# newer truck to pull the smaller toyhauler



## hossblur (Jun 15, 2011)

I currently run a 2002 chev 2500hd, 6.0 liter. Good truck, no major problems. It has 77,000 miles which means I purposely don't drive it a ton, a replacement is more than a little pricey. I have a 24 ft. Sandstorm toyhauler. Like most folks we are trying to avoid 2 car payments at the same time, and mamas is about paid off so we are starting to look around for a new truck. I am toying with the idea of going to a 1/2 ton. Do any of you guys have a similar size trailer that you pull with a1/2 ton? Its been over a decade since I was in the truck market, and i read about what the newer 1/2 tons will do towing, but I wonder about it. Any thoughts would be appreciated.


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## Markthehunter88 (Nov 5, 2010)

So are you looking to downgrade for $ reasons? like us all LOL... I prefer the diesel. The 24ft can be towed by a 1/2 ton but it sure wont move fast up the hills.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

For occasional towing the 1/2 will work fine, like Mark said it will be slower in the hills. Engine tech has come along way with them, I was blown away by the engine in my '05 GMC, I think its a 323ci motor pushing around 320hp, looks like a race car engine with the individual coil per spark plug and other tech. Sucker has alot of power for a quad cab, almost twice the weight of my prior truck but almost a third more power, but better gas mileage (I get 18.5 on the freeway).

I wish my truck had a firmer tail end though, we get some alarming trailer sway at times with the lighter half ton rear springs and weak sidewall tires. Wish they still made those "heavy half" trucks from ages back.

I love the mileage of my 1/2 ton, can make it from point of the mountain to Las Vegas on a single tank easy. My next truck I want to upgrade to a 3/4 ton for towing, but I want the same engine I have in my 1/2 ton and rear end gearing (slightly lower, limited slip).

Also wish tire mfg's would make C class tires again, always liked the compromise in ride and towing. Now its either P or E, smooth ride but will wiggle on the road, or rattle your teeth out hard but excellent for towing due to firm sidewalls.

-DallanC


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## hossblur (Jun 15, 2011)

Yeah $$$ is king. I have a hard time wanting to drop 50k on something that I haul crap in, bouce around in, and rocky mtn pin stripe. I pull that trailer about 7-8 times a year, so I am trying to figure if the price diff. is worth it. I had seen where ford was putting 6.2 in there trucks. I know the ram has a 5.9, so engine size wasn't what I was pondering, it was the suspension and trannies. Empty mine is 6700, with 100 gallons of water, 30 in gas, and two ATV we are at or just over 10k.


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

What is the dry weight and GVWR of the trailer? I have done similar math and the savings would barely pay the insurance and registration, not to mention maintenance, payment, etc.


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## hossblur (Jun 15, 2011)

I have, I figure to replace my chev 2500hd with a diesel I am 45k after trade in/sell and taxes, etc. A crew cab 1/2 I am around 35k, 10k is a big deal, pretty much the difference in me getting that teryx4 or not, but I don't want to destroy a 1/2 ton. I have looked, I would be at the top of there range, so I was just fishing to see if anyone has had issues or does the same thing I am wondering about.


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## Speeddmn (Aug 12, 2013)

I ran into the same issue this spring. I came home from a deployment, and bought a 27 foot sandstorm toy hauler. I had a 2008 F350 with the 6.4, empty my trailer is 7500 lbs. I loaded up some camping stuff and rolled out to Moab for 5 days. My MPG was 8.8 for the average there and back. Remember this was good roads, and empty trailer. Truck pulled it just fine and no sway at all. My normal MPG was 12.4.

Fast forward to memorial day weekend and I stoped by the local Ford dealer in Layton. Test drove a 2013 F150 with max tow package and the 3.5L V6 twin turbo ecoboost. With short bed, 3.73 gears, and crew cab it is rated to tow 11,200 or so. I traded in my 350 for the 1/2 ton! I can drive from Layton to Vegas with over 100 miles to spare on a tank of fuel, and thats cruising at 80-85. Normal around town I get 18. So back to the trailer. July 4th weekend I loaded up my trailer with my Teryx4, 107 gal fresh water, and 35 gals of fuel. Plus normal camping gear. I know I was in the 10k+ range. Long story short, I went into the Unitas, China Meadows and camped. Little sway in the canyons passing semi's. But mainly my fuel mileage was 11.3 round trip. I had no issues with towing through canyons or the sisters. I set the cruise at 70 and didn't look back.

All in all, I am happy I got into a 1/2 ton. My payments stayed the same and yearly maint cost went down. Just a heads up, a loaded 2013 FX4 will run you about 42k msrp.


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

Speeddmn said:


> I ran into the same issue this spring. I came home from a deployment, and bought a 27 foot sandstorm toy hauler. I had a 2008 F350 with the 6.4, empty my trailer is 7500 lbs. I loaded up some camping stuff and rolled out to Moab for 5 days. My MPG was 8.8 for the average there and back. Remember this was good roads, and empty trailer. Truck pulled it just fine and no sway at all. My normal MPG was 12.4.
> 
> Fast forward to memorial day weekend and I stoped by the local Ford dealer in Layton. Test drove a 2013 F150 with max tow package and the 3.5L V6 twin turbo ecoboost. With short bed, 3.73 gears, and crew cab it is rated to tow 11,200 or so. I traded in my 350 for the 1/2 ton! I can drive from Layton to Vegas with over 100 miles to spare on a tank of fuel, and thats cruising at 80-85. Normal around town I get 18. So back to the trailer. July 4th weekend I loaded up my trailer with my Teryx4, 107 gal fresh water, and 35 gals of fuel. Plus normal camping gear. I know I was in the 10k+ range. Long story short, I went into the Unitas, China Meadows and camped. Little sway in the canyons passing semi's. But mainly my fuel mileage was 11.3 round trip. I had no issues with towing through canyons or the sisters. I set the cruise at 70 and didn't look back.
> 
> All in all, I am happy I got into a 1/2 ton. My payments stayed the same and yearly maint cost went down. Just a heads up, a loaded 2013 FX4 will run you about 42k msrp.


