Tow vehicle: GM 2500 vs F250

I certainly appreciate everyone's input, and I know the ford/chevy debate isn't going to be settled here or ever.

Certainly not against a 1/2 ton option, the only caveat is the bed length with a crew cab. Only Ford offers the 6.5 ft bed with the crew cab, and looking at used trucks, they seem to be on the rare side. Don't think I can live with a crew cab 8' bed, they are hard enough to park as is. I also like the integrated trailer brake on the 2500 trucks, unsure if that is offered in the F150. I don't tow anything particularly heavy, usually just a Miata on a flatbed trailer, 4000-4500 lbs at most. Although I do on occasion have to pick up heavy building materials like tile, brick and concrete, so with a 3/4 ton I just don't have to give much thought to weight. So a 3/4 ton probably is slight overkill for what I have to do, but I prefer to err on the side of caution.

The MPG rating for the 3.5 eco boost in the Ford certainly look dreamy compared to the 11-ish that I currently get.

In reply to NoviceClass :

Since 2014 the GM half ton has been available with the 5'8" bed and the 6.5' bed. I agree with a lot of others, my 2014 6.2l half ton pulled 5500lbs great and my 2018 5.3l is great too. I thought I would regret not having the 6.2 but it hasn't been an issue at all. 
 

I'll be shopping a Ram now along with other makes. The new gen Ram interior is just so nice. 

In reply to volvoclearinghouse :

That's what trailers are for.  Then you're not driving a school bus the other 90% of the time you're not hauling anything. 

A friend of mine had a F250 long bed, crew cab.  He was backing into my driveway one day to drop some parts off.  I started yelling for him to stop when his bumper was about a foot from hitting the front of my garage, his front wheels were still in the road, lol.  I can't imagine trying to navigate parking lots in that thing.  No thanks.

rico750sxi_2 said:

In reply to NoviceClass :

Since 2014 the GM half ton has been available with the 5'8" bed and the 6.5' bed.

Honestly did not know that, I will look around a little closer.

NoviceClass said:

I certainly appreciate everyone's input, and I know the ford/chevy debate isn't going to be settled here or ever.

Certainly not against a 1/2 ton option, the only caveat is the bed length with a crew cab. Only Ford offers the 6.5 ft bed with the crew cab, and looking at used trucks, they seem to be on the rare side. Don't think I can live with a crew cab 8' bed, they are hard enough to park as is. I also like the integrated trailer brake on the 2500 trucks, unsure if that is offered in the F150. I don't tow anything particularly heavy, usually just a Miata on a flatbed trailer, 4000-4500 lbs at most. Although I do on occasion have to pick up heavy building materials like tile, brick and concrete, so with a 3/4 ton I just don't have to give much thought to weight. So a 3/4 ton probably is slight overkill for what I have to do, but I prefer to err on the side of caution.

The MPG rating for the 3.5 eco boost in the Ford certainly look dreamy compared to the 11-ish that I currently get.

What you are describing is well within the capabilities of a modern 1/2 ton.

Going to a 3/4 ton for this is going to cost you quite a bit with little gain.

In reply to NGTD :

Agreed.

Patientzero said:

In reply to volvoclearinghouse :

That's what trailers are for.  Then you're not driving a school bus the other 90% of the time you're not hauling anything. 

A friend of mine had a F250 long bed, crew cab.  He was backing into my driveway one day to drop some parts off.  I started yelling for him to stop when his bumper was about a foot from hitting the front of my garage, his front wheels were still in the road, lol.  I can't imagine trying to navigate parking lots in that thing.  No thanks.

I appreciate that your friend may have trouble driving such a large vehicle, but I've been driving that same truck configuration for over 10 years and never felt that it was too large or ungainly.  Even my current truck, which is a dually, isn't a problem.  I can even, contrary to what some might think, fit it into a conventional parking space.  Mrs VCH drives it, too, and has never had a problem or complained.  She's also 5'2" and tiny.  

Here's the thing: when I drive the truck, I'm _always_ hauling something (or on my way to haul something).  And I'd rather have a 21 foot long truck that I can wheel around easily than a 19 foot long truck with an 10 foot trailer that I have to worry about.  Yes, I have a utility trailer, because when you're running for mulch, hauling 3 yards home is better than hauling 2, but for lumber runs and other stuff, the truck works fine.  

In reply to NoviceClass :

I agree with you.  Err on the side of caution.  The 3/4 ton gets you heavier duty stuff, statistically it'll likely last longer and break less.  Just looking at the Ford website, Superduty's start around $5k more than F150's and will probably get 2-3 fewer MPG.  That's an extra cost I'd pay to make sure what I was hauling and towing with was the right tool for the job.  

