bgum
South Louisiana
Senior Member
Joined: 02/22/2006
View Profile
 Online
|
Chevrolet Silverado and forget your worries. The problem is that when people get a bigger tv they figure they can pull a bigger trailer and then the cycle repeats. Just buy the best which is Chevy. The Tundra sucks gas. The engines that drop cylinders have issues. Cadillac proved that years ago. The Fords have reliable issues.
|
IdaD
Idaho
Senior Member
Joined: 08/06/2014
View Profile
|
I'd get a bigger truck. The Nissan works but a half ton would be much more comfortable. Personally if I were buying a half ton today I think it would probably come down to an F150 with the bigger Ecoboost or the Tundra with the bigger V8.
2015 Cummins Ram 4wd CC/SB
|
BurbMan
Islip, Long Island
Senior Member
Joined: 09/20/2001
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
From a $$ standpoint, the clear winner is new fuel tank for the Frontier, but as you pointed out it will add weight. You're close enough to the limits of the truck now that I'm betting that you won't like how it handles with the bigger tank full of fuel, and will look to upgrade after spending $2300 on the new tank. Been there, done that with trucks and trailers.
Find something pre-owned and you split the difference between the cost of the new tank and the cost of a brand new truck.
One of the reasons I went with a Ram is because they have an easy VIN look up tool that will show you the window sticker of any truck from the last 6 or 7 model years. I found this to be really useful when you're shopping for a pre-owned truck and need info on not-so-obvious stuff like rear axle ratio, optional tank size, and the like.
Here's the window sticker on my 2015 Ram, just replace the VIN at the end of the URL string with whatever truck you're looking at and it will pull the sticker.
I had a nationwide search running on TrueCar, Cars.com, and AutoTrader for about 6 weeks until I found this truck. I wanted a one-owner, clean CarFax Ram being sold by a Ram dealer. No used car lots. I looked a LOT of VINs, but if you are willing to invest the time, you will find what you're looking for.
2015 Ram 3500 SRW 4x4 Laramie Crew Cab Long Box, Cummins diesel
2002 Lance 811 Slide-In Camper
SOLD: 2008 Terry 34' TT
SOLD: 2001 K2500LT 8.1L Suburban
Lance 811 Renovation Story!
Project Complete!
Maiden Voyage!
|
phillyg
SWFL
Senior Member
Joined: 04/24/2002
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
 Offline
|
Auxiliary tank in truck bed?
--2005 Ford F350 Lariat Crewcab 6.0, 4x4, 3.73 rear
--2016 Montana 3711FL, 40'
--2014 Wildcat 327CK, 38' SOLD
|
ppine
Northern Nevada
Senior Member
Joined: 07/04/2016
View Profile
Offline
|
New truck.
|
|
|
Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
Senior Member
Joined: 05/06/2013
View Profile
Offline
|
phillyg wrote:Auxiliary tank in truck bed?
Negative ghost rider. Well at least not one that gravity fills to the primary talk.
You can haul a gasoline slip tank, contrary to what most believe on here , but you’re still stopping to fill up. Just not at a fuel station.
"Yes Sir, Oct 10 1888, Those poor school children froze to death in their tracks. They did not even find them until Spring. Especially hard hit were the ones who had to trek uphill to school both ways, with no shoes." -Bert A.
|
goducks10
There
Senior Member
Joined: 02/22/2010
View Profile
Offline
|
BTDT. 06 Frontier towing a 4050 lb TT. Similar config (2wd) with 6500 tow rating. MPG's were abysmal to say the least. After a few months of towing I traded it in on a used 08 F150 5.4 3.73 gears. Mpg's went from the 8-9 range to a solid 10.5+. The F150 barely knew it was back there. Nicest thing was I jumped to a 26 (?) gal tank which bumped my towing range to 200 before looking for gas. I had a Scab and 6.5 bed which also made hauling camp gear nicer.
By far the least cost effective measure is replacing the OEM tank. The upside to a larger truck is more room and the possibility of up-sizing the TT. I would look for a used 1/2 ton or even a GM midsize diesel.
|
time2roll
Southern California
Senior Member
Joined: 03/21/2005
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
DougA wrote:The other option? Swap out the Frontier's 21 gallon tank for a 38 gallon tank. This would cost $2,300 (delivered from California and installed here). Yikes! I would go with yikes and get the larger fuel tank. Does this eliminate the spare tire?
Worst case you get a larger truck in a few more years.
2001 F150 SuperCrew
2006 Keystone Springdale 249FWBHLS
675w Solar pictures back up
|
A1ARealtorRick
Gulf Shores, AL
Senior Member
Joined: 04/17/2020
View Profile
|
Keep what you've got, in that you should be stopping every couple of hours anyway. You need to get out, stretch your legs, rejuvenate a bit -- you'll be a safer, more alert driver as a result. Even if you don't need a restroom break, you need a break to move around.
. . . never confuse education with intelligence
|
Boomerweps
Hills of PA
Senior Member
Joined: 04/30/2018
View Profile
Offline
|
If you don’t want the turbo in the Ford, with the 5.0 you can get the 36 gallon tank as a separate option or as part of the Heavy Duty Payload Package (HDPP) which also gives you well over 2000# Load Capacity with a heavy duty axle with 3.73 gears and and extra spring leaf, with towing package. Adding a Factory trailer brake controller before or after purchase (parts just over $100) essentially gives you the Max Tow package without the 3.5EB & mildly upgraded hitch receiver. And Max Tow comes with 3.55.
2019 Wolf Pup 16 BHS Limited, axle flipped
2019 F150 4x4 SCrew SB STX 5.0 3.55 factory tow package, 7000#GVWR, 1990 CC Tow mirrors, TBC
|
|
|
