What do you tow with?

[xtruckerbob]

Right now we are using a Tahoe which is over loaded. When we bought the RV we knew a new truck was our next purchase. The Tahoe has a towing package 5.3 with 3.43's. I see some of you are pulling more weight with a 1/2 ton than us with no trouble, but for us there is no way. At 65 MPH or more in tow mode with the cruise set at 65 MPH the Tahoe slows to 63 MPH then shifts down, the speed will increase to about 66 MPH, then shifts up and the process starts over again and again constanly shifting. At 70 MPH it is worst. This is on flat land, any hills even the smallest lugs it down. Our mileage is 7 to 8. For now we pull it to our favorite 2 camp grounds which one is 17 miles away and the other is 44 miles away both on flat land with a speed posted at 55 MPH and it does OK. Just waiting to decide which 3/4 ton diesel I want.

 

[kevinwak]

I pull with an 07 F150 with 3.55 gears. Just finished a mountain camping trip. There were some hills where I was only doing 40 km/hr by the top with the gas pedal to the floor. That is with our new 25' "mini lite" camper that weighs 4800 empty. We averaged 10 mpg for the trip of about 1000 miles
I know lots of people will say that financially a diesel isn't worth it. But the relaxation of being able to tow the camper through the mountains on cruise while sipping a coffee and not worrying about getting rear ended while you crawl up a hill is worth a lot to me. I will be buying a diesel 3/4 or srw 1 ton in about two years time when I save up some money.

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[Wolfy]

A V-10 would be a great option.

 

[houstonscott]

I tow with a 4x4 suburban. HS

 

[xtruckerbob]

We had a V-10 in our 32 foot class A motor home. It had a lot of power. We pulled our Suburban on our car trailer thur the mountains with no trouble at all and it got 9.5 MPG overall. One of our friends has a V-10 in a 3/4 ton he said it get 10 MPG no matter what it pulls or if it is empty on the road and about 8 in town OUCH. Since we will be using the truck when we are not pulling our RV I was thinking a diesel would be nice. Talked to the Ram dealer he said the new V-6 Eco-diesel would be a good choice in a 1/2 ton truck and said it would "run" with trailer because they are rated for 10,000 pounds and save me $4500. The 28 MPG does sound good!

 

[Charlie175]

We had a V-10 in our 32 foot class A motor home. It had a lot of power. We pulled our Suburban on our car trailer thur the mountains with no trouble at all and it got 9.5 MPG overall. One of our friends has a V-10 in a 3/4 ton he said it get 10 MPG no matter what it pulls or if it is empty on the road and about 8 in town OUCH. Since we will be using the truck when we are not pulling our RV I was thinking a diesel would be nice. Talked to the Ram dealer he said the new V-6 Eco-diesel would be a good choice in a 1/2 ton truck and said it would "run" with trailer because they are rated for 10,000 pounds and save me $4500. The 28 MPG does sound good!

I don't think the RAM 1500 Eco-diesel is rated at 10000 lbs.

The V8 Hemi is rated at a little over 10000

I have a 2005 RAM 1500 Quad 4x4 Hemi that I pull 9000 lbs around with. Hills slow it down, but honestly the tranny is limiting the power. The newer ones with the 6/8 speed would be much better.

I've had 2500's in the past and yes they pull/tow better.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I pull with an 07 F150 with 3.55 gears. Just finished a mountain camping trip. There were some hills where I was only doing 40 km/hr by the top with the gas pedal to the floor. That is with our new 25' "mini lite" camper that weighs 4800 empty. We averaged 10 mpg for the trip of about 1000 miles I know lots of people will say that financially a diesel isn't worth it. But the relaxation of being able to tow the camper through the mountains on cruise while sipping a coffee and not worrying about getting rear ended while you crawl up a hill is worth a lot to me. I will be buying a diesel 3/4 or srw 1 ton in about two years time when I save up some money. Sent from my iPhone using TractorByNet

It's not the Diesel engine per say, it's the turbo. Put a turbo on any motor and it will perform in the mountains also.

