They just started blowing heat and I'd shut the engine off. I don't think the thermostat opened all winter.

My gasser never got hot while pulling grades, even in hot weather. I didn't have to concern myself with DEF or a clogged DPF. Just oil changes and filling the gas tank.

That and the 8-10k I saved getting the gas engine allowed me to get a fully loaded truck.

Also, when I really thought about how often the trailer was hitched up, it was about 5-7 days a year. Sure we went camping for 2 or 3 weeks at a time, but we pulled a day or two to the mountains, set up and then used the truck for sightseeing and adventures. Then pull the Rv a day or two home. If I was travelling all over the Country or full time RVing, the diesel would have made more sense. But for me, 95% of the time, the truck was a family vehicle and had nothing hitched behind it.

To each their own.

[ronharmless]

Most people use their truck less than 10 percent of the time towing, and use it 90 percent of the time for commuting. What makes sense when your using your truck to make a living pulling trailers may be way different then what makes sense when your using your truck for commuting and once in a while pulling your trailer.

[Bionic_Man]

As long as you don't mind running higher RPMs, either the 6.2 Ford or the 6.4 RAM would tow that load well.

If you don't want to spend the premium for diesel, don't. Just remember, you get almost all of that premium back come resale time.

[brooks379]

Can you use a rock to pound a nail into a wall stud ? Sure can but a hammer is the right tool for the job.

Can you use a butter knife to screw in a screw ? Sure can but a screw driver is the right tool for the job.

Can you pull a big 5er with a gas motor ? Sure can but a diesel with all it's torque and power is the right tool for the job.

Especially when you are running around the west coast in 100+ degree temps. and pulling long, steep grades.
The new diesel trucks cost more but one thing is for certain when you are loaded down on a long trip you can leave your worries as far as your equipment home when your 5er is hooked to a high torque diesel !! Ever see any of the guys towing 5er's , TT or any other type of trailer for a living using anything but a diesel pickup ?
Good luck with what ever you decide to get.

[troubledwaters]

408f150 wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:

zztinker wrote:
Want to know if a 2017 Ford 250, or dodge 250 gas would pull a 2010 Jayco
Eagle Super Lite Fifth Wheel Series M-31.5 RLDS. Its about 11,000 lbs on scale. I hate to spend the extra $ 8,000 for a diesel.

I see you are from central California. If I remember there are lot's of BIG grades. If you like your engine SCREAMING at you and crawling up those grades go for it!

Diesel it the way to go!

I agree, I'm also in CA and no matter which way you go (I-5, I-80, etc) you almost always have to get over a major grade to get out of the state. If you just float around CA and don't need to get over the sierras often a gasser will probably be fine but diesel gives you a huge comfortable towing margin and you'll get almost all of that money back in resale vs a gasser. You can get a mid-trim 2016 Cummins 2500 with under 20k miles for around 40k

Diesel Executive Summary
Diesel Analysis
The Elements behind the Data

[kmbelt]

I 2nd this. I tow 10k with no problems. You will want to get the optional 4.10's on the Ram instead of the standard 3.73 gears. this takes you over a 15k tow rating.

[ib516]

My last truck was the 2014 Ram 2500 6.4L Hemi in my sig pic. I towed a 12k 5er (37' with 3 slides) with it all over and through the Canadian Rockies. I was very satisfied with the performance. I wouldn't hesitate to buy the same truck again for pulling a big load occasionally. I got 7-9 mpg pulling that load, most times it was 8 mpg.

With the Ram 2500, I had 3000# payload, and was under all of my ratings (GCWR, GVWR, GAWRs, and max tow rating) while hitched up. Oh, and there was very little sag and a nice ride (empty and loaded) with the rear coil spring suspension. The pic below is all stock. No airbags needed, even with the big 5er.

Did it use high RPM to climb big grades? Yes.
Did that bother me? Nope. That's where the big Hemi made max power.

[hellfirehydra]

408f150 wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:

zztinker wrote:
Want to know if a 2017 Ford 250, or dodge 250 gas would pull a 2010 Jayco
Eagle Super Lite Fifth Wheel Series M-31.5 RLDS. Its about 11,000 lbs on scale. I hate to spend the extra $ 8,000 for a diesel.

I see you are from central California. If I remember there are lot's of BIG grades. If you like your engine SCREAMING at you and crawling up those grades go for it!

Diesel it the way to go!

I agree, I'm also in CA and no matter which way you go (I-5, I-80, etc) you almost always have to get over a major grade to get out of the state. If you just float around CA and don't need to get over the sierras often a gasser will probably be fine but diesel gives you a huge comfortable towing margin and you'll get almost all of that money back in resale vs a gasser. You can get a mid-trim 2016 Cummins 2500 with under 20k miles for around 40k

You can get a well optioned Tradesman 2500 Cummins for ~42k brand new too!

[408f150]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

zztinker wrote:
Want to know if a 2017 Ford 250, or dodge 250 gas would pull a 2010 Jayco
Eagle Super Lite Fifth Wheel Series M-31.5 RLDS. Its about 11,000 lbs on scale. I hate to spend the extra $ 8,000 for a diesel.

I see you are from central California. If I remember there are lot's of BIG grades. If you like your engine SCREAMING at you and crawling up those grades go for it!

Diesel it the way to go!

I agree, I'm also in CA and no matter which way you go (I-5, I-80, etc) you almost always have to get over a major grade to get out of the state. If you just float around CA and don't need to get over the sierras often a gasser will probably be fine but diesel gives you a huge comfortable towing margin and you'll get almost all of that money back in resale vs a gasser. You can get a mid-trim 2016 Cummins 2500 with under 20k miles for around 40k