buying a towing vehicle

[DHart]

Originally Posted by m.hony

I do agree that the GM Duramax/Allison are the best pick of 3/4 ton and 1 ton trucks.

I am a fleet manager of 400 or so mostly GM fleet vehicles, which includes maybe 25 GM Duramax/Allison pickups.

My boss has a Chevrolet Silverado High Country 2500HD Duramax/Allison. It is a beautiful, smooth, quiet truck. It is all personal choice.

To each his own, different strokes and all that.

m.hony, I agree with your comments that I have quoted. And my preferred vehicles are full-size Chevys and GMCs. We each have our different preferences and there is nothing wrong with that.

My view is that if the 1/2 ton meets your needs well and you don't want another truck, great! Keep it as long as it serves you well.

But if the 1/2 ton doesn't meet your particular needs well, you want another truck and have the means to acquire it... go for it and buy something else.

Originally Posted by m.hony

Another thing is: what did you have before purchasing the Airstream?
Nothing? Buy a 3/4 ton diesel.
1/2 ton truck? Use it.

Yes, diesel pickups are a good choice/good fit for many, but so are 1/2 ton trucks.

We went from a 44' diesel pusher and a Yukon Denali to the Airstream. The Yukon did not have the cargo capacity in size, nor in weight, for our particular needs with the new Airstream and our cargo requirements, so we decided to buy a truck.

Initially, we considered a number of 1/2 ton trucks; loved the 1/2 ton Sierra Denali and Silverado/Sierra 1/2 tons, but we needed more cargo capacity and pulling power, thus we selected the Denali HD 3/4 ton, with Duramax/Allison. Thrilled with the decision. It has turned out to be a great choice.

[m.hony]

Another consideration when purchasing a tow vehicle:
How deep are your pockets?
If you have the money then go ahead and buy a $65,000 diesel pickup.
I might be among the minority, but I'm poor and broke, living paycheck to paycheck.
Others may have the financial means to make it happen.
A car note at this point would totally upset the apple cart.
Maybe there are many on here who are not in that boat and can pay cash or afford the note if financed.
Me? I have a excellent, nearly new condition 1/2 ton with 49,000 miles snd tires 1 1/2 years old. It just ain't time yet.
I guess due to my loyalty to Toyota my heart sinks in my chest when I read about a 'Forum member trading a Toyota for a Ford or Ram.
Maybe when I do need another tow vehicle I can buy a newer, lower miles Tundra from a 'Forums member who is wanting a 3/4 diesel.



Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

[DHart]

Originally Posted by m.hony

Another consideration when purchasing a tow vehicle:
How deep are your pockets?

Absolutely. All of the considerations being tossed around here are subject to the individual's financial wherewithal.

[Tater]

Chrisy, my wife and I went through the same consideration last year and decided as you on a 15 Silverado Duramax LTZ. Only difference is that we opted for 2WD instead of 4WD. 31K miles and couldn't be happier.

[DHart]

Chrisy.... if you got 4WD, you will be thrilled to have it if you like to explore in the many National Forests in the USA.

The other day we followed our friends (they in their Jeep Wrangler) over some difficult terrain at 13,000 feet elevation, here in the Colorado rockies, that the truck handled with ease. It has enough ground clearance to allow nice off-road exploring and enough grip with 4WD high and low to pull through dicey spots. The street tires are not terribly well suited to off-roading, but are adequate for a moderate amount of it, certainly national forest dirt and gravel trails. And of course, if you like to off road a lot, you can always get some tires that will be somewhat or a LOT more suitable to that duty.

[BoldAdventure]

Good tires on your truck are a must if you want to really get off road and hit some good boondocking spots. You never know when that spot might turn into a mud pit. I know a lot of folks advocate highway tires. I'm not one of those people, for obvious reasons:

[DHart]

Originally Posted by BoldAdventure

Good tires on your truck are a must if you want to really get off road and hit some good boondocking spots. You never know when that spot might turn into a mud pit. I know a lot of folks advocate highway tires. I'm not one of those people, for obvious reasons

So true! And isn't it wonderful to get to a beautiful campsite and then be able to explore the dirt and gravel trails to find great view points, without worrying about getting stuck because of not having 4WD. In the San Juans a couple of days ago.. about 13,000 feet elevation, near Telluride:



The key, if you want a pretty nice ride on the road AND decent off-road performance, is to find just the right tires which can offer a good compromise. There is always a compromise of one sort or another to be made with any choice. Of course if off-roading is paramount, then more compromise in the on-road aspect may be warranted.