Fact is the for every 1000' of elevation rise you lose about 3% power. At 10,000' you have lost about 1/3 power. The turbo or supercharger does nothing more than bring it back to sea level performance.

Chris

 

[Diamondpilot]

I don't think the RAM 1500 Eco-diesel is rated at 10000 lbs. The V8 Hemi is rated at a little over 10000 I have a 2005 RAM 1500 Quad 4x4 Hemi that I pull 9000 lbs around with. Hills slow it down, but honestly the tranny is limiting the power. The newer ones with the 6/8 speed would be much better. I've had 2500's in the past and yes they pull/tow better.

Do some research on that Eco Diesel. They are piggish towing but do great around town and chores. The tow rating is also not 10,000#.

Chris

 

[Egon]

[video]http://www.autotrader.com/research/article/car-news/212477/2014-ram-1500-ecodiesel-towing-capacity-announced.jsp[/video]

No verification but a towing limit is mentioned.

My 180HP 420 # torque old truck, less than the ecodiesel, seemed to arrive at it's destinations with much larger loads behind it. Wasn't fast though. Used to pass the fast trucks at the service stations.

 

[kevinwak]

It's not the Diesel engine per say, it's the turbo. Put a turbo on any motor and it will perform in the mountains also. Fact is the for every 1000' of elevation rise you lose about 3% power. At 10,000' you have lost about 1/3 power. The turbo or supercharger does nothing more than bring it back to sea level performance. Chris

So true. We did our mountain camping trip last year with a borrowed ecoboost. It pulled great! It would hold speed on the biggest of hills. For me personally if I were only pulling the camper it would be an ecoboost, but I haul Water to my house and for that combined with the camper towing a would love a diesel.

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[jejeosborne]

We had a V-10 in our 32 foot class A motor home. It had a lot of power. We pulled our Suburban on our car trailer thur the mountains with no trouble at all and it got 9.5 MPG overall. One of our friends has a V-10 in a 3/4 ton he said it get 10 MPG no matter what it pulls or if it is empty on the road and about 8 in town OUCH. Since we will be using the truck when we are not pulling our RV I was thinking a diesel would be nice. Talked to the Ram dealer he said the new V-6 Eco-diesel would be a good choice in a 1/2 ton truck and said it would "run" with trailer because they are rated for 10,000 pounds and save me $4500. The 28 MPG does sound good!

The hemi will out pull the ecodiesel. The ecodiesel would be a good choice for towing smaller loads. It makes good torque but has very low HP ratings. Be careful with the half ton rams because they have the lowest payload capacities of any of the half tons. My favorite truck right now for lighter duty work but I wouldn't categorize your plans as lighter duty. There are half tons available to meet your requirements but towing to Alaska I would probably jump up to a 3/4 ton or find a lighter trailer.

 

[schmism]

2001 5.4L E350 "buss" non-extended. Pulls the 20' 10K equipment trailer. The 16' livestock trailer.

I have my old 94 toyota 4x4 pickup still kicking around that will do light towing. my little 5x10 utility trailer. but the reality is the gas millage isnt all that different between the 2.

 

[RAS323]

We had a V-10 in our 32 foot class A motor home. It had a lot of power. We pulled our Suburban on our car trailer thur the mountains with no trouble at all and it got 9.5 MPG overall. One of our friends has a V-10 in a 3/4 ton he said it get 10 MPG no matter what it pulls or if it is empty on the road and about 8 in town OUCH. Since we will be using the truck when we are not pulling our RV I was thinking a diesel would be nice. Talked to the Ram dealer he said the new V-6 Eco-diesel would be a good choice in a 1/2 ton truck and said it would "run" with trailer because they are rated for 10,000 pounds and save me $4500. The 28 MPG does sound good!

I think the ecodiesel would be perfect for you. It's max towing is 9600#. My research shows 22-24 mpg combined, 28+/- mpg Highway (quite a few over 30 mpg highway) and 12-15 mpg towing 6000-11000#. Other than this sight, I haven't heard anyone complain about the power of the ecodiesel, quite the opposite-most are really impressed with its power. Most if not all, say the ecoboost has much more power but is considerably thirstier (v6 with v8 power and thirst). The first gen cummins had 160 hp and 400#/ft torque (similar to most med duty trucks) and did just fine towing.

