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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