Advice Needed re: Towing

[Canine]

Dusty, you are completely correct. The new diesels are not nearly as dependable as the early 90's mechanical injection motors. There are a few exceptions like the early power strokes and the mid 2004 cummins,but it is hard to find a good used one that was not worked to death.
 However, if someone was buying a new truck with a warranty, then the diesel option should not be completely overlooked. They may not be perfect for everyone, but when properly cared for, they will provide years of trouble free service with plenty of towing power. (Sorry for jacking the thread, I will get off ,the diesel soap box now)

Yeah, new... My brother tows a 32 foot fiver with a 2001 Chev 1 ton dually with the Allison 5 sp and the 8.1 gas. He has ok torque but not what a diesel has. 8 mpg. I've been telling him for years to go diesel, he likes the Cummings 6.7 so he looked last month. $71K for his truck in a Dodge 2015... Who can afford those?

 

[johnny b]

Damn.  The 5.4 is 300hp and 365 ft-lbs, the V10 is 363 hp and 457 ft-lbs.  It's hard to believe that 300 horsepower ain't cutting it.

I'm certainly going to try to keep the trailer weight as low as possible.

The later model Super Duty's have 6 speed trannys with something called Tow-Haul mode.  Wonder how much difference that makes?

Thanks for the reply. 

Regards
John

those are not the base engine specs....
my 1999 5.4L is 235 hp / 335 ft. lbs.
Newer models went to 255 hp / 350 ft. lbs.

SVT and Super Duty models had more ooomph, but not the base plain Jane.

It used to pull a pop up camper like it wasn't there.....started feeling anemic when i got the heavier trailer.

I figured 5000 lbs. was far enough below the 7500 lb. limit to be a 'comfortable' tow....live and learn! 

 

[masterplumber]

Yeah, new...  My brother tows a 32 foot fiver with a 2001 Chev 1 ton dually with the Allison 5 sp and the 8.1 gas.  He has ok torque but not what a diesel has.  8 mpg.  I've been telling him for years to go diesel, he likes the Cummings 6.7 so he looked last month.  $71K for his truck in a Dodge 2015...  Who can afford those?

I have a 2012 6.7 Cummins and I only paid half that. If you're willing to walk away and they need to sell they will deal. Mine is a pretty plain Jane crew cab made for work. I have the 6 speed stick, and yes, it will tow a house. !0,000 lbs doesn't even really slow it down going over Monarch Pass at over 12,000 feet. That's the good part. Now for the bad; It doesn't get nearly the mileage of the 5.9 Cummins. I pretty much average 12.5 - 13 whether hauling, towing, or empty - sometimes a little better and sometimes a little worse, but that the real world average over 58,000 miles. Yes I can get a little better driving like there's a raw egg under the fuel pedal, but not enough to really make a difference. I've had no problems with the engine, but I've had front end parts wear out with under 30,000 miles on them, and I currently am in desperate need of replacing the clutch due to Dodge wanting the clutch pressure to be as light as a small car, and the dual mass flywheel they use. I'm planning on installing a complete South Bend Clutch kit which should solve that issue. 
Just thought I'd share some real world experience. I put too many miles on a truck for work etc.... to drive an older one, but the new ones definitely aren't as good as the mid 90s to early 2000s models pretty much across all the brands. If I could find a clean 1 ton '94 pre computerized Ford turbo diesel that would probably my choice for a travel vehicle - not perfect, but about as good as you can get without building your own from scratch.  

 

[masterplumber]

Oh, ya, it's rated to tow 17,000 lbs and that's for a 2500 model, no idea what a 3500 dually is rated.

 

[Canine]

Thanks master. My bro' has a gussied up SLT GMC with leather and all, basically a King Ranch version of a GMC so he was looking at the top end trim. Big Horn or something like that...

I agree that you can get a lot of truck a few years used for much less.

Say what do you think of the 5.9 24 valve from like 04-05, isn't that a sweet spot for the Cummings?

 

[Baloo]

.Say what do you think of the 5.9 24 valve from like 04-05, isn't that a sweet spot for the Cummings?

I would agree, the CP3 high pressure pump with electric controlled injectors worked very well together. They were very reliable and put out some serious power. It would have been nice if dodge had put a better turbo on them. All in all, 05 was the last good year for a light duty truck engine. (Yes, a 1 ton is considered to be light duty) One of my good friends has an 04 he bought new and still has, it has had almost no problems other than two water pumps and a fan clutch.
I wish truck manufactures still made them to last longer than the warranty period...

 

[masterplumber]

Thanks master.  My bro' has a gussied up SLT GMC with leather and all, basically a King Ranch version of a GMC so he was looking at the top end trim.  Big Horn or something like that...

I agree that you can get a lot of truck a few years used for much less.

Say what do you think of the 5.9 24 valve from like 04-05, isn't that a sweet spot for the Cummings?

I really like the 24 valve 5.9. I was expecting similar mileage , but twas not to be. I actually bought my truck new - at the end of Sept  2012, when they already had the 2013 models on the lot. I was able to get $10,000 of the asking price. I looked for used, but trucks and Jeeps have gotten crazy here in Colorado. The cheapest truck similar to mine, and I was open to all brands, was $28,000 and it had 104,000 hard miles on it. Many were considerably more than I paid new, so I went new because it just made financial sense. If I lived elsewhere it could be a totally different story. My last truck had 48,000 miles of just towing a horse trailer and it was a great deal - hated to get rid of it. But it started costing literally $500 to $600 per month to keep running, And when your truck is a tool to make a living that just didn't make sense anymore. BTW, the last one the motor ran great still with 216,000 mile on it - it was all the electronics, front end, transmission etc... that I had to put money into. I'm really seriously considering a medium duty for my next truck. They are made to run a lot more miles while hauling heavy loads. I like the idea of doing something like Baloo's Amblo, but with a KUV van body to haul the tools.

 

[Canine]

Well, we got pretty far off base with the OP's question of will a half ton tow a 5K trailer ok...
We sound like the other rv forum... The one I left because of flaming and only a $100K F450 or 550 can tow a pop up tent trailer...

Yes OP, you can tow with your 2006 or newer half ton, get an equalizing hitch and real truck tires and don't push the speed. Weigh your rig and keep the hitch/tongue weight to about 13 percent.. Go below 10 and it will fishtail, go above 14 and your little rear springs will wallow.
Drivers tow all the time with rigs that are close to their maximum. It's not the greatest but we all deal with financial limitations.