Buying a tow vehicle question

[Dlow240]

New to this website and new to rv’ing. I’m wanting to buy a tow vehicle for a 20ft tt with about 3800 lbs dry. I would like to buy a 1/2 ton as it will be used as a family vehicle most of the time. My wife and I will be towing a few weeks out of the year all over the US, including mountains. Looking at f150 with 5.0, Chevy 5.3, and dodge 5.7 hemi. Would like to be able to maintain good hwy speed in hills without a screaming engine. Any suggestions about truck and what axle ratio?

[Dave_H_M]

i am happy with my 6.2 Ford "screamer" It has the 4.30 diffy and here is kinda the way it goes with the 10K fifth wheel.

Flat land with the cruise set on 65. 2100 r's

Normal easy grades that require getting down to 5th. 2600 r's

long 6% grades, i like to adjust the gears and keep the r's at around 3600. Sure i may top out at 45 mph, but that is what the truck lane is for. i just do not see the need for speed when doing a long grade.

So if that is "screaming", I can deal with that.

[Frostbitte]

All modern V8's are meant to "scream" I guess, or at least need RPM's to develop their power so if you're going to tow in anything but flat land, it might pop down into 2nd or 3rd at times depending on the incline and your speed. It's something to consider if you're really bothered by a revving engine. However, if it's that bad, maybe consider an Ecodiesel RAM or possibly EcoBoost Ford. Both reach peak power and torque at a much lower RPM so you might not get the screaming engine issue. The Ecodiesel will give you great mileage towing or not. It just won't win any drag races at 240 HP. I see lots of them around here towing or not so people must be happy with them.

[bikendan]

lily123456 wrote:
When shopping for a tow vehicle, the most important thing to know is its overall towing capacity.

#1 most important-payload capacity
THEN #2-towing capacity

[Walaby]

lily123456 wrote:
When shopping for a tow vehicle, the most important thing to know is its overall towing capacity.

No, actually, the most important thing to know is it's payload.

Generally speaking, one exceeds payload before reaching or exceeding overall towing capacity.

Mike

[lily123456]

When shopping for a tow vehicle, the most important thing to know is its overall towing capacity.

[burningman]

I’m also baffled as to why you’d not just keep the superior truck you already own?!

[Grit_dog]

Dlow240 wrote:
Thanks to all who has responded. Last year I bought a 2015 f250 4wd to tow a 5500 dry weight tt. 3.73 axle. 6.2 gas burner. Haven’t pulled it anywhere much since I bought them both. Lived in the camper while waiting to get in a new house. Pulling it home on the interstate in hills and trying to keep speed about 65, the rpms were very high and I was concerned. Also, dropped to 7 mpg as long as I was in hills but mpg isn’t a major factor. Performance on the road is more important. Downsizing for traveling and want to make the right choice.

So you're spending more $ trading "down" to travel more? Ok well umm idk.
You'll get similar mileage with a similar size trailer in your scenario.
ALL the 1/2 tons will do what you want easily, but the F250 you have now will be the superior tow vehicle if you're planning on packing on the miles with the trailer.

That said, I don't view the 6.2/3.73 as a stellar towing powertrain combo. Have had 2 of them, both company rigs and tow pigs. Size, suspension and brakes, yes they're better than a 1/2 but power, mileage, etc...I feel the 5.0 F150 (I had a 2012, maybe it was an 11) and my current 16 Silverado 5.3 towed with the same authority from a power standpoint.
Basically depends if you're dead set on spending money to "upgrade" or downgrade, not sure which it really is in your scenario.

I'd keep the 250 even though I like the 5.0/5.3 as much or better.
Now if it's primarily DD use and still packing on some miles traveling, I'd consider dropping back to a 1/2 ton, but that's personal preference, 1/2s are peppier and a small but easier to maneuver around.

[Grit_dog]

Dlow240 wrote:
Thanks to all who has responded. Last year I bought a 2015 f250 4wd to tow a 5500 dry weight tt. 3.73 axle. 6.2 gas burner. Haven’t pulled it anywhere much since I bought them both. Lived in the camper while waiting to get in a new house. Pulling it home on the interstate in hills and trying to keep speed about 65, the rpms were very high and I was concerned. Also, dropped to 7 mpg as long as I was in hills but mpg isn’t a major factor. Performance on the road is more important. Downsizing for traveling and want to make the right choice.

