If I was going to buy a 1/2 ton truck for a 20something ft. bumper pull...

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texascop2

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...and have zero brand loyalty, what should I be looking at? Big 3 American trcuks and Toyota Tundra are on the list.
 
as indicated in the title....I am looking for a 1/2 ton, but the 3/4 ton Dodges are nice.
 
By the time you load up you'll be close to the weight limit. 20' something could turn into a 29'. Buy your trailer first, then shop for a truck.
J
 
truck will be a daily driver and I dont think the wife will drive a 3/4 ton.... ;D
 
If you can manage a 3/4 ton, do it.  If you enjoy trailering and want to upgrade in a year or two, you may end up needing a bigger truck.  I bought an F250 and as strong as that is, I'm limited to the smaller/lighter 5ers.  I could have bought the 1 ton for a few hundred more at the time.  Now, 7 years latter, moving to a 1 ton, if I was so inclined, would be a bundle. 

 
texascop2 said:
truck will be a daily driver and I dont think the wife will drive a 3/4 ton.... ;D
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Niether one is a great daily driver fuel wise, 3/4 ride is a little rougher unloaded. Are you buying a new truck?
J
 
I pull a 28ft TT with my Dodge 1500 4x4, 5.7 hemi, 3.92 axle ratio, 20" tires.  I get 10 to 13 mpg towing, did  average 22 mpg driving truck only between Phoenix and Jackson, WY.  19-20 mpg is more typical on highway. I have towed our TT which weighs 6300 lbs loaded over 11,000 ft pases in CO.  It has been a good all around truck and meets my needs. I use it 90% of the time for local driveing without the TT.  A 1/2 ton is perfect for my needs.  I have no desire to go larger in either truck or TT.  My2cents.
 
I am not over concerned about the gas milage, but inmaking sure she is comfy driving it.  3/4 tons are better than they once were but a 1/2 ton is far more comfy to drive in my opinion.  I see some great used deals and will probably buy a used truck that is 1-4 years old depending on what I find.  I have a friend with an 07 Dodge 1/2 ton with the 4.7 gas engine  and it only has 30k miles.  I can buy it cheap and it has been pampered but I dont think it will tow all that much.

We will probably tow a TT 5-6 times a year.
 
texascop2 said:
I am not over concerned about the gas milage, but inmaking sure she is comfy driving it.  3/4 tons are better than they once were but a 1/2 ton is far more comfy to drive in my opinion.  I see some great used deals and will probably buy a used truck that is 1-4 years old depending on what I find.  I have a friend with an 07 Dodge 1/2 ton with the 4.7 gas engine  and it only has 30k miles.  I can buy it cheap and it has been pampered but I dont think it will tow all that much.

We will probably tow a TT 5-6 times a year.
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I wouldn't go for the 4.7.  If your going to get a 1/2 ton, my 2007 Chevy with the 5.3 engine, looks just like the 2011 and pulls ok.  With it I get about 10 mpg with a 19 foot trailer weighing 7700 lbs.  Talk about a dog though, I don't think about passing. 

With my Ram 1500, 5.7 Hemi spec'd as described by Lowell, add duel exhaust and 4WD, it'll pull that same trailer all over town.  Pass trucks on a hill picking up speed, it only gets about 7.5mpg though, but I'd rather use that for towing than the Chevy.  Even without a trailer though it gets about 3mpg less than the Chevy.  But again, it's 4WD and the Chevy is not.

 
To me, this is a no brainer.  There is no better 1/2 ton truck than the Toyota Tundra with the 5.7 Liter.  Do the research and you will see that the Toyota comes out on top.  I'm talking about the 2007 and later Tundra, of course.  I owned one and loved it.  We towed a 28 foot TT no problem. Only got rid of it because wife wanted a fifth wheel and the Tundra couldn't take the pin weight and their box is too short to tow a fifth wheel.  There are remedies for that issue now though.  Best riding truck I have even been in and I have driven them all. 
 
I agree that th Tundra is a serious truck to consider.  I live about 30 minutes from the factory that builds them.  While gas mileage wont be a make or break issue, all the Tundra owners I know love thri trucks, but admit that they get 20%-25% less milage than any other pickup.

Their 5.7 is impressive nonetheless.
 
