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Regular
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Location: SC | Here is what I want to tow:
5,000 pound trailer (GN, 3 horse slant load, or 2 horse straight load)
Max of three horses (say 1500 pounds each = 4500 pounds).
I am trying to decide whether to get a 2500 or a 3500 in either the dodge or the Chevy.
I orignally wanted a GMC, but those are so hard to find.
5000 pounds + 4500 pounds = 9500 pounds without gear, tack, people, etc.
I have heard that the rule is to only tow 80% of the towing vehicles recommended weight for live cargo..... ie; The dodge 2500 towing capacity is listed at approximately 12,000 pounds.
80% of 12,000 pounds = 9600 pounds. (which is really close to what I want to pull).
I feel like, according to this rule, I am right on the edge of needing a 3500 truck, instead of the 2500.
Whew. Thoughts?
Edited by ncsuacd 2007-11-13 11:59 PM
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Member
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Location: Little Britain, Ontario, Canada | Instead of second guessing yourself go with the 3500. If you are like me sooner or later you will start taking your own water, add some furniture, grow older (add a few pounds), hay, etc., etc. I have always heard, go big or stay home. I hate staying home. If you decide some where down the line to purchase a bigger trailer with LQ's, you will have the truck to pull it. |
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Expert
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Location: michigan | Go with the 3/4 truck. |
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Location: Arkansas | We have used a 3/4, 1T, then a 3/4, now back to the 1T. I'd go with the 3500, very few have complained over have more than enough truck. Many wish they had "just a bit more" truck. |
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Expert
Posts: 2953
Location: North Carolina | Go with the dually.. It isn't as wide as people complain about. Actually it is just the same width as the trailer (Most gn trailers) Park far from the shopping mall entrance, walking is good exercise. The hitch weight capacity and stability are the foremost purchase reasons |
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Location: Oz land | Dodge Dually - gives you stability, and pulling power when you need it. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 671
Location: THE GREAT NORTHWET, OREGON(THE REAL GODS COUNTRY) | I let dealers talk me out of a one ton dually too many times! I know have one and love it.Idon't worry about will it haul or pull something. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 544
Location: Claxton, Ga. | Get a dually. It's better to have a little more than not enough. Eventually you will want a bigger trailer and then you will need a bigger truck again. Do it once and be done with it. |
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Member
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| I have had them all. It would depend on how much your using it ? If you need your truck for everyday use also I would go with 3/4 it will handle what your talking about for weight. Why put up with a dully trying to find parking at walmart. I have a 3 horse with 8 ft. short wall living quaters and get along find and pull it with a chevy 3/4 short bed crewcab duramax . |
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Member
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Location: Oz land | Originally written by reiner on 2007-09-27 6:35 AM
I have had them all. It would depend on how much your using it ? If you need your truck for everyday use also I would go with 3/4 it will handle what your talking about for weight. Why put up with a dully trying to find parking at walmart. I have a 3 horse with 8 ft. short wall living quaters and get along find and pull it with a chevy 3/4 short bed crewcab duramax . I don't have a problem parking at Walmart. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 309
Location: MO | Our '03 Dodge 3/4 T was rated to pull 13,000 lbs and a GCVWR ( Gross Combined Vehicle Rating. Rated weight of truck and trailer) of 23,000 lb. It handled our 3H, LQ bison trailer w/o problems.
Our new trailer has a 17,000 GVWR and we pull it with an 04 1T Dodge 3500 dually (GVWR 12,000 lb.). We actually weighed in at 23,400 lbs loaded for a weekend trip.