Well there is zero wrong with your current setup and you’re about 50% into the trucks ability. But whatever makes you feel better

[dodge_guy]

Dlow240 wrote:
Thanks to all who has responded. Last year I bought a 2015 f250 4wd to tow a 5500 dry weight tt. 3.73 axle. 6.2 gas burner. Haven’t pulled it anywhere much since I bought them both. Lived in the camper while waiting to get in a new house. Pulling it home on the interstate in hills and trying to keep speed about 65, the rpms were very high and I was concerned. Also, dropped to 7 mpg as long as I was in hills but mpg isn’t a major factor. Performance on the road is more important. Downsizing for traveling and want to make the right choice.

Your not going to be happy going smaller and having the same issues. the problem isn't weight or length, it has to do with frontal area. you are pulling a sail down the road and that will create more load on the engine.

You say the rpms were very high? what is high? for me 5k rpms is high! 3k rpms is normal for a gasser to turn. mine personally will only hit 3200 on hills which is normal.

If you want easy towing and not high rpms get a PuP as that will shadow the truck. going from a 3/4 ton to a 1/2 ton isn't going to help you!

[Maury82]

troubledwaters wrote:

donn0128 wrote:
...Fords Eco seem to be real popular, but with prices for well equipped ones approaching 60K they might be out of your price range...

That's bogus. I got a Price sheet on a "Well Equipped" F150 Super Crew, XLT, 3.5L Ecoboost, 10 spd transmission, HDPP, and more - the MSRP is $48,500 and that includes over $6,000 worth of options.

I got my 2018 HDPP, 3.5 EB, 301 package, SCrew, 4x4, 6.5 bed, remote start, spray in bed liner, flow through console, factory tow mirrors, Sync 3, for $45,000 plus tax and title.

[valhalla360]

If a significant amount of towing will be in the mountains, seriously consider one of the turbo engines.

While the naturally aspirated engines will do the job, they lose power with altitude. At 8000ft, you will be down 25-30% on power. The turbo engines compensate by force feeding more air into the engine, so you lose almost nothing.

But really, even a naturally aspirated V6 will do the job for such a small trailer.

If you think you might upgrade to a larger trailer in the near future, it doesn't hurt to look at the 3/4 ton trucks. They aren't much difference in price and depending on what you find on the lot that meets your needs, it might even be cheaper.

[stevemorris]

ram 4x4, 4 door, hemi(5.7), 8 speed, 3.21 axles
we tow a 6000 lb 26 ft, feels like a freight train ie unstoppable. long upgrades, it shifts as needed, maintains around 4000 rpm, 4500 max
awesome engine and transmission, just my humble opinion!!

[Dlow240]

Thanks to all who has responded. Last year I bought a 2015 f250 4wd to tow a 5500 dry weight tt. 3.73 axle. 6.2 gas burner. Haven’t pulled it anywhere much since I bought them both. Lived in the camper while waiting to get in a new house. Pulling it home on the interstate in hills and trying to keep speed about 65, the rpms were very high and I was concerned. Also, dropped to 7 mpg as long as I was in hills but mpg isn’t a major factor. Performance on the road is more important. Downsizing for traveling and want to make the right choice.

[Kavoom]

For Ram, you get a choice. It is either the 3.21 or 3.92 axle. Either will pull what you are describing easily in the 3.6 V6 or the 5.7 Hemi. The tyranny compensates well. Mileage can be much different based upon configuration. I avg 14 with the 5.7/3.92 4WD and E rated tires. This worst case scenario as I have the discontinued Outdoorsman (light off road package). Best is 2wd version 3.6 at 24 on the highway.

Whatever, get LSD (limited slip diff) AND IGNORE any salesman who says otherwise. The 3.6 might be a subjective issue with your screaming issue but would work well. Drive all and try. The 5.7 is nice and the growl is something I enjoy. It would likely check all your boxes. The 3.92 rear end is about 3 to 4 mpg. With regular tires and the 3.92, you will be in the 18 19 mpg avg. This is all based upon your stated trailer weight and other info in your post.