Truck question?

[NYBowhunter]

12 minutes ago, Swamp_bucks said:

Dually may be a little overkill for what I need. lol Maybe if I still logged or worked farms.  

That's why i indicated that a dually was not  necessary for you , I was speaking of a SRW  cummins for your use.

[Buckmaster7600]

21 minutes ago, phade said:

I would assume it has to do with driving habits and other factors but your tires probably dropped you 1-2 mpg alone. I know getting into boost dramatically increases fuel consumption. Do they come with stock boost gauges? Heck, we used to be able to de/tune the boost or lower it and increase mpg if not needed. I would also imagine the stock turbos are likely small, getting into boost earlier in the power stroke.

I’m sure, I do nearly zero highway driving and never make it through a tank without towing something and the 373 gears hurt as well. I lost 1.5 mpg going from a 150 to a 250. 

 

as for boost that’s one reason why I love the EB’s so much if you’re putting around they’re very tame if you want to merge or pass in a hurry they’re a rocket. 

[Buckmaster7600]

20 minutes ago, NYBowhunter said:

That's why i indicated that a dually was not  necessary for you , I was speaking of a SRW  cummins for your use.

He’s pulling a 6k pound camper suggesting a 3/4 ton diesel is insane. 
 

I owned diesels of every variety for 20 years and I wouldn’t own a new diesel if they were cheaper than gas. Before the government ruined them they were great now if you’re not pulling 15k+ though the mountains every day I wouldn’t recommend one. 
 

My cousin has a fleet of 7 hotshot trucks “heavy duty pickups that he does custom hauling with” and he has switched all but 2 to gas. These are trucks that pull heavy and get a couple hundred thousand miles put on them every year. He got tired of ridiculously expensive and frequent repairs. 

[NYBowhunter]

1 hour ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

He’s pulling a 6k pound camper suggesting a 3/4 ton diesel is insane. 
 

I owned diesels of every variety for 20 years and I wouldn’t own a new diesel if they were cheaper than gas. Before the government ruined them they were great now if you’re not pulling 15k+ though the mountains every day I wouldn’t recommend one. 
 

My cousin has a fleet of 7 hotshot trucks “heavy duty pickups that he does custom hauling with” and he has switched all but 2 to gas. These are trucks that pull heavy and get a couple hundred thousand miles put on them every year. He got tired of ridiculously expensive and frequent repairs. 

"Insane", it was a suggestion and insane is a far stretch bro. Gas works for you great, I like diesel.  To suggest that a 2500 diesel with a SO cummins is insane then there are alot of crazy people out there and I mean alot, in my travels there are plenty people I see using a 2500 cummins to tow and daily drivers. It's a choice, whatever floats your boat.  Just another option for the OP to look at.

[Wolc123]

I’ve never owned any of the foreign makes in a truck or a Ford but my GM’s have served me very well.  So well in fact that I haven’t had to buy a new one yet this millennium.  
 

The two I run now are both 2000 3/4 tons with 6.0 liter V8’s and neither has had any engine or transmission trouble (both automatics). 
 

I did trade an old camper for a significantly newer Dodge Durango, and that seems pretty good also, but I’ve only used it in the fields.  Always starts great and has one heck of a suspension.  
 

Id say the OP is on right track with the GM’s and Dodges, based on my 40 years of truck owning experience.  No need to take a chance on those other makes.  

Edited March 29, 2024 by Wolc123

[Longbow]

4 cylinder in a truck? Ought to be ashamed of themselves. 6 was bad enough.

Edited April 1, 2024 by Longbow

[sbuff]

I've got a 3/4 gasser Chevy ,you can get away with a 1/2 ton of choice and engine of choice for your purpose .  No need to go diesel at all , any ford , Chevy,dodge or Toyota will work fine for you .

Invest in a good weight distribution hitch and enjoy camping !

 

Edited March 31, 2024 by sbuff

[dbHunterNY]

i've got a 2020 chevy silverado 1500 custom crew cab with a tow package and the naturally aspirated V6. i'm not going to win a drag race, haul a massive payload, but ocassionally hauling that 6k lb camper I have no reservations. vehicles unless you're using for a business are a horrible investment but necessary. it has ac, 4wd, lots of room, one size smaller than a full box, cruise, towing, and a touch screen auto app center console. it was still cheap without other creature comforts or high tech v8. gas mileage is about the same as a v8 that shuts down cylinders but it's a cheaper simpler motor to repair down the road. it'd keep up with my older GMC v8 that it replaced. 1/2 ton is all you need based on your description of occasional towing.

the new 6s that are turbo'd are ridiculous and a whole different engine. they'd drag an older v8's ass and even some new ones. turbos used to be high maintenance after many miles but they aren't bad now and aren't pushed hard either if you go that route.