So, a 3/4 T would pull your trailer OK. But a 1T would play with it. With a trailer weight of 9500 lbs or so, you wouldn't need a dually. But, if the price differential isn't much, you'll like the handling. |
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Regular
Posts: 50
Location: SC | Still shopping!!!!!  This should be fun right????? But all I want to do is -->  I heard/read about the issues with the 2007 doge diesel filter problems. I am considering a Chevy/GMC 2500 now. I have definitely decided that I do not need, nor do I want a dually. But a 3500 SRW would be fine with me too. Thoughts on pulling a gooseneck with a 6.5 foot bed? Apparently the 8 foot beds are extremely hard to come by UNLESS you want a dually (which I don't). |
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Location: Brighton, Colorado | 3/4 ton
Edited by osue077 2007-11-13 9:49 PM
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Location: Brighton, Colorado | 3/4 ton
Edited by osue077 2007-11-13 9:50 PM
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Regular
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Location: SC | Thanks, unfortunately I am wary of the weight requirements for live cargo ... Does anyone have any experience with the gooseneck in a 6.5 foot bed? |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 736
Location: Western WA | I pulled my 3h non-LQ trailer with a full 4 door shortbox SRW F350 before I bought a LQ trailer and got a dually. Without LQ, I'd buy a short box, SRW truck again. The long box dually handles the trailer better, but the short box will do the job. |
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Expert
Posts: 3853
Location: Vermont | Originally written by osue077 on 2007-11-13 9:41 PM 3/4 ton Nice 4 ton load of hay...though I notice the passenger rear of the truck looks a little low... It would be nice and level if it were a 1 ton... But the load still doesn't fit in the building...
Edited by PaulChristenson 2007-11-14 1:29 AM
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Veteran
Posts: 196
Location: WI | Hey, ya wanna sell somma dat hay!
Edited by Hank 2007-11-14 5:41 AM
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Veteran
Posts: 196
Location: WI | Originally written by ncsuacd on 2007-11-14 12:00 AM Thanks, unfortunately I am wary of the weight requirements for live cargo ... Does anyone have any experience with the gooseneck in a 6.5 foot bed? We have an 02 Dodge 2500 shortbox. Pulls our 4h gn (4500 lbs empty) with no problems. Watch your tight turns and you'll be fine. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 402
Location: Lockport, Illinois |
3/4 ton Nice 4 ton load of hay...though I notice the passenger rear of the truck looks a little low... I figured it at a little over 6 ton for the hay only, as the total load would be about 8 ton. My hay supplier told me about a customer that hauled 270 bales of hay with a old Dodge gasser, first trip went ok, second trip got down the road only 1 mile before the truck gave out. |
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Member
Posts: 5
| I pull a Featherlite 3 horse 10 foot shortwall LQ with a 3/4 ton Dodge and have no problem at all. Just added the Timbrens to keep it from squatting. Might be a little over the weight recommended for the truck, but it pulls it like a dream. |
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Veteran
Posts: 285
| We pulled our old trailer 3h 10 ft lq with three quarter ton truck and with our dually when we sold the 3/4 ton. The 3/4 ton did handle the trailer ok, but it is so much better with the dually. a lot more stability. Def go dually if that is what you want. You really can tell a difference. we should have went dually in the first place but hubby was afraid i would tear the fenders off, knock on wood havent done that yet, but i don't pull the lq trailer either. Debbie |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 714
Location: Minnesota | I'm a new user even though I've been browsing for a while. I have a 4H with a 6'SW weekender. We carry 40 gal of water in the LQ. Not sure of the weight, but we pull it with an 01 Ford 350 crew cab short box SRW. It has a V-10 engine. We have had no problems, but I am going to put air bags on this winter to give it a better ride. Most of the trailers, unless they are 8' wide have a tapered nose so you really don't need to worry about jack knifing. I know a lot of people are pushing duals and diesels. Again economics come to mind. You will pay approx. $7,000 extra for a diesel. Simple interest @ 8% tells you that you will pay $560/ year to own that engine. Diesel fuel is about 30 cents higher than gas. Oil changes run about double the cost of gas engines. I have a friend with basicly the same set up as mine, only a diesel. He gets 3 mpg better when hauling. I have gotten up to 18 mpg w/o trailer. Even if you don't mind the extra width of duals, they do reduce your mpg. |
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Veteran
Posts: 196
Location: WI | Those are all valid points, genebob.  |
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Location: Brighton, Colorado | Originally written by PaulChristenson on 2007-11-14 1:27 AM
Originally written by osue077 on 2007-11-13 9:41 PM 3/4 ton Nice 4 ton load of hay...though I notice the passenger rear of the truck looks a little low... It would be nice and level if it were a 1 ton... But the load still doesn't fit in the building...
