About to buy 2016 ED

[James Jorgensen]

A little bit of luck finding this forum. I'm into about the third month of research and it's time to pull the trigger.

Residing in So. Cal., hope to retire soon, might end up in Utah after retirement, hope to put the 1500 to use towing a travel trailer. Why am I taking so long? Need to get all the ducks lined up including how much trailer can I pull with ED. Looks to be about 7Klb maybe a little more. I'm wanting crew or quad, SLT up to Big Horn trim, air suspension, short box, 20" wheels, 3.95 rear and all of the factory tow options.

 

[BoostN]

Welcome James. 7K should be no problem for the EcoDiesel. Sounds like you've done your research.. no go drive one and bring it home!

 

[jdn112011]

Welcome.

You would be pretty comfortable pulling only a 7k trailer in the ecodiesel.

And unless parkability or overall vehicle length are a concern the crew is really worth having the extra room. And the only possible way if you'll ever have a carseat for grandchildren or other family. Just as having a standard box vs the 5'

But we each determine our own preferences.

You will love the air suspension it's absolutely fantastic. It a little soft and provides substantial body roll when empty but capabilities with weight in the truck it's unmatched.

Let us know how it works out and what your MPGs look like with the 3.92's. I don't see many that have them. Even frequent tow-ers. It's more than capable with 3.55s though I'm guessing you may see up to a 2MPG increase while towing as you won't be working quite as hard.

Just know the trucks are very sensitive to wind with fuel mileage, and speeds in excess of 70MPG as any full size truck seems to be.

Anyways even if your travel trailer exceeds the Max GVW on the truck they are known to handle it pretty well.

How often are you expecting to tow the travel trailer? Short distances or multi state endeavours?

 

[James Jorgensen]

Welcome.

You would be pretty comfortable pulling only a 7k trailer in the ecodiesel.

And unless parkability or overall vehicle length are a concern the crew is really worth having the extra room. And the only possible way if you'll ever have a carseat for grandchildren or other family. Just as having a standard box vs the 5'

But we each determine our own preferences.

You will love the air suspension it's absolutely fantastic. It a little soft and provides substantial body roll when empty but capabilities with weight in the truck it's unmatched.

Let us know how it works out and what your MPGs look like with the 3.92's. I don't see many that have them. Even frequent tow-ers. It's more than capable with 3.55s though I'm guessing you may see up to a 2MPG increase while towing as you won't be working quite as hard.

Just know the trucks are very sensitive to wind with fuel mileage, and speeds in excess of 70MPG as any full size truck seems to be.

Anyways even if your travel trailer exceeds the Max GVW on the truck they are known to handle it pretty well.

How often are you expecting to tow the travel trailer? Short distances or multi state endeavours?

I'm thinking over a ten year span the towing will be about 20% of use. Wouldn't it be nice to visit all of the National Parks? The Mrs. is not willing to go full time living in anything that moves.

Scope creep (junk collection) could likely take weights over the posted maximums so it is a comfort to know some fudging won't make for a bad day towing. All the more reason to start off below maximum ratings. It's this kind of information I hope to gain from this forum - real life experience with the ED. It would be awesome to have a thread devoted to travel trailer towing with the ED. Sharing models, weights and tow equipment that does or doesn't work.

Many full time or enthusiast travel / 5th wheel trailer folks need capacity of 2500 and 3500 series trucks due to the tow loads. That capability would be nice but I'd rather camp sparsely and be fuel cost stingy.

If anyone has information about the better trims and/or packages that create a better tow setup please discuss. I appreciate the input.

At this time I seems my interest is in a Big Horn; ; quad 76" bed or crew 67"; air suspension; tow group of course; protection group. Not planning to haul people very often so not sure how much to lean toward a crew with a few hundred ibs less towing capacity.

Anybody have strong feelings about the protection group? Must have vs don't bother? It would be nice to cross a creek if needed but not intending to follow Jeeps around the desert.

 

[jdn112011]

For the price point just get the protection package. It's cheap, and say you go down a trail one day, slip and catch a rock on the oil pan, no big deal. Without it; you're looking at multiple days off the road waiting for a new pan; a new oil change at ~$150-$200 not to mention labor and lost time. Hell just looking at the cost of possible oil pan damage it pays for itself.

I personally couldn't handle a quad. Full rear doors are just necessary. But neither would I want the 5' box. Inches count towards valuable space in a bed. And it's doubled if you have a cap?

As you're towing fairly frequently are you going to go with a Topper for mileage and storage and bumper pull camper?

I know in travel retirement many people actually opt to ditch the bumper pull in favor of a 5er.

No distribution hitches; hour long hookups, or any of the other headaches. Drop your tailgate, hookup, and go. And it's actually favored for parking the rig on site.

But with a 5er you lose bed storage which is ok as you can just load up the TT itself, and 5th wheels don't get along with a 5' box.

So if you're set on a quad with a 6' box you're fine. But a crew with a short box you need to look hard at your future TT intentions to make the decision.

 

[jdn112011]

You won't regret the air if you're doing the towing you mention.

 

[Stan Laurel]

I pull a 6500 lb Jayco. 6'4" box, air suspension, Crew. Pulls fine, but I have a more severe mileage drop than most folks here have said. Good luck with your new ride!