Keep 6.6 gasser or move down to 3.0 Duramax?

[Chuck FB]

22 minutes ago, AndrewF said:

Another vote for the commuter car and/or keeping the L8T since you already have it.
 

Side comment but that tundra only had a 1300 lb payload? That’s pretty useless for a truck especially when subtracting out occupant weight.  I think I’ve had more weight in my beater Corolla lol 

 

I was shocked when I watched a video yesterday from a vehicle reviewer who was showing the payload of a 2025 model F150 with the 3.5 with the battery power boost system. It was a Lariat and crew cab and and he said the GVW was 7400 lb therefore I thought this should have a decent payload but no, it was 1275 pounds. I assume that trim with the power boost must weigh it down even though its an all aluminum body and that's all the payload was. I gather to get the better payload with an F150 it means looking at an XL or not a power boost anyway. Some of these payloads just seem sad, the problem is they make half tons these days to ride like a car and that can't help but give up some payload and there may be structural reasons as well. However Ford I think has some of the best payload ratings in their HD line which I think plays into that all aluminum body theme allowing for more payload with a similar GVW and where the GM suffers a bit due to being a heavier HD truck but also probably can't hurt on the stability end of things because the GM has a few hundred pounds more heft built into it.  I think Rams top of the line half ton is just under 1000 lb of payload. 

[johnnyquick]

Run the 3500 into the ground, and enjoy it, why drive around in a little POS just to save a few pennies?

The "beater' will still burn some gas and add tags, maintenance and another insurance payment and you will find not much real difference I bet.

Safety is also a huge factor with the crazy drivers these days.

The 1/2 ton isn't made for real towing we all know that.

My 2 cents

[newdude]

6 hours ago, BuckWallace said:

Yes, the specific Elevation I checked has a payload of 1,631, which I was pleasantly surprised with. My 2010 Tundra's payload was about 1,300, so the Elevation would definitely have given us some more capacity.

 

 

 

 

What is the tongue weight of the trailer?  

[BuckWallace]

52 minutes ago, newdude said:

 

 

What is the tongue weight of the trailer?  

That's a good point regarding max tongue weight on the half tons. Mine loaded is around 850.

[bruceb58]

14 hours ago, BuckWallace said:

That's a good point regarding max tongue weight on the half tons. Mine loaded is around 850.

Mine is 800# and I bring firewood with me on camping trips. I was overloaded with a 1/2T so I went up to a 3/4T. No way I would ever go backwards.

[newdude]

15 hours ago, BuckWallace said:

That's a good point regarding max tongue weight on the half tons. Mine loaded is around 850.

 

 

So your trailer weight would be in spec, but the tongue is at or over the limit, and they factor the max tongue at 10% of the max trailer weight.  

[Another JR]

6 hours ago, newdude said:

 

 

So your trailer weight would be in spec, but the tongue is at or over the limit, and they factor the max tongue at 10% of the max trailer weight.  

That limit is driven by one or more of the truck/trailer combination handling characteristics tests in SAE J2807 (I suspect the turning stability test, but could be the collision avoidance test) rather than by payload or axle rating, so best not to just assume you can second guess it based on having excess payload capacity available.  (This is just a general comment - I’m not saying you were suggesting exceeding anything.) 

Edited January 14 by Another JR
Clarification

[StingerZ16]

The LZ0 is the best of both worlds. Good towing and good mileage.

I tow a similar trailer with no issues with my 1500 duramax. I traded in the 2500 duramax for the 1500 and little difference in the towing experience.

Most of my driving is 25-45 miles one way so fuel economy is important to me.

However, the big caution is that owning a RV means changing the RV for the "next" one.

This means a bigger trailer after a couple of years.

So, I would caution against getting rid of the 3500. The 3500 is future proofing your RV experience.

I feel safe with the 1500 and not going to a bigger trailer. This is my last RV.

I do miss the 2500 from time to time when I need the larger capacity to tow a skid steer or something once in a while. But not enough to matter.

[Pryme]

3 hours ago, StingerZ16 said:

The LZ0 is the best of both worlds. Good towing and good mileage.

