Trucks

[rpfan]

We tow a 40ft Cardinal, I would also say a duallie with that 38 ft. Better to have too much truck than not enough. If you buy the 3/4 ton and then find it is not as you would have liked, then how big of a hit do you take on a trade for a bigger truck??
Just my opinion

Rich

[surveyman]

It depends if you want to own a "government truck" or not. Ours is a "pre-government" diesel and we like it very much! Now a days you can buy a "government truck" and finance it at a "government bank"! IS THIS AMERICA??

[Diesel Dave 04]

Well I would be looking at a f- 450 ford or and 4500 chevy top kick. My 40 footer has me over CGVW. I was 24,580 on the scale That is well over what he truck is to do for a CGVW. Now at the same time I was NOT over on any axle weights. so I keep rolling with it. One of my issues was stoping. I since went to disk brakes on the 40 footer. now I can stop easy. I do about 3,000 miles a year. if i ever go full time I will have a bigger truck like a M2 If i hit the lottery OR F-650 Or Maybe even a GMC 4500 top kick If GM is still around

[lgpconsul]

Thanks for all your responses. Many of my knowledgable friends and family are telling me to stay away from the Ford diesel. They say they still haven't perfected that engine as well as the Duramax or Cummins? Fortunately I have plenty of time to shop the field before I make my final decision. And, as someone has sugeested, I'll put a few hundred miles on it before I actually tow the RV.

Larry

[Chief409]

I work for a large railroad, we're using the 6.4 diesel without major problems in the larger Ford trucks. Before I sunk the big bucks on mine I checked everywhere I could. Most problems have been with the 6.0 diesel in the 2007 and older trucks.

[Diesel Dave 04]

I didnt hear of may issues with the 08 and up 6.4 Powerstroke. Other then 9.0 MPG

[Grape Escape]

After reading 9 MPG with deisel I think my V10 at 10 MPG towing is darn good

[snoking]

Larry, you never said what model the trailer is or what the weight was. However at 38 feet it is most likely beyound a 2500HD. The 3500 SRW has more room for pin weight, but honestly you should be getting a dually. I agree with your friends on one brand truck, put that is my personal feeling. I have had two Dodge diesels and if I was getting a new TV,then a GM would get a hard look, however the Cummins exhaust brake has more holdback on hills.

Good luck.

Chris

[Traveler II]

We have a smaller Cardinal so our 3/4 ton works, but if I had anything bigger I would want a bigger truck. I've always been a Ford guy and wanted one, but like you had friends tell me to stay away from them. One friend had a 07 the other a 05 Ford with problems. I understand that they have corrected the problems they were having and the Ford should work for you.

We like our Chevy and have little problems with it, but I do wonder about what is going to happen to GM and how it will affect us.

[Chief409]

After reading 9 MPG with deisel I think my V10 at 10 MPG towing is darn good

10 MPG. The best I ever got with my '05 V10 was 9. 'Generally around 6 - 8. Of course out here there are two variables while towing.

1. Up hill, how steep is it, plus, every time you travel over a pass, it looks steeper.

2. Down hill, couldn't it be longer? It's never as long going down the hill as it is going up!

And a fact of life:

A 20 to 30 mph headwind no matter what! Especially on the only piece of flat road in 200 miles. Plus, you start at 2000' and keep going up.

The price we pay for all that spectacular mountain scenery.

I'm hoping the dual turbo setup on the 6.4 will compensate for the altitude better then the V10. It has a better torque curve to start with. We'll see next weekend. I DO know that pedal to the metal at any legal speed, empty, it sets you back in the seat! Not bad for a 8000# diesel truck with an automatic tranny and 4:30 gears. I've driven some rental box vans with diesels while moving that took FOREVER to get to 50, empty. And the only way to keep the speed up on a long trip was to put a brick on the pedal.