That was 265 bales @ 70 lb average, backing downhill and drivers side is in a ditch. Also, it is level on level ground. That trailer (with 3 axles) hold 70% weight. Jealous Much?
Edited by osue077 2007-11-14 8:11 PM
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 Expert
Posts: 1871
Location: NY | You are better to get the 3500 more power if better just in case you have a friend with a draft horse that you would like to take with you |
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Expert
Posts: 5870
Location: western PA | Most truck owners will not recoup the extra cost of their diesels over a gas motor by better fuel economy. Their purchase is usually made for the extra power, greater reliability and the wonderful odor left on your gloves at the fueling stop. The cost of a one ton truck isn't much more than a three quarter when amortized over your payment period. As many have stated, you can grow into it if needed, instead of swapping out as your trailer equipment grows larger. The drw and srw debate will never be settled as long as each group is pleased with what they own. I have a single and do not want a dual set up. My truck provides exactly what I want from it, and hopefully I have all the trailers that I will need. BOL Gard |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 714
Location: Minnesota | When I bought my F350 I didn't think I needed it either. Thought a 250 would do. Glad I did what I did. In 01 when I bought it, the main reason was because it cost me $280 to upgrade. In Minnesota the big difference was the license plates. A 1 ton plates were $120 per year versus $480 for a 1/2 or 3/4 ton.You might want to check on that in your state. |
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Veteran
Posts: 196
Location: WI | Originally written by gard on 2007-11-15 9:24 AM The cost of a one ton truck isn't much more than a three quarter when amortized over your payment period.
Actually, I was flipping thru the paper last nite and I saw a number of lightly used 07 dualies for sale at prices LESS than their 3/4 ton counterparts. Seems there are a surplus in this area. There are a LOT of folks around here that buy dualies and use them as status vehicles, yet seldom (if ever) hook up to a trailer. Maybe the fule prices are getting to them? |
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Expert
Posts: 5870
Location: western PA | I used to work with a guy that owned a one ton dually diesel. No trailer hitch, spotless I/O carpeting in the bed, never carried anything heavier or larger than his lunch box. Don't think he even had a cat or dog. Definitely no smelly stuff. We had the same jobs, but he was buff and a TRUCKER, a real man. Gard |
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Veteran
Posts: 196
Location: WI | Originally written by gard on 2007-11-15 10:54 AM We had the same jobs, but he was buff and a TRUCKER, a real man. Gard Did he have a mullet? I bet he did - that would be icing on the cake! 
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Posts: 5870
Location: western PA | Hank Thanks for the memories Gard |
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Expert
Posts: 5870
Location: western PA | The beer went up my nose and I think I need some depends. |
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Regular
Posts: 50
Location: SC | Bumping in hopes someone will have some good technical info. Thanks. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1283
Location: Home of Wild Turkey Whiskey | No real technical info, but real world. Since 1993 I had been driving a 4 door Dually. I am hooked to a trailer at least once a week, of various sizes ect... Last year I decided to get a GMC 4 door 3/4 ton shortbed Duramax. I installed the turnover ball myself, first thing I noticed is the ball is about 4" in front of centerline of axle(due to a crossmember under the bed), with an already tight area this was not good. So $150 later I have the extend a ball. sets the ball back about 5"-6". As stated above I pull a number of different trailers one of those is a fifth wheel camper. That trailer has NO TAPER in the nose, it is also 102" wide. I can turn it, back it, pull it anywhere I want. Sometimes(rarely) you have to pull up an extra time or two and pay a little attention to where the trailer is in relation to the back window of the truck. The whole reason for the trade to a single rear wheel truck was the Dodge I had was to tall to tow a short trailer, i.e. a 4' shortwall 2HS, it was also to tall for the fifth wheel. I have a few measurments that I'm going to share in the next couple of days that will be alarming to everyday folks such as me. Also the 9600lbs. is not an issue with my truck I have had 15K on it with no problems.
Edited by HWBar 2007-12-20 5:38 AM
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Regular
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Location: SC | Good to know. Thanks!!! |
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Trailer Vehicle Choosing Issues..... 2500/3500 Bed length? Last post...