I _believe_ that 3/4 ton and better trucks also hold their value better than half-tonners, since they're considered more equipment than a car, so the long-term cost of ownership may even work out slightly better.  

Of course the argument to purchase up to and only what you NEED regarding capabilities to haul and tow etc. is a sound one.

Personally, I'd rather have 400 horsepower when I know I need only 300. I'd rather have 600ft/lbs of torque when I know 450 will get the job done.

Id also rather constantly underwork my truck than to repeatedly max it out or close to it. 

I'll chime in.  I used to maintain a fleet of trucks that included mostly Chevy and Ford with a few Rams thrown in.  I won't really include that experience since I left that job in about 2003 and a lot has changed.

Right now my "fleet" is all the trucks in my rather large family has and since I'm the mechanic I'm always the first call when they stutter. 5 chevys, 3 Fords, and 1 Ram ranging from 2005 to 2019.

It all re-affirms my choice to stay with Ford.

Drivelines are all pretty good across the board.  You can't really go wrong with either one.  What keeps me buying Fords is the build quality.  The quality of materials and assembly quality is light years ahead of the Chevy.  In the chevys, the upholstery is crap, the dashboards are plasticy, rattly, buzzy, and they tend to have more electrical gremlins.  Dad's K2500's radio always defaults to playing CD #3 every time you turn on the key, and all the buttons on the dash have given up their coating.  After a few years it's like the coating on the buttons turns into crayon and gets gummy and soft.  His 2008 K3500 had some sort of electrical surge that blew 3 of the 4 speakers, and there is a crazy buzzing in the dashboard.

Fords feel like a tank.  They're just built better IMO.

volvoclearinghouse said:

Patientzero said:

In reply to volvoclearinghouse :

That's what trailers are for.  Then you're not driving a school bus the other 90% of the time you're not hauling anything. 

A friend of mine had a F250 long bed, crew cab.  He was backing into my driveway one day to drop some parts off.  I started yelling for him to stop when his bumper was about a foot from hitting the front of my garage, his front wheels were still in the road, lol.  I can't imagine trying to navigate parking lots in that thing.  No thanks.

I appreciate that your friend may have trouble driving such a large vehicle, but I've been driving that same truck configuration for over 10 years and never felt that it was too large or ungainly.  

The entire point of that was that it's so huge it wouldn't fit in the driveway, it had nothing to do with his driving...

I used to drive 18 wheelers and was able to get them in tight spots on occasion.  Just because I could do it doesn't mean I'd want to everyday.

In reply to Patientzero :

I've driven 18 wheelers, transit buses,  coach buses and 40 foot school buses. All insanely bulky and designed primarily to go forward.  Yes they can be put in tight spots.  
 

What drives me crazy though is the number of people driving crew cab pickup trucks with no concept of how big and bulky they really are. I've seen them parked where the sign says compact cars only. 

Having just bought a Tundra, I'll throw that out there as a consideration as well. It's basically a "5/8 ton" truck, typically being rated for larger loads and tows than comparable 1500s, but not quite as much as most 2500s. 

JG Pasterjak said:

Having just bought a Tundra, I'll throw that out there as a consideration as well. It's basically a "5/8 ton" truck, typically being rated for larger loads and tows than comparable 1500s, but not quite as much as most 2500s. 

Since it's Japanese, shouldn't it be classified as a "half metric-ton" truck?  

volvoclearinghouse said:

JG Pasterjak said:

Having just bought a Tundra, I'll throw that out there as a consideration as well. It's basically a "5/8 ton" truck, typically being rated for larger loads and tows than comparable 1500s, but not quite as much as most 2500s. 

Since it's Japanese, shouldn't it be classified as a "half metric-ton" truck?  

Saying 453.592 kilograms doesn't have the draw that 1/2 ton does.

JG Pasterjak said:

Having just bought a Tundra, I'll throw that out there as a consideration as well. It's basically a "5/8 ton" truck, typically being rated for larger loads and tows than comparable 1500s, but not quite as much as most 2500s. 

Does Toyota offer the crew cab Tundra with the 6.5' bed?

I feel foolish for not realizing GM offered the 1/2 ton crew cab with the longer bed, but they aren't as visually outstanding as the Ford version, or as my wife claims, I am inattentive.

According to their online build tool, Toyota doesn't offer the crew with 6.5' bed.