*Truck and Towing thread........ask your questions here.*

Those old Detroits were nearly indestructible. Loud, but dang reliable.
 
Which came 1st, the truck or the camper?

In the market.... but will need both a truck and camper..
Do i buy the biggest truck I can afford and then get what ever camper it will pull?
or do i pick my camper and buy a truck that can pull it?

I have been looking at trucks and to be honest, I can afford a used 30-50K mile 1500.... but a 2500 is gonna stretch my budget..
I am worried that i might not be able to pull anything bigger than a 13ft pop up with a 1500..
 
My opinion save up for the bigger truck. Then get the camper you want. Otherwise you'll be trading both up and it will cost more $. This is from experience.
 


Which came 1st, the truck or the camper?

In the market.... but will need both a truck and camper..
Do i buy the biggest truck I can afford and then get what ever camper it will pull?
or do i pick my camper and buy a truck that can pull it?

I have been looking at trucks and to be honest, I can afford a used 30-50K mile 1500.... but a 2500 is gonna stretch my budget..
I am worried that i might not be able to pull anything bigger than a 13ft pop up with a 1500..

My opinion save up for the bigger truck. Then get the camper you want. Otherwise you'll be trading both up and it will cost more $. This is from experience.

2goofycampers makes a great point if this isn't an option though, look for a chevy 1500 with the max tow package. They are usually rated around 9400-9500 pound towing. Now, you'll definitely feel the truck pulling the weight, but they can and will tow it.
 
Thanks! Is there such a thing as a ~50k miles 2500 for ~$30k or is that an extinct species! :(
 
I've owned a few 3/4 ton and 1 ton diesels and have only paid more than $50k once. The right deal is out there if you are willing to search. If you have expensive tastes, and need all the bells whistles, Denali, King Ranch, Platinum, Laramie Longhorn, then you will have to go a few years back to find a deal.

The truck I just traded in was a 2015 Chevy Duramax 3500 SRW LT that I paid ~$40k with ~19k miles. Got $37k in trade 2 years later.


>> Just realized I misread this and the budget is $30k and 50k miles. Oops!

Gas vs diesel will be a question you'll have to answer. With GM and Dodge, I'm thinking you should be able to find a 2009-2010 diesel fitting the description. I've always heard to avoid those years from Ford (6.4L) but have no firsthand experience. With a gas engine, maybe 2014-2016?

2009 GMC Ext cab diesel https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/722674093/overview/ $27k

2015 Ram 2500 https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/721713085/overview/ $28k

There are currently 166 Diesel trucks on Cars.com with less than 50k miles and $35k or less.


1500's are great if you are sure you won't have an itch to upgrade to a 10k lbs fifth wheel or a travel trailer exceeding 30' (My opinion). They are much more comfortable daily drivers.
 
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^ thanks phil! Good stuff as always!

When i adjust my max price to 35k or less, there are a ton more trucks available... I can put a little more down on it to keep the MRC where i prefer it to be.. it might push my purchase back a few months but i am not in a big rush!
 
Well my point of searching $35k is that a significant number of dealers will be negotiable. When my dealer took my most recent truck in trade they marked it up $10k and listed at $47k
 
We had a 2003 Chevy 1500, we purchased a Keystone Bullet RB251, with a gross weight of around 8k. We towed from PA to WDW and got 6 mpg, it was a gas engine. After that trip decided to purchase a new truck. Ended up with a 2013 Chevy 3500 Dually, see first post on this thread for pic. We towed the same trip and got around 13mpg and hardly knew the trailer was there. This past year we upgraded our trailer, and purchased a fifth wheel that comes in around 15k in weight. Towed the trip to Disney and averaged around 10mpg on this trip.
As was brought up before, buy what you want the first time, you may have to wait, but it is better in the long run.
 
We had a 2003 Chevy 1500, we purchased a Keystone Bullet RB251, with a gross weight of around 8k. We towed from PA to WDW and got 6 mpg, it was a gas engine. After that trip decided to purchase a new truck. Ended up with a 2013 Chevy 3500 Dually, see first post on this thread for pic. We towed the same trip and got around 13mpg and hardly knew the trailer was there. This past year we upgraded our trailer, and purchased a fifth wheel that comes in around 15k in weight. Towed the trip to Disney and averaged around 10mpg on this trip.
As was brought up before, buy what you want the first time, you may have to wait, but it is better in the long run.