I haven't pushed this truck that hard but lets just say i have lots of confidence my chevy with a plain jane 6 can pull an loaded up enclosed double snowmobile trailer and a cab for of guys and gear going up over the peak of hogback mountain doing 80mph while dragging a small suvs ass. I've also driven a late 90's full box F150 with a straight 6 loaded with two 1200+lb round bales in the back while towing a kicker wagon full of square bales. that'd make some of you with your v8s shit a brick. i guess i'm saying trucks are more than capable of what we put them through these days. most guys i know barely stress their trucks more than towing a small boat or picking up groceries. i've never been so much of a diva that i hated a truck and felt it couldn't get the job done. exception maybe being my dad's early 2000's dodge ram 1500 v8 that was a complete turd for power. i think the gearing was a bit tall and it was a heavy truck for a 1/2 ton.

[Swamp_bucks]

2 hours ago, dbHunterNY said:

i've got a 2020 chevy silverado 1500 custom crew cab with a tow package and the naturally aspirated V6. i'm not going to win a drag race, haul a massive payload, but ocassionally hauling that 6k lb camper I have no reservations. vehicles unless you're using for a business are a horrible investment but necessary. it has ac, 4wd, lots of room, one size smaller than a full box, cruise, towing, and a touch screen auto app center console. it was still cheap without other creature comforts or high tech v8. gas mileage is about the same as a v8 that shuts down cylinders but it's a cheaper simpler motor to repair down the road. it'd keep up with my older GMC v8 that it replaced. 1/2 ton is all you need based on your description of occasional towing.

the new 6s that are turbo'd are ridiculous and a whole different engine. they'd drag an older v8's ass and even some new ones. turbos used to be high maintenance after many miles but they aren't bad now and aren't pushed hard either if you go that route.

I haven't pushed this truck that hard but lets just say i have lots of confidence my chevy with a plain jane 6 can pull an loaded up enclosed double snowmobile trailer and a cab for of guys and gear going up over the peak of hogback mountain doing 80mph while dragging a small suvs ass. I've also driven a late 90's full box F150 with a straight 6 loaded with two 1200+lb round bales in the back while towing a kicker wagon full of square bales. that'd make some of you with your v8s shit a brick. i guess i'm saying trucks are more than capable of what we put them through these days. most guys i know barely stress their trucks more than towing a small boat or picking up groceries. i've never been so much of a diva that i hated a truck and felt it couldn't get the job done. exception maybe being my dad's early 2000's dodge ram 1500 v8 that was a complete turd for power. i think the gearing was a bit tall and it was a heavy truck for a 1/2 ton.

The Chevy custom is what I have my eye on the most . Seems like most bang for your buck I can find. Plus they are pretty sharp looking. 

[mowin]

No one has mentioned payload.  Sure, it's nice to have a lot of towing capacity, but what's the trucks payload capacity?  Remember, tongue wt of the trailer, plus passengers and gear all use up payload a lot quicker than one thinks. You can be overloaded when pulling a 8000 lb camper even if you're truck is rated to tow 10k or more. A lot of the 1500s are going to run out of payload long before towing capacity. 

 

[dbHunterNY]

42 minutes ago, mowin said:

No one has mentioned payload.  Sure, it's nice to have a lot of towing capacity, but what's the trucks payload capacity?  Remember, tongue wt of the trailer, plus passengers and gear all use up payload a lot quicker than one thinks. You can be overloaded when pulling a 8000 lb camper even if you're truck is rated to tow 10k or more. A lot of the 1500s are going to run out of payload long before towing capacity. 

that's because nobody uses a weight distributing hitch when they probably should for 1/2 and 1/4 ton pickups that about doubles capacity. he's still at 800lbs or so (10-15%) tongue weight or added payload if you're assuming he's got a ton of shit in a 6k lb camper. that's within a 1500's ratings with a weight distributing hitch. seems pretty heavy for a 22' camper though. i was thinking him saying 6k lb was maybe loaded with stuff.

[mowin]

48 minutes ago, dbHunterNY said:

that's because nobody uses a weight distributing hitch when they probably should for 1/2 and 1/4 ton pickups that about doubles capacity. he's still at 800lbs or so (10-15%) tongue weight or added payload if you're assuming he's got a ton of shit in a 6k lb camper. that's within a 1500's ratings with a weight distributing hitch. seems pretty heavy for a 22' camper though. i was thinking him saying 6k lb was maybe loaded with stuff.

