Northwest Fishing Reports

Thought I'd lob this out there, see if I can get some real-world advice and not marketing B.S. from manufacturer or dealer...

I am contemplating trading in my Tahoe for a 4-door pickup. I will miss the 3rd row option, but find I need a truck more often and am tiring of getting the utility trailer out of the side yard for small errands.

I get 13-15mpg in the Tahoe (5.7L), so I'm not afraid of the gas mileage pickups get, and in fact newer models very likely beat that. What I'm debating is going to a 3/4T and diesel or not. I infrequently will need to tow my cabin cruiser (6600lbs dry, plus water & fuel, and trailer), so need around 10k towing capability. A slide-in camper will be the other, more frequent load.

So the questions are:

1) Do the "heavy half" 1/2T pickups have that much towing capacity or am I looking at going to a 3/4T? Any brands/models in particular?

2) Can a compelling argument be made that a diesel consistently gets decent enough mileage to offset the higher fuel cost? I would rather drive a gas model and occasionally get crappy mileage while towing than get crappy mileage/fuel expense all of the time.

I am open to Ford/Chevy/Dodge/Toyota (if the Tundras are rated that high?). I will say that as much as I like the looks of the Dodges, the other makes tend to give you a standard-sized 2nd row without having to jump up to "Mega Cab". But I'm open to any and all makes/models.

Let's hear it! ;-)

I have been driving Toyota Tundras for about 12 years. I have never had a problem. The top tow rating is about 8100 lbs so it might not be what you want. I had a fully loaded dump truck rear end me. I was stopped and he was doing 40mph. The truck was totalled and I walked away. I have towed lots of boats (up to 24') with no problems. I will drive Toyotas until they take my license away.

I own a 1 ton, Dodge 3500 Dually, 8 liter/10 cylinder, gas. Drove to Chelan not towing anything and 14mpg.
14mpg up over the pass with a lead foot.
This truck can take 800 pound tongue weight or more and not drop even an inch, pull anything from my 17.5 ft
Bass rig to a 10,000 lb plus Toy Hauler.
It's a little over kill but I will get another, I pass all diesels up the pass fully loaded.
Big and fun!
3/4 over 1/2 ton, but I would go 1 ton, bigger everything including brakes!

Because you mentioned the fact that you would put a slide in camper on the back should exclude most all 1/2 ton trucks due to GVW limits. I have a gsas powered 3/4 ton Chevy long bed and am looking at going diesel. My hunting partner's newer Dodge 3/4 ton diesel consistently gets 20+ mpg unloaded and when he puts his Artic Fox cmaper on the back it never drops out of top gear pulling the pass and still gets around 17 mpg. My 2000 Chevy, by comparison gets 14 mpg unloaded and around 9 - 10 mpg with the camper on the back.

What's the slide in camper weigh and how long is it? Lightweight, short camper (< 9') wouldn't be too much for most any current, properly equipped 150/1500 series pickup. Important to know the weight so you can add in your gear, water, food, etc. then take to reading mfr's truck ratings for payload.

As to towing your boat, you most certainly can tow with a half ton truck as there really is no such thing today. The 2012 Chevy 1500 extended cab w/tow package and 6.2L gas V8 can haul 10,700lbs; 2012 Ford F-150 4WD crew cab short bed w/3.5L Eco-Boost V6 11,200lbs, crew cab short bed, 5L V8 9300lbs, crew cab short bed 6.2L V8 11,100lbs; Dodge 1500 Quad cab, short box, 5.7L Hemi 10,050lbs, and Toyota Tundra double cab 2WD w/5.7L 10,000lbs. These are all max tow packages as listed on the respective mfr website for 2012 models.

Lots of choices, and of the four, only Ford offers 11,000+ lbs towing with a V6 in either 4x2 or 4x4. Granted, it's a twin turbo V6, and from what I've heard a spendy option. Shop and compare from home, no sales people involved, especially those who don't even know anything about towing and payload capacity.

One thing to remember is you need to read each mfr's disclaimer for payload/towing capacity. Most rate with driver at 150lbs, fuel and accessories as listed. Add any additional weight, passengers, gear, etc. and it will reduce payload and towing capacity. This is one area where most people do not get the straight scoop.

We have a 2004 Toyota Tundra 4 door 4x4 with 410 gears. In 200,000 miles have never had a problem with the vehicle. On the highway it consistently gets 17-18 mpg and has all the power to both tow and stop anything within its 8,000 pound towing capacity. Although we also have a Land-cruiser the Tundra is our go to vehicle for both comfort and towing power. There is no question that our next truck will be a Tundra also.

Toyotas are great.

I would personally get a 1 ton diesel and call it good. You know it is gonna carry most campers and will pretty much tow any boat that is on a trailer.

1 ton diesel crew cab owned here. It's nice to have all the pulling power one will ever need. It makes for a lot more enjoyable trip as I don't have to plan lane changes ahead of time to conserve/maintain torque.

Mine is the Ford 1 ton and the rear end was soft enough where I needed to add the Firestone airbags. It wasn't because of side to side sway but because the camper and boat caused the rear end to sag enough that my 6 inch drop hitch would bottom out going over highway bumps. When unloaded I deflate the bags and go back to a nice soft ride.

Mileage is up to 20 empty but mostly 18+. Worst it ever is is 12.8 mpg with the camper, boat and a head wind.

Now if my wife would just let me add a winch to it.


I will say this is just like being a kid. My mother always made me take a jacket with me. My uncle told me I didn't have to wear it, but I couldn't put it on if I didn't have it. Applies to 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton trucks. You can't make a smaller one bigger but you can handle light stuff with the bigger truck.

I just listed my Father in-laws Dodge 3500 Laramie Dually for sale. Very nice truck...motivated seller. Pm me if intrested and I'll send over a flyer with details!
Thanks,
Mav

Thanks everyone for your input. HewesFisher for the stats, and others for your opinions and real-world MPG numbers. Your info has pretty much confirmed I'll go heavy-duty, but considering I'll be 90% commuter/10% heavy-hauler I think I'll skip diesel and just suffer crappy mileage while towing. I just can't justify the fuel cost differential between diesel & gas. It's encouraging though that a large gas V8 will still be getting better mileage than my Tahoe. What a difference a decade makes, huh?

I do not have a slide-in camper yet, that's just something we plan to do in the future. And I appreciate the opinions to go super-huge and get a dually, but I wouldn't tow enough, often enough, to justify one. It wouldn't fit in my garage either, I have to fold one mirror in on my Tahoe just to get into my garage door! LOL

Thanks again for the feedback, everyone, it was very enlightening to hear of some trucks I wouldn't have thought had the capacity.