The Great Tow Vehicle Dilemma

[AirMiles]

Originally Posted by rbs

I would buy the truck that has the best and biggest service department where you live. Ford sells more trucks than anybody

This is probably the biggest reason we went with a Ford, besides my wife preferring the massaging seats. I see more Ford diesels on the road and more independent "backyard" mechanics around the country that know these trucks. After having two Nissan Titan XD Diesels with basically no dealer support, no knowledge, and no parts available, we decided to buy the Ford with the most repair options.

The reason for having "two" Nissan Titan XD's is because the first one broke down in Casper WY. We traded for a second Titan XD Diesel, at a great price, an kept on driving. That was my second mistake with Titan XD's, the first mistake was buying the first one. I should have bought a Ford (GM or Dodge) the first time!

The Titan XD was actually a wonderful truck, but not having dealer support and parts made it the worst truck on the road. The dealers did not support this truck and that is why its been discontinued. If Ford, Chevy or Dodge made the Titan XD and supported it, I'd still own the truck today. I fully agree that dealer support is a deciding factor.

[lsbrodsky]

The last few posts raise a very good point that does not get a lot of attention in these truck posts. One must consider the dealer service when buying a truck, I believe. Where I live, there is only one dealer for each brand. In the 20+ years I have lived here, I have heard many negative comments about the Ford and RAM dealerships, only good for the GMC and Chevy. When I was in the market for a new truck, I only looked at GMC and Chevy, although I looked at multiple dealerships within driving distance. On a trip is a different issue, because you never know what you are going to get...
Larry

[Prettygood]

If you want electronic gizmos and cameras, with a 3k+ payload, and tons of towing capacity... and an MSRP less than what you posted??

CYBERTRUCK

(T-minus 35 months and counting)

[wbrisett]

If you haven't yet read my thread, you might want to:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f463...ed-204602.html

The summary is this, I've had issues with my new truck (although I'm extremely hopeful they will be resolved with the new sensor... especially in light of somebody having the exact same issues and getting them resolved with a new sensor)... anyhow, I was 'this close' to getting something else and just taking the hit on this one.

After testing trucks from all three, the reality is nobody's truck is that much better than anybody else's. They all have strong points and all have weak points. You have to decide what is important to you.

Earlier in this thread they mentioned service. That is the key. If your local dealership has a great service department and you expect to use them most of the time, and the little negatives of a vehicle are things you can live with, then that's the one to get.

I've seen and heard it here that 'X' is better, and doesn't break down... in fact, somebody here mentioned a brand that my neighbor worked at the local dealership as the fleet sales manager at for nearly 15 years. When he noticed my new truck wasn't in the driveway and instead I had a different one, he was curious what was going on. I gave him the saga, and he basically said, he could tell me worse stories. (great)... Every brand will have issues, so pick one that you like and one with a service department you like.

One last thing, my wife and I decided that there would be a couple of things that we would miss on the competing brands. Things that while may not be big, probably would drive us crazy over the long haul. So, don't say, "well, I can live with it.", because chances are it will drive you nuts later.

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by rbs

I would buy the truck that has the best and biggest service department where you live. Ford sells more trucks than anybody

This issue is a consideration. As for local dealers, we live in a rural county in the Florida Panhandle. There is only one new car dealer in Walton County, and it is the Chevrolet Dealer in DeFuniak Springs. On another note along the same line, in our rather extensive Airstream travels we have noticed that small town America is most likely to have a Ford or Chevrolet dealer. I have checked with Uncle Google, and have found that there are 3,100 Chevrolet dealers, 3,000 Ford Dealers, and 2,500 Ram dealers in the United States.

In our travels, I always tend to go to dealers for service. I just hesitate to trust the quick lube places or WalMart to service a Diesel. I also replace my fuel filter during every other service interval, and I also like a dealer to do this. During our Alaska Adventure last summer, we serviced the Duramax twice, once in Colorado and once in Alaska.

Brian

[RamRider]

Here is some really good advise, Trucks are like politics - buy the one you like the best.