 

[fordmantpw]

I think the ecodiesel would be perfect for you. It's max towing is 9600#. My research shows 22-24 mpg combined, 28+/- mpg Highway (quite a few over 30 mpg highway) and 12-15 mpg towing 6000-11000#. Other than this sight, I haven't heard anyone complain about the power of the ecodiesel, quite the opposite-most are really impressed with its power. Most if not all, say the ecoboost has much more power but is considerably thirstier (v6 with v8 power and thirst). The first gen cummins had 160 hp and 400#/ft torque (similar to most med duty trucks) and did just fine towing.

The problem with the EcoDiesel is the payload. The Ram half tons (especially with the heavier diesel) just do not have the payload capacity necessary to tow an 8k lb. load plus haul a family and their gear for camping. Unless, of course, you buy the base model with no options.

 

[bdeboer]

Not sure about the newer 1/2 tons and towing a travel trailer. Went from pulling a 7500lb rv with a '99 1/2 ton, to an '02 K2500 suburban, and finally an 08' 2500 Crew Cab Duramax. They all got the job done but at the end of a day of travelling the Diesel with the stiffer suspension, and plenty of power I was not as exhausted. Didn't feel too much different than driving a car for 10-12 hours. Also we kept water in the tanks for roadside restroom breaks, and didn't worry about how we loaded the camper for pin weight etc.

If just local travel less than 2 hours, I wouldn't hesitate using a 1/2 ton to its limits. It's the longer trips that I would be concerned with.

Also my opinion is that the wind drag of travel trailer makes a huge difference compared to pulling a similar weight load like a skid steer etc.

 

[roadhunter]

The problem with the EcoDiesel is the payload. The Ram half tons (especially with the heavier diesel) just do not have the payload capacity necessary to tow an 8k lb. load plus haul a family and their gear for camping. Unless, of course, you buy the base model with no options.

SSDD. Does it ever get old repeating the same lines over and over. You Ford guys are notorious for this. I've lost count how many times I have listened to you say this same thing about payload. Kinda like the other Ford poster who shows up in every truck thread to tell us how Ford did not take government bailout over and over, and over, and over.

 

[fordmantpw]

Not sure about the newer 1/2 tons and towing a travel trailer. Went from pulling a 7500lb rv with a '99 1/2 ton, to an '02 K2500 suburban, and finally an 08' 2500 Crew Cab Duramax. They all got the job done but at the end of a day of travelling the Diesel with the stiffer suspension, and plenty of power I was not as exhausted. Didn't feel too much different than driving a car for 10-12 hours. Also we kept water in the tanks for roadside restroom breaks, and didn't worry about how we loaded the camper for pin weight etc.

If just local travel less than 2 hours, I wouldn't hesitate using a 1/2 ton to its limits. It's the longer trips that I would be concerned with.

Also my opinion is that the wind drag of travel trailer makes a huge difference compared to pulling a similar weight load like a skid steer etc.

Today's 1/2 tons are worlds ahead of that '99, but I agree with your statement about going with a 3/4 for longer trips.

 

[fordmantpw]

I've lost count how many times I have listened to you say this same thing about payload. Kinda like the other Ford poster who shows up in every truck thread to tell us how Ford did not take government bailout over and over, and over, and over.

You know what, this has nothing to do with brand. Zero! You are trying to make it about brand when it is not. I have personally seen payload stickers on the Ram EcoDiesel at ~850 lbs. That is NOT ENOUGH payload to tow an 8k travel trailer. Period. End of story. 850 lbs of payload is 850 lbs of payload, no matter what brand of truck it is. I have seen payload stickers on loaded up F150's that read around 1000 lbs. (2010 model). I would not recommend that truck for towing an 8k lb. TT either.

If you don't have something constructive to add to help out the OP, then just keep your mouse off the reply button and stay out of the conversation. Geez dude, you really need to get a grip.

