New truck in the near future?

"Discerning" (discerning2003c5z) 09/07/2018 at 08:48 • Filed to: None

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Having never owned a truck, I have decided to dive into one feet first. We are now looking at brand new trucks that can tow 10k lbs comfortably, so essentially any well equipped 1/2 ton. We plan on buying the truck and shortly after buying a travel trailer.

Initial thoughts: wow, these things have gotten expensive. They also offer more luxury features than my gussied up Nissan (Q50 3.0t). Ventilated seats, android auto, radar cruise with stop and go. Actual leather that’s soft and appears to be high quality. They aren’t even painfully slow to 60. Some of the stuff we’ve looked even traps over 100 in the quarter.

It’s going to be very very very weird to be without a car for a little. The plan will be to trade in the Infiniti because we don’t need two new cars right now. At least I’m not upside down on it.

Happy to hear any horror stories or words of advice from anyone with a relatively new truck. The only piece that has caused some frustration is understanding all of the promotions that are offered.

I hope this vehicle lasts longer than the last 3 cars at least.

Edit: the trailer will likely be under 8k lbs wet. I should also note that my significant other wants a truck as her daily and that I am fond of trucks in general to o. We would likely get a truck in the next year regardless of the travel trailer plan, but we are thinking we wil l push up those plans to the very near future to pull a trailer soon.

functionoverfashion > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 09:14

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Being in an area where rust is a major issue, I’d look very very hard at the Ford for the aluminum body, if I were looking for a brand-new truck to last me a long time.

I’d also look carefully at what *exactly* the tow rating is and what it means, what kind of hitch, trailer, etc. meets the actual criteria. I know people have written intelligently on here and/or Jalopnik about the true numbers with respect to tow ratings of 1/2 ton trucks, as they each seem to claim to be able to tow more than the next one, but there’s a lot of fine print. 

E90M3 > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 09:20

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Towing? Travel Trailer?

You mean race car?

The Dummy Gummy > E90M3 09/07/2018 at 09:22

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Yea but then you own a BMW; also tow rating is 5-6.6 k pending which one you choose.

nermal > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 09:30

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How big is the trailer you’re looking at, and how often and how far will you be towing it? If it’s a longer one or anything close to 10k lbs, skip the 1/2 ton and go with a 3/4 ton diesel.

The biggest concern with towing a camper isn’t weight as much as it is wind. The large frontal area and square back act as a parachute at highway speeds, and the large side area makes them susceptible to side winds. Both of those are fixed with a bigger truck and a bigger engine.

As far as buying the truck goes, pick which truck you want and spam email every dealer in your area for price quotes. The key is to be a total dick about everything, low ball them on everything, make stuff up about what other dealers are offering you. Negotiating in bad faith will be rewarded with better pricing.

E92M3 > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 09:31

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That’s a big investment to go glamping. I would rent a small RV and go on a couple trips first.

If you dump $70k+ on a truck and travel trailer, and your wife decides she doesn’t like camping that much, you’ll be taking a big loss or paying for a trailer you get no use out of. I’ve seen it happen, not everyone enjoys the RV life. Some people imagine getting away on weekends, but with work travel and kids activities it can be h ard to find the time.

One of my friends is going thru this now with a boat. His truck, and boat were almost $100k. They’ve used the boat twice since he bought it in Feburary.

Discerning > E90M3 09/07/2018 at 09:51

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Ha! My fiance doesn’t know just yet that she is opening up a whole new world of long term opportunities. She couldn't care less though since she wants a truck even more than I do.

Stapleface > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 09:51

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I can tell you what I know from my father’s last two F150's. His current is an 18 F150 with the 3.5 Ecoboost. He’s never towed anything, but he likes the truck well enough. He had a ‘13 F150 with the Ecoboost before that and when it got close to 100k things started to fall apart on it. I think the turbo was going, and he had a problem with the AC system as well.

My uncle also had a ‘13 F150 with the V8, and his engine shit the bed shortly out of warranty last year. Not exactly sure what happened to it, but he needed a whole new engine. He was always pretty good with maintenance too. He was an F150 buyer at the same dealership for the last 40 years. They wouldn’t even cut him a break on the repair when he was 2k past warranty. He said the hell with that and bought a Tacoma instead.

Of course, a Taco won’t do what you need it to do, but I just wanted to give you what I’ve experienced in regards to the F150.  

E90M3 > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 09:52

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I mean, if you have a truck you’re one step closer than I am to track car. 