Thanks for the report! I had heard two previous reports and both were positive. They sure seem to be proud of that ecoboost with the price tag. That just seems so hard to believe through conventional thinking that a 3.5 could do that, that is impressive.


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## TRDHUNTER (Sep 11, 2007)

I have an 07 Tundra 5.7. I pull my 21 ft toy-hauler quite a bit and have no problems. Not the same on power as diesel, but lot cheaper on maintenance and fuel when not pulling. I debated on a 3/4 ton when I bought this truck a lot, but the Toyota quality sold me. With all the smog control B.S. on the newer diesels they have lost a lot of the benefits. Best of luck and post what you decide and how it works out.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Huge29 said:


> Thanks for the report! I had heard two previous reports and both were positive. They sure seem to be proud of that ecoboost with the price tag. That just seems so hard to believe through conventional thinking that a 3.5 could do that, that is impressive.


The downside with any of the tiny turbo motors is you have to buy premium fuel. With that the same or more as Diesel, where's the gain again?

Also, I thought there was a government lawsuit against ford over Ecoboost engine issues... something about moisture from the air cooler getting sucked into the engine (my memory is foggy, some googling would turn it up)

-DallanC


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## grizzly (Jun 3, 2012)

I have a 2010 F150 with the 5.4L. I tow a HyperLite 27HFS toy hauler. It is darn impressive how well a 1/2 ton can tow that big of a trailer. I have been north to Oregon and south to Escalante with that rig, going 70-80mph on the freeway. I get about 8 mpg fully loaded, but I know I'm over 10,000 lbs.

From everything I have heard the EcoBoost is even better, I just can't spend the money right now.

For the record, my last truck was a 2006 F-150 with the 5.4L. Even though it was the same size truck with the same motor, it didn't handle the weight nearly as well. I don't know what improvement they made in those years (frame, suspension, transmission, anti-sway, brakes, etc...), but it was huge.

One more thing, spend the money and get an Equalizer 4-point anti-sway hitch. The standard stabilizing hitches don't cut it with 1/2 ton truck and a loaded toy hauler.


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## hossblur (Jun 15, 2011)

Hey thanks, I run that hitch on my rig now, noisy as hell but seems to do a good job. For the 1/2 ton guys did you airbag you rear end? I am really leaning Ford, if for no other reason than they aint' government owned. I hadn't even though about the 3.5, no reason, but had figured at least the 5.4, if not that 6.2. I only get about 8 mtg on my 3/4 ton now so I wouln't loose much. You guys that have done it, what is Fords max tow pkg? Gears? Different tranny? Heavier springs, axles?


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

I have an F150 and had a 31' 4,700 lb trailer that it handled fairly well. I did add the air bags, I got them from Amazon for about $220 and installed them myself, they are a must have for towing anything of weight at all. That is just the manual inflation style, the compressor will run you another $100 plus the installation is much more difficult. Weight distributing hitch goes without saying.


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## grizzly (Jun 3, 2012)

Hossblur, make sure you get the Heavy Duty Tow Package. That will take you up to 11,300 lbs (I think). You can tell because they have the bigger mirrors. The HDTP also comes with auxiliary coolers and trans temp gauges among other things. It will also make sure you get the proper differential for max towing.

The 5.4 is no longer in production, it was replaced by the 3.5 L Ecoboost. The Ecoboost has the same 11,300 lbs towing, but more horsepower and torque and better stated mpg. Check out the Ecoboost Torture Test on YouTube, it is an impressive motor.

The 6.2 actually has less towing than the Ecoboost. I believe it is only available in the Raptor and the Limited trucks. I highly recommend the Ecoboost over the 6.2L.

I did not need airbags with my truck. With my new trailer and the Equalizer hitch, my rear end sits only 1/2 inch lower than my front end when fully loaded on level ground (and I have a 1.5" leveling kit on the front of my truck). Because of the weight configuration, the ATV's in the back of the trailer help raise the rear end of my truck and it rides level and tows great.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

My trailer actually rides worse with my equalizer hitch on, ALOT more sway. My half-ton only squats about an inch when the trailer is attached, the eq just didnt do much and made the trailer seem tail heavy. I will use the only eq I have another 600lbs of gear in the back of the truck.

Trucks and trailers, funny things that work in strange ways sometime. 5th wheels are king for towing, but I hate to loose all that bed space.


-DallanC


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## hossblur (Jun 15, 2011)

great info, thanks guys


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

DallanC said:


> My trailer actually rides worse with my equalizer hitch on, ALOT more sway. My half-ton only squats about an inch when the trailer is attached, the eq just didnt do much and made the trailer seem tail heavy. I will use the only eq I have another 600lbs of gear in the back of the truck.


Very odd! Were you running the chain style hitch of the solid bars sitting on the trailer brackets style?


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Huge29 said:


> Very odd! Were you running the chain style hitch of the solid bars sitting on the trailer brackets style?


Yep. I figure there just isn't enough tongue weight to justify the eq hitch. If I add more to the box of the truck, then it squats more and the hitch comes into play... but as is, its not needed with my trailer.

-DallanC


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