[redhat200]

Dodge Durango Citadel with Hemi all the Power one needs with a luxurious ride. We can hardly tell we’re pulling a 2018 25 ft International serenity FBT . We love it and have plenty a room. We travel with two Vizsla’s Luke & Grace . On average we get 14 miles to the gallon. Plenty a room for our generator should we be dry camping. By the way it also looks Very stylish- towing an Airsteam . Glam camping all the way ! All of the vehicles you mentioned I’m sure will do the job . You obviously have good taste you own an Airstream . Safe travels and God bless

[superChop]

Moosetags - what a dilemma to solve! All responses have been excellent, and I would emphasize the R&D by the consumer for new products, which Ford has this year in their updated Powerstroke and 7.3 gasser! There are still some good deals on 2019’s on car gurus, and that may save a lot of money and potential stress with recalls on the new products. One comment as an additive is that many dealers are offering limited lifetime warranties on drivetrains. I read the fine print and find the liability clauses to be acceptable for my family! Payload on my friend’s F250 diesel, 4x4, max tow had 1900 lb payload, that I have previously shared on this forum, can be limiting with a topper and a lot of pax and cargo.

MPG discussions - please stop! Someone has already determined this should never be a consideration for a super duty! 12,000 miles towing @ 10MPG @ $2.50/GL with a gasser and 14 MPG @ $3.00/GL with a Diesel is only a few hundred dollar savings with the diesel. New Powerstrokes are over $10K extra, plus the extra maintenance costs. You will never make up the extra costs of a diesel with fuel savings! IF most of the driving is towing select diesel, otherwise the gassers are less costly up front, and maintenance over the years!

Mountain driving - not sure how I drove from Georgia to Seattle RT with our trailer and an ‘09 F150, with a gas 4.6L V8? Must have been a miracle to go up and down mountains without a massive engine or exhaust brakes?

Hopefully, this provided a little entertainment for this discussion? Decisions like this are very personal and all the products are more than capable of towing our AS’s!

[beachrats]

We recently traded our 2015 2500 HD Duramax Denali on a 2020 2500 HD Duramax Denali. We got almost 50K trade in, so besides loving our 2020 with all the camera and trailer options, you're probably going to get the best trade in staying GM. Most dealers prefer keeping used Duramax for resale as even though there are customers that balk at paying new Duramax "premium" dont think twice at overpaying for it used. Ours was sold before we left the lot. That also happened when we traded our 2012 on our 2015.

[jimfa440]

I bought an Edsel, aka Nissan Titan XD Cummins V8 Diesel. It does a great job but low sales numbers caused it's elimination. It does still come with a gas engine. I like mine but it is likely worthless because of manufacturer discontinue. My next one might be a Ford F250....but not for about 5 years. My Nissan has a 5 year, 100,000 mile warranty....bumper to bumper. Now that's a good thing.

[moosetags]

In our early years of Airstreaming, we towed Lucy with a pair of 3/4 ton Suburbans with the 6.0 liter gasoline engines. They did and admirable job, and we always found them suitable for the task at hand. In 2011 we decided to try diesel and bought a 2011 Duramax. We kept one of the Suburbans for flatland towing in Florida in the winter.

Going to a Diesel tow vehicle was an epiphany for us. We never realized how marginal our 3/4 ton Suburbans had been. Not only was the upgrade pulling power amazing, but the downgrade performance with the exhaust brake was also quite impressive. I don't think that I would want any gasoline tow vehicle.

I do realize that a Diesel tow vehicle is more expensive to buy and maintain, but it is not necessarily more expensive to own. When we traded our 2011 Duramax in 2017 for our 2018 Duramax, our trade brought $28,500. The 2011 had 136,000 miles on it when traded. I asked the dealer if our 2011 had the gasoline engine, what would it trade for. The answer was $16,000. He said that the $10,000 Diesel option actually appreciates.

