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Old 06-14-2018, 07:27 AM   #1
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Tow vehicle

Wife and will start full time living and traveling in about a year. Will be towing 10k give or take. Opting for a F350 gasser SRW because of payload. Shortbed or longbed. Haven’t decided. Sound about right?
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Old 06-14-2018, 07:29 AM   #2
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What size Airstream will you be towing?
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Old 06-14-2018, 08:02 AM   #3
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30’ classic or bigger.
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Old 06-14-2018, 08:04 AM   #4
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30’ -33’
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Old 06-14-2018, 08:35 AM   #5
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New or used? Are you going to carry a lot of stuff in the truck? Do you like driving a big truck? Me, I would at least look at the diesel if buying new. Gas probably if buying used.
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Old 06-14-2018, 08:38 AM   #6
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Greetings from the Florida Panhandle

First off, welcome to the Forums. We're glad to have you with us. We had 2011 Silverado 3500 crew cab, long bed until last October when we traded for a 2018 Silverado 2500 crew cab, standard bed. The long bed was nice, but made for an extremely long truck that sometimes created maneuvering issues. We find the shorter bed easier to handle and still have plenty of room for all our stuff.


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Old 06-14-2018, 08:59 AM   #7
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New or used? Are you going to carry a lot of stuff in the truck? Do you like driving a big truck? Me, I would at least look at the diesel if buying new. Gas probably if buying used.


I’m interested in your logic on this. Sure, diesel has higher resale but also ages better.
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Old 06-14-2018, 09:02 AM   #8
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If you have the money to trade up to a new truck every couple years, a diesel might be something to consider.

As for size, a 3/4 ton would suffice, a 1 ton would be fine too.

I went with an F250 4x4 crew cab 6.2 gas motor. It's a rough rider empty, but tows like a dream, and has 3,111 lbs. payload.
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Old 06-14-2018, 11:06 AM   #9
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Titke

Unless someone gives me the money, I will buy used. It will be our home, so want a truck that can carry the tools etc to maintain my home. I don’t want the upfront expense of a diesel , not to mention fuel and maintenance costs which are are considerably higher. I will have a fiberglas cover and probably a full length drawer system in the bed stuffed full plus boondocking necessities.
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Old 06-14-2018, 11:21 AM   #10
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A distance of 10K is not a lot of miles. A lot of commuters put on 25K a year. So, what other duty will your tow vehicle see? Is that 10K all towing or just part of the plan?

Next - what gear will you carry with you? How much has to be in the Tow Vehicle and what can be transported in the coach? More in the TV = higher payload requirement. Less can make your life much simpler, which is usually the intent of a traveling small foot print lifestyle.

A shorter tow vehicle, as long as it has at least a 120 in wheelbase, is easier to use on a day to day basis. From the experience my brother-in-law has had with diesel, I'd stay with gas. While I enjoy a turbo, for heavy towing, I'd look very closely at going naturally aspirated unless I was going to do most of my travel in the mountains. Most trucks have a high center of gravity. Unless that additional clearance is required for your off road use, find as low a vehicle as possible and adjust your travel speed lower as the height of the vehicle increases. Big brakes and a proportional integrated brake controller are key to towing safety.

All about RVing is a compromise. Make good choices from an informed set of data. Learn from your experience and the experience of others. Spend your budget on your needs. Ignore your wants. Doing with less gear, less energy, and less speed delivers ecconomy and safety.

Good luck with your TV choice. Pat

PS - convinced a 27 is the best of all worlds. Less to tow, less to park, and lower cost. Figure out what works for you. Pick one up from someone who must have a 30/33. You will do well.
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Old 06-14-2018, 11:59 AM   #11
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10k refers to weight of airstream. My choice would be 6.2 gasser. I want all the payload I can get on SRW. GM or Ram in same configuration is not out of the question, but seems Ford has best payload with creature comforts inside for the ride. Also crew cab would be my choice.
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Old 06-14-2018, 06:40 PM   #12
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Thanks for the info. Some more to chew on.
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Old 06-15-2018, 05:33 AM   #13
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Long bed obviously offers more storage, as you've indicated you'd prefer. You mention purchasing used, depending upon year, it also offers the option of a stock 48 gallon fuel tank, if you can find one.
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Old 06-16-2018, 07:46 AM   #14
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Thanks. We will ultimately be towing a used classic 30’/31’ or same length excella. Using airstreams classic weight rating of 10,000 lbs. as a benchmark of tow weight. That would leave me approx. 2500 lbs. of leeway under max. of tow vehicle, the way I like it. Ford, GM, and Ram have 3/4-1 ton heavy duty pickups that run large naturally aspirated gas engines that can handle that all day long. After +/- 10% tongue weight I want to have plenty of payload capacity, but not at the expense of unreliability in my TV. I would appreciate any and every experience in using these trucks in an upper trim package specifically ability and reliability. I will be retired, so a hot rod is not necessary
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Old 06-16-2018, 09:38 AM   #15
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We are somewhat experienced Airstreamers (12 years/1,900 nights/180,000 miles of towing). We have had four tow vehicles, two gas and two Diesel. Two were 3/4 ton Suburbans and two pick-up trucks. One of these was a one ton long bed Silverado, and the other a 3/4 ton standard bed Silverado.

