Need advise on which new truck - 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton?

[jodiwer]

My husband and I have ordered a new 2021 Rockwood Roo 23IKSS which should arrive the end of October. We are shopping for a truck but can't decide if we should buy a 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton. The GVW for the Roo is 6848 lbs with a hitch weight of 688 lbs. We have checked out RAM, Chevy and Ford trucks. I find the 3/4 ton trucks difficult to get into (I am 69 yo). My husband still has nightmares of towing our previous rig, a 17,000 lb Alfa with a 3/4 ton truck. He just wants to be sure that he has all the truck necessary to easily and safely pull the new rig. We expect to travel 12 months next year. We are open to a used vehicle and like the lower price on the 1/2 ton but can afford the 3/4 ton if we need it. Any thoughts?

[pitch]

ksss wrote:

Grit dog wrote:

ksss wrote:
Has to have commercial plates because its a 2500? That is a bogus law. They must charge you more for commercial plates to justify that kind of stupidity.

Are you subject to all commercial driving requirements or is it just restricted to driving on commercial vehicle allowed roads?

Quit stirring the pot. Lol
Or just a humble brag that you don’t live in a big city?

More the latter I guess, I honestly had no idea some cities had roads that you could not drive a 2500 pickup on. I then added an other reason to be happy where I live.

The thrust of the law is not just to piss you off. Parkways were designed to be leisurely scenic roads,often between two residential areas. The law was designed to keep large trucks,semis, big box trucks cement haulers, etc out of residential or scenic areas'
They had draw the line somewhere. Remember that it is only in the last thirty years that 3/4 ton and larger have become popular. Before that most pick ups on the road were 1/2 with the heavier trucks almost exclusively used by business.

[ksss]

Grit dog wrote:

ksss wrote:
Has to have commercial plates because its a 2500? That is a bogus law. They must charge you more for commercial plates to justify that kind of stupidity.

Are you subject to all commercial driving requirements or is it just restricted to driving on commercial vehicle allowed roads?

Quit stirring the pot. Lol
Or just a humble brag that you don’t live in a big city?

More the latter I guess, I honestly had no idea some cities had roads that you could not drive a 2500 pickup on. I then added an other reason to be happy where I live.

[Grit_dog]

You can buy tonnage in IL too. Starts at 8klb “B” plate.

[blt2ski]

Mike134 wrote:
Pickup trucks in Illinois are considered "trucks". I guess because we call them "pickup trucks" so they get B plates which is a truck/van designation of under 8000lb GVWR. Cannot drive on certain streets in Chicago with a truck. Fortunately same price as automobile plates. And to the poster above Yes you will get a ticket driving your nice looking empty pickup truck on those restricted streets. It's a TRUCK.

That does not sound to good either, if I can only get an 8000 gvw plate on a 35 series pickup with over 13-14,000 lbs of gvw available. I'm screwed. So can I assume like here in Wa st, I can get ever increasing tonnage paid for as my gvw is able to go up? Legally here in Wa St, I could go down the road at 32000 or so gvw in a dually pickup. I'm not going to recommend you do so, But from a weight standpoint, it is legal! Just like most SW pickups, I can legally go down the road in the 20-24,000 lb gvw relm. Again, not recommending it.....

marty

[Grit_dog]

ksss wrote:
Has to have commercial plates because its a 2500? That is a bogus law. They must charge you more for commercial plates to justify that kind of stupidity.

Are you subject to all commercial driving requirements or is it just restricted to driving on commercial vehicle allowed roads?

Quit stirring the pot. Lol
Or just a humble brag that you don’t live in a big city?

[ppine]

If there is any doubt always step up instead of down.

[Mike134]

Pickup trucks in Illinois are considered "trucks". I guess because we call them "pickup trucks" so they get B plates which is a truck/van designation of under 8000lb GVWR. Cannot drive on certain streets in Chicago with a truck. Fortunately same price as automobile plates. And to the poster above Yes you will get a ticket driving your nice looking empty pickup truck on those restricted streets. It's a TRUCK.