Discerning > nermal 09/07/2018 at 09:53

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Re alistically, the trailer wo nt be all that long and it will likely weigh about 8k lbs wet. It only needs to be big enough for myself, my fiance, and our two dogs. 8k lbs is likely on the high side.

Discerning > E92M3 09/07/2018 at 09:56

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Our plan is to rent a camper and rent a travel trailer set up and make sure we like the lifestyle and everything that goes with that approach to traveling.

We already travel a lot and we drive lost everywhere. Between hotel costs and finding a hotel that accepts dogs, we are hopeful that this is a good alternative.

The truck is less of an issue since my fiance has wanted a new truck for a while and we’ve been putting it off since her Honda Pilot is still in decent shape.

We also don’t have kids and traveling is our means of entertainment. Panhandle, Savannah, races here and there.

Every time we have a vacation, we drive 300 to 1000 miles from Atlanta. We plan on driving to Colorado and California in the fall whether we go the travel trailer route or not. The goal wo nt be to glam so much as to have a means to sleep while en route and when we get there without dropping 1200 bucks on hotels for a weeks vacation and 200-300 bucks every weekend we go somewhere. Plus, we hate hotels.

I appreciate the point of view though. Believe me, the thought has occurred to me. Before last week I thought I was getting an F80, but now I'm looking at trucks. Haha

Discerning > functionoverfashion 09/07/2018 at 09:57

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Good advice. I’ve been looking at travel trailer forums and blogs.

If we’re being realistic, the trailer will likely not be that long and I’ll be shocked if the one we pick is over 8k lbs wet. It's just me, my fiance, and our two dogs after all. We just need sleeping for two and a place to put dog beds.

Nibby > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 09:59

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I owned a 2015 Ram 1500 and right now have a 2018 F150 4WD crew cab with 5' bed + 2.7L EcoBoost. The Ram was definitely comfortable and handled better, but the F150 is nicer inside. The 2019 Rams are really nice inside. As for towing, you’ll probably want a V8 for towing 10K... and if you do 10K regularly, I’d probably move up to a Super Duty. Are you SURE your trailer, loaded, weighs 10,000 pounds?

Discerning > Stapleface 09/07/2018 at 10:04

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Thanks! I actually drove a manual TRD Pro Tacoma about a month ago. I wish it could tow decently.

Discerning > Nibby 09/07/2018 at 10:07

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Ve ry unlikely. I’ll be surprised if it’s over 8k lbs wet. It won’t be that large.

I looked at the ram, but I really don't like the massive tablet. I actually preferred the 2018 F150 interior.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 10:10

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I was going to say that a 10k lbs trailer is a huge travel trailer...if it’s just two of you and a couple dogs a 20ft one is probably all you need.

Just as an example this 30ft trailer has a GVWR of 7600 lbs

https://rv.campingworld.com/RVs/TravelTrailers/coleman-lantern-263BH

Nibby > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 10:12

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Test d rive them both.

Discerning > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 09/07/2018 at 10:12

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We are actually looking at something very similar to that tomorrow. 10k lbs was on the very high side and not a realistic possibility.

Discerning > Nibby 09/07/2018 at 10:16

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I will. My fiance gets the final word since it will be ours, but likely her primary driver. She detests the interior, but maybe she’ll change her mind if the drive is substantially better. She strangely doesn’t notice handling or ride differences. I definitely do, but she never notices any difference.

We drove a 4runner and an Atlas back to back about 6 months ago and she didn’t know what I was talking about when I said the 4runner’s chassis felt much more truck-like. Ha

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 10:16

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For 1/4 the cost you can buy a nice used 3/4 ton pickup that will do everything you need it to, like this one:  https://oppositelock.kinja.com/repost-for-sale-1828587951

nermal > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 10:16

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Reading some of your other comments, absolutely go with a 3/4 ton diesel. It will be more comfortable on longer trips and pulling hills, since it won’t be revving to 5k + rpm and slowing down like a gas engine. Also, better fuel economy, and you can use truck stops to get fuel while pulling the trailer - it’s a lot easier to drive through a truck stop with a trailer than it is a regular gas pump .

My toy hauler is 25 ft, and it fits 2 people + dog + bike just fine. Plus it can still fit into state and national parks that a bigger one wouldn’t.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 10:17

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Honestly, I’d try to stay under 25' if I were you...once you start getting around 30' you need to start worrying if a campsite is large enough. Plus, a smaller trailer is just going to easier to tow and deal with. My parents had a 30' camper and I know at least a few times they had to take a less preferred campsite because they were too big for the sites they actually wanted.

