Tow Vehicle Advice For Newbie

[RVdreaming2020]

Hi All!

I've been browsing through the forums for awhile and decided to finally join up and post. I am hoping to get some feedback on two tow vehicles that I have my eye on. I am new to travel trailers and towing in general. We are a young family and are struggling with making the right decision on trucks. We don't have a specific trailer picked out yet but most of the bunkhouse ones that we've seen come in right around the 7,000 lb mark fully loaded.

I am bouncing between a pre-owned F150 and a pre-owned Tundra.

With the F150 I've been looking for a 2013 to 2017 V8 with less than 60k miles, max tow package 4x4 Crew cab with the 3.73 rear end. This is proving to be a very difficult thing to find. The V6 eco boosts are everywhere but I made the mistake of reading too much about them online and am now terrified of getting one and having reliability issues with the turbo in them. BUT the 2018 F150 V8s and newer seem to have bad issues with oil loss. So IDK.

I like the 5.4 V8 tundra but the price is a lot higher and their payload is significantly less than the F150. On the plus side it has a 4.41 rear end.

I'm just so overwhelmed. I'd appreciate any advice. It's so confusing making sure you find something preowned with all of the accessories that you need to safely tow trailers. I don't want to buy something and realize that I've made a mistake. Been saving too long to mess it up now, hahaha

[Grit_dog]

And based on the millions of trucks running around that don’t have manual hubs, it’s not the advantage that it was 40 years ago compare to old school full time 4wd rigs.

[Grit_dog]

I’ll repeat. They’re not just a typical manual setup. They’re automatic with a manual override of auto don’t work.
Silly, but Ferd has been doing it for 20 years now. Idk why.

[pitch]

RVdreaming2020 wrote:
So it has manual locking hubs for the 4x4. So that's a bummer. So Ive made the mistake of reading about the Death wobble in the F250's. Now Im terrified of getting one. Thoughts?

Millions of f 250s on the road. Not million of fatalities from "death wobble"

Drive it put it thru its paces. Manual Locking Hubs would be a major major plus for me. Not having to spin an entire drive line, except when needed is good.

[PA12DRVR]

Can only speak to my experience:

- 3 Ford Trucks (2011, 2013, 2019: F350, 550, 250). No wobble on the 1st two nor the 3rd so far (only 6500 miles though).

- In 45 years of driving to the cabin (requires 4WD), I've had automatic hubs fail twice (admittedly back in the '90s). Never had manual hubs fail, although I've had to replace them due to accumulated time in water, etc.

[Grit_dog]

RVdreaming2020 wrote:
So it has manual locking hubs for the 4x4. So that's a bummer. So Ive made the mistake of reading about the Death wobble in the F250's. Now Im terrified of getting one. Thoughts?

Thoughts?
Either stop reading now, or keep reading more about the truck and subject, because the smidgen of knowledge you think you've gained is not cause for alarm.
Super Dutys have had manual locking hubs since day 1 and still do. They also have auto locking and the manual hubs are essentially a redundant system and maybe considered a selling point. If the auto lcoker doesn't work, can still manually lock them. I know this sounds dumb and confusing, and I think it is as well. Either the vacuum auto lockers are unreliable (they're not, in my experience) or it's just a marketing ploy. No cause for concern.

Death wobble? It's possible in any solid front axle vehicle. Rarely happens with newer, lower miles, not worn out, stock size tires trucks. I've seen it in a newish Ford years ago, only 1 truck. Who knows, a bad tire, a bad caster setting, whatever, but the millions of solid axle trucks on the road the DO NOT have death wobble is where your head should be.
Or get a GM with IFS if you can't shake an irrational fear of death wobble.

[RVdreaming2020]

So it has manual locking hubs for the 4x4. So that's a bummer. So Ive made the mistake of reading about the Death wobble in the F250's. Now Im terrified of getting one. Thoughts?

[K-9_HANDLER]

RVdreaming2020 wrote:
So I after a TON of searching I found a pre-owned *1 owner local trade in* 2015 F250 for sale about an hour and half away from me. They have it listed at $24,000. It has about 60k miles on it. Does this sound like a good deal? Think this would be a reliable purchase that fits our towing needs?

Its a good candidate. To determine price: What model is it, XLT? What cab is it? 4 or 2 wheel drive? Bed length? Ask for a service history and OASIS report to see if there are any chronic/ reoccurring repairs. If its a local trade ask seller why it was traded in. You are basically trying to piece together the vehicles past history to see if its worth purchasing or you can rule it out and move on.

[Grit_dog]

Yes to both questions. Seems reasonable, depending on condition and options.

Upside to pre-2017, I believe, 6.2s, is they have a very similar trans to the Powerstroke. Same model, 6r140, but some differences. Bottom line, the trans is basically overkill for the 6.2 and a bulletproof combo that works very well. Not that the newer trans behind the gassers is weak, but it is lower rates than the 6r140.

I had a 2012, or 13, I forget, and a 2015 F250. Both 6.2 3.73 trucks. Both were the best gasser combo I've had to date, compared to 20+ new company trucks over the last 20+ years.
Only "better" combos, IMO are the new 7.3/10speed ford or 6.4/8speed Ram. But I haven't had any time with these.

[APT]

That 2015 seems reasonable. I'll assume 6.2L gas engine. It if is a crew cab with whatever else features you want, it should last all your towing years! I just recommend about $1000 to flush all the fluids and some new shocks. Enjoy!

[RVdreaming2020]

So I after a TON of searching I found a pre-owned *1 owner local trade in* 2015 F250 for sale about an hour and half away from me. They have it listed at $24,000. It has about 60k miles on it. Does this sound like a good deal? Think this would be a reliable purchase that fits our towing needs?

[tomman58]

I always had a ford for work (company truck) and a GMC for play. Fords always were far less comfortable then the GMC or Chevy. That was back a few years and today I am sure if new most are better. I agree with all that a 250 will be your friend and start with an adequate trailer but not the largest on the lot. Oh I never have had a 5er and for the last several years I do a GMC Dmax and a 40' Travel trailer and have been there , done that all over the US in all weather conditions............ jus saying.

[spoon059]

Tow haulers are heavy. Depending upon where the garage puts the weight, the tongue weight can vary quite a bit. You'll need to know your numbers pretty well and calculate expected tongue weights (empty and loaded) and determine if your truck can handle it. The problem with half tons is pretty low tongue weight... not the advertised max tow weight.

[camp-n-family]

Benny1796 wrote:
I’m new to the RV world and me and the wife are looking for a toy hauler my truck being a 2013 GMC Sierra has all the towing packages and upgrades allowing me to tow up to 9600lbs I know I shouldn’t max out the capacity on the truck so what do you y’all think I should stay around for trailer weight?? Any help would be great

You should really start your own thread to ask this. Totally different information needed and it is considered poor etiquette to hijack someone’s thread.

[Grit_dog]

Benny1796 wrote:
I’m new to the RV world and me and the wife are looking for a toy hauler my truck being a 2013 GMC Sierra has all the towing packages and upgrades allowing me to tow up to 9600lbs I know I shouldn’t max out the capacity on the truck so what do you y’all think I should stay around for trailer weight?? Any help would be great

Im not the weight cops, and 2013 model 1/2 ton presumably with trailer package, 5.3, I'd stay at 8klbs or less, honestly. 6 speed helps but it's not a powerhouse.
If 6.2, then it'll have more snort.
However I'm not a big fan of toy haulers and half tons becasue they're so **** nose heavy generally, until you max out the toy box.