What truck to buy?

I am not fond of the 350s because seems no matter what you do to them you can only get ~17-18 mpg.

When I need torque to get a heavy load moving I drop it into 4 low, 1st gear and "crawl" until load is moving. I plan to keep this truck as long as I can. When it does come time to replace it will go with Diesel, probably FORD powerstroke. (can't beleive die-hard chevy man gonna buy a ford).

From conversations I've had they have the most torque for value, good motors and last forever.
HTH,
ShepFL

My bottom line is.....since I used the diesel's, I'll never go back to gas. Torque is important more than high horse power if your pulling.

The diesel will give you more torque per CI and use less fuel plus twice the miles. You can drive them well over 200K miles....

Yes only my 2 cents.

John

I have two trucks 95 Chevy with a 350, and a 97 Ford F250 with a powerstroke. For light hauling I'll use the Chey, had a 1 yard of gravel it last weekend boy you should of squat. The F250 would not have done that. We pull a 35 ft camping trailer from time to time and the F250 drops down to 13-15 MPG, and empty is 19-21 MPG. Like the others have said the 3/4 tons will be heavier but work less on pulling the loads. I really don't worry about going fast anymoree, I like the stopping and 3/4 ton will be better at it than the 1/2 ton. Go with 3/4 ton My 2 cents good luck !

Sam

What do both of the replies have in common? They recommend a 3/4 ton. True, it is heavier and that will eat some horsepower. However, the heavier duty components deal with the stresses of towing a LOT better, heat up less and all that translates to more power available for the job at hand. A travel trailer isn't that heavy compared to some things, but it sure does have a lot of wind resistance. A car running steady state down the interstate consumes a fraction of the total horsepower the engine has to deliver. An airplane cruising along steady state uses nearly ALL the horsepower the engine has to deliver, that's why you can't put a car engine in an airplane without SERIOUSLY upgrading the crankshaft. A 3/4 ton and a big block will deal with the situation better. I've never had a problem towing from 3 to 5K pounds with a 1/2 ton and small block, but I slow down to between 20 and 40 MPH going over passes (and don't mind doing that because I only do this when I move household goods). My dad has a travel trailer (26 feet) and just switched from a 1/2 ton to a 3/4 ton and says there is no comparison.

Good luck,

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