A few days ago, I ran some numbers through Ford's website, and found some F250's for just over $21K, with diesel powerplants. The Armada is currently about $35K, and the Titan isn't a whole lot cheaper than that. Add to that a 3/4 ton truck will have an easier time towing than the 1/2 ton Titan. The Titan will get about 16 mpg not towing, and around 9 towing. Add at least 3-5 mpg for the bigger diesel, even with the higher cost of the fuel.
I have an F250 with a 5.8, and I have wished I had more under the hood when dragging 7,000 pounds up the side of a hill...
This pretty much sums it up nicely. No one ever complains about their tow vehicle being too good.
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Computers manufactured by companies such as IBM, Compaq and millions of others are by far the most popular with about 70 million machines in use worldwide. Macintosh fans note that cockroaches are far more numerous than humans and that numbers alone do not denote a higher life form. -NY Times 1991
Just to add my.02 worth. I have had both 1/2 and 3/4 ton trucks and suspect that either will work - especially with the smaller trailers. But, as has been pointed out there is a big wieght range in what you are considering. My old 1975 TradeWind weighs 4100 dry, the 1986 is about 5300 dry and well over 6000 ready to go. My previous truck was a 1994 K1500 with the underpowered 6.2 diesel (175? hp and 370 torque at 1800). It handled the 75 AS without a problem and gave good fuel economy 13 to 18 towing, hills vs flat Indiana 55 mph highway.
However, I'm not sure that I'd like that truck with the heavier trailer. Newer truck is a K2500HD with the 6.6 diesel (300 hp and 520 torque ath 1800) and it does a great job. With the 75 AS you really did not know it was there, and it handles the heavier trailer just fine. I get about 15 to 16 mpg towing and 20 solo.
Alot depends on where you are going and how you will use the truck when not towing. I like the fact that the 3/4 ton can keep up with traffic and can merge on a freeway, important if you are going to be going through large cities or cover mountainous territory.
I agree with what others have said: Get the trailer first and then get the truck to match. And get the REAL trailer weight ready to go. I'd be more concerned about truck engine torque - especially with a gasoline engine. You want torque at low engine RPM to get the load moving. Axle ratio is also important as it determines towing capacity.
Downside to a heavier truck: more expensive, tires and parts cost more. Also, they tend to sit higher which makes getting in and out and loading more difficult. However, you can get a diesel in the 3/4 ton which is very desireable (IMO) for towing.
Look around - I've heard that there are some great deals on trucks out there. While I like my current vehicle I would not hesitate to buy one of the other brands; they all have strong and weak points. (I bought the current truck after the old one was towed back to the dealer for a failed injection pump, the early elctonic ones were not too reliable. I was ready to buy a used truck and had listings for ones in the area. The salesman gave me a very good trade-in so I went new.)
Spend some time reading other opinions here and elsewhere. Good luck with whatever you decide.
Like Robert Cross was saying..... I've also been there, done that.
Had a Dodge 4.7L V8 P/u and towed my 25 ft AS Safari. My truck also can and "did" tow 7200 lbs. BUT, was some degree of effort. Unless you like "sweating the load" on watching your temperature gage and slowly going up hills because your truck bed is full, your AS fridge is full, you've got "stuff" in the trailer for your "2 week" vacation and OH, let's not forget the family or friends that are with you, it's not going to be a nice and relaxing vacation!
The AS dealer also told me when I asked if my truck could pull the AS 25 ft. the dealer said.... "come over here" he points to the "V8" emblem on my truck and said "yes you can tow it". Well yes, he was right to a point but....
The best thing I did was sell my 05 Dodge to my son and bought a Dodge 6.7L Diesel. Yes, fuel (not gas) is more expensive, but mileage is better, I can run the AC, wife is happy (and that's what really counts !), and I now enjoy my trips with my AS without worrying about "weight" and 1/2 full propane tanks. Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth.
__________________ "Better to have more then you need, then need more then you have because you don't have enough!" AIR #: 8129
Lots of good avice but nothing addressing power AND economy.
I tow with a Dodge RAM 2500 Cummins diesel 12 valve.Lots of power in the mountains towing my 29er and average mpg Seattle to Alberta was 17--and there were lots of mountains in the way!
My 1994 Dodge now has 180k miles on it and is barely broken in! Very reliable.
They used this engine in small logging trucks on Vancouver Island and routinely got 500-700k miles out of them.
I trusted that Cummins to carry a heavy camper to Tambora[South of Mazatlan] from Vancouver Island and back in '03---not a single problem.Done many other long trips since without a single problem.Only motor for me!
