sunset trail st32rl pulling

[mikefarm]

My vote here is the 2500 diesel, the difference is towing is amazing and you won't worry about it. If your pushing the limits of the TV you're worried about that and where you go, what the weather is etc. Recently upgraded our TV and Trailer and will never go back to a gasser for towing.. The new diesel gets great mpg on interstate and isn't bad around town. I had a QX which burned premium, got worse mpg than my 2500 and gas was more $ than diesel here in IL. For what it's worth maybe you should look at the dodge (sorry couldn't resist - lol)

[BessieHunter]

I went with a 1 ton dually. The only draw back is its a crew cab with an eight foot bed, add the 36 feet of trailer and you got a long setup. Camp grounds just do not seen to be set up for this long of a rig. But, I would not change a thing, the higher GVW rating of the truck means I don't have to watch what I load into the bed of the truck when I am pulling the trailer. By the way, my tongue weight is close to 1300 pounds.

[Ken]

I was debating this topic for months and 4 weeks ago I bought a new Ram 3500 diesel crew cab SRW and will never go back to a gasser. We went out and test drove all the diesels and to be honest Dodge was originally last on my list but it really impressed me. I moved from a 2005 Chevy 1500HD with the 6.0 and it towed my trailer fine but it is nothing like the new diesel. I shopped around for a month and I was pretty much set on getting a used one for around $30,000 with some what low miles until I found a brand new 2012 sitting on a lot 100 miles away. I picked it up for $32,000 and got 2% interest with no money down. Shop around there are some trucks sitting on lots that they just need to get rid of and go diesel and don't look back. It is awesome setting cruise control at 65 and the truck never down shifts going up and down hills.

[Fatboy666]

Buy the Duramax HD diesel w/ the Allison transmission. You won't regret it.

[Bert]

I got rid of my 03 Chevy 1500 HD and purchased an 09 Chevy 3500 HD swd 6.6 probably more truck than I needed but I love it. As it's diesel it will last a long time.

[Roadie66]

X2 Fatboy666

[zrxkuma]

towed my ST32RL with my 2007 F150 5.4L rated at 9,500lbs for almost a year. bought the trailer knowing i would want to upgrage the truck sooner or later. went with a larger truck due to the fact that we like to go dirt biking and to motorcycle road races, both require bikes and generators in the back that the F150 couldn't handle. I towed through the western part of Virginia with the F150 and kept weights low and a weather eye on tranny temps and crossed over some big mountians at 50mph. It works with an F150 but you have no margin for additional toys and your not going to break any speed records doing it. As stated before, if your a flat lander who tows 4-5 times a year in a 3-4 hour radious, the 150/1500 will be ok but not great.
we ended up with a 2012 F250 gas. I never owned a diesel, towed for 5 days crossing country with one just didn't won, and I also ride motorcycles so I am used to power bands being in the mid to upper RPM range as opposed to diesels power down low so I don't mind the engine reving up high to get up and over mountains. If you can get used to putting the engine in the RPM range that it was desinged for, gas is fine. It's like a crotch rocket versus a Harley, 14,000rpm on the sport bike....4,000rpm on the harley.

[Tim D]

[QUOTE=zrxkuma;84004]we ended up with a 2012 F250 gas.

I was looking at a 2011 F250 Gas 6.2L. What kind of real world fuel economy did you get? How is the power compared to the diesel?

[Fatboy666]

Originally Posted by zrxkuma

towed my ST32RL with my 2007 F150 5.4L rated at 9,500lbs for almost a year. bought the trailer knowing i would want to upgrage the truck sooner or later. went with a larger truck due to the fact that we like to go dirt biking and to motorcycle road races, both require bikes and generators in the back that the F150 couldn't handle. I towed through the western part of Virginia with the F150 and kept weights low and a weather eye on tranny temps and crossed over some big mountians at 50mph. It works with an F150 but you have no margin for additional toys and your not going to break any speed records doing it. As stated before, if your a flat lander who tows 4-5 times a year in a 3-4 hour radious, the 150/1500 will be ok but not great.
we ended up with a 2012 F250 gas. I never owned a diesel, towed for 5 days crossing country with one just didn't won, and I also ride motorcycles so I am used to power bands being in the mid to upper RPM range as opposed to diesels power down low so I don't mind the engine reving up high to get up and over mountains. If you can get used to putting the engine in the RPM range that it was desinged for, gas is fine. It's like a crotch rocket versus a Harley, 14,000rpm on the sport bike....4,000rpm on the harley.

It's all about torque. The diesel as well as the Harley.

[zrxkuma]

Tim D, as far as gas fuel economy goes, I get in the low 10's towing in mountains and mid 11's on the all flat eastern side of Virginia/Maryland. I have the 3.73 gear. As a daily driver, it does what my 5.4L F150 did on my 25 mile mixed commute did...16-18.

Fatboy, agreed. tourque is king with towing, and with riding on a bike with a passenger with overnight supplies loaded in saddlebags. the question comes down to how heavy is your trailer and how important is it for you to put it on 65mph cruise control and "never" have the transmission shift gears. for me and my 9,500lb trip ready trailer, the deal I got at the beginning of the year on a 2012 XLT 250 gas put the desicion to bed on gas vs diesel.

[stelrs59]

Most trucks can tow anything, but what I did not see in in any post was the ability to stop safely. We had a 2004. Chevy avalanche. Great truck. Loved it, but our old trailer weight was around 6200.lbs, the avalanche pulled it but at times going down the blue mountains stopping was at times a challenge. With our new camper and awesome new truck new camper dry weight is around 7400lbs stopping is no longer a issue. The engine brake (Jake brake) works fantastic. All im saying is you want you and your family to be safe as possible when towing . Its your decision on what you want to do. And also what the bank account has in it. Lol. Just be safe in all your travels,

[Ken]

x2 on the stopping, I was just towing my trailer down a fairly large hill today and I was pointing it out to my wife how our old 2500 Chevy 6.0 would be pushed down the hill by the trailer but the diesel keeps it from pushing I didn't have to hit the brake once and it maintained a 65mph speed all the way down and that was not using the engine brake.

[zrxkuma]

I kept my weight in Standards and had a properly adjusted Good quality brake controller and Never had a Problem stopping or Feeling pushed while stopping. I also have gone a Down 6 mile 7% Grade on One of my Ursula routes multiple times. Down the Mountain, i had Overdrive locked Out and had to Hit my brakes occasionally. I was deffinately Not Riding the brakes, nor did i Feel like a Run away Train. The Trailer is within a properly Equiped 150/1500 Range if you Pay attention as long as your prepared to do a little more than Push the tow/Haul Button and Set Cruise Control. I notice no difference braking on the F250 from the F150. Obviously the Engine braking on decents is a great addition on the F250

[Coopers_dad]

I love the engine braking of the 6.7 we were crossing upstate NY last week and must have found every single steep climb and steep descent. I would have found another route with my last truck but my 6.7 races up the hills and descends without touching the brakes.

As for fuel economy we did 518 miles with a 15.6mpg average less than 50 miles of hwy. Our previous trip had mostly HWY and we got 16.4mpg which is better than my last truck got unloaded.