Discerning > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 09/07/2018 at 10:20

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Th e truck will likely become my fiances daily and she would prefer something new or made in the last year. My original plan was to get an older 1 ton

Discerning > nermal 09/07/2018 at 10:22

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Would a diesel still be our best bet if we go with a trailer around 7k lbs? I’d just prefer to avoid the diesel price premium if I can.

Discerning > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 09/07/2018 at 10:23

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Good point. I hadn’t actually considered that. I'll keep that in mind when we look at trailers again this weekend.

loki03xlh > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 10:25

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That’s a big (and expensive) jump from never owning a truck to getting a new one that needs to tow 10,000 lbs. Are you sure about getting a travel trailer? Do you already do at least some camping? Are you going to go every weekend, or every Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day? Think about a 5th wheel.

How big is your garage? Will it fit? My sister has a nice, new house, but the garage barely fits her Yukon. My parents’ Sierra won’t fit in their garage.

Check out every brand, join forums of the brands you are interested in. Ask questions. Many forum members are passionate about their vehicles and collectively have a great amount of knowledge.  Many of them will also tell you where to get the best deal.

Nibby > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 10:27

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Pay attention to the rear bounce, the Ram will ride better for sure due to the coil link setup in the rear vs. rear leaf springs in the F150

Discerning > loki03xlh 09/07/2018 at 10:30

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It will likely be closer to 8k lbs wet.

We travel nearly every weekend by car and take our dogs with us and shell out way too much money on hotels.

We plan on renting a camper a could times to see if we like that approach to traveling more than doing hotels.

The truck itself isn’t too big of a concern since my fiance loves them and we planned on getting her one in the next year. The trailer idea just moves it up a bit.

I like trucks as well if I’m honest, though I’ve always been more fond of Land cruisers and such.

Discerning > Nibby 09/07/2018 at 10:31

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I had no idea the ram had coil springs. Very interesting. I'll check it out!

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 10:31

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After the issues I’ve heard with new trucks, I wouldn’t spend my hard earned money on one.

Under_Score > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 10:32

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Infiniti truck? Titan Platinum Reserve. Dealers take $10,000+ off MSRP on them, and it’s easy to find lightly used ones for a good price. If you go used, you can even step into XD waters.

Discerning > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 09/07/2018 at 10:32

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Thats a bummer to hear. I am trying to find one that is a couple years old to at least dodge initial depreciation, but it's hard to find one with the specific options we want. That would be my ideal option if possible.

shop-teacher > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 10:33

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Unless you’re staying in the flatlands, you should consider stepping up to a 3/4 ton diesel. You’ll love the extra torque and ease of pulling up hills, the extra fuel economy will make the trips a lot less costly, and the extra purchase cost will be offset by staggeringly good resale value.

Towing a 4200 pound wet camper with my 4.8 liter Sierra was a chore, and I was only in the flatlands. After a 400 mile day of towing like that, I was totally gassed .

Discerning > Under_Score 09/07/2018 at 10:34

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Ill c heck it out. I'm not fond of how they look, but I could get over it

Under_Score > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 10:43

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Some people on my street got a red Titan Platinum Reserve back at Christmas. Their kids had newer cars, but their other cars were 15+ years old, so keep that in mind for how big of a deal  this was. Seeing it all the time, it’s absolutely gorgeous. It grows; the big chrome on the back is kind of weird, but it looks better than the body-color tailgate of the SL and under. For the price, please spring for the Reserve: cooled seats, etc.

Discerning > shop-teacher 09/07/2018 at 10:48

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Our  trailer might only be as low as 7k lbs, but you're not the first to recommend a diesel. I'll start looking at those too, though I'd prefer used given the up front premium that new ones require (about 12k more than a similar gas truck).

nermal > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 10:56

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It was worth it to me, for the reasons mentioned . The range in new truck prices is extremely wide. I ended up going with a lower trim level to get the diesel, no complaints (other than it gets cranky in really cold weather).

A 1/2 ton, crew cab, 4x4 truck will run you somewhere between $30k and $70k. A Ram 2500 diesel starts at about $45k for the work-truck grade, $55k will get you a very livable one from any of the domestic brands .

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 11:27

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I’ve owned many trucks over the years, and I bought a 2017 F-150 last year. I’m really enjoying the truck, and the ecoboost engines are deeply impressive towing. Combine more than 20mpg not towing, and I can’t think of any reason why I would buy a V-8 in a half-ton truck today.

