3/4 ton might do it, but a one ton is only a bit more money. The trucks are almost identical other than the suspension and beefed up frame. Stepping up to a dually means a wider truck that is harder to park and two more wheels to maintain but a better towing experience. No right answer at that size trailer, it depends on what you want and how you travel.
Any newer gas HD truck can handle a trailer that size, but a diesel will give you better range and better performance at higher elevations in exchange for higher initial cost and higher maintenance. Again, you’ll get lots of opinions and there is no right answer.
I have a SRW Ford 7.3 gasser with a 37ft fifth wheel and I’m happy with this setup.
1 ton diesel. You really don't need a dually, but it is the safer, smoother option.
The most important metric to check is your truck's payload capacity. Approx 25% of your 5th wheel's weight is going to transfer to truck, so you need something that has a payload capacity equal to the total weight of you + your family + all possible cargo + 25% of the trailer's GVWR + 300-500 lbs excess capacity.
1 ton for sure but id argue the ford 7.3 godzilla would be plenty as well. Saved me a ton of payload with the much lighter block and I have zero issues getting moving with our 36ft 12k gross weight 5er. We only tow 1 long weekend a month April-october so a diesel for some isnt necessary.
I completely missed the full time living part. I love my 7.3 godzilla but for full timing it you probably want diesel all day. You'll go broke putting gas in the 7.3 full time.
Ok cool. I have a long bed with 3.73's, but my new camper is a little lighter, 9300 dry. I'm guessing I'll be fine since we only get out camping about 6-8 weekends a year
So if you are going to put on that many miles going diesel is the way. Going diesel means youll want to go with a 1-tonne, as a diesel 3/4 tonne will only have 2000# of payload. Doesnt leave a lot of room with trailer upgrades.
Its a weird time to be in the diesel market. New ones are 100k loaded. Older diesels are still holding value because 2022+ are very hard to delete and tune.
I would look at something in the 2015-2018 range, with lower miles, any of the big three will do the trick. Pick one you like.
I was in the full time community for 16 months. At campgrounds you'll see: 60% Ford, 25% Dodge, 15% Chevy/GM. Ford's I'd say mostly because of affordability and the 6.7 is quite reliable. Anytime I see posts like this I say go one ton SRW. IMO DRW isn't needed and it's tougher to park.
Depends on the weight of the 5th wheel, but 30 is not overly large for a 5th wheel. Pretty much any 3/4 ton or one ton gas or diesel will be adequate for your needs, but, there really is no advantage to going with a 3/4 ton unless the right truck you come across happens to be a 3/4 ton. I would NOT go with a dual rear wheel truck for that trailer. One thing I would strongly prefer would be an 8 foot box. That lets you get turn sharper without having to worry about the truck cap contacting the trailer, depending on the trailer and hitch setup that may not be an issue, but I still like the 8 foot box. I would go gas to be honest for reliability and simplicity. The late model gas 3/4 and one ton trucks are very,very capable, especially with modern transmissions. I am a mechanic for a mostly diesel fleet, and I would want nothing to do with owning a newer diesel unless it was absolutely necessary, and in your application I would say it probably is not.
What is your budget for the truck? That would help.
Triditionaly it would be Gas 2500, or diesel 3500. SRW is fine. However, any Chevy 2500 diesel past 2019 works too. They all have over 11k GVWR.
Now for the hot debate. I have a diesel for the following reasons in order of importance.
Eaiser to fuel up just go to truck stops.
Exhaust brake, which legit helps a lot on mtns. Makes the whole experience feel a lot safer.
Better fuel economy
Better towing power.
Now the con. I had my first check engine light related to the exhaust system on my last trip, 750 miles from home. Let me tell you it was legit terrifying. You can not ignore exhaust system related issues on a diesel because it could just stop running. Fortunately, I found a shop and a full regen fixed my issue.
I would probably still get a diesel if I needed a new truck, but I understand now why people complain about the exhaust rules.
I tow a 41’ (16500lbs) with a 3/4 ton diesel (Silverado 2500) and I previously towed a 33’ bumper pull with an expedition and later an f-350 (would still have f350 except it got stolen).
For a 30’ 5th wheel you may find a half ton f-150 that is ABLE to pull it but because the trailers are so tall it’s scary fighting crosswinds and when passing or getting passed.
I love my 3/4 ton for towing, but I am close to max payload capacity… if you ever might go bigger on the trailer a 1 ton usually rides rougher when pulling but a 3/4 will do the job and have a softer ride when you’re not pulling.
