I have a 06 4x4 Lariat SuperCrew which I use to tow my 7,500-8,000lb camper. It does fairly well with the exception of steep hills where it slows down and down hill when the weight can feel a little over powering. But overall, it does impressive to say the least for a half-ton. I have a 2" leveling kit up front. A Add A Leaf on back and a Edge power programmer. I am at a point where I either want to trade it on a new diesel pickup or upgrade it further. I don't want to pay more per month, but I will probably have to pay at least a little more like $150-$200 per month. Now I know most people would say to get the diesel, but I just wanted to chime in here on this board to get some input. There's other Rv/Towing forums where everybody needs a F-350 dually to tow a pop up camper. It should be called the Heavy Duty truck club. Those guys do nothing but bash half ton owners by saying "sorry to tell you, but you need a new truck buddy". I know I could probably get a better idea in here. Thanks in advance.

 

just regear your truck

you can actually gain mpg in the city, and the steeper gears will help you on the long hauls in the hills.

I suggest 4.56 or 4.88 gears. I'll cost you about $1k to $1.5k for the gears + install


then, if it still isn't up to par, I suggest you get a 2000-2003 F-250 with 7.3. The 7.3 is a beast that actually gets good MPG and can pull anything you want without trying.

either way, if you do the gears first and hang onto the truck for 2-3 months, they will be roughly the amount a new truck payment would cost you

 

I don't know that I would go and get a new deisel to tow the camper. You may want to look at getting custom tunes on your Edge or maybe the regear. The other thing to think about it waiting for the 09 to come out and look at one of those. If you look at the 09 forum you will see a post with a link to the owners manual and I think that is says the towing cap is up to over 11.5. That is on the Supercrew. It is just a thought, but I would think that the priemium on the diesel wouldn't be worth it.

 

I love buying new stuff, and the deals on leftover diesels are unbelievable now. I would buy new , but thats just me.

 

I was never happy towing any of my trailers over the years with a gasser. I want to be able to maintain 55mph minimum up just about any grade with the ac on. If you can afford it by all means switch to diesel. These days with transmissions that assist with downhill braking and integrated trailer brakes etc it's the only way to go. Find a friend of a friend with a diesel who is willing to hook up to your trailer and show you.

 

I really wanted to get a new diesel, but man them dealerships are really proud of them. Especially the Fords. I even looked at Dodge, and they really have a nice rig. More powerful than the Ford in my opinion, but even then, being that I have a trade, it seems to make little sense to take such a loss in order to pull a camper 10 times a year or so. I'm thinking of keeping, and upgrading the tranny cooler and I actually could use new tires, so some LT tires would be in order.

 

Regarding the regearing, where does one buy the gears, and how difficult is it to do yourself? I imagine the difficulty level is pretty high up there as it would pretty much involve rebuilding the diffs right?

 

Hey just put a Roush supercharger on and call it a day. lol. But seriously keep the truck you have now. It's not gonna break pulling that kind of weight. Plus look at the cost of ownership of a diesel (not to offend anyone) higher to maintain, higher fuel cost, bigger truck payment. Just keep everything in perspective that you need for yourself and don't worry.

 

It all boils down to how fast you want to get there! I was in the same boat and couldn't justify a SD that I just didn't use much. Ended up getting rid of all of it, guess I'll stay in a hotel.

 

if you like your truck, then i say lower your gears and upgrade your breaks and calipers. more stopping power and more towning capabilities. but if you feel you need the upgrade to 3/4 ton, now is a great time to get a screaming deal on a new truck that is priced half of what it was last year. just be sure to to diesel. o and buy the way the only diffrence between the 250 and a 450 is breaks, gears and tuning. as they share the same motor, tranny and other parts. and just to point out the obivious a 250 also comes standard with a 5.4