Question Tow vehicle advice

[Germanrazor]

First, welcome from another NC member. I am central NC but I have family that lives in New Bern. Looking at those TT specs just on the surface is way too much for a Tundra. I am a Toyota fan let me say and wanted to desperately justify getting one specifically for our new TT. But at the end of the day, a F-250 Super Duty was the right fit. I did not get a diesel but the 7.3 liter Godzilla engine with 10 speed tranny. The spec’s allow me to easily tow my 26DBH. It also allows me to get a smaller 5th wheel down the road.

I still needed a weight hitch distribution setup as any truck would to be safe. But the tow and payload and payload is very critical for towing pull behinds. Most big trucks can and do have tow capacity, some however lack payload and that is the critical point to look at first.

Look to a HD or SD setup I say. Yes, just more money for sure! Nothing is cheap unfortunately anymore.

 

[ZeroFoxGiven77]

@Germanrazor What is the MPG's on that beast when you're towing the camper? I have had tunnel vision, only looking at the diesel's for the slight MPG improvement(8.7mpg's from the 2 hour haul in the Tundra) and life expectancy vs the gas trucks. I have learned based on the awesome excel sheet left in another thread that the Ram 2500 Cummins doesn't have the payload capacity needed for the current weights of the TT. I am only over by 100 pounds opposed to the Tundra at about 1000 over. Too bad Toyota didn't rate the Tundra for what it can actually handle. I feel like 1000-1500 pounds over in most of the weight categories can actually be handled. If I wasn't about to hook up and take it on a 30 day trip through the south east before moving to the Fort Myers area, then I would just keep the Tundra. I mean it pulled a spaceship down a perfectly flat runway in ideal conditions. Why cant it pull my TT? lol

 

["EZ"]

Kevin,

Since I have always been a Toyota guy(Toyota dealer GSM and does not offer bigger than Tundra), I have never researched another brand. At the moment I do not think the Ram offers a diesel bigger than the turbo v6. On paper it will tow my TT, but how reliable is the turbo? If I decide to upgrade my TT in a few years to a 5th wheel, will the V6 turbo force me to purchase another truck? I enjoy selling cars, but I despise buying them. Since I am in the car business, I am trying to do most of my research before reaching out to the dealer. Not only do I not want to waste a salespersons time if I go with a different brand or dealer, I don't trust the dealer to properly train their staff in product knowledge. Especially with a vehicle model they likely only sell a few times a month.

As a Ram guy, do you know if I can get a V8 diesel in a 2500?

The only V6 diesel in a Ram is the European engine they got from Fiat to use in the half ton pickup the Ram 1500. ANY half ton PU will only tow a small travel trailer so be careful there. If you want to tow a bigger trailer use a Ram 2500 or 3500 with the Cummins in-line 6 cyl. Turbocharged engine. It's the same engine that is used in the 4500/5500 commercial chassis as well. Depending on how the truck is spec'd, if you want a 3500 dually pickup you can get over 1000 lb/ft of torque!!! That's HUGE!!! It will tow anything!

I've been selling Commercial Trucks for 30 years. The last 8 years have been Ram trucks. I actually sell the Ram commercial chassis to the Ram BusinessLink Dealers all over the Southeast. I can't sell to the public. Let me know if you have any questions. I'll be glad to help.

 

["EZ"]

@Germanrazor What is the MPG's on that beast when you're towing the camper? I have had tunnel vision, only looking at the diesel's for the slight MPG improvement(8.7mpg's from the 2 hour haul in the Tundra) and life expectancy vs the gas trucks. I have learned based on the awesome excel sheet left in another thread that the Ram 2500 Cummins doesn't have the payload capacity needed for the current weights of the TT. I am only over by 100 pounds opposed to the Tundra at about 1000 over. Too bad Toyota didn't rate the Tundra for what it can actually handle. I feel like 1000-1500 pounds over in most of the weight categories can actually be handled. If I wasn't about to hook up and take it on a 30 day trip through the south east before moving to the Fort Myers area, then I would just keep the Tundra. I mean it pulled a spaceship down a perfectly flat runway in ideal conditions. Why cant it pull my TT? lol

Please don't believe ANY of that BS you see on TV. From ANY of the car/truck manufacturers. Most of it is hype that will get someone killed. Do you really think that Toyota would have enough brakes to STOP that space shuttle??? Of course not! So in the REAL WORLD that commercial was like a magic trick. They get to turn the cameras off before trying to bring that load to a stop. They also didn't have the cameras turned on while they were trying to get the load moving either!! It's all BS. You saw ONLY what they wanted you to see. Just like a magician.