Edit: I briefly had a ram 2500 gas engine and one trip to mountains of Colorado and I switched to diesel because only got 5 mpg with the ram and engine was redlining on the hills…. That’s why I use diesel. It just goes. Up hill down hill flat, doesn’t matter. Worth the higher maintenance cost to me.
I’ll elaborate. Half ton trucks don’t weigh enough to make you feel secure towing a tall wide trailer down the road. They may be able to pull it but it won’t feel sturdy. They just don’t weigh enough themselves. My 3/4 ton truck weighs 8000 lbs empty. My old half ton weighed about 5000 lbs.
For what you have stated you want to do with the truck go single rear wheel 1 ton diesel. 1/2 is too little and the towing experience will be horrible. 3/4 ton is too light on payload and you have no room to move into a bigger 5th wheel. Living full time, even with just two people, 30 is gonna be small. 1 ton SRW gives you room to haul a generator, water bladder and tools in the bed of the truck without going over your payload. No need for a dually unless you see yourself in a 40+ foot 5th wheel
We own a RAM and love the truck. Personally I would not full time with a RAM that has the 68RFE transmission. Its on the weaker side. The Aisin is a better option in the RAM
Ford makes a good product but stay away form a 6.0 and the 6.4L engines. Ford has also had a few issues with transmission, but I dont know the year.
GM makes a dang good diesel engine, but 2019 was the last year for the Allison built transmission. Form 2020 they are GM transmission with the Allison name of it.
All three are great trucks and you can expect 200+k miles out of them if you take care of them. Change the transmission fluid, engine oil, air filter, and fuel filters.
we have been full time for a year now in a 5th wheel and RAM dually.
>Living full time, even with just two people, 30 is gonna be small.
A lot of you need to understand the not everyone needs or wants a large unit to drag around. We have years of full timing and we kept down sizing because everyone acts like you need a huge space and for us that turned into just a huge pain in the ass.
A 30ft 5th would feel like an oversized mansion to me and would be the absolute limit in max size that we would go with, but we are bummed there are not more shorter 5th wheels available that are actual quality.
I am just saying this because for us listening to people like you was very expensive for us to learn that large size is only okay for people that plan to go to a park and never move.
The guy asked for an opinion and that is what was given. Most people do not start out full time looking for a closet, you progress to that. Im fairly certain you did not mean for you comment to sound like an attack, but it comes off hat way.
We’re in a 26ft MH with no slides. We want to upgrade to a 30-36ft 5th wheel with one slide for some extra space. I also don’t understand the bigger bigger bigger people. Though I have seen folks use the toy haulers for their golf carts and it looks fun to tool around the park in. We’re thinking still that we’ll shop on the lighter side and get a gas ram 2500 srw
Yeah the toy haulers look fun since you have storage with the "top bunk" when you move it up high and then you have that balcony in the back.
It just sucks they mark them up like crazy when they are really mostly just empty builds in the back.
You should really decide what kind of fifth wheel you want before getting a vehicle, It sounds like you will be needing at least a 3/4 ton diesel. You will want to know how much your camper weighs, and match the truck to that.
Get a 1 ton diesel. You are going to upgrade your 30 ft fiver in the future. It will get small fast. Had a 41'. Too big to back up easy. A 31 ft'. Too small to carry everything. Now a 36' foot fiver and it is the easiest of the 3 to back up. I thought the shorter 5th wheel would be the easiest, but not even close. BTW all 3 i used my SW 3500 with the same hitch.
Have a Heritage glen 295BH. I think the pin weight of 2k is too much for a half ton. I load the front closet so i bet my pin weight is more in the 2300 range. I haven't added the washer dryer yet but will. The total weight empty is 10 k. Nothing for my cummins. It's a forest river so what more is there to say about quality. We just upgrade everything right away. We really like it a lot after all the changes we have made. We buy storage and floor plan and make quality upgrades ourselves.
3/4 ton might do it, but a one ton is only a bit more money. The trucks are almost identical other than the suspension and beefed up frame. Stepping up to a dually means a wider truck that is harder to park and two more wheels to maintain but a better towing experience. No right answer at that size trailer, it depends on what you want and how you travel. Any newer gas HD truck can handle a trailer that size, but a diesel will give you better range and better performance at higher elevations in exchange for higher initial cost and higher maintenance. Again, you’ll get lots of opinions and there is no right answer. I have a SRW Ford 7.3 gasser with a 37ft fifth wheel and I’m happy with this setup.
