Hi Fellas.... I need some good tow vehicle advice!

[candynelson]

Hello friends...

I am purchasing a 31' Northwood Arctic Fox travel trailer with a maximum towing capacity of 11,700 lbs. I am adding on a Hensley Arrow hitch.

I'd like to purchase the best 2007 gasoline pickup truck I can. The vehicle will be used 70% of the time for town non-towing travel and 30% of the time for towing to my next location.

While I know diesel pickups are touted to pull better... they are too loud, provide more vibration, have some odor, not all gas stations carry diesel, they are higher in maintenance costs, have a higher cost of gas per gallon, and I am concerned about any unknown 2007 low sulfer diesel gas change-over issues. So for now diesel is off the table. Gasoline it is!

Unless anyone knows of a better selection I have narrowed my choices down to the following gasoline tow vehicles:

FORD F350 XLT
6.8 V10 automatic
4x4
regular cab
8' box
single rear wheels
4.30 limited slip

or the....

GMC 2500 or 3500 SLE (not sure on the difference yet)
8.1 V8 automatic
4x4
regular cab
8' box
single rear wheels
(unknown) limited slip

Can you please give your opinion as to which one might tow better, be more reliable and perform better for my needs?

Thank you all! See you on the road.... Candy Nelson

[C Nash]

Hi candy, Bet you will get a war started on the Ford vs chevy question . Either should do a good job for you. just a matter of personel opinion IMO. The 8.1 might get better MPG. Drive both and just go with the one that suits you best. Now watch out for Dl and his Dodge but, remember he is affected by smelling deisel fumes

[turnipbwc]

Hi Candy,

Welcome to the forum. You may have just opened up a can of worms when you asked about trucks and left out Dodge.
My son just bought a new 2006 Dodge 3500 diesel quad cab 4x4 to pull his 5th wheel and he loves it. Has more power that he needs. As far as gas being cheaper you are right but later it may be the other way around and you will be wishing you bought diesel.
Don't rule out the dodge yet, go drive one and see if you like it. If not, I would go with the GMC gas. This is my opinion and my opinion only. You will be hearing from several other RV people.
Good luck in which ever you decide and happy RVing.
turnip

[Grandview Trailer Sa]

If diesel is off the option list for sure and you are using this as an everyday vehicle, the GM will ride better than your other choices. The 8.1 will have all the power you need for towing. You know the old saying, it will pass everything on the road except a gas station. The last 8.1 I had was a 2002. I traded it for a 2003 Duramax and doubled my gas mileage both towing and empty. Yes, you will pay extra now but you will get most of it back when you sell or trade it off. GM is selling 2007 "classics" until Jan. 1st. That is when the new regulations start.

[hertig]

Have you checked the tow ratings of your truck choices? Make sure that whatever you end up with can pull the 11,700, plus carry all the accessories/gear/people in the truck that you need. Also check with your MVD and insurance company. Some states/companies put higher costs or controls on 1 ton trucks. If this the case with your situation, perhaps a 2500HD (nearly a 1 ton at 3/4 ton rates) may be a good option (if its weight ratings are high enough, of course).

Before spending the extra money, maintenance/repair costs and loss of towing capacity (due to the extra weight) of the 4x4, make sure you really need that capability.

I don't know if Ford builds more powerful engines than GMC, or whether the V10 is inherantly more effective than the V8, but I would be very leary of any 6.8L gas engine towing that much weight. My 6.0L GMC engine had trouble getting half that weight up any incline. Plus, Ford is alleged to have some moralty issues, to wit 1) blowing off customers who get stuck with one of their defective diesel engines, and 2) aggressively pushing (not just tolerating, mind you) the homosexual lifestyle.

So I would avoid Ford until these allegations are disproven or fixed, and they have a gas engine which is proven to be able to pull that much up a hill (I'd want to take a test drive with the trailer or equivalent attached ) Dodge is a real contender in the diesel area, but I have no idea if they have a competive gas engine and some claim their auto transmissions are inadequate. GMC/Chevy with the 8.1L engine would probably be as adequate as any gas engine vehicle can be for towing.

The regular cab will certainly do, and it keeps the long bed trucks from being a challange to park in the city. However, if you ever want to carry more than 2 people, recline your seats, or stow stuff with protection from weather and casual thieves, the extended cab is certainly addictive.

[DL Rupper]

Hey candynelson, welcome. to the forum. If you are sure you don't want a diesel I won't get on the soap box about Dodge Diesels. I don't think the Dodge Hemi is up to towing the weight you are going to tow. I would really re-consider the gas/diesel issue. The new diesels are very quite and you realy can't smell the diesel fumes most of the time. If you change your mind, I would try to get a "06" Chev or Dodge diesel to avoid new engine problems all the "07" diesels will have. Stay away from the 6.0 liter Ford power stroke diesel. Actually Dodge diesel smoke smells gooooood! My Dodge diesel gets 19/20mpg in town empty, 22mpg highway at 65/70 mph and 11mpg towing 12K lbs. You won't find any gas engine that comes close to that. The gas engine will be lucky to get 11mpg empty in town. When I bought my first diesel, diesel fuel was about $.20/gallon cheaper than reg gas. I'm hoping the old adage whats goes around comes around holds true and diesel gets cheaper again. I'm sorry I couldn't stay off the soap box. I'll try harder.

[turnipbwc]

I could not say it any better than DL Rupper did. You should reconsider the dodge diesel.
Candy, what a sweet name............. :bleh:
turnip

[Grandview Trailer Sa]

Candy, Overlooked one question you had. The difference between the GM 2500HD and a 3500 is this: The 3500 has one extra spring on the rear gang and has larger tires than the 2500HD. Everything else is exactly the same.

[elm_tx]

hertig..... I'm less then impressed with your political/moral views. We're talking about trucks and rv's, NOT lifestyles.

Candy,

My DW and I bought a 2006 Chevy 2500HD Diesel Crew Cab, Short Bed, Reece 16k slider hitch back in July. I drive 2 seater sports cars, I like small and fast. This is the first truck I've driven that I actually Like to drive. It's Really Really quiet, handles great!!!

Since we're very new to RV'ing, I won't venture a guess as to which truck is best for your application. I just know that we REALLY like the 06 Chevy.

For what it's worth, my lady had a 97 Chevy 1500 step side, I hated driving it. Would much rather take my car. It's a whole nother story with the 06 2500.

[hertig]

elm_tx. sorry, I'm sure that my opinions vary from many other peoples, as is true for anyone's opinions. As for lifestyle, that is the business of the people living them, and in my (here's another one) opinion it is wrong for a company to push any particular lifestyle (at least one unrelated to their business). This policy says 'something' about the company, which may or may not be of interest to a person planning to spend a lot of money with them. If that were the only problem with that company, I (probably :-) would have kept my mouth shut, but in this case I attempted to list all the factors which might be relevant. Also, note that I did not list my personal experiances with their products, as they fall into the category of 'luck' rather than any strength or weakness of the product. So perhaps there is some hope for me...

By the way, I can see how you might get some insight into my moral view, but I'm unclear how my politics were exposed.