SSDD. Does it ever get old repeating the same lines over and over.

Hmmm, I could ask you the same thing. I've lost count of how many times you have posted SSDD to start the conversation.

 

[jejeosborne]

You know what, this has nothing to do with brand. Zero! You are trying to make it about brand when it is not. I have personally seen payload stickers on the Ram EcoDiesel at ~850 lbs. That is NOT ENOUGH payload to tow an 8k travel trailer. Period. End of story. 850 lbs of payload is 850 lbs of payload, no matter what brand of truck it is. I have seen payload stickers on loaded up F150's that read around 1000 lbs. (2010 model). I would not recommend that truck for towing an 8k lb. TT either.

If you don't have something constructive to add to help out the OP, then just keep your mouse off the reply button and stay out of the conversation. Geez dude, you really need to get a grip.

Hmmm, I could ask you the same thing. I've lost count of how many times you have posted SSDD to start the conversation.

Amen. Why do people get upset when facts are stated. It isn't an opinion. These figures are printed in every trucks door sill. Fact of the matter is that the ecodiesel ram isn't suited to haul a 8000 lb trailer trailer unless it is a stripped down version as you mentioned. You added valuable advice to the OP. If the OP wants a ram, I recommend the 2500 series with his trailer. I would buy a ecodiesel over everything else today for trailers half the stated weight but doubt I could find one built to legally tow 8000 lbs with a family or anything besides a driver and one passenger in the truck.

I will add that facts AND opinions are valuable to most discussions. Opinions should be taken with a grain of salt whereas facts are indisputable. Payload numbers are indisputable. Why get upset with someone who relays factual information to someone asking for help? Those who don't like the numbers should be upset with the engineer who rated it or the one who designed it.

 

[roadhunter]

You know what, this has nothing to do with brand. Zero! You are trying to make it about brand when it is not. I have personally seen payload stickers on the Ram EcoDiesel at ~850 lbs. That is NOT ENOUGH payload to tow an 8k travel trailer. Period. End of story. 850 lbs of payload is 850 lbs of payload, no matter what brand of truck it is. I have seen payload stickers on loaded up F150's that read around 1000 lbs. (2010 model). I would not recommend that truck for towing an 8k lb. TT either.

If you don't have something constructive to add to help out the OP, then just keep your mouse off the reply button and stay out of the conversation. Geez dude, you really need to get a grip.



Hmmm, I could ask you the same thing. I've lost count of how many times you have posted SSDD to start the conversation.

It does have to do with brand. It's always the Ford guys who do this. I know it upsets you when I point this out but you guys are predictable as ****. Do we really need to discuss what brands took bailout money years ago? Nope, but the Ford posters still bring it up constantly. Even this week it has been brought up. SSDD.

We all know that stickers and numbers on trucks can't really be trusted as there is not a standard way to report these numbers so they are not consistent. If you dont' think that truck will haul 851 pounds of stuff that is your opinion. I have no doubt that that truck will do just fine with 851 pounds of stuff just like any other 1/2 ton truck with a powerful engine will. You seem to get real caught up with stickers. Look at the power the engine makes and it will be obvious that the truck will do just fine towing. That 1/2 ton pickup has more power than pretty much any diesel truck made in the 90's (6.2, 6.5, 5.9, etc) and those trucks did just fine towing big loads and they had way less power. Myth busted.

You have an agenda and we can all see right through it. It's fine to love your brand but to sit and say the same garbage over and over is ridiculous.

The only people who need to get a grip are you and your Ford buddies who derail every thread with the same garbage. We dont' need you to tell us how terrible the eco diesel is and we dont' need to know what companies took bailout money years ago. Next time you decide to post that same crap keep your finger off the reply button and stay out of the conversation while the adults are talking.

If you really want to know how the ecodiesel tows here is a review of people who actually towed a trailer instead of just looking at a sticker like you did.
2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel Review: Towing and MPG Fuel Economy
Funny it sounds like the truck does pretty well towing. Imagine that. Laffin.