Something to keep in mind at the 8-10k travel trailer size class is tongue weight. It sound’s like you’ll have a comfortable margin in overall tow rating (and the current 1/2 ton offering have plenty of power for towing that much weight) , but travel trailers aren’t light at the front. Make sure you’re going to have enough margin in the G AWR at the back and will be satisfied with the way a 1/2 ton handles that much tongue weight at highway speeds.  Look at frontal area, too.  Travel trailers can be like dragging a big parachute behind you.

My other advic e would be to make sure you grab the shortest axle ratio you can, and get one with the integrated factory trailer brake controllers. They so better than the old school time-delay controllers (or the even worse proportional gyroscope ones that never worked worth a shit and you ended up manually overriding anyway). Towing big weight with a 1/2ton, a shorter axle ratio will not only significantly affect the tow rating, but the way the truck accelerates and climbs hills towing. 

adamftw > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 11:33

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If you only tow once a month or less, and not a long distance, a modern 1/2 ton is more than up to the task.

adamftw > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 11:36

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My buddy’s new Tacoma out-tows my other friend’s ‘04 2500HD Chevy. Faster, more comfortable, better fuel mile age. If you keep your weight down, it works. But if you tow heavy and often, you’ll want to piece of mind (and the weight) of a bigger truck.

Food for thought.

loki03xlh > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 09/07/2018 at 11:36

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What kind of issues have you been hearing about?

adamftw > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 11:39

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If you are pulling long distances every weekend, absolutely.

adamftw > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 11:43

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I’m a Chevy guy and TBH I’m not sure if I’d get a new Duramax with some of the issues I’ve heard. If it was definitely a diesel I wanted, I’d go straight to Dodge. I LOVE the new Fords but every time I open the hood of one my stomach hurts. If you never plan on turning a wrench on it (and selling it before things start needing attention around 80-100k) I would say the Ford is worth a look as well. The Dodges do ride a lot better.

jasmits > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 11:44

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Genuine question (full disclosure: I spend most weekends sleeping in a tent), what’s the appeal of a ~30 foot travel trailer? It’s always seemed like an awfully large and inconvenient thing to lug around when(I guess at least the way I camp) the vast majority of waking hours are spent either in transit or exploring what you’ve gone to see(whether by vehicle or foot or whatever the case may be). Like no hate, just don’t really get it.

The 16 foot version of this https://www.airstream.com/travel-trailers/sport/ has a GVWR of 3500 which opens you up to pretty much any midsize or half-ton pickup as a tow vehicle, all of which would make better dailies than an HD(I know Airstreams are pretty pricey but it’s the name that popped into my head and there’s comparable stuff for much less) . My daily is a current-gen Tacoma and it’s great, but honestly getting pretty close to the line where size starts becoming an inconvenience .

adamftw > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 11:44

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The V8 Cummins is a junk pile and the 5.6 is great but you won’t get over 6 MPG so forget it.

Discerning > jasmits 09/07/2018 at 12:15

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The weight that I provided in the original post is likely way too high. I would prefer to get something that’s just big enough for myself, my fiance, and our two dogs. The more I think about it, the more I think that the weigh t will be closer to 5 or 6,000 pounds. So that would be a substantially shorter trailer then something that is close to 10,000 pounds.

I should have better outlined the purpose too. We travel a lot and we often bring our dogs. We try to go somewhere in the Southeast every weekend and the cost to get into a hotel, particularly one that will take dogs, ends up being significant. We wouldn’t necessarily be using it as a means to camp out in the woods. We would more than likely use it as a substitute to the very expensive and often frustrating process of going to hotels with our dogs. We also do two to three large trips a year that amount to probably close to $4,000 and hotel costs (roughly 30 nights) .

The truck itself isn’t really an issue either. I like half ton t rucks and my fiance loves them . She would have almost definitely gotten one for herself in the next year, so this plan just bumps it up a little bit so that we can pull the trailer that we want to get relatively soon.

All of that all of that said, we plan on renting an RV or a travel trailer a couple of times to see if we like it more than the hotel set up that we currently go with

Discerning > adamftw 09/07/2018 at 12:17

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Haha. I’ve heard bad things about the V8 Cummins and recently drove a new Armada (same engine) that was averaging 8 mpg.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > loki03xlh 09/07/2018 at 12:18

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Electrical issues, tuning issues, emissions issues, trans issues.

It’s been across the board regardless of make. Numerous people I know have bought new trucks, only for them to spend more time in the shop than their 15yo truck they traded in.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 12:22

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Electrical issues, tuning issues, emissions issues, trans issues.

