Once you tow with a diesel, you will never go back! That said, your issue is more of having a parachute than tow weight.. Diesels help with that too.

This thread is going to go sideways with buy this or buy that.... I am a RAM/Cummins fan myself but I suggest you go drive all three brands and see what you like.


Also, for your weight Ram has a new 1500 Eco Diesel that is getting rave reviews and would easily tow your load.

Another point to consider.. If you may, in the next few years upgrade to a larger toy hauler or camper, I would suggest biting the bullet and getting a 3500 maybe even a dually if you might go real big...

Have fun! It is a treat in life to be able to buy a new truck

 

Thanks, I am going to head up to the Dodge dealer on Sahara next week and see what they can offer.

 

Cool! I bought my last truck at Towbin. Really a great deal!

 

spend the money and get a 2500 diesel,, I have 180K miles on my 07 and its still going strong,,
if it were a gas motor I would have sold it years ago,,

Yes they are more expensive to maintain as well,, but once you tow with one you'll know why, its worth the extra $$$$$$

 

Diesel is the way to go...we bought my son a Ford diesel when he was a senior in high school used but in great shape...he's 32 years old and has his own family and still drives the same pickup...runs like a top...
My son is a diesel fanatic and does think the dogs are a hair better, but the Ford's are goog also. The new dodge diesel 1500 looks awesome...
Interesting fact about diesel fuel my son taught me...it has 40 percent more Btus than gasoline...that's substantial.
Good luck on your purchase and towing.

 

i thought about the diesel when i bought my gmc 2500hd, but just couldnt justify the extra cost (initial and maintenance) considering i only tow an actual load about 10 times a year and the load i tow is considerably lighter than most. the 6.0 gasser does great..and living in colorado, it sees plenty of mountain twisties on the way to and from camp. my th is a 18' livin lite vrv (~3600lbs) and even with the rzr and full tanks for everything, it is still considerably lighter than most.

wind, hills, etc. i just set the cruise on 75 - 80 and just go. of course the speeds in the mountains are lower, but that is because of the twisties, not the hills.

just buy the truck you need...remember that you will be driving it more without towing than with (assuming it will be your daily driver). if in doubt about any truck's capabilities, take your loaded trailer with you to the test drive and try it out.

 

I have a 2014 Ram 3500 Megacab CTD...after having a 2013 Ram hemi, I would never go back to a gas truck. The diesel just pulls so much better...it is better going up hills, better going down hills, and is just efffortless. I get 23mpg on hwy and 18 city...my hemi got 20 and 15...I get 40% better mpg towing as well. You will likely NOT recoup the 8k price difference in mpg, unless you are towing a massive amount of miles...thats not the point though..the diesel just does it better...it is well worth it to me (and it is my daily driver also)


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I had a new 2012 Chevy 5.3 and it sucked towing my enclosed trailer. Gas mileage sucked also. About the only time I drove the truck was when I had a trailer behind it goin riding. Sold it and bought and older (2004) duramax that had low miles and in perfect shape.
Couldn't be happier with my decision. Can't even tell my trailer is behind it. Plus I can pass a few gas stations without stopping, where as I couldn't before with the gasser. Once you pull with a diesel you won't pull with a gasser again.
Maintenance and upkeep is higher on diesels. In my case it worked out because I only drive it to go riding, so I can service the truck one time a year and be good to go.




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I'd recommend giving Fords ecoboost a shot.... I was in a similar situation as you but I also put 30,000 miles a year on a vehicle so I wanted something that would pull with plenty of power and still get good mileage when unhooked without the extra cost of a diesel and thus far its delivered. Excellent power down low and rarely ever needs to down shift.... the turbos just spool up and start doing work. Closest thing in a gas burner youll find that has diesel like torque imo.

 

x2
I have a 2012 FX2 Super Crew with tow package and aftermarket, (AirRaid) bags.
It's my daily driver and I tow my 30 foot toyhauler no problem with it.

I use anti-sway setup which is a MUST in windy conditions like the Cajon pass or HWY 395 in winter.

If it's just a tow rig and not DD, I'd get a diesel.

Had an F250, with Banks 6 gun selector, intake, exhaust,..nothing pulls like a diesel.

Hope that helps

Steve

 

Axle gearing, if you are going to tow then you need lower gears in your axles
The 4.8L is weak, the 5.3L is better, the 6.0L can tow some stuff but its still a small block and will be working hard all the time while towing.
The Vortec 6.0L is the smallest engine I would tow a 14' trailer with

I run a 2000 Superduty 6.8L triton V-10 gas engine. It tows pretty well with 550 ft lbs of torque and only 60K miles on it.
With that said I am in the process of building a 5.9L cummins with Banks turbo Suburban
Where the V10 cannot the Diesel CAN

I tow alot, my hobby is building trucks so I am always moving them around. The trailers and amount of equipment I haul keeps growing. So it was either a cummins swap into my Superduty (down time) or buy a diesel. In my case its build a totally custom 84 suburban off road camper hauler machine, prolly take $10-15K and 1-2 years but will be so worth it and still no car payments

 

That ecodiesel is a joke. TQ is the same at 420 but is a full 145hp lower than the ford ecoboost. 145!!! Plus the cost of diesel out weighs any savings you would get with the mpg increase.
I'm a dodge fan, my parents have owned Cummins trucks since I was a baby, but that ecoboost is hard to beat. Unless you tow a massive toyhauler or just want a big truck, I would look into one.