I tow a similar trailer with no issues with my 1500 duramax. I traded in the 2500 duramax for the 1500 and little difference in the towing experience.

Most of my driving is 25-45 miles one way so fuel economy is important to me.

However, the big caution is that owning a RV means changing the RV for the "next" one.

This means a bigger trailer after a couple of years.

So, I would caution against getting rid of the 3500. The 3500 is future proofing your RV experience.

I feel safe with the 1500 and not going to a bigger trailer. This is my last RV.

I do miss the 2500 from time to time when I need the larger capacity to tow a skid steer or something once in a while. But not enough to matter.

People now days only go 1-3yrs on trucks too so they can upgrade them together haha. 

[gregus73]

If you have to commute, I would keep the truck and get a commuter.

I ran into the same situation in having to go in the office 4 days a week.

 

I was in the market for a Camry, Accord and got a heck of a deal on a lower trim BMW 3 series. My brother in law’s commute is really short and he picked up a used Nissan Leaf for $4000, and it works for him.

[asilverblazer]

I posted this a while back. Commuter cars don't make financial sense unless your circumstances put up some really crazy numbers to swing the figures in their favor.

Quote

 

I was never able to get a commuter car to pencil out. 

 

Starting at a modest 5000.00 for the car price, plus its own maintenance, registration, insurance and gas. Never even comes close to saving me money. 

 

Going up on the 5000.00 so that I'm not spending my commute in an absolute $hitbox only makes it worse. 

 

MY math, assuming I ONLY drive the commuter and don't drive my truck AT ALL, with some simple rounding... 

18000 mile per year in the truck averaging 17 mpg = 1050 gallons of diesel at $3.10 per gallon = $3300.00 per year.

In a car that gets 30 mpg = 600 gallons of gas at $2.75 = $1650.00 per year. 

I would be saving about $1650.00 in fuel costs.

From that savings I have to buy the car and pay the above continual expenses. $150.00 in oil changes, $100.00 in registration, $600.00 in insurance, assume no other repairs are needed (unlikely given we're trying to save money on the car) leaves $800.00 per year in savings. If I buy the car at the above $5000.00 price it would take over 6 years to realize any savings, at which point, the car will need tires and other maintenance costs that would likely push the savings point out to over 7 years. 

 

Raising the purchase price to lower the maintenance cost or lowering the purchase price would raise the maintenance amount... never going to work for me. 

 

In broader terms this is why truck owners DO CARE about mpg, so many say "you bought a truck it won't get good gas mileage... you should have bought a car..." don't understand that some people drive to a job Monday through Friday and have other responsibilities or activities that require a truck on the weekend. Having two separate vehicles for this doesn't make sense based on the dollars above. 

 

 

[KARNUT]

9 minutes ago, asilverblazer said:

I posted this a while back. Commuter cars don't make financial sense unless your circumstances put up some really crazy numbers to swing the figures in their favor.

 

You all are not considering the cost of the truck. If you buy the right car it cheaper to maintain than the truck. And the truck will last longer lowering the overall cost. 

[James Beyer]

My 2 cents, last June traded a 2018 Chevy 1500 ltz crewcab 6.2l max towing pkg, 1840 payload, for a 2024 gmc 2500hd doublecab 6.6l gas, 3550 payload towing our 35' Rock TT 8800# gvwr.  Though the Chevy had lots of engine power for towing there is a Noticeable difference between the 1500 vs 2500hd, especially if windy.

Loved the ride of the 1500, but in no way would I trade the 2500hd/3500hd for towing a camper.

Good Luck in your choice, Later-

Edited February 1 by James Beyer
added

[Coastie05]

Keep what you have. Those engines are extremely reliable! I'm not sure if you've notice but the 3.0 Duramax is having some significant issues. You're better off having a long term reliable truck that is more than capable of handling anything you throw at it.

[Pryme]

Keep the HD. I’ve read multiple places they care more about making their HD trucks more reliable since the HD trucks are sold a lot to business clients and they need reliability over all else vs half ton trucks meant for Joe blow.