WDH definitely help, but don't double payload capacity, instead it distributes some of the weight to the front end of the tow vehicle. 

I used a WDH on my 3500 when I towed my 38' camper. 

My point was to check the tag on the truck.  Payload can vary greatly from model configurations, motor, and transmission it's equipped with. 

Edited April 1, 2024 by mowin

[Buckmaster7600]

1 hour ago, dbHunterNY said:

that's because nobody uses a weight distributing hitch when they probably should for 1/2 and 1/4 ton pickups that about doubles capacity. he's still at 800lbs or so (10-15%) tongue weight or added payload if you're assuming he's got a ton of shit in a 6k lb camper. that's within a 1500's ratings with a weight distributing hitch. seems pretty heavy for a 22' camper though. i was thinking him saying 6k lb was maybe loaded with stuff.

Wdh’s help the rig handle the weight better but it doesn’t change the payload capacity of the truck. The tongue weight still goes towards the payload. 
 

 

[dbHunterNY]

3 hours ago, mowin said:

WDH definitely help, but don't double payload capacity, instead it distributes some of the weight to the front end of the tow vehicle. 

I used a WDH on my 3500 when I towed my 38' camper. 

My point was to check the tag on the truck.  Payload can vary greatly from model configurations, motor, and transmission it's equipped with. 

 

2 hours ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

Wdh’s help the rig handle the weight better but it doesn’t change the payload capacity of the truck. The tongue weight still goes towards the payload. 
 

 

not what i meant. i agree payload doesn't change but by design payload capacity will never put you over without the ability to not put more shit or warm bodies in the truck. like mowin said you can go over that way. there is a max tongue weight/trailer weight for a truck though. for my 2020 silverado 1500 custom with a V6 the max trailer weight is 5,000 lbs without a wd hitch but with one it's 7500 lbs.  tongue weight is listed as 10%. so i guess it's not double but 1.5 times. the payload capacity for the same truck frame but a bigger motor (heavier) motor or bigger cab (heavier) is often less. max payload for the model and payload as spec'd does change much. my point is without a wdh i wouldn't be within capacity towing his camper with my truck but with one i would be. aside from getting a ticket if you maybe get checked there's still fudge/safety factors built in. you can't even get a natural 6 now in a new chevy anyway. it's a turbo 4, little turbo diesel, or tec loaded v8's. that's unfortunate. IMO the new engines are getting more expensive the fancier they get. hell during covid i drove around my truck for months while my coworker's new v8 was in the shop waiting for recalled valve lifters needed to shutdown cylinders for better mpg. he doesn't even use it to haul or tow anything substantial and said he wished he had my v6. would've definitely been cheaper. most people buy more truck than they need IMO.

[Buckmaster7600]

1 hour ago, dbHunterNY said:

 

not what i meant. i agree payload doesn't change but by design payload capacity will never put you over without the ability to not put more shit or warm bodies in the truck. like mowin said you can go over that way. there is a max tongue weight/trailer weight for a truck though. for my 2020 silverado 1500 custom with a V6 the max trailer weight is 5,000 lbs without a wd hitch but with one it's 7500 lbs.  tongue weight is listed as 10%. so i guess it's not double but 1.5 times. the payload capacity for the same truck frame but a bigger motor (heavier) motor or bigger cab (heavier) is often less. max payload for the model and payload as spec'd does change much. my point is without a wdh i wouldn't be within capacity towing his camper with my truck but with one i would be. aside from getting a ticket if you maybe get checked there's still fudge/safety factors built in. you can't even get a natural 6 now in a new chevy anyway. it's a turbo 4, little turbo diesel, or tec loaded v8's. that's unfortunate. IMO the new engines are getting more expensive the fancier they get. hell during covid i drove around my truck for months while my coworker's new v8 was in the shop waiting for recalled valve lifters needed to shutdown cylinders for better mpg. he doesn't even use it to haul or tow anything substantial and said he wished he had my v6. would've definitely been cheaper. most people buy more truck than they need IMO.

I’m sure there’s fudge factor, but the payload capacity is no different than tow capacity, or the max tongue weight. It’s all for safety and something I wouldn’t want to try to plead my case on in a court room. 
 

It’s very easy in a half ton to be within your tow capacity and go over your payload when you get near the maximum. Your truck is a perfect example, 750lb’s of tongue weight add 3 of your buddies and you better not pack a grill or firewood  in the back because you’re getting already at the 1800ish payload capacity.