Brian

[wbrisett]

Originally Posted by beachrats

We recently traded our 2015 2500 HD Duramax Denali on a 2020 2500 HD Duramax Denali. We got almost 50K trade in,

Which mirrors what happened when I traded in my 2015 for a 2020. We got $45K in trade for an LTZ and it was only on their lot for a week before it was sold. That being said, if Dealer X will give you 45K in trade and Dealer Y will only offer 40K, if you can get in writing what Dealer X was going to give you, most will match (or in some cases beat) the offer to help incentivize you to give them your business. This year in particular the HD truck manufacturers are doing some pretty cool things to try to part you from your money.

[davidrrand]

Brian, met you in the in the Bighorns last fall. I too, am considering a new truck, either a F250 or 350 but will probably go gas. Ford’s new 7.3 with 10 spd looks promising but waiting for some reports on performance and reliability as this is all new. Diesels are awesome towing performers and if they are fully factory warranted and you trade every few years and can afford the higher diesel costs (entry, fuel, maintenance) go for it. Not sure about other brands but if you go Ford diesel, get the 350 for the added payload.

[JFRINALDI]

Hey Brian, what ever you choose I hope you can transfer the lovely top that you have now! My new ride is a 2019 F250 King Ranch diesel and we have 7700 miles on it so far. I like the increased stability over our F150 Platinum (2015). That said, I find the gear shift that has been moved onto the column (from the console in my earlier tv) is cumbersome when downshifting and the parking brake is a reach by hand rather than simply pressing the peddle. Not a big deal except that the tailgate release is just above the brake and the touch of your hand will drop the gate. Finally, the weight of your topper and generator will mean the F350’s heavier springs with be worth another $300.00.

[moosetags]

Yes, I really like our Swiss topper, and hope that it will fit whatever we end up buying. If not, I guess we will be heading back to Indiana for another one.

Brian

[Spaggs]

We have a 2000 Ford Excursion 2wd, 6.8 liter V-10. It is in really good shape living its life in a North Georgia garage. With close to 200,000 miles we decided to spend about $20,000 replacing the engine/transmission/brakes with Ford remanufactured. We are replacing every rubber piece/bearing/ball joint with new Ford or aftermarket. We are replacing springs with the F-350's and 4.56 differential gears, 6.0 diff. cooler/auxiliary filter, Banks headers, 5 Star Tune, tow mirrors, etc. With the price of new trucks being so high, we figured we could save some and still have a great tow vehicle.

[DewTheDew]

Since no one is addressing the elephant in the room, I will do so! I am talking, of course, about the most subjective aspect; looks!

I actually think the Ram is the best looking but we were originally shopping for a 1/2 ton and the aluminum Ford had a better payload than the Ram. After two years I realized my mistake and moved up to a 3/4 ton. If I'd have started with that I might have bought a Ram, but since I already had a Ford and had finally gotten used to all the controls, I decided to stick with it (2019 Platinum diesel). Plus the massaging seats that my wife loves (I admit they are kinda cool during a long day of towing....).

I realize these things are all subjective but the look of the Duramax is not for me.

There, lets see if that spices up the conversation a bit ;-)

[crispyboy]

Have to agree with DewtheDew about the ugly looks of the new GM trucks. Undoubted a good truck by its specifications but in the looks departrment it is a swing and miss by baseball standards.

I can see those being heavily discounted in the near future.

[lsbrodsky]

My gosh! The looks of a truck? If you have ever examined a Jaguar E or F type, or many other good-looking vehicles, a truck is just a truck. I get that features, capabilities, and even brand loyalty are decision points, but we have reached a new low saying one truck is uglier than another. They are all ugly! But they do a job...
Larry

[KK4YZ]

Originally Posted by lsbrodsky

my gosh! The looks of a truck? If you have ever examined a jaguar e or f type, or many other good-looking vehicles, a truck is just a truck. I get that features, capabilities, and even brand loyalty are decision points, but we have reached a new low saying one truck is uglier than another. They are all ugly! But they do a job...
Larry

blasphemy! 😱💩