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Use commercial anti sway hitch expensive but you can do more with less vehicle.
Not really..... I had an anti-sway hitch on my last travel trailer. In a good sidewind, you still have very little control and the tail wagging the dog becomes a very quick and real danger. 1/2 tons are not designed to pull a long, heavy trailer. While it may physically get it moving, stopping it and controlling it isn't magically solved with a hitch or sway bars.
Not really..... I had an anti-sway hitch on my last travel trailer. In a good sidewind, you still have very little control and the tail wagging the dog becomes a very quick and real danger. 1/2 tons are not designed to pull a long, heavy trailer. While it may physically get it moving, stopping it and controlling it isn't magically solved with a hitch or sway bars.
Agreed plus jumping up from a 1/2-ton to a Super Duty or Heavy Duty 3/4 ton or SRW 1-ton is not that much more expensive and for the HD parts bigger brakes, Axles, Suspension and Beefed up HD transmission(s) and HD cooling systems they are worth it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bvj...Zc6fGtEcyAR0K_
these would be 4-5 year-old used trucks today both great for towing a 30' trailer and also all have depreciated enugh to make them decent bargins but still new enough to be decent rigs with modern comfort and towing/hauling features and not all beat to heck or with massive amount of miles on them yet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bvj...Zc6fGtEcyAR0K_
these would be 4-5 year-old used trucks today both great for towing a 30' trailer and also all have depreciated enugh to make them decent bargins but still new enough to be decent rigs with modern comfort and towing/hauling features and not all beat to heck or with massive amount of miles on them yet
I don't know if you've looked at prices of the HD trucks, but they haven't depreciated all that much I was looking at 2008-2011 diesel 2500s to replace my Suburban and they are still in the $30-40k range for decent ones.
That's why I'm keeping the 2500 Suburban. It was $6500 for a 3/4 ton truck with a 12,000 lb towing capacity. My 30ft travel trailer (pictured in my other post in the thread) weighs 7800 lbs dry and about 9k lbs loaded. The Suburban tows it with ease with the 8.1 liter V8 and there's no diesel maintenance costs or added purchase cost.
I don't know if you've looked at prices of the HD trucks, but they haven't depreciated all that much I was looking at 2008-2011 diesel 2500s to replace my Suburban and they are still in the $30-40k range for decent ones.
That's why I'm keeping the 2500 Suburban. It was $6500 for a 3/4 ton truck with a 12,000 lb towing capacity. My 30ft travel trailer (pictured in my other post in the thread) weighs 7800 lbs dry and about 9k lbs loaded. The Suburban tows it with ease with the 8.1 liter V8 and there's no diesel maintenance costs or added purchase cost.
Not sure what area you are in, but here you can pick up an early to mid 2000's 2500 series diesel with decent miles for under $10k. I paid $20k for my 2008 F250 with 120k miles on it. A friend bought his 06 F250 FX4 crew cab Lariat with 140k miles for $16k. My dad bought his 05 Chevy Duramax for $10k cash with 165k miles.
What diesel maintenance costs are you referring to? My diesel costs me no more to maintain than my Expedition. There is a premium over buying a diesel versus a gas burner, but the difference in longevity more than makes up that premium if you intend to keep it for a long period of time, or drive a lot of miles.
Not sure what area you are in, but here you can pick up an early to mid 2000's 2500 series diesel with decent miles for under $10k. I paid $20k for my 2008 F250 with 120k miles on it. A friend bought his 06 F250 FX4 crew cab Lariat with 140k miles for $16k. My dad bought his 05 Chevy Duramax for $10k cash with 165k miles.
What diesel maintenance costs are you referring to? My diesel costs me no more to maintain than my Expedition. There is a premium over buying a diesel versus a gas burner, but the difference in longevity more than makes up that premium if you intend to keep it for a long period of time, or drive a lot of miles.
Here in the midatlantic region, 5-8 year old diesels (which is what I was responding to) cost $30-40k with low miles.
Yeah, you can find high mileage ones for less, but they often need a lot of work, or are rusty. Lift pumps, etc, and especially with Ford 6.0s, the costs of modifying them to be reliable are exorbitant. Oil changes are expensive for example.
I had a couple turbo diesels (the Suburban replaced them) and they were simply more cost to maintain and repair as well as costing more to purchase at the same mileage as gassers. And they stink, sound horrible, etc. I'd love a newer Duramax turbo diesel or a Ford 6.7 turbo diesel, but the costs are so much greater than the Suburban I got that I can drive for a LONG time on the purchase price savings.
I'm not used to dealing with rust. No rust down here in Alabama.
I'm not too concerned with one that has been maintained properly having close to 200k on it. Dad's 05 Duramax has around 240k on it now and runs like a clock. The only work he has done was to rebuild the hand primer pump when one of the seals failed. I've seen diesels go for upwards of 400k with very minimal work done as long as a strict maintenance regimen was followed.
That 2011 Denali is about on point with pricing though with the miles. It's their top of the line truck. Heck, I bought my 2012 Ram 2500 in Tennessee with 53k miles for $37k and it's an SLT with a cloth interior. No bells and whistles. They tend to drop off in price after they get about 10 years old it seems... at least down here.
Smell and sound is a personal preference. I actually love the sound and smell of a diesel (although my Ram doesn't have much of any smell) personally.
Not sure what area you are in, but here you can pick up an early to mid 2000's 2500 series diesel with decent miles for under $10k. I paid $20k for my 2008 F250 with 120k miles on it. A friend bought his 06 F250 FX4 crew cab Lariat with 140k miles for $16k. My dad bought his 05 Chevy Duramax for $10k cash with 165k miles.
What diesel maintenance costs are you referring to? My diesel costs me no more to maintain than my Expedition. There is a premium over buying a diesel versus a gas burner, but the difference in longevity more than makes up that premium if you intend to keep it for a long period of time, or drive a lot of miles.
I scored an 96 F259 crew cab diesel 160k for $13k. I was also looking an another 06 extended cab F250 6.0 for $10K. The extra stance of the crew cab is well worth the price of admission.
In reality if it's primarily used as a tow vehicle, one could get away with an extended cab or even a regular cab. That would get down into the $6-8k price range. And if leather and all the fancy gadgetry isn't necessary one could save even more by finding a manual transmission work truck. My uncle bought a 99 F250 crew cab XL "work truck" with power windows and locks with 90k miles a year or so ago for $7,000 cash money. The truck is in excellent condition and has a super reliable 7.3L engine in it.
If I'm going to be RVing all across the country, I'm not putting my family in a work truck. And used work trucks are beat to hell, sorry. I also HAD a '96 turbo diesel extended cab pickup. Of that era, they were problematic and not economical. And didn't make that much power, to be honest, even in comparison to my 8.1 liter gasser.
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And used work trucks are beat to hell, sorry. I also HAD a '96 turbo diesel extended cab pickup. Of that era, they were problematic and not economical. And didn't make that much power, to be honest, even in comparison to my 8.1 liter gasser.