Im sure youve made a desicion already but I bought a 2012 dodge ram 1500 with the 5.7 litre hemi 2wd. I pull a 26' jayco jay flight swift. We havent had any problems at all and average 10 to 13 mpg also. Got the truck for under 30k with lots of great features. I have 3 kids and we all pile in and were still comfortable.
 
Another truck is the F150 V6 Eco-Boost will pull it like a champ.

I bought one to pull our 31' 8600# Trailer.    Get a longer bed.  I bought the 6.5 ft bed vs the 5.5 in the super crew cab.  Very happy.
 
Well, with a general question like this, you will get 3 categories of replies...some of which you can already see: 
  • X brand is best because (some based on fact and some on opinion).
  • Don't bother with a 1/2 ton.
  • Eventually someone will say get a diesel since you might want a huge 5er down the road.
There are many capable 1/2 tons out there. I have a 3/4 ton since I did not want to be "at the limit" with my TT's GVWR of 10,400 lbs. I also need (ok, want) the additional payload of a 3/4 ton. My truck is a daily driver - if I had a smaller TT, I would have stuck with a 1/2 ton for the ride.  I had a (properly equipped) 1/2 ton and pulled a 27', 7,000 lb TT for 3 years with no issues except being very slow on the hills.

If you are buying new, take the time and drive them all. If buying used, it's a little tougher to find comparable models to evaluate. I definitely agree with "get the larger engine". The smaller V8's just won't get the job done. Take your time and find the right combination of truck and trailer and you will be fine.
 
It looks to me like you need to sit down, take a deep breath and decide exactly what you want to do.  As mentioned 20 something can turn into 30 something very easy.  And not to ruffle any feathers, but I would bet that many of the replies that say "Tows fine" are probably pushing the limits.  Pushing the limits does not make for a fun trip, even short ones.  Either pick a TT and then fine the right size TV or get the TV and then find a TT that will match it.  Right now you have too many varibles for anyone to give a real answer.  We've gone the route, car with tent, old Chevy S10 pulling a small pop-up, 1/2 ton Chevy pulling a 24' TT, to our present 1 Ton Diesel Dually pulling a 40' 5er.  So we've been there, done that.
 
BigDfromTN said:
Another truck is the F150 V6 Eco-Boost will pull it like a champ.

I bought one to pull our 31' 8600# Trailer.    Get a longer bed.  I bought the 6.5 ft bed vs the 5.5 in the super crew cab.  Very happy.
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Absolutely and another vote here!

We pulled all our previous towables with an F150. All within spec and the truck did a great job. Had we stayed the towable route, would have very seriously considered the Ecoboost. To get the max towing out of it, you'd likely need to special order it. (If memory serves, need the Max Tow package + HD package - or called something similar). On all of these trucks, the true inhibitor is with the payload limits. The more you can get there, the better.

Good luck to you in whatever you decide!
 
We had a 27 ft. 2008 R-Vision Trail Cruiser TT that was 4200# and towed with a 2008 GMC Sierra 1/2 ton 5.3 V8, 4WD, it seemed to pull fine, last winter we traded the TT for a 2012 24ft. Jayco Jayflight that weighs 5300#, the first trip with the new camper I immediately noticed the truck was quite underpowered, the frontal area on the new camper is more square so I guess that is why the camper pulls harder, I did not think 1000# would affect it so much, I have worked for GM dealers for 25 years so I am partial to GM although I am sure all the others are great too, any way I went to my salesman about buying a 3/4 ton with a 6 litre, I really didn't want to go the 3/4 route because I tow a small snowmobile trailer all winter and a larger truck would be overkill, My saleman informed me the new GM trucks with the 5.3 engine with variable valve timing and 6 speed transmission is rated for 9500# towing capacity so I took the plunge bought a 2012 Chevy Silverado 4X4 extended cab and he was right, the new configuration (6 speed trans and reconfigured engine) is much more powerful than my old one, it also has an integrated trailer brake  and stabilitrak that will engage the trailer brakes should I start to jack knife. I couldn't be happier! the truck does about 9MPG towing the TT, and will do 21 - 22 MPG empty.
 
While I love the "Beast"... If your sure you only need that 1/2 ton, a very good friend of mine is absolutely in love with his EcoBoost 1/2 ton, V6 Ford 2011 truck.  If I remember right, he has about 11K towing capacity and can even entertain very light 5Ver's with how it's equipped. 
 
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