My caution is that expressed by my insurance agent. In the event of accident, if I'm exceeding the tow capacity of my vehicle, it could end up being my problem. Jack
The only problem with Cummins is the chassis in which they are mounted. Swiss cheese frames weak steering boxes less then capeable tranny and transfer case. This was all documented by chrysler. If they are parked on a not level surface with a load complaints have come in of steering alignment problems due to frame twist. Ya Cummins builds 1 hell of an engine. They all have been horribly detuned for there chassis. I don know that the Duraturd is any better, lord knows powerstroke (international) has had there issues. I hope the new breed of deisels is better but the added maintenance of deisel isnt hardly worth it.(oil capacity) ect... I wouldnt own one because deisel is so close to heating oil in refineing, that is why the price is so volital.
We just bought a 25ft. 1991 Excella, we agonized over what to pull it with and thought we would try the vehicle we currently had, a 2003 Lincoln Aviator... man were we wrong!! We quickly took it back off the interstate and cancelled our trip. As they say, the tail was wagging the dog big time!! We then tried to figure out what would do the best pulling this trailer safetly and after looking at several 1/2 ton trucks and considering that we live up in the mountains and do a lot of pulling up steep grades, we settled on a 3/4 Ton F-250 desiel. The truck pulls the trailer very nicely and even when large semi's pass by, we don't feel a thing. If a feeling of confidence and safety are important, we would definately suggest this size of vehicle. You can certainly pull a trailer this size with a 1/2 ton truck and I would only suggest it if you aren't going to use your trialer very much.
The only problem with Cummins is the chassis in which they are mounted. Swiss cheese frames weak steering boxes less then capeable tranny and transfer case. This was all documented by chrysler. If they are parked on a not level surface with a load complaints have come in of steering alignment problems due to frame twist. Ya Cummins builds 1 hell of an engine. They all have been horribly detuned for there chassis. I don know that the Duraturd is any better, lord knows powerstroke (international) has had there issues. I hope the new breed of deisels is better but the added maintenance of deisel isnt hardly worth it.(oil capacity) ect... I wouldnt own one because deisel is so close to heating oil in refineing, that is why the price is so volital.
I guess you didn't read my post too closely.
This truck has travelled backroad Mexico,mountains of Northern BC and the endless expanses of the badlands and prairies--never stumbled once!
Swiss cheese frame is an unwarranted exaggeration.You buy what you want and I will buy another Dodge 250 Cummins without hesitation--if I ever wear this one out!!
I have talked to a few people that were pulling Airstream from 25-27 ft with a Nissan titan and they had pretty good things to say. One couple was a elderly couple that had been fulltiming it for 6mths, and are probably still full timing it. the other guy complained more about his window not working correctly and some other stuff then the towing capability.
that being said if your looking for a titan My cousin's husband just went and bought a new 4x4 4door at a dealership in Joplin Mo they are selling them from 25 to 45% of sticker i know he got a hell of a deal on his.
on a personal note i pull a 29ft er with a 2000 Z71 5.3liter Chevy it is really under powered if am pulling up a real step grad or hilly country but i plan on ether upgrading to ether a 6.0 liter gm or duramax have yet to decide
The 2008 Tundra CrewMax 5.7L V8 4X4 has a rated capacity of 10,100 pounds for towing. My new Safari 25 SS/SE has a weight of about 5500 dry weight. Even fully loaded, I'm still going to come in under the recommended 80%. The 28 foot International CCD has a GVWR of 7300 pounds. It sounds perfectly reasonable to me to be towing with this truck. I've spent a lot of time researching on Tundra Solutions forums, and there are lots of reports of people towing much larger fifth wheels than this. I haven't yet made a purchase, but I've found that a lot of people are basing their decisions on personal experience, rather than published data (which is understandable). I've decided to research my decision, rather than use a lot of anecdotal reports of "the right way" to do it.
As many have pointed out, it's not the towing capacity of the Tundra, it is the fact that with only a 1560 lb. PAYLOAD limit, by the time you put-on 700 to 800 lbs. of hitch weight, then add fuel, people, propane, and some extra junk in the bed, your over the limit. The tow capacity is based on an empty vehicle, with 1 (one) 150lb. person in vehicle, and NOTHING else.
Horsepower is not the issue, weight of vehicle for stability, and payload capacity are. Many of the older simi-trucks of the past had only 200 to 250 HP, but had chassis weight, and carrying capacity to haul to the licencing limits of govt. agencys.
This truck has travelled backroad Mexico,mountains of Northern BC and the endless expanses of the badlands and prairies--never stumbled once!
Swiss cheese frame is an unwarranted exaggeration.You buy what you want and I will buy another Dodge 250 Cummins without hesitation--if I ever wear this one out!!
I repeat Cummins is a great motor, The Dodge issues are just that and documented by Dodge. Hopefully they have or will correct them. Also can you tell I like Ford dont worry I get my fair share at the track from the chevy guys.
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