[ksss]

Has to have commercial plates because its a 2500? That is a bogus law. They must charge you more for commercial plates to justify that kind of stupidity.

Are you subject to all commercial driving requirements or is it just restricted to driving on commercial vehicle allowed roads?

[Teamjd]

I apologize for derailing the original thread.
Let me just end by saying, I bought the 2500, it had to be registered Commercial, and they said you can not drive on Parkways.

I know that I can probably get away with it, but:

"The law isn't going to bother you if you're driving an empty pickup truck with Commercial plates on a NY Parkway."
I'll be remembering that the first time I get a $180 ticket 🙂

The restriction is for vehicles registered Commercial.
The intent was trucks used for commercial purposes.

"your RV tow rig won't get a second glance"
I hope not :), because I live next to the Parkway and the commercial route adds 18 miles to my trip to/from my happy place.

Again, sorry to derail things, and thanks for the encouragement.

[Sjm9911]

mkirsch wrote:

Teamjd wrote:
An another note...
Depending on what state you live in, the 2500 might have to be registered as commercial.
In New York over 6001 lbs (which is almost every 2500) , it does, and it's causing me to reconsider buying the 2500 I'm looking at. I have to travel Parkways. In NY you can not go on Parkways with commercial vehicles.

The law isn't going to bother you if you're driving an empty pickup truck with Commercial plates on a NY Parkway. The restriction is for vehicles used for commercial purposes. Driving down the parkway with a dump truck or even a pickup loaded with tool boxes and ladder racks might get some attention, but your RV tow rig won't get a second glance.

Depending on what he is towing. When reading the rules just now they stated it was originally because of low bridges that trucks could not go under. So , he might not be able to tow on them anyway. If he moves to NJ , he will have 0 problems, lol. Ill agree, i cant see them pulling over a pick up just because it has a commercial plate and no other signs of a work truck.

[mkirsch]

Teamjd wrote:
An another note...
Depending on what state you live in, the 2500 might have to be registered as commercial.
In New York over 6001 lbs (which is almost every 2500) , it does, and it's causing me to reconsider buying the 2500 I'm looking at. I have to travel Parkways. In NY you can not go on Parkways with commercial vehicles.

The law isn't going to bother you if you're driving an empty pickup truck with Commercial plates on a NY Parkway. The restriction is for vehicles used for commercial purposes. Driving down the parkway with a dump truck or even a pickup loaded with tool boxes and ladder racks might get some attention, but your RV tow rig won't get a second glance.

[Grit_dog]

Why do a feel like posting 20 face-palm emojis here?? Lol
Nice truck OP! Roll on!

[Teamjd]

nineback wrote:
This is confusing. Do you mean a 3500 might have to be registered as commercial? What 6001 lbs are you referring to? Both 2500 and 3500 have a GVWR well above 6000 lb. Are you talking about rear axle rating? Even some 2500 have axles ratings over 6000 lbs.

Teamjd wrote:
An another note...
Depending on what state you live in, the 2500 might have to be registered as commercial.
In New York over 6001 lbs (which is almost every 2500) , it does, and it's causing me to reconsider buying the 2500 I'm looking at. I have to travel Parkways. In NY you can not go on Parkways with commercial vehicles.

Just to clarify, they are referring to unladen weight not GVWR.

[Teamjd]

:S I can't believe I missed that.
Well at least it was good advice 🙂

[Mike134]

bikendan wrote:

Teamjd wrote:
An another note...
Depending on what state you live in, the 2500 might have to be registered as commercial.
In New York over 6001 lbs (which is almost every 2500) , it does, and it's causing me to reconsider buying the 2500 I'm looking at. I have to travel Parkways. In NY you can not go on Parkways with commercial vehicles.

The OP already bought a new F150, over a week ago.

no reason to stop our armchair advise......