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Great conversation guys. To the OP I'd like to know how many miles you drive per year and how many of those are you actually hooked up? If I was driving 20000 miles per year but only 3000 miles were spent towing 8k or less I'd have a tough time justifying a SD on my budget. Unlimited budget I'd have two trucks
I would say I'm 70/30. 70 not towing vs 30 towing. I average 20-25k per year. I work for myself and my truck is my work vehicle. When seeing accounts I have a two wheel cart and product in the back.
While I cant comment on the 3.5 vs 6.7, I can comment on the 150 vs SD part. My 13 5.0 towed my 3H GN very well, got about 10mpg, and was inside all limits with two horses but exceeded only gcwr with 3. I would have and did tow all over WV, OH, KY and PA with it. It handled grades up to 6% just fine staying at the speed limit with no problems. The truck was bone stock, no bags, no tunes, no upgraded tires or shocks. It was a very minimally optioned STX 4x4 with 1800lb payload. The trailer 30ft long, and loaded was 8 to 10k roughly depending on what horses on board.
We knew a bigger trailer was coming so in 16 we bought a 16 SD diesel CC LB DRW 4x4. Again a lightly optioned XL with 5800lb payload. Hooked up to the 3H it got 12mpg, couldnt tell the trailer was there. Totally and completely effortless towing. Now we have a 42ft LQ trailer that is almost 14k empty, and up to nearly 20k loaded. The SD at 20k is so stable and solid its just amazing. You can feel the load on acceleration but its easy to tow in 6th with drops to 5th on bigger longer grades.
For what its worth I drive the SD everyday as my DD truck and have no issue with it. Pics of the trucks and trailers are attached.
There is a "best tool" for every job, but our lives are full of compromise. 70% empty / 30% towing 8K would be a toss up for me between F150 HDPP and F250 gas /F350 diesel. For that big horse trailer above, a dually is really the only option.
I think decisions like this need to be made based on the cons.
Start with an F350 diesel - are the cons strong enough not to get it.
Then go to and F250 gas - same question.
If the cons against a Super-Duty (fuel mileage [gas], up front and maintenance expense [diesel], size both length and height) are a not big deal to you, great! Go get your Super-Duty!
I like your perspective Gladehound! What are you pulling in your sig? Weight/length/hitch?
Cheers
The travel trailer is a 2004 Fleetwood Caravan Microlite 25BH. 27 foot ball to bumper. 23 foot box. Empty weight ~4,300 pounds. GVWR 6,600 pounds. Weight with full fresh water and empty grey / black while traveling with the family typically ranges from 5,000 to 5,500 pounds. Tongue weight is usually around 900 when traveling. The hitch is 70 pounds. So around 1,000 hitch weight.
The hitch is a simple round bar style Reese with the chains that go to brackets on the tongue. No built in sway control. It does have a friction type anti-sway device which I've never used with this truck and probably wont bother ever putting it on. Towing with 18% tongue weight has a way of rendering additional sway control unnecessary.
So really not a lot of trailer for this truck. Sometimes forget I'm towing it.
There is a "best tool" for every job, but our lives are full of compromise. 70% empty / 30% towing 8K would be a toss up for me between F150 HDPP and F250 gas /F350 diesel. For that big horse trailer above, a dually is really the only option.
I think decisions like this need to be made based on the cons.
Start with an F350 diesel - are the cons strong enough not to get it.
Then go to and F250 gas - same question.
If the cons against a Super-Duty (fuel mileage [gas], up front and maintenance expense [diesel], size both length and height) are a not big deal to you, great! Go get your Super-Duty!
If they are a big deal, go order an F150HDPP.
This is exactly what I did, and why I ended up with the truck I bought. It's the best tool for the job I am doing. Money was not the driving issue, although it's certainly part of the equation.
01-28-2018, 10:26 AM
