Would love your help deciding and hear opinions.. Medium or big!!

mrfoamy

Mrfoamy
Something not mentioned here: a F150 with the 3.0 diesel. I have a F350 and that is a lot of truck for a FWC. The 150 is nicer riding and the 3.0 diesel is a great engine- I have one in my Range Rover. Ford built in England it has been around for 10 years. Probably great for towing and very quiet and powerful. Worth a thought.
 

Jay61

Member
I have a 2010 Dodge Ram with standard transmission and the Cummins 6.7. Great motor and transmission and it is not noisy (I miss the noise from my old 5.9). With deletes and chip you can get relatively good mileage and some good range. I have the crew cab with long bed. More than enough space, but it does limit you in some of the areas you can explore due to size. But if you are going full sized p/u you already have cut out some of the more technical "jeep" trails. I will be hauling my 18 JKUR behind it for those areas...
 

MR. ED

Observer
I see you’re In CO? Me too. I can chime in a bit. Old truck was ‘13 5.0 f150 3:55with the 5.5 bed. New truck is ‘14 6.2 f350 4:30 with 6.5 bed.
Just got back from a semi cross country road trip...heading east lightly loaded at 80 mph i was revving about 2200ish and able to get over 14 mpg. Coming back with a 6x12 uhaul with less than 1500 lbs getting about 11.5 mpg-everything was great until I hit the passes-la veta, wolfcreek... it did ok but on some of the steeper grades it was winding upwards of 5000rpms... and kinda dogging.
My old truck did fine pulling a lightly loaded flatbed trailer up the mountains..
anyway if you have any specific questions I can try to answer.

Edited to add: I think you'll be better served in the long run with the bigger, stronger truck... all the extras really start to add up weight wise. Good luck and happy trails
 
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Dalko43

Explorer
If you're putting gas mileage at #3 on your list of priorities, then I wouldn't even consider a gasoline 3/4 ton.

I'd look at a 3.5l v6 ecoboost F-150 or GM Silverado with the smaller v8. The 4.6l v8 Tundra also provides decent mpg's. On average, you're looking at 1.5k lbs of payload, maybe a bit more if you go with a high-GVWR variant of the Ford.
 

Mickey Bitsko

Adventurer
I see you’re In CO? Me too. I can chime in a bit. Old truck was ‘13 5.0 f150 3:55with the 5.5 bed. New truck is ‘14 6.2 f350 4:30 with 6.5 bed.
Just got back from a semi cross country road trip...heading east lightly loaded at 80 mph i was revving about 2200ish and able to get over 14 mpg. Coming back with a 6x12 uhaul with less than 1500 lbs getting about 11.5 mpg-everything was great until I hit the passes-la veta, wolfcreek... it did ok but on some of the steeper grades it was winding upwards of 5000rpms... and kinda dogging.
My old truck did fine pulling a lightly loaded flatbed trailer up the mountains..
anyway if you have any specific questions I can try to answer.
I live in Pagosa and concur on la-veta and Wolf Creek but are brutal if you're dragging something.
My old 250 6.8 with a Northstar camper pulling two ATVs I never get out of third.

Back to topic, been said before, get more truck than you need, you'll grow into it.
 

Todd n Natalie

OverCamper
This past July I went from an 07 tundra with 5.7 to the F150 3.5 eco hd tow. While it had plenty of torque and power the eco is a horrible engine to tow with. Has mileage will drop from over 20 to about 10 with a 1,600 pound 6x12 cargo trailer at 70. Unbelievable drop and it sounds like it is over revving. It is so bad a prefer to tow with the tundra. It gets over 14 mpg towing the trailer. I wish I would have bought the 5.0.

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Out of curiosity what type of trailer are you towing with the Tundra / F150? Why do you prefer the Tundra over the F150 for towing? Just fuel mileage or are the other factors as well?
 

Dalko43

Explorer
Sure payload and towing are impressive for a half ton, but 13.5-14.5 mpg isn't

Well it's efficiency may not offer a drastic improvement over 3/4 ton gasoline engines, but it still offers an improvement (despite what some owners like to claim).

If you don't like the 3.5l ecoboost, there are other options (smaller displacement v8's) which still offer somewhat better mpg's over the 3/4 ton's.
 

ITTOG

Well-known member
Out of curiosity what type of trailer are you towing with the Tundra / F150? Why do you prefer the Tundra over the F150 for towing? Just fuel mileage or are the other factors as well?
It is a 1,600 pound 6x12 cargo trailer. Primarily is fuel mileage but the engine just seems to be in it's power band better. Sounds like it is easier on the engine. Some of it could be I am more used to the tundra given I have had it for twelve years. But the better mpg is a clear indication of it handling the load better.

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hemifoot

Observer
medium and big usually have different trans and rearend. one is geared for groceries and one is more for work.torque over mileage any day of the week.
 

Dalko43

Explorer
medium and big usually have different trans and rearend. one is geared for groceries and one is more for work.torque over mileage any day of the week.

^This. The Tundra with its 4.30 gearing may the be the main exception, but otherwise I agree that most 1/2 tons are geared for fuel efficiency these days.

Doesn't mean they can't be used for mild towing and hauling, but they're certainly not geared towards work the same way 3/4 tons are. The primary drawback for moving up to the a 3/4 ton: higher operating costs.
 

Todd n Natalie

OverCamper
It is a 1,600 pound 6x12 cargo trailer. Primarily is fuel mileage but the engine just seems to be in it's power band better. Sounds like it is easier on the engine. Some of it could be I am more used to the tundra given I have had it for twelve years. But the better mpg is a clear indication of it handling the load better.

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Okay gotcha. Thank you for the reply. I have an F150 now rated to tow 10,900 lbs. We are looking at upgrading our tent trailer to a travel trailer and the Tundra is on my list of trucks to replace the F150 when the time comes. So interested to hear from people who tow with both.
 

ITTOG

Well-known member
Okay gotcha. Thank you for the reply. I have an F150 now rated to tow 10,900 lbs. We are looking at upgrading our tent trailer to a travel trailer and the Tundra is on my list of trucks to replace the F150 when the time comes. So interested to hear from people who tow with both.
Obviously the same issues apply to a heavier trailer with the engine. A couple weeks ago I towed a 6250 lb, dry weight, travel trailer. It did okay but this weight added another concern, the rear suspension. The f150 is a much softer ride therefore it sagged more and swayed side to side. The weight distribution hitch helped but if I did this on a regular basis I would probably add a spring to my leaf spring pack and get an aftermarket sway bar. Maybe even air bags.

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Todd n Natalie

OverCamper
Obviously the same issues apply to a heavier trailer with the engine. A couple weeks ago I towed a 6250 lb, dry weight, travel trailer. It did okay but this weight added another concern, the rear suspension. The f150 is a much softer ride therefore it sagged more and swayed side to side. The weight distribution hitch helped but if I did this on a regular basis I would probably add a spring to my leaf spring pack and get an aftermarket sway bar. Maybe even air bags.

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Good to know. Thank you for the heads up. I am looking at trailers with a dry weight around 4,000 lbs. So hopefully that makes a bit of difference too. When you say add a leaf spring pack and air bags are you referring to the F-150 or Tunrda? Or both?
 

ITTOG

Well-known member
Good to know. Thank you for the heads up. I am looking at trailers with a dry weight around 4,000 lbs. So hopefully that makes a bit of difference too. When you say add a leaf spring pack and air bags are you referring to the F-150 or Tunrda? Or both?
F150.

On tundra probably just bags. Not sure.

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