Just bought a new Exiss 2H slant load trailer with 7 ft. living quarters.  Weight on the trailer is about 5500lbs (but that could be before adding the LQ, as I have discovered from reading this forum)  I have learned much here..so thanks for that! 

But now I need a new truck to pull the new trailer.  I have a 2002 Tundra, which pulled it home from the dealer (12 miles), but I do not want to haul any distance with this truck.  I realize I am maxed out with this trailer for this truck.  So what should I be looking for?  This will be a tow vehicle only.  I will keep the Tundra for my daily ride.  New(used?) truck will pull the trailer a few times a month and I want to be able to pull this trailer anywhere.  I really can't wait to use my new trailer!!!

So any input from those experienced folks out there is appreciated.  Don't want to invest in the wrong truck.

Load your horses up and pack the trailer like you would for a trip and go weigh it.  Then you will know how much truck you need to buy.

I'm sure any of the domestic big 3 3/4ton or 1ton single axle trucks will do the job. But if you weigh it, you can make sure your tires and axles are are rated correctly.

 love the 2002 and older Dodge diesel for pure dependability and fuel mileage.

I've got a 2002 dodge diesel and the mileage isn't all that great.  The 70 something I had in highschool got about 20 pulling a trailer.  In this one I'm lucky to get 16 NOT pulling a trailer.

 (Quote)..... The 70 something I had in highschool got about 20 pulling a trailer.

Got 20 what, pulling a trailer?.... I want to know more about this!!

If someone told you this

"Plus they ALL get at conservative speed about 20mpg non towing."

You better get that in writing!  Being in the car business since 1983 I get to drive just about anything I want and I can tell you that the 20mpg would be if you was hauling them on a trailer and not actually driving them!  The 60 year old man next door has an 08 Chev with the 5.3 V/8, auto, 3.42 gears and he drives like a 90 year old lady and he gets 15.4 to 16.2 all the time (have to listen to it everyday).  Man that works with me has the NEW 09 Dodge with the 5.7 V/8 and he gets 13.5 all day long. (my Big 07 DIESEL does a little better than that.)

The bad thing about the consumer test is most are done by desk jockey's most of which do not know what end of the truck to hook to the trailer and most drive to and from work in a 10 year old jap grap car.

Terri,  send me some details on your 02 Dodge and I will see if I can figure out why your fuel mileage is low.  Could be a couple of simple things.  It should more than likely have 3.55 gears and driving the grap out of it should still get you a little better than that unloaded.

Need to know: 3/4 ton or 1 ton, auto, 5 speed or 6 speed, 4x4 or 2 wheel drive, miles and if anything has been done to it!  (exhaust, lift pump, injector pump or anything like that)

I think*** (My memory gets fuzzy when I try to remember back to the 80's) it was a 74 dodge 3/4 ton, back when it was a 250 and not a 2500.  It got about 21mph pulling our 20ft stock trailer.  Not a huge trailer, but full of cows it was fairly heavy and the trailer I pull now is a 20 ft 4 horse slant.  No LQ.

Ok, its a 3/4 ton diesel, auto, 2 wheel drive with about 77,000 miles.  We've had it 2 1/2 years now.  The original owner didn't make any mods to it and all I've done is replace a fuel pump and oil changes.

 And pay Dodge way to much to destroy my dash........  stupid keys, why do they leave that gap between the dash and windshield?

ingta, pay attention to the above quote, it's really good info and I agree completely.  If the truck you are looking to buy is primarily a tow only vehicle and will be sitting a lot, buy an early Ford Super Duty with the 7.3 powerstroke and you won't be diappointed.  The older Dodge trucks with the Cummins 24 valve motors work well too.  The newer stuff has TOO many factory bulletins floating around for me to consider trading.  We bought our 2001 Super Duty new and have been extremely pleased with the purchase.  My diesel tech that does all my diesel work drove the older Dodge trucks with Cummins motors in them until this year.  He went to a dealer auction and purchased a "one owner" 2001 Ford Super Duty with a 7.3 powerstroke!  Go figure.........he can buy anything he wants and work on it himself and look what he bought? 

