Originally posted by dgerfan
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No problem glad I could help. We're really happy with the space of the crew cab, only downside is a little less payload and the thing is three blocks long in the long bed configuration, but it tows strict as an arrow on the interstate, even in a cross wind. There's no replacement for wheel base.
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My 2 cents on truck shopping: I am a fan of diesels for towing RV's.....anything 10K# or over. Gas can handle it, but not like a diesel. When we went truck shopping last year (we regularly have 3 kids in tow, sometimes 4) I had my wife come with me to make sure she was happy with the interior.
of the 3 main brands out there, here's what we found (2020 year model and above):
RAM (Dodge):
Pros: Cummins engine (look at HO option with 1 ton), very nice, modern interior, options galore (even optional air suspension), Cummins engine much easier to fix if broken (don't have to lift cab to get to engine)
Cons: interior space in back row (crew/mega cab) - this was the killer for my wife, 6 speed transmission (tranny with non-HO engine has known issues), can be super expensive with some of the options, standard diesel has lowest power output of the big 3
Chevrolet/GMC:
Pros: Cheapest (especially during truck month where you can save up to $9000), 10 speed tranny (Allison/GM collaboration), decent interior space, decent interior, Banks Power has a bunch of accessories for Duramax engine, more power than standard Cummins
Cons: Less power than Cummins HO and ford, small touch screen, interior space not as good as Ford, V8 engine difficult to fix (requires lifting cab to do anything major...$$$)
Ford:
Pros: Powerstroke power output, 10 speed tranny, interior space (especially back row in crew cab), Tremor package, aluminum body/bed (lighter weight which increases payload), if you like gas engines the 7.3 is a great option
Cons: Can be expensive, V8 engine difficult to fix (requires lifting cab to do anything major...$$$), aluminum body/bed (more difficult to fix)
I would look at all brands as they all have something good to offer. Overall you can't really go wrong with any of them. Just make sure your wife is happy
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Sorry for the late response, I was working feverishly with a dealer on a 2018 F-350 in MA. that had only 25k miles and was listed for 52k. The dealer purchased the truck from an auction and are sending it back. It turns out that the previous owner made a number of modifications to it to include the emissions systems.
ncitro Thanks for the information on the hassles of living daily with a Super Cab. My child is 6 soon to be 7 and I think my wife would prefer that he is in a seat or booster for the next couple more years. Plus he prefers his seat for long trips because its got a cup holder and place for him to rest his arms.
acoleman43 thanks for the information
howson I was hoping to meet you at the rally. Maybe another time
Now I'm off to look at trucks again.Leave a comment:
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I can tell you with certainty we towed over 30000 lbs with our 2017 F350. Now we would not do it daily but it is capable of that much. Usually we would cap what we towed at 20000.Originally posted by dgerfan View PostAll I need your help! We made a mistake a couple years ago and purchased a gas truck to tow our 8k travel trailer. The truck was more than capable for the no slide travel trailer but we quickly moved to a 36ft 5th wheel that weighs close to 12k. And once we headed West we had difficulty stopping when going down steep grades and struggled in 1st or 2nd gear to make it up these grades. Truck brakes heated up and caused the truck to convulse even after adding disc brakes to the 5ver and putting the gain up to 9. Its time for a diesel truck! Please note we always managed to stay within our Truck and Trailer GVWR, Towing capacity, etc.
I'm looking at a 2017 Ford F-350 which is at a Chevy dealer and the salesperson can't insure what the towing capacity is. He called a Ford store and asked a salesperson to lookup by VIN the towing capacity of the truck. Per the salesperson it can tow 17,000lbs. Well 17,000lbs towing capacity isn't event listed on the 2017 Ford RV & Trailer Towing Guide and I'm not aware of anyway to lookup a Ford Truck's towing capacity by VIN. Here are the specs for the truck in question:
2017 F350 SRW 4x4 Supercab 148" WB
11,500 GVWR
3.31 Axle Ratio
Payload: 3557 lbs (Salesperson send me a picture of the Tire and Loading Information sticker)
Front GAWR: 5200lbs
Rear GAWR: 7230lbs
Tires: LT275/70R18E 125/122R
On the 2017 Ford RV & Trailer Towing Guide when I look in the F-350 SRW Super Duty Pickups 5th-Wheel/Gooseneck Towing section then go to the 3.31 Axle Ratio section and then going to the 4x4 148" WB 6-3/4' Box column. There is only two GCWRs that have a towing number however I don't know the GCWR for this truck and most of them have a annotation (3) = Optional 10,000-lb GVWR Package (68D) however this truck has a 11,500 GVWR.
