Family tow vehicle?

The answer is keep the current truck, put the camper on a gooseneck, for the couple times the wife and kids go drive separate in the vehicle you already own ;)
 
77GreenMachine said:
The answer is keep the current truck, put the camper on a gooseneck, for the couple times the wife and kids go drive separate in the vehicle you already own ;)
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This actually makes a lot of sense, Clayquon.

My only question would be, when you got your whole family to go on a wheeling trip...where would you all stay? There's no TC option if you got a rig to haul the family & TJ on the 20' tag. Take the coin, buy a GN, put camper on, let wife and kids ride separate so we can be our vulgar-selves on the mics in convoy
 
Tim88XJ said:
Did not know that truck existed until a few weeks ago.
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They switched from a "2500" in 2013 to a "3500". The trucks are fairly similar, but the 3500 is expensive and targeted pretty much solely to govt contracts for armored vehicle conversions. IIRC, the towing capacity per GM is something like 3000#.
 
Ron said:
I agree with you in premise, but...A deere 820 is a 2 ton tractor OP wants to pull 7k. Almost double.

But Id pull it with a half ton with a WD hitch, (might add air bags) and good trailer brakes.
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That's 7k total weight, with trailer. Not just his rig.

Think I looked up the wrong 820 initially. Evidently there are several of them.
That one seems to weigh 4k. Plus that big mower on the back, that's easily 500lbs, I'd think. So 4500, plus that's a pretty stout trailer...I'd say he's scaring 7k to death with that load. I bet it's not much difference.

And it's only twice a year, by his account. I'd definitely get a bigger rig if he's going to do it 10x a year, but I wouldn't want to live with a 2500 for 2x a year.

A 2010-ish Suburban is rated at 7900lbs for a 4wd, so he'd be at the top of the capacity but it depends on what his load really is.

Honestly, I don't see why a TJ and a typical open trailer would weigh 7k anyway, unles he has one hell of a heavy-duty trailer....might want to go weigh it and see what you're dealing with before you buy anything.
 
jeepinmatt said:
FWIW, you can get a 6.7 Ford Lariat or King Ranch with under 200k miles for about the same money, and not have to sweat the load and mpg, then sell the Dodge and have a nice vehicle for the family instead of a Dodge :p. Here's a local example on FB:
2011 Ford F-250 Lariat Crew Cab Pickup
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This is still the best answer... But the suburban will ride nicer and track better on the highway than the Ford.
 
shawn said:
This is still the best answer... But the suburban will ride nicer and track better on the highway than the Ford.
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And it will be more maneuverable as well, whereas a Ford 250 won't turn around in a 10 acre field. But that ride...there won't be any comparison between the two. 3/4 ton truck is going to be RUFF.
 
Pacfanweb said:
And it will be more maneuverable as well, whereas a Ford 250 won't turn around in a 10 acre field. But that ride...there won't be any comparison between the two. 3/4 ton truck is going to be RUFF.
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Have you driven a "modern" 3/4 ton truck lately? Its no mini Cooper in parking lots, and no Cadillac on the highway, but the ride and maneuverability is quite decent, and the visibility out the back is great compared to any SUV. Plus those superduty mirrors :D Anyway, didn't mean to start a pissing match, just offering real world advice from someone who actually owns one.
 
jeepinmatt said:
Have you driven a "modern" 3/4 ton truck lately? Its no mini Cooper in parking lots,
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This is true. A sb Ford turns almost as tight as a lb Dodge. It's probably only 4-5' wider.

Honestly, though.... Ford has had 21 years to fix the turning radius on their trucks, and haven't done it yet. From what I hear, the new body style is actually worse than the 05-16 trucks.
 
shawn said:
This is true. A sb Ford turns almost as tight as a lb Dodge. It's probably only 4-5' wider.

Honestly, though.... Ford has had 21 years to fix the turning radius on their trucks, and haven't done it yet. From what I hear, the new body style is actually worse than the 05-16 trucks.
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jeepinmatt said:
Anyway, didn't mean to start a pissing match, just offering real world advice from someone who actually owns one.
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What year is your Ford? :flipoff2:
My post was about value for a nice family hauler that could tow well.
 
jeepinmatt said:
Have you driven a "modern" 3/4 ton truck lately? Its no mini Cooper in parking lots, and no Cadillac on the highway, but the ride and maneuverability is quite decent, and the visibility out the back is great compared to any SUV. Plus those superduty mirrors :D Anyway, didn't mean to start a pissing match, just offering real world advice from someone who actually owns one.
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Drive them quite frequently, yes.
And I'm comparing it to a half ton Suburban. There's not any comparison, doesn't matter whose 3/4 ton truck you're comparing to.

