Towing Capacity?

[Code54]

My thought also when I finally decided for a 3/4 ton diesel instead of a HD gas half ton that I would have been towing at the top of its rated capacity.

Did the same - Very rarely tow 10K but bought a ¾ diesel. It is never strained, stops great and just feels much more planted due to its weight and size.

 

[WM75Guy]

My thought also when I finally decided for a 3/4 ton diesel instead of a HD gas half ton that I would have been towing at the top of its rated capacity.

Did the same - Very rarely tow 10K but bought a 3/4 diesel. It is never strained, stops great and just feels much more planted due to its weight and size.

Welcome to the club. But now ya'll did it. Just because you think it pulls better, it's your money, and diesel is back cheaper than gas the diesel haters are going to come after you and tell you it makes no sense to buy a diesel pickup. :laughing:

 

[sdef]

Welcome to the club. But now ya'll did it. Just because you think it pulls better, it's your money, and diesel is back cheaper than gas the diesel haters are going to come after you and tell you it makes no sense to buy a diesel pickup. :laughing:

It was an agonizing 6 months deciding between which HD 1/2 ton gas truck to purchase. Drove and priced Ford, GMC and Chevy. pros and cons to each. I was not totally comfortable with towing at the top of the rated truck capacities, although a bunch of TBN folks said they did it all the time and felt comfortable. Still, in the long-term I felt more comfortable with the chassis and brakes of a 3/4 ton.

Then I had to decide between gas or diesel. More agonizing... It came down to a Ram 2500 6.4L hemi or the 6.7L CTD. The 6.4 gas had excellent in town responsiveness, but ran out of breath on the highway when accelerating from 55 - 70 MPH, while the CTD was still pulling like the proverbial freight train in the same scenario. Plus from everything I could find on the Internet, the gas engine would get noticeably less fuel mileage.

I opted for the CTD. It cost me ~ $9k more than the HD 1/2 tons I had priced. For the price I gave up leather and gained the diesel engine braking and other cool diesel features. I now have 1100 miles on the odometer with the first hand calculated fuel mileage of 17 in mixed driving, 17.5 the next tank and now it looks like this tank will be 18 MPG or so- maybe a bit more.

Plus yesterday, after a long hard day of welding and grinding at a friend's farm in this heat we are having, I was not paying enough attention to the traffic I was merging with getting on the interstate that was going up a moderate hill. In my blind spot was a pickup truck towing a trailer (he needed more truck for the task) and I was now short on entrance ramp. So for the first time, I put the pedal to the floor and the truck went from ~ 50 MPH to 70 MPH in short order and that under powered tow ring was getting smaller in my rear view mirror. I was impressed and no gas powered truck I test drove would have done similar. I made the right choice for me.

 

[check]

I have a 2014 Ford F150 with the 5.0 L V8, and I get about 18 to 20 miles per gallon on the highway going back-and-forth to the cottage, which is 150 miles each way. So, even if I go up every single weekend, I will spend no more than about $1000 per year more on gas with the 5 L V8 then I would with the eco-diesel.

Not a good enough reason to switch, especially given the poor towing performance of the eco-diesel.

 

[sdef]

I have a 2014 Ford F150 with the 5.0 L V8, and I get about 18 to 20 miles per gallon on the highway going back-and-forth to the cottage, which is 150 miles each way. So, even if I go up every single weekend, I will spend no more than about $1000 per year more on gas with the 5 L V8 then I would with the eco-diesel.

Not a good enough reason to switch, especially given the poor towing performance of the eco-diesel.

Yep. No good 1/2 ton diesel towing options yet. Toyota and Nissan may change that for 2016.

 

[Code54]

Welcome to the club. But now ya'll did it. Just because you think it pulls better, it's your money, and diesel is back cheaper than gas the diesel haters are going to come after you and tell you it makes no sense to buy a diesel pickup. :laughing:

LOL - funny thing is I was looking at ½ ton gas trucks at the time and my overpriced Diesel came out 3K more than a gas ½ ton truck with the same general options after all the rebates and such. Figured for 3K I rather just have a diesel -always wanted one anyway so why not get a truck that can do everything I need and then some. Figured the extra safety towing was worth the money.
Also thought when I go to sell it I can get my 3k back most likely so it all washes in the end and I got what I liked. I have had it for 3 years and only have 17k on it so the fuel costs are really not an issue in my case. This year my wife wants to take it on vacation because it is so comfortable and roomy. Just due to the lower mileage I get compared to her vehicle (not diesel cost) I figure it will cost an extra 100 bucks in fuel but if we see something neat we want at least I will have room to bring it back home with us....

 

[aczlan]

How fast a truck gets up to speed with a load has almost nothing to do with how much it can tow. For example, 18 wheelers on the road are very "slow" but are rated to tow ?80,000 lbs. It's all about the truck being able to handle a load once it's moving, not how fast it gets it moving.

Actually, the SAE towing test specifies acceleration times (0-30 in 12 seconds, 40-60 in 18 seconds)

Source: That Dam Towing Test: New SAE Trailering Standards Explained - Tech Dept. - Car and Driver

Aaron Z

 

[sdef]

This year my wife wants to take it on vacation because it is so comfortable and roomy. Just due to the lower mileage I get compared to her vehicle (not diesel cost) I figure it will cost an extra 100 bucks in fuel but if we see something neat we want at least I will have room to bring it back home with us....

Exactly the same conversation at my home last week. She wants to take it (but only me driving) to the beach in a couple weeks with the exact same reasoning as on your side. We will see how much she likes it at the end of the trip, as she is used to her new Honda Accord and has not spent much seat time in a 10k# GVWR truck with a light load. She is not a truck person, but thinks mine is awesome.

I added a winch to the front of it and it now is a bit long for a normal length parking space at most places, so I look for two spaces inline with each other.