PaHunter.. those Bullets are really nice trailers... What made you decide to go to a fifth wheel? Do you think a 2500 would have any issue pulling your fifth wheel?
Thanks again!
 
PaHunter.. those Bullets are really nice trailers... What made you decide to go to a fifth wheel? Do you think a 2500 would have any issue pulling your fifth wheel?
Thanks again!

The Bullet was a nice trailer. We attended an RV show and really fell in love with the space of a fifth wheel, and the layout of ours. We have a Sandpiper 379FLOK by Forest River. It is a front living room model, and the wife and I really do like it. But it is big, it is 43ft with 6 slides.
I personally would not tow our trailer with a 2500. That is a whole other can of worms. I really like the duals, the stability they provide is great, helps with passing trucks, and wind gusts.
 
I wouldn't pull it with my f250. Got the power, no doubt. Stability is another story. That kinda weight needs dual wheels.
 
I'll echo Chris and Michael's comments. My new 5er isn't quite as big as Chris' (PA Hunter). Mine is just over 42 ft and a little under 15,000 lbs. That is beyond any 250/2500 I've ever had. It might move it, but it wouldn't be comfortable to tow anywhere.

j
 
Going to an RV show this weekend... fifth wheels have never really peaked my interest but of course never owning a trailer, i have always looked at the price tag vs the practicality. Assuming you have a big enough tow truck, how much easier is it to pull a fifth wheel vs a bumper pull?
 
I did some over the road driving many years ago, so that's where I primarily have my 5th wheel experience from. Now I own a 35ft bumper pull Jayco 32BHDS. The 5th wheel is easier, even if its longer. Bumper pulls just don't have the turning ability and response of the 5th wheel.

Now, most campgrounds have sites that are angled good enough that it won't matter. Sometimes they don't.

With FW for instance, site 420. According to their site description book that site is "easy" to back into. I can tell you from experience that with a 32 foot bumper pull it is not.

People ask why I went with a bumper pull over a 5th wheel and the answer was cost. At the time we had a list of what we wanted and the cost we wanted and the bumper pull fit the bill. Now we are wiser and kids are bigger and the extra room of the 5th wheel is appealing, but we haven't pulled the trigger on it.
 
I think when you ask this type of question to a DRW owner, you get these types of answers. The towing improvement going from SRW to DRW is pretty dramatic. However, with bags, the newer 3/4 and 1 ton SRW diesels are quite capable of pulling big FWs. In fact, most of the FWs I see on the road are being hauled by 3/4 tons. You just have to watch your payload capacities as a fully loaded rig can get heavy on the hitch.

As for the ease of pulling - it depends on the trailer. I've pulled ultra lights that had me all over the road and 40' park models that pulled like a dream. FW's tend to be a lot more carefree with no sway. The main concern is the increased height and avoiding low hanging branches, low clearance bridges, etc.
 
FW's tend to be a lot more carefree with no sway. The main concern is the increased height and avoiding low hanging branches, low clearance bridges, etc.
Just like Phil said. Especially low branches. I've had 2 bumper pulls (hybrid and 33ft TT) and 2 5ers. First one was 31 ft, 1 slide, 8,000 lbs. The 2nd one is the beast described above.

I prefer the 5ers for overall space and storage. The "basement" storage and general cargo capacity is typically much better in a 5er. Hitching is much easier with a 5er. My 33ft TT I had dual sway controls , WD hitch and it was a pain to hook (and unhook) everything up. Towing on the highway? Like Phil said, 5ers have the weight over the rear axle. As a result, sway is much less of a factor. TT's have a lot of weight hanging off the rear bumper and it is much easier to get a "tail wagging the dog". I never had any really scary sway incidents. It is just more noticeable with a TT.

For me, the primary decision to go to a 5er was space and storage. If you need/want a lot of room, TTs can only get so long before you max out a hitch, even with WD hitches.

j
 
The increased storage is a great point. One of the reasons I can't see us going back to a travel trailer.
 
I did some over the road driving many years ago, so that's where I primarily have my 5th wheel experience from. Now I own a 35ft bumper pull Jayco 32BHDS. The 5th wheel is easier, even if its longer. Bumper pulls just don't have the turning ability and response of the 5th wheel.

The Jayco 32BHDS is an awful sweet looking trailer, but not cheap.. ;) Do you pull with a 2500 no issues?
 

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