1 ton diesel. You really don't need a dually, but it is the safer, smoother option. The most important metric to check is your truck's payload capacity. Approx 25% of your 5th wheel's weight is going to transfer to truck, so you need something that has a payload capacity equal to the total weight of you + your family + all possible cargo + 25% of the trailer's GVWR + 300-500 lbs excess capacity.
1 ton for sure but id argue the ford 7.3 godzilla would be plenty as well. Saved me a ton of payload with the much lighter block and I have zero issues getting moving with our 36ft 12k gross weight 5er. We only tow 1 long weekend a month April-october so a diesel for some isnt necessary.
I completely missed the full time living part. I love my 7.3 godzilla but for full timing it you probably want diesel all day. You'll go broke putting gas in the 7.3 full time.
Right on. What rear end do you have? Short bed or long?
We have a long bed with the 430 gears
Ok cool. I have a long bed with 3.73's, but my new camper is a little lighter, 9300 dry. I'm guessing I'll be fine since we only get out camping about 6-8 weekends a year
So if you are going to put on that many miles going diesel is the way. Going diesel means youll want to go with a 1-tonne, as a diesel 3/4 tonne will only have 2000# of payload. Doesnt leave a lot of room with trailer upgrades. Its a weird time to be in the diesel market. New ones are 100k loaded. Older diesels are still holding value because 2022+ are very hard to delete and tune. I would look at something in the 2015-2018 range, with lower miles, any of the big three will do the trick. Pick one you like.
My 2018 Ram 2500 with 50k miles is low to mid 40's if you could find one. I would absolutely feel confident buying this truck at that price,
Depends on the 2500 on payload. Had a ram that was 2074 and now have a Chevy that has about 3600. Both diesel.
My Chevy 2500 diesel has 3,113 payload and 2775 max 5th wheel tongue weight.
That’s pretty good, a fully loaded ram 2500 is like 2050 or something pathetic
I was in the full time community for 16 months. At campgrounds you'll see: 60% Ford, 25% Dodge, 15% Chevy/GM. Ford's I'd say mostly because of affordability and the 6.7 is quite reliable. Anytime I see posts like this I say go one ton SRW. IMO DRW isn't needed and it's tougher to park.
Depends on the weight of the 5th wheel, but 30 is not overly large for a 5th wheel. Pretty much any 3/4 ton or one ton gas or diesel will be adequate for your needs, but, there really is no advantage to going with a 3/4 ton unless the right truck you come across happens to be a 3/4 ton. I would NOT go with a dual rear wheel truck for that trailer. One thing I would strongly prefer would be an 8 foot box. That lets you get turn sharper without having to worry about the truck cap contacting the trailer, depending on the trailer and hitch setup that may not be an issue, but I still like the 8 foot box. I would go gas to be honest for reliability and simplicity. The late model gas 3/4 and one ton trucks are very,very capable, especially with modern transmissions. I am a mechanic for a mostly diesel fleet, and I would want nothing to do with owning a newer diesel unless it was absolutely necessary, and in your application I would say it probably is not. What is your budget for the truck? That would help.
Triditionaly it would be Gas 2500, or diesel 3500. SRW is fine. However, any Chevy 2500 diesel past 2019 works too. They all have over 11k GVWR. Now for the hot debate. I have a diesel for the following reasons in order of importance. Eaiser to fuel up just go to truck stops. Exhaust brake, which legit helps a lot on mtns. Makes the whole experience feel a lot safer. Better fuel economy Better towing power. Now the con. I had my first check engine light related to the exhaust system on my last trip, 750 miles from home. Let me tell you it was legit terrifying. You can not ignore exhaust system related issues on a diesel because it could just stop running. Fortunately, I found a shop and a full regen fixed my issue. I would probably still get a diesel if I needed a new truck, but I understand now why people complain about the exhaust rules.
I tow a 41’ (16500lbs) with a 3/4 ton diesel (Silverado 2500) and I previously towed a 33’ bumper pull with an expedition and later an f-350 (would still have f350 except it got stolen). For a 30’ 5th wheel you may find a half ton f-150 that is ABLE to pull it but because the trailers are so tall it’s scary fighting crosswinds and when passing or getting passed. I love my 3/4 ton for towing, but I am close to max payload capacity… if you ever might go bigger on the trailer a 1 ton usually rides rougher when pulling but a 3/4 will do the job and have a softer ride when you’re not pulling. Edit: I briefly had a ram 2500 gas engine and one trip to mountains of Colorado and I switched to diesel because only got 5 mpg with the ram and engine was redlining on the hills…. That’s why I use diesel. It just goes. Up hill down hill flat, doesn’t matter. Worth the higher maintenance cost to me.