 

[Germanrazor]

@Germanrazor What is the MPG's on that beast when you're towing the camper? I have had tunnel vision, only looking at the diesel's for the slight MPG improvement(8.7mpg's from the 2 hour haul in the Tundra) and life expectancy vs the gas trucks. I have learned based on the awesome excel sheet left in another thread that the Ram 2500 Cummins doesn't have the payload capacity needed for the current weights of the TT. I am only over by 100 pounds opposed to the Tundra at about 1000 over. Too bad Toyota didn't rate the Tundra for what it can actually handle. I feel like 1000-1500 pounds over in most of the weight categories can actually be handled. If I wasn't about to hook up and take it on a 30 day trip through the south east before moving to the Fort Myers area, then I would just keep the Tundra. I mean it pulled a spaceship down a perfectly flat runway in ideal conditions. Why cant it pull my TT? lol

Haven’t taken possession of the camper yet. Being stored until my shop gets built and then will bring home. Un-trailered of any kind the truck in open road Eco mode is getting just over 15. I suspect a trailer will cut that in half maybe or maybe not quite.

Wished I could give you a real life example but we just literally bought both in the last month.

 

[ZeroFoxGiven77]

EZ,

I was being playfully sarcastic when referencing the space shuttle. Up until last week, I was the GSM at a Toyota store. I would never expect the Tundra to actually pull the shuttle. It was something I saw in a Tundra forum referenced for proof of their ability to overload their truck.

 

[ZeroFoxGiven77]

Haven’t taken possession of the camper yet. Being stored until my shop gets built and then will bring home. Un-trailered of any kind the truck in open road Eco mode is getting just over 15. I suspect a trailer will cut that in half maybe or maybe not quite.

Wished I could give you a real life example but we just literally bought both in the last month.

Congrats on the new setup. I'm going to open my mind a little and look into some of the gas options. Thank you for the insight.

 

[Germanrazor]

Congrats on the new setup. I'm going to open my mind a little and look into some of the gas options. Thank you for the insight.

I like diesel when it is not my own and to upkeep! Problem is, once the warranty is over and you have to pay for any service, diesels cost more than gas. You will find out it comes down to personal preference. I think where diesels are very superior is high altitudes where aspirated engines gasp for air. The turbo on the diesel helps for that reason.

I just felt gas was was best for my needs.

 

[Gronk]

Just as an FYI, towing my 38' fiver at about 65 mph I get about 10 mpg with my stock Cummins.

 

[pigpigsparadise]

I am so glad I found this forum. I have asked this question on a few other sites and FB group chats. You guys are the first ones to give an honest opinion instead of ranting about how dumb it was to think a Tundra can handle it. I very likely would have ruled out the Ram before digging into to it just because of the v6 turbo vs the v8 turbo. All the usual research sites like Edmunds, Cars, and Consumer Reports all rave about the Duramax vs the Cummins.

Not sure if I would just stick with comparing Duramax to Cummins. You might want to expand into looking at Ford Power Stroke which is a little better comparison to the Cummins. If you are worried about the turbo thing, which there really is no worry like Ram guy said, you can look into Ford's older 6.8L V10 or the new 7.3L V8, both are pretty decent engines available all the way up into the F450SD. The other thing you might want to think about is though an F250 or 2500 may be sufficient for the TT you have now. If you are thinking about upgrading to a 5th wheel in the near future is the 250 or 2500 going to be enough truck? A middle-class 5th wheel will run in the neighborhood of 12,000lbs. As far as physical size there is no difference between a 2500 and 3500 or an F250 and F350. Just food for thought