New 1/2 Ton Pickup vs. Older Heavy Duty for Towing?

quote:

Could a new F-150 with the Max Tow Package (rated at nearly 12k lbs) replace an older F-350 diesel for 9-10k lbs of enclosed trailer?

I doubt it. I had on 04 Ford F150 with the 5.4 and the tow package. It towed my toy hauler fine on flat ground. It would sway when a semi passed me. On hills it would down shift and wind out and slow down.

I sold it and bought an 06 Ram 3500 Diesel. It climbs the same hills in overdrive and doesn't sway when semi's pass me.

I will never go back.

You've really got to know how much weight you're really hauling to know what to do. Most people really underestimate what a trailer with a fully dressed car (even a "small" Pantera) weighs. The only way you'll really know is to go on a truck scale at either a truck stop or a grain elevator to know - and you still won't know what the trailer truly weighs unless you put the jack down and lift it off the truck, with the truck off the scale at one end. I just did this with my 24' aluminum trailer with an additional 6' V nose with a loaded 1972 New Yorker sedan in it and I know for a fact that this setup weighs 11,300 pounds by itself. Now yes, the 72 New Yorker is a very large car - but I thought I was more in the 10,000 pound range, and I wasn't even close.

If you have one of those really super lightweight aluminum trailers like a Aerovault or a Trailex - then I would say you probably could get away with using a half ton pickup. These two trailers can only haul smaller cars - I think a Ford Mustang or Chevy Camaro would be pushing it with these trailers - and you would really want to know the dimensions and carrying capacity of the trailer before you purchased one so you know you wouldn't have something too small.

Anything more substantial than that and I would go with a 3/4 or 1 ton Ram with a 6.7L Cummins diesel. The suspension can handle the trailer load, and that Cummins from 2015 and newer is a winner all day long if you do any distance. There's a reason you see the travel trailer delivery guys all using Ram pickups with the Cummins - it works effortlessly. Yes, I am biased on the Ram truck, but there's one more thing that no one who hasn't driven one will know. The Jake brake feature on these Cummins engines really works - like REALLY works. Put it in Towing mode and you barely have to touch the brakes coming off a ramp - you've got to give yourself some room to utilize the Jake brake, but it works the best of any from the big three, and I've driven them all. The Jake brake works really well on a descending hill holding the truck and the trailer back - I will never look back, even if the Ram is more money. It's money well spent.

It is hard to beat a Ford F350 with a 7.3. You know you don't want to weigh your load when it bows the equipment trailer.

There are sway bars for trailers and...THEY WORK!!! Trust me!

I have similar memories with my old F-350 DRW and hot rod motor. 100mph with a 1967 Buick Riviera loaded up comes to mind.

There are videos on Youtube of the new F-150 V6 Ecoboost towing 7000lbs + up the big hill on I-70 West of Denver. Apparently, it will tackle just about any grade and exceed the speed limit at will.

The braking and downhill grade assist features appear to work well too.

What I'm wondering is if the performance of the *new* half tons (2014+) is making the HD truck argument obsolete.

Is it tougher to justify an HD truck today if you're not towing over 10k lbs on a regular basis?

LSJ

try a duel rear tire set up that works as we regularly haul 10,000 lbs. up and down mountains and across the interstate. takes the sway and interesting moments out of your trip.

I think a lot depends on what frequency you tow and distances. There's a lot of good info provided in prior responses, most people don't think about load distribution and tongue weight impact.

Personally I keep an F-250 SD for towing to the races. In my experience the weakest link is an automatic transmission.

Check out this forum:
http://www.ram1500diesel.com/
Ram really did a great job with the 1500 EcoDiesel 1/2 ton pickup. I agree with Gary on the Ram Cummins diesel, however if you only do lighter towing (trailer with a Pantera) you may get by with the Ram 1500. If you are constantly towing go with the Cummins it's an amazing package. My neighbor has the Ram/Cummins 3500 and tows constantly and traded his Ford F350 with a diesel for the Ram.

If you are only doing occasional towing but drive the truck on a daily basis and need something that is more comfortable and gets some pretty amazing mileage look at the 1500 EcoDiesel. They tested this truck with the 1500 3.0 diesel twin turbo and it went from New Jersey to Laguna Hills CA and averaged 41mpg (highway mileage of course, no trailer and a skilled eco friendly driver)! This test was done by an independent green magazine. If you read this forum from current owners they get high 25-30mpg regularly. The engine was developed by Fiat prior to being brought to the US. Its a pretty surprising package for a small diesel and if you buy a 2016 you can get on with most the bells and whistles in the low $40k range as Ram dealers make way for 2017's.

I had no issues pulling a '66 Galaxie Convertible big-block on an open trailer with the bed and cabin fully loaded with parts for 5 hours with my '13 F150 with a 5.0L and 2WD. Very smooth and stable, and rated for 7,800lbs with the highway gear, so no way it could pull the kind of weight you're looking at.

With the right options, it's supposed to be good to 10k, but I would feel safer with the F-350 for pulling that kind of load and doing so on a regular basis.