Happy trails,

deranger

The Ford SD is a heavy truck, and with the addition of a four wheel drive system, the 5.4 V 8 is marginal when pulling or carrying a load on anything other than a level road. I would not recommend any SD being considered for towing, to have less than the diesel or V 10 gas motors.

Gard

The 5.4L engine works well in the F150's that weigh about 5000lbs. But the super Duties weight 7000bs empty. So the 5.4L is ok for chasing around in an empty truck, but it's under powered when you load up the truck. As Gard suggested, A superduty needs to V-10 or the diesel if you are going to tow with it.

As far as fuel mileage. I would hope any of the new 1/2 tons would get 20 mpg on flat constant 70mph drive.  Even my 2006 F350 Powerstroke does that. It's the starting and accelerating that hurts the mileage.  I can get 19-20mpg for a 30 mile drive and with 5-6 traffic lights my mpg is down to 14 for the avg.

You said you replaced the fuel pump.  Did you replace the injector pump or lift pump?  If you have not done the lift pump, get this done before you have to buy another injector pump.  This supplies the fuel from the tank to the injector pump, if this is has low psi that means your injector pump is having work harder to do it's job.

I would start with a 4" exhaust from the down pipe back then install either a K&N filter or K&N or S&B intake kit to improve air intake!  These are the 2 cheapest mods that can be made to improve mileage.  The next step would be install a simple module upgrade.

Being a 2 wheel drive you should have 3.55 gears so the 18 to 20 mpg should not be a at all even without upgrades. 

Have you had Dodge check to see if there is any up to date downloads or programs that have not been done to your truck?

 I would start with a 4" exhaust from the down pipe  

What is a down pipe?  The pipe from the engine?

  I replaced the pump that was shooting diesel all over my engine, I don't know what it was.  The dealer wanted to put the new pump in the fuel tank but I didn't have the $$$$ to do it so the guy at the repair shop replaced it with a new one of the originals.

      I can build a barn and plumb a house and I've changed a few batteries and alternators, but don't ask me to fix anything on the newer cars with all their computer stuff in the way.  I don't know anything about that stuff.  My husband put a K&N on his car so I guess I'll let him put one on my truck.

The dodge dealer here is useless so I'll have to check with the dealer in the next town.  How do you know what programs are on a truck? 

     The pipe from the muffler to the rear of the truck looks like a 3 inch with a flare to about 4 inches for the last foot or so.  I didn't crawl up under it to see what was in front of the muffler. 

     The really simple conversion to the intank pump was $350, to replace it with the same type was $125(I think, its been 2yrs).  The dealer said there was a problem with the external mounted pumps failing so I'd figure since they knew it, it should have been a recall or warantee item but it didn't turn out that way.

     I'm going to take it to the dealer (in the next town) next month to have the differential fluid and the other maintence taken care of so I'll have them check then.   I'll try to give your dealer a call and check on what you said.  Thanks.

I suggest a 3/4 ton. The older Ford Super Duties with the 7.3 are the ones to go with.

I have a 2006 F150, 5.4l extended cab, 6.75 box, 4x4. I'm rated to tow 9300 pounds. I try to keep it under 8000. Hauling I get 11 mpg. Commuter driving, I get 14.

The "marketing" hype on the trucks makes me crazy. You have to get a completely stripped down regular cab, NO 4x4, 8' bed, use a WDH and BP, to get the high tow allowance Ford is screaming about. Bah humbug.  Makes me crazy that according to them I can haul MORE off the rear hitch with WDH than I can via gooseneck. makes no sense at all. 

But... I have to admit, for 1/2 tons, Ford outdoes GM and Dodge. Note... I said 1/2 tons. I can't speak about the 3/4 or 1 tons.

hounddog, if you are talking about my reply, I will have to disagree with you.  Not only the ones I "use" to own but the ones I still buy every month.