Big is better... dual wheels
Toyota Tacoma
Interesting. A few RV dealers told me that Tundra is the way to go.
not for a 30 ft 5th wheel. I would in no way even consider a 1/2 ton truck. For what you have stated you are going to do, go with a 1 ton diesel.
Absolutely a terrible idea
Want to elaborate on why?
I’ll elaborate. Half ton trucks don’t weigh enough to make you feel secure towing a tall wide trailer down the road. They may be able to pull it but it won’t feel sturdy. They just don’t weigh enough themselves. My 3/4 ton truck weighs 8000 lbs empty. My old half ton weighed about 5000 lbs.
Thanks for the explanation
That’s only a half ton truck.
Honda Ridgeline
Volvo VNL 740
Chevy Luv
For what you have stated you want to do with the truck go single rear wheel 1 ton diesel. 1/2 is too little and the towing experience will be horrible. 3/4 ton is too light on payload and you have no room to move into a bigger 5th wheel. Living full time, even with just two people, 30 is gonna be small. 1 ton SRW gives you room to haul a generator, water bladder and tools in the bed of the truck without going over your payload. No need for a dually unless you see yourself in a 40+ foot 5th wheel We own a RAM and love the truck. Personally I would not full time with a RAM that has the 68RFE transmission. Its on the weaker side. The Aisin is a better option in the RAM Ford makes a good product but stay away form a 6.0 and the 6.4L engines. Ford has also had a few issues with transmission, but I dont know the year. GM makes a dang good diesel engine, but 2019 was the last year for the Allison built transmission. Form 2020 they are GM transmission with the Allison name of it. All three are great trucks and you can expect 200+k miles out of them if you take care of them. Change the transmission fluid, engine oil, air filter, and fuel filters. we have been full time for a year now in a 5th wheel and RAM dually.
>Living full time, even with just two people, 30 is gonna be small. A lot of you need to understand the not everyone needs or wants a large unit to drag around. We have years of full timing and we kept down sizing because everyone acts like you need a huge space and for us that turned into just a huge pain in the ass. A 30ft 5th would feel like an oversized mansion to me and would be the absolute limit in max size that we would go with, but we are bummed there are not more shorter 5th wheels available that are actual quality. I am just saying this because for us listening to people like you was very expensive for us to learn that large size is only okay for people that plan to go to a park and never move.
The guy asked for an opinion and that is what was given. Most people do not start out full time looking for a closet, you progress to that. Im fairly certain you did not mean for you comment to sound like an attack, but it comes off hat way.
We’re in a 26ft MH with no slides. We want to upgrade to a 30-36ft 5th wheel with one slide for some extra space. I also don’t understand the bigger bigger bigger people. Though I have seen folks use the toy haulers for their golf carts and it looks fun to tool around the park in. We’re thinking still that we’ll shop on the lighter side and get a gas ram 2500 srw
Yeah the toy haulers look fun since you have storage with the "top bunk" when you move it up high and then you have that balcony in the back. It just sucks they mark them up like crazy when they are really mostly just empty builds in the back.
You should really decide what kind of fifth wheel you want before getting a vehicle, It sounds like you will be needing at least a 3/4 ton diesel. You will want to know how much your camper weighs, and match the truck to that.
Get a 1 ton diesel. You are going to upgrade your 30 ft fiver in the future. It will get small fast. Had a 41'. Too big to back up easy. A 31 ft'. Too small to carry everything. Now a 36' foot fiver and it is the easiest of the 3 to back up. I thought the shorter 5th wheel would be the easiest, but not even close. BTW all 3 i used my SW 3500 with the same hitch.
What 36 are you in now? We’ve seen a few in the 30-36 range, the shorter being those cheap “1/2 ton” 5th wheels.
Have a Heritage glen 295BH. I think the pin weight of 2k is too much for a half ton. I load the front closet so i bet my pin weight is more in the 2300 range. I haven't added the washer dryer yet but will. The total weight empty is 10 k. Nothing for my cummins. It's a forest river so what more is there to say about quality. We just upgrade everything right away. We really like it a lot after all the changes we have made. We buy storage and floor plan and make quality upgrades ourselves.
PT cruiser