Why can't Ford be as easy as Chevy/GMC and RAM are. GM puts the sticker on the door and RAM has a lookup by VIN.
Any help is much appreciated. Also I realize that whatever is discussed here isn't gospel and I and I only are responsible for making sure that I'm within compliance.
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2017 TorqShift 6 speed ratios:
1st: 3.97:1
2nd: 2.31:1
3rd: 1.51:1
4th: 1.14:1
5th: 0.85:1
6th: 0.67:1
Reverse: 3.12:1
2020 TorqShift 10 speed ratios:
1st: 4.615:1
2nd: 2.919:1
3rd: 2.132:1
4th: 1.773:1
5th: 1.519:1
6th: 1.277:1
7th: 1.01:1
8th: 0.851:1
9th: 0.687:1
10th:0.632:1
Reverse: 4.695:1
I have the 10 speed with 3.31 rear. I think it's an excellent match. I have best of all worlds....low 1st gear for moving heavy loads from a stop, and high final gear for better MPG. At 70 mph in 10th the tach is at 1520 rpm.Leave a comment:
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dgerfan Now that he mentions it the Super Cab doors (suicide doors we used to call them) opening the other way were the deal breaker for the car seat. Just way to hard to get him up and down with the small opening going the other way. If your kid(s) are not in car seats that will not be an issue but you still have the issue of tight parking lots and opening the doors as well as legroom.Leave a comment:
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dgerfanOriginally posted by howson View Post
Its actually the towing mileage that may suffer a bit with the 3:31 - not much. Empty should be great. In the 2017 Ford has the auto 6 speed which is a little less forgiving in the higher gears than the new 10 speed. In the new 10 speed 1st is lower and 10th higher if I remember correctly.
As Rob said as long as you can stay within the truck payload your good to go. You may need a slider hitch for the 5th wheel. I say may, as ford short beds are a bit longer than the other brands.Leave a comment:
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If you work through the Ford "fine print" on maximum trailer weight, this comes back to payload. They assume that a bumper pull has a 10% tongue weight and a 5th wheel has a 15% pin weight. Neither of these percentages are particularly relevant with RV trailers. If the truck payload will handle the actual pin weight of the 5th wheel (probably 20%+ of trailer weight) and whatever else you put in the truck . . . the rest of the numbers will work out OK.
RobLeave a comment:
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Definitely a unicorn if its a Lariot Super Cab (around here anyway). That's not a bad thing as long as its what you want.Originally posted by dgerfan View Post
We do have one child, he just turned three. I have had this truck since he was about six months old. We just turned him front facing on our last trip, so most of my experience was rare facing. I considered a Super Cab, I wanted a long bed and thought the shorter wheelbase would help with the turning radius some. I test drove one and even brought it home for a day to put my car seat in and out of it, and see what it was like to climb up and put him in it. It was possible, but not easy. The crew cab definitely makes it much easier to get him in, and we have had him in the car seat with four adults for multiple days of travel (my in laws travel with us frequently) with no issue. We usually put him in the middle seat which makes it easy to get things to him and whatnot. We are not full time, but take long trips separated by a few months at home. We just got back from a 10 week trip west from home (NE Illinois) to Rocky Mountain Park, Utah, Teton, Yellowstone, and back. Truck did amazing (as it should, I am nowhere near its limits), and we had plenty of room. Had my sister in law in the back seat with us for two weeks with our son and had plenty of space.Leave a comment:
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ncitro The dealer has the window sticker on the website and it shows its a Lariat. Forgive me for asking, I assume by your profile picture that you have at least one child. Do you think having a SuperCab would be pain on a daily basis? We are full timers.
I can make sense of the chart in post #2. I got the chart I included from the Ford US site and it doesn't even show 3.31 gear ratio for a dually. Also it has the F-350 and F-250 broken out into there own sections.Last edited by dgerfan; 07-28-2021, 02:05 PM.Leave a comment:
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Yeah the fact that its a SuperCab makes it a unicorn by itself. Is it a XLT? With that kind of payload I'd imagine it is. I know around here most SuperCabs were used by guys in the trades and were XL or XLT. It would be rare here to see a SuperCab Lariot or higher.Originally posted by dgerfan View PostLeave a comment:
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