Every single time I have bought a DIESEL truck to drive a week or how every long it took me to fix them the way I want them to run and I have always recouped the money I spent on the ungrades then some.  That is why I like to work on them, most people do not understand how little it takes to make these trucks run and pull even better.  And when I advertise them to sell I have found that the fixed up trucks sell faster and bring more money!  I have only been doing this with DIESEL's since 2000 and I have sold them both ways. 

Sure with fuel back down to 2.00 per gallon and you are driving that truck a few years it will take longer to recoup the expense.  On a avg. of 2 mpg better with the upgrades that cost you around $600.(exhaust, module and intake system) you would save around $10.00 for every 500 miles so you would have to drive around 30-k miles to recoupe your $600.00 investment.  Not to mention how much better your truck is going to run and pull!

fyi, if you figure on the avg. 2.49 per gallon the savings is around $13.00 per 500 miles, so you would only have to drive around 23-k miles!

Is this enough math??

You are correct to somewhat on trade in value.  When someone brings a truck in with a high amount of un need grap and extremely load exhaust we cut the price in half.  On the other hand when a truck comes is with mild usable upgrades we add to the value.

There is a big difference in added mods to make your truck go fast and making your truck perform better and get the most fuel mileage.  I can go all day with you on this, been there done that.  And again you are correct about K&N somewhat, if the person is to LAZY to glean it on regularly you are just hurting your enigne.

The trucks I have done I figure the mileage with pencil and paper after 2 fill ups towing and not towing and the worst I have seen with the upgrades I do is 2 mpg!  I get my exhaust done for $250., filter or intake for $35.00 to $175.00, module free to $250.00.  So I spend anywhere form $285.00 to $675.00.

So bottom line "to each his own" I know for a fact what works for me and has worked since 2000 on all FORD POWERSTROKES and Dodge "CUMMINS".  Plus you have to be smart enough to know how to use what you install and what the items are intended to be used for.  See too many people buy this stuff to my race cars out of and diesels are not made for that!

Working on a 1997 Chevrolet C2500 extended cab right now with the 6.5 TURBO, auto.  Bought it 2 weeks ago bone stock with 135-k miles and getting 16.4 mpg avg unloaded, now with the exhaust and intake only done, checked it yesterday after 2 complete fill ups and I am getting just over 19 mpg avg. unloaded.

I have to agree with Hogtownboss in the performance and mileage gains, he states after modifying a truck's exhaust and computer. His particular mechanical knowledge of various diesels is much more than mine. I am limited to the effects the mods have had on my truck, which is a 7.3 Ford.

I have done the chip (module), exhaust, transmission and inlet modifications, and added gauges to monitor the various systems. I removed the new air box after a few weeks, noticing no improvement in mileage and disliking the additional intake noise. I have also read about K & N's low filtering performance, and have returned to a stock filter sold by NAPA.

My mods have been in use for almost eight years now, and with the switch of all my lubricants to synthetics, I am able to pull a trailer with the same mileage that I used to get, when running empty. This equates to just under 4 mpg. The largest difference I desired was additional torque, which I now have in spades. In the chip's lowest setting, the one recommended for constant towing, I can complete many trips without the transmission shifting to a lower gear or unlocking the torque converter on the many hills I regularly encounter.

I regularly travel one hill that is an 11% grade, that used to be taken in second gear, foot to the floor. Now my transmission uses third gear, and I can maintain the speed limit at a partial throttle.

I am religious about maintenance, and the care of my equipment. I don't drive hard, accelerating or braking abruptly. I don't have foolish money to spend on unnecessary repairs. My truck has been absolutely reliable, with no drive train maladies. I would duplicate my truck in a heart beat if it had to be replaced. Baring an accident, I have no intention of a replacement with new equipment.

Gard

I like ruffles with ridges better!