BA... we're north of you in the San Juans (Rockies), though not boon-docking. Amazing fall colors here and awesome to have a good 4WD truck with us!

Did you just happen to bump into another Airstreamer at your boon dock spot?

And, if you haven't visited Mesa Verde National Park (just west of your present location) it is AMAZING.

[BoldAdventure]

That would be our pals WanderWasi; whom we've hung out with about 5 times now. They came up to this spot on Friday and invited us to head down from Grand Junction and join them. And a 3rd Airstreamer WanderingWithPurpose joined us along with a non-Airstreamer TheRoamingPint. And we're all heading down to the Balloon Festival in ABQ next week.

We're hitting up Mesa Verde after work tomorrow.


-----

AT's don't always offer the best MPG but they can usually handle a variety of on/off road conditions. We moved up a plus size in E load range.

[biyak269]

We have an F250 to tow our 27FB Classic. It tows fine but the unloaded ride quality is punishing.

[carl2591]

when you are not hitched I try reduce air pressure.. front at 45 and rear at 50 or less. makes the ride a WHOLE lot better. tryit..

Originally Posted by biyak269

We have an F250 to tow our 27FB Classic. It tows fine but the unloaded ride quality is punishing.

[Howard L.]

Here you go. Love it.

[djarrett]

We too recently purchased a 25 foot Eddie Bauer with twin AC units. I had a very well built Land Rover LR3, and it was within the tow limits but barely so when adding gear, etc.

So after research, we went with a gasser 2015 F250. I don't drive far enough each day in my work commute to warrant a diesel and honestly, the truck that delivered our Airstream to us from Texas was a Dodge Diesel and it left so much black soot on the front of our AS, that I decided it simply is not as clean a fuel as they say.

I went with BF Goodrich All Terrains (KO2's). Warn Hidden Mount (to keep the factory look) and a Come UP 12K winch (just in case). Rear Diamond Back cover for storing two Honda EU2000 Generators.
The truck is every bit as nice as my wife's big body Range Rover. No regrets here, and it is nice to have something I can haul stuff in if I have a weekend project.

[carl2591]

nice ride for sure.. love that front bumper wrench set up.. how much them dudes run with wrench??

also the truck that delivered may have been older and tuned a bit.. some of the older ones with hot tunes will smoke.

don't confuse them with the new ones that are as quiet and clean exhaust as your gasser. (not to mention a lot more POWER, as in torque)

nice cover on the bed and you are good to go.

Originally Posted by nashrover

We too recently purchased a 25 foot Eddie Bauer with twin AC units. I had a very well built Land Rover LR3, and it was within the tow limits but barely so when adding gear, etc.

So after research, we went with a gasser 2015 F250. I don't drive far enough each day in my work commute to warrant a diesel and honestly, the truck that delivered our Airstream to us from Texas was a Dodge Diesel and it left so much black soot on the front of our AS, that I decided it simply is not as clean a fuel as they say.

I went with BF Goodrich All Terrains (KO2's). Warn Hidden Mount (to keep the factory look) and a Come UP 12K winch (just in case). Rear Diamond Back cover for storing two Honda EU2000 Generators.
The truck is every bit as nice as my wife's big body Range Rover. No regrets here, and it is nice to have something I can haul stuff in if I have a weekend project.

[djarrett]

The bumper is the stock bumper with Warn's Hidden winch mount. Puts the bumper 4 inches forward from stock. The trim kit is sold apart from the winch mount and it fills all the body gaps. Winch is sold separately. I have just added a DiamondBack bed cover. It opens gul-wing style is water tight, and supports 400 lbs. on top of the bed cover with tie downs. They make an HD version that will hold 2600 lbs. but I didn't see needing that type of load. It allowed me to mount the two honda generators in the rear and secure them as the cover locks. So far I am really enjoying the set up.

D

[MaineStreamer]

Here are the tow vehicle specs for each year:
Trailer Towing Guides | Trailer Life Magazine

[ROBERT CROSS]

Plenty of room, plenty of payload....'06 8.1.


Bob