We are not full timers, but have been out in the Airstream 43% of our time over the last twelve years. We have been gone from home for as long as 109 days straight. We are currently writing this post from Arizona.

Here, in a nut shell is our tow vehicle experience. Because of our heavy travel schedule, we have always maintained two two vehicles at a time. Originally, we used two Suburban 2500s. Both had the 6.0 liter gasoline engine. These always did an adequate job of towing the Airstream in all situations. We have been towing a 25FB weighing 7,400# with a 900# tongue weight. In 2011 we added a one ton Silverado Diesel crew cab long bed. This move was mandated by the addition of an Outfitter truck camper that weighed 3,000#. We continued to tow the Airstream with the truck camper rig. The Diesel was not an option as we grossed about 19,000# going down the road. We were beyond the reasonable capabilities of any gas engine truck out there. We kept one of the Suburbans for our winter towing needs.

We kept this set-up until 2017 when we decided to go in a different direction. We sold the truck camper and towed with the 2011 Silverado for a while. We had never owned a Diesel before, and found its towing capabilities amazing. In October of last year, we decided to trade the 2011 Silverado (140,000 miles) on a new truck. After much consideration and soul searching, we traded for a 2018 Silverado 2500 crew cab standard bed with the Diesel engine. I had become spoiled by the Diesel's capabilities. Plus, we found the eight foot bed cumbersome.

The new truck is fitted with an aluminum topper that has a side tool box and access doors to make it very usable. It can store all of our stuff plus our Honda 3000 generator. I have included a few pictures of our topper rig on the new truck.

The bottom line on tow vehicles is that the engines last forever. It's the other stuff that starts breaking. We have been sidelined with all kinds of truck problems such as alternators, fan clutches, power steering motors, brake lines, computer control modules, power window switches, air conditioners, and other issues. Our poor old 2005 Suburban is closing in on 200,000 miles, and seems to have repair issues on a regular basis. Most recently I had to replace two of the door catches.

I hope that this information will help you in your tow vehicle decision making process. Good luck in your quest.

Brian
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Old 06-16-2018, 10:54 AM   #16
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For your limited mileage, the gasser will work. Certainly less expensive in the used market. The diesel will pull better. Remember to check the payload sticker on the drivers door jamb.
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Old 06-16-2018, 01:42 PM   #17
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That’s really my dilemma. If Toyota offered a 3/4 or 1 ton we wouldn’t be having this conversation. They never need repairs in my experience. I own 2 with close to 400k miles between them. So I’m looking for reliability issues on the big 3. I don’t need a diesel for what I’m planning, although down the road who knows. I want to keep 15% or more headroom in my TVs tow capacity and my payload thus the same on my TVs gcwr.
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Old 06-16-2018, 03:48 PM   #18
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...The new truck is fitted with an aluminum topper that has a side tool box and access doors to make it very usable. It can store all of our stuff plus our Honda 3000 generator...

Your truck is one of the most well though-out tv’s I’ve ever seen.
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Old 06-16-2018, 03:58 PM   #19
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We have just traded in our Classic 30 and 2500HD diesel for a Pleasure-Way Class B. At oir age, time to downsize!

But for my Money that truck was just a perfect match - we had a crew cab version that was great for carrying more valuable stuff we wanted to keep inside, and we had a Leer cap on the regular length bed to protect stuff that wasn't so important. That combination worked very well for us for ten years use!

Even this truck was a bit of a chore sometimes to park, and I don't think I would have wanted anything any longer as it was also our daily driver!

That was about the only down side! (of course now we will have a van that is even longer - but at least better forcamping in state parks! And we have s small car to drive every day!)

Best of luck with whatever you decide!

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Old 06-16-2018, 05:20 PM   #20
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I saw a F250 Ford gas on the gauntlet test. It did very very well. You might want to check that out. The only difference between and F250 and 350 from what I understand are the springs. I have a friend who has an F350 and he says he would never want it for a daily driver. Way too stiff. He uses it for towing his work equipment. I think an F250 is a much more smooth ride from what I’ve been told. Something to think about. My next truck will be an F250. I have an F150 right now. It does fine for towing my 28’. But the F250 is better on payload, and when I retire in a few years want to do more traveling and that means more stuff to pack.
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