That was my point... If you buy a 3/4 ton or bigger truck, then you have to live with a 3/4 ton or bigger truck. 1/2 ton is much more maneuverable, rides better, and I believe in this case tows enough for the OP
 
shawn said:
This is true. A sb Ford turns almost as tight as a lb Dodge. It's probably only 4-5' wider.

Honestly, though.... Ford has had 21 years to fix the turning radius on their trucks, and haven't done it yet. From what I hear, the new body style is actually worse than the 05-16 trucks.
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Far as half tons go, I can tell you for a fact that the 15 and up Ford's don't turn as tight as the GM truck. Haven't driven a Dodge lately.
The 14-down didn't , either.

Don't know why they are like that.
 
New ram 3500 doesn’t turn any better than the 18 250. The 550 will turn on a dime but for a family to hauler I’d go 250 with a camper shell all day every day unless I needed a dually then I’d just stick with the 550.
 
Pacfanweb said:
Far as half tons go, I can tell you for a fact that the 15 and up Ford's don't turn as tight as the GM truck. Haven't driven a Dodge lately.
The 14-down didn't , either.

Don't know why they are like that.
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For those who need to make tight turns, the F-150 has the Chevy Silverado 1500 beat on that as well. The F-150 has a turning radius of 20.4’ versus the Chevy Silverado 1500’s 22.3’. Needing nearly 2 less feet to make a turn goes a long way. Don’t get stuck and make the F-150 your new truck today
 
cass92lx50 said:
For those who need to make tight turns, the F-150 has the Chevy Silverado 1500 beat on that as well. The F-150 has a turning radius of 20.4’ versus the Chevy Silverado 1500’s 22.3’. Needing nearly 2 less feet to make a turn goes a long way. Don’t get stuck and make the F-150 your new truck today
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I don't know about that. I have a 2015 GMC, and my biggest customer is a Ford dealer. I have gotten out of my truck and gotten into many, many F-150s the last few years, and they definitely do not turn as tight as my truck. Maybe something changed in 2019 or 2020, but I find conflicting info on that.
 
BigClay said:
Just thinking out loud here. Eventually I will need a new daily driver and family hauler.

What is everyone’s thoughts on a 1500 Suburban/Yukon XL with a 5.3 pulling my 20’ trailer with my TJ on it? Probably 7k pounds.

i still have my dodge for main towing duties, this would be for the once or twice a year that I could get the whole family to go on a wheeling trip.
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you’re welcome to try my truck out with your rig and trailer anytime to get the feel of the Fords if you want. If you don’t know, I have the ‘18 F150 3.5EB Crew Cab. Non tow package so 3.22 gear.
 
My answer will be a little biased because my wife has driven an Excursion for the last 6 years. She loves it and has told me to keep it going as long as I can.

That being said, I think full sized vans are over looked for family vehicles. I would love to replace her excursion with a v10 5r110 e350 one day. The best bang for your buck out there right now it the enterprise rental vans....

2018 Chevrolet Express Passenger LT RWD 3500 155" at Enterprise Car Sales Greensboro

Almost new, 6.0 6l90 combo, still has factory warranty.

I love the increased inside room of a full sized van without the increase of overall size over an suv.
 
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All your problems solved, no trailer needed.
IMG_0209_zps2a1f7fab.jpg
 
I'm looking into the Durango rt awd. I need to be able to seat 6 (3 car seats) as a daily and tow my tj maybe twice a year. It's rated at 8300lbs with the 6.4 hemi.
 
Towing with it a couple times a year...That’s where I am, so that’s why it didn’t hurt my feelings too bad when I sold my Cummins 2500 and went to a F150. I did add a WDH.
 
VortecJeep said:
Towing with it a couple times a year...That’s where I am, so that’s why it didn’t hurt my feelings too bad when I sold my Cummins 2500 and went to a F150. I did add a WDH.
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Yeah but that truck sure has hurt @D2320M feelings :D
 
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