 

Also agree the diesel is worth the upfront money!

I've towed with Ram 360 V8 and 488 V10 gas engines until finally switching to a 5-9 cummins in 2007.
It's ruined me from ever going back to gas in a truck again.

A bonus is that if and when you do sell it, the diesel retains a huge portion of it value and they are always in demand.

That being said, if you haven't looked at the sticker prices of new 2500 trucks, be prepared for sticker shock!rogar-Scared(DBG):

 

If buying a 1/2 ton truck, the Tundra is tops for towing. It will out tow any 1/2 ton truck and is comfortable for daily driving. If you want or need something more, any 3/4 or 1 ton will do the job, but you get what you pay for. Just a matter of how much you want to pay for engines, options and payloads. If you're not towing all the time the bigger trucks don't make sense and they're not as comfortable as daily drivers with their big truck suspensions.

 

Tundra avail with a Diesel yet?
Ford is putting a 3.0L diesel in the Ranger in the US now, FINALLY!!
My superduty rode HARSH until I ditched the factory bed (waste of space) and installed flatbed, now she rides great! they just need some weight in the back like they were built for, or take the other truck. I get 11.2 mpg in my 2000 Superduty V10. Its low miles and well taken care of, but with Ace, two XP's and a huge trailer, 4 people and camping gear....its turbo diesel time

Why buy new?
If you are patient you can buy slightly used for soooo much less

 

I have a Toyota 5.7 tundra. I just hauled a jeep on a heavy duty construction trailer (~7500lbs) 1000 miles and got 11mpg. With out I get 18 mpg. How often do you tow? The Toyota cruised at 75 all day

 

I have owned chevy, ford ,and dodge gas and diesel trucks . Tons of miles on all of them mostly in the oilfield where they towed a lot of weight. Of all the trucks the diesels all held up best and all gas trucks were eventually replaced with diesels. The dodges were beasts but while the engines and drivetrains were great the rest of the truck would fall apart. The Chevys were good but overall we got the best service from the fords which is what I have now. While the initial investment is higher with the diesels you recoup a lot of that when you replace it as diesel trucks hold a lot of their value even with a lot of miles and use. Any of the newer diesel trucks will tow a ton better than any gas truck. It really just comes down to which truck you like best.

 

And let the GM recall jokes begin

 

I have been down this road too.
Had about every damn truck combination out there (short of half tons, they are not made for towing in my opinion).
Overkill is my towing friend, dually long bed, diesel with a manual trans and stock tires.
They all can do the job, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty, if you think about it, we are talking about your life being on the line (anyone who has been in a scary truck trailer combination and got the whips or the I can't stops, knows what I am talking about). Good used dually long beds are out there and once you tow with one (Big block gas or diesel) you will never want to go back to anything else.
ANd if you see, as illustrated here, the light of the Lord will shine on you and a nice tow rig ;-)

 

Diesel all the way ... Id wait before buying the new Ecodiesel from Dodge let the bugs get worked out 1st .... But imo u need a Powerstroke

 

I have towed for thirty years and I would say as the weight of the trailer goes up the efficiency of the gas decreases and the diesel increases. That is why you don't see any gas locomotives. I would say if you tow less than 5k and only tow a few hundred miles per year save the money and buy gas. But as someone mentioned most of us over time trade up to bigger heavier trailers and the size of the truck limits that. My first toy hauler weighed 7k loaded with our RZR and a half ton would have worked pretty hard out west on our 6% grades, my diesel 2500 did well. Now my bumper pull 23 ft toy hauler weighs about 9k and I now have a diesel dually that is perfect to my mind.

 

Go diesel!

You'll never hear anyone bitching that their tow capacity is too high.

But you sure will hear stories of people pulling the guts out of their 1/2 tons.

Oh...and make your life easier whichever way you go (Gas or Diesel). Get a weight distributing hitch for that enclosed trailer.

 

I just came from the Dodge dealer and liked what I saw. 2014 RAM 2500 Crew Cab 4X4. It has the 6.7 Diesel in it. I can buy it for $29,096 out the door. That's with discounts and my trade in. They are giving me $14000 for my GMC. Looks pretty good to me.

 

Unless you are getting a toy hauler gas motor is just fine. Get the 6.2l with 4:10 and you can easily tow 8k with ease.

 

Wife made me buy a new truck, picked up a '14 crew cab dodge with the new 6.4 gasser. No complaints at all, and tows great - especially since after buying the truck she convinced me into getting a 32' travel trailer
15,000lb towing capacity......

 

Cummins can pull for sure, as others have said Dodges rattle them selves apart. Had pwr strokes and Dmax, each have been reliable through 200k miles. We have been treated well at Henderson chevy
Just as earlier post, you may end up with bigger trailer or toy hauler. You may just want to drive and forget trailer is even there.....
Good luck

 

Towed with a Tundra...sucked...traded it in...now extremely happy with my 2500 Duramax tow BEAST. Diesel for towing and the ability to make a CONTROLLED STOP !