It’s been across the board regardless of make. Numerous people I know have bought new trucks, only for them to spend more time in the shop than their 15yo truck they traded in.

They all seem to complain about the new truck getting worse mileage than their old truck as well.

Discerning > jasmits 09/07/2018 at 12:23

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Oh, I should mention that the truck will become the fiances daily in short order.

Prior to trucks, she was considering a fully loaded VW Atlas, so I definitely consider this to be a significant improvement!

Pickup_man > jasmits 09/07/2018 at 14:48

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I’ve been looking into getting a camper lately and to me the appeal it is coming back to a place at the end of you’re adventurous day that in a place that in a way has a sense of home, the added comfort, protection, and space to store and haul gear/supplies is also a nice bonus. A couple weeks ago I spent a few days out of a 26' trailer which lessened the appeal of a big trailer to me, especially after towing it home with a half ton truck. I certainly see the appeal of tenting, which I did more of growing up with dad, but I still really like the idea of a camper, but not a huge one.

Another big draw to a camper is that I couldn’t get my wife to spend more than a couple nights max in a tent, but she would definitely spend longer periods of time in a camper. I really like the idea of tenting, and want to do a couple motorcycle camping trips in the future, but I also want to be able to see those same places with my wife and soon to be child, and a camper is a really easy way to make that happen. 

jasmits > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 15:57

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That is fair, I do certainly see the appeal of >20' trailers especially as a hotel room substitute on a long trip where having your own proper shower and bathroom would be nice. Plus pets, makes a lot of sense. The weight brought my brain to like fifth wheels and massive almost-fifth-wheels which just seem excessive, unless maybe you have a million kids or something but even still, bring them some tents if their old enough and both the kids and the parents will appreciate the bit of separation . I just can’t see the point of dragging a fifth wheel around the country with a dually for a couple or a small family when a 16' or 20' foot Airstream gives you all the same amenities and can be towed by any pickup and many SUVs. The truck makes sense too, I can see a half ton making a decent daily, I just would not want to daily an HD of any sort

jasmits > Pickup_man 09/07/2018 at 17:27

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I very much get the appeal of a nicely designed camper in the ~ 20' or under range , especially to get a S/O who might not be very excited about sleeping on the ground into the outdoors or if you’ve got small children. A comfy, dry place with a proper bed, proper kitchen, proper bathroom and space to relax in bad weather all sounds great.

This I get:

I could tow it comfortably behind my Tacoma(or any midsize or half-ton pickup and many SUVs) and park it many interesting places as a basecamp for exploration and use it as a mobile hotel room on longer trips.

This:

Who needs this?!? And why do I always see so many on the highway?? You have to have a S uperduty pickup, you’re constrained to all the worst campsites, where the hell do you keep it? And what does it have that that A irstream doesn’t??

Neither’s for me as I enjoy overland-style camping where some friends and I just spend the day exploring forest roads and 4x4 tracks and eventually look for a cool spot to set up camp, but if I wasn’t into the off-road aspect of it something like an A irstream would be really nice .

But I couldn’t have gotten to either of these spots towing an Airstream...

Meanwhile here I am trying to decide if a roof-top tent is worth the investment when I’ve spent something like 20 nights this spring/summer sleeping in a backpacking tent I’ve had nearly a decade since Boy Scouts...

Pickup_man > jasmits 09/07/2018 at 17:33

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So my wife actually came up with the idea that when we get older, kids out of the house, that I either early retire/semi-retire and she does traveling nursing and we travel around the country. If we ever do that you can bet your ass that I’m buying a big ass camper like that.  B ut for weekend/week long adventures a small camper is more than enough.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Discerning 09/07/2018 at 23:17

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if you’re buying new, make sure it has a tow package. Sounds stupid, but for most models nowadays the tow package isn’t just a hitch and harness. This is even more important on new models with 6 speed transmissions that try to maximize fuel economy .

tow/haul mode in most tow packages holds the gears longer, so the transmission isn’t always up shifting to save gas,dropping the engine rpms out of the power band and lugging up a hill. you can get by without it, but if I was regualarly hauling I would want it.

also they often include transmission coolers which is plus if towing longer distances.

My dads old 2500hd could tow the equipment trailer and you wouldn’t know it was back there. (it has an ancient 4speed and gets 6mpg). his 2015 1500 with a 5.3 also tow it and get 12, but felt it a bit more. M y cousins 2016 1500 with a 5.3 same trialer noticably shif ti ng more