need help on new truck purchase

[thegooftroopfla]

hey looking into buying a new truck. just got a new tt. the campers shipping weight is 8300 lbs. so loaded i am guessing about 9000 or less. our f150 is rated for it but it is close to the max. also my f150 with our old camper which was 200 lbs lighter got between 4-6 miles to the gallon depending on wind, and that is no joke wind reall was a factor. however i have been looking at the f250 and 350. they seem to have the same exact engine and gears. so i do not see my gas mileage increasing unless i get a diesel. also the new f150 can tow up to 1200 lbs. that is crew cab, 5.4 v8 3.73 gears and no 4x4. has anyone towed something heavy like this with the new f150. also i was wondering about the v10 ford has and what gas mileage is. I have always been a ford guy and would love to stay ford. me and the family want to start taking longer trips with the tt. and we do not want to have to fill up every 200miles or less . so we are looking for what most are using when they are coming from long distances.
also I have another problem that i am unsure about. we live in a rural part of palm beach. we have fairly narrow roads and have to back over a 16ft wide bridge that is my driveway to get over a drainage ditch. the problem is it comes close with the current truck i have. the truck we want to buy needs to be big enough for a golf cart. we plan on purchasing one down the road. we do not know if it will be 6 months or 2 years. we know we want it to be a four seater. we do not know if it is going to be a little jacked up or just the standard gold cart. the question is what size bed do most have who haul their golf carts. are they 6.5ft beds or 8ft beds. and will a minor lift with tires on a golf cart fit in a stadard 6.5 ft truck bed with no tailgate and tt. also can you even close your tailgate in an 8ft bed.
we wanna try and stay short bed which i think ford is 6.5 or 7 ft. we wanna do this just for backing reason. so if a custom golf cart can fit in the bed of the shorter one that is what we will purchase. and if you can not have the tailgate on the larger bed there is no reason to get it anyways.
so the questions are what is the smallest bed i can put a golfcart in
can you shut your tailgate on the larger bed anyways
what are the gas mileages on a 5.4, v10 or diesel, both 4x4
and just for giggles does anyone know the mileage on a diesel dually 4x4 . i only ask that because i found a killer deal on one even though i do not want a long bed dually
also what are the differences in gas and diesel when you go 3/4 tonor ton. never had a diesel on my 4th f150

 

[RvUsa]

Wow, where to start for you.... first off, I think your estimate of your TT wet weight is VERY low. Just figure 40 gallons of water is going to add about 300 lbs, add 2 adults in the truck, and 1 child and your are already at the 700 lbs, that isn't taking into account gear, clothes food, toys and everything else. I usually figure that I am taking over 2000 lbs of JUNK with me in my TT every time I hook up... LOL

I have a 2010 f-350 crew cab single rear wheel, I just got it about a week ago, it is a diesel and is getting about 15mpg not towing right now. I just traded a 08 f-350 crew cab dually, that got about 8.5 towing and about 9.5 empty. The diesel will tow anything you can put behind it, I love the power, but not crazy about the mileage of the old one, but quite please with the new one so far. Our last TT was a little smaller, probably about the weight of yours, we towed it with an 06 f-250 with 5.4. It worked pretty hard on some of the bigger hills, and probably got around 7 mpg, we also had an excursion with a v-10 that towed it great but and got around 10mpg... (Yeah, we have had a lot of tow vehicles)

If you are thinking golf cart, I would definitely go long bed (we have one, and it fits great in the long bed.

Right now if you are thinking of a new ford, it is almost free to get a diesel if you are financing through ford. It is 1.9% for a diesel, and 3.9 for gas, so the difference in financing almost makes the payment the same... LOL

 

[mnsprk]

Unless your a "drop dead Ford man" I would look at the Chev Duramax as well if your going diesel. I have that in our MH 35' and towing a 4wd crew cab Canyon (total weight about 26,000 lbs) and I've averaged 9.3 over a 1 yr 10,000 mile stretch.

 

[big kahuna1]

06 Dodge CTD Dually Mega Cab 4x4 with 4:10 gear towing a Heartland Cyclone and I get just about 11 mpg at 65mph. The more miles I put on this engine seems to get me more gas mileage. WHODUTHUNKIT?

 

[thegooftroopfla]

the weight of 8300 i was told that is loaded with water and propane from the dealership. i am a diehard ford man. but at this point would look at anything. i never realized the difference in gas to a dually was so drastic thanks for the info

 

[thegooftroopfla]

oh and can you shut your tailgate with the long bed and what kind of golfcart do you have

 

[LarryJ]

the weight of 8300 i was told that is loaded with water and propane from the dealership. i am a diehard ford man. but at this point would look at anything. i never realized the difference in gas to a dually was so drastic thanks for the info

What is the year, make and model/floorplan for your new trailer. Shipping wt. does not normally include battery, propane, water, etc. and dealers seriously underestimate a TT wt. and seriously overestimate what can tow it.

Larry

 

[thegooftroopfla]

keystone sprinter 311bhs

 

[LONE-STAR]

Miles per gallon very from one brand diesel truck to another. I have 2 both are 2005 crew cab 4x4's. Dodge 2500 and a Ford f-350 both long beds(won't own a short bed for towing). My dodge gets 19mpg unloaded and the ford gets 13. But if you are buying new all brands have different motors since 2005. I am waiting for fords new diesel it will be a 2011 model and should hit the dealerships next month. Everything I have read about it sounds really good. There are a lot of videos on youtube for it. I have a yamaha lifted golf cart and with my long bed I can close the taigate on my f-350(never tried the dodge) But my rear foot step is removable on the cart. Also depending on the trailers hitch weight you may need the 1 ton to be able to haul the cart while towing the trailer. In Ford another good reason to get the long bed is it comes with a 38 gal fuel tank. The short bed only gets a 28 gal fuel tank. If I remember right dodge gets a 35 gal tank on short or long beds. But that could have changed with the 2010 model.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

I think you are seriously underestimating the loaded weight of your trailer, for all the reasons already said. Our 03 Fleetwood had a weight of 4995# new, after adding all our stuff it scaled at 6400# WITHOUT any water in it.

 

[thegooftroopfla]

i very well could be. I have trailered the same model just two years older. my last one was an 08 but was totalled due to water damage. It trailered it but it definitely burnt through the gas. I never scaled it though. When i was at the dealership this week picking up the new one the told me it was 8313 or something when they scaled it with water and propane. it is a big camper though. my old trailer weight was 8100 or 8200 but that was not scaled that is what it said on the ticket.
i never thought about the long bed with the big tank. thats a good point i am actually looking at an 08 6.4 diesel tomorrow. long bed dually 4x4 crew cab. so i am trying to get as much as possible. I hate the fact you can not find any gas mileage on them. actually i was on ford forums today for the first time and some people are saying 9 mpg and some are saying 17 mpg. does not seem to be very consistent

 

[LarryJ]

i very well could be. I have trailered the same model just two years older. my last one was an 08 but was totalled due to water damage. It trailered it but it definitely burnt through the gas. I never scaled it though. When i was at the dealership this week picking up the new one the told me it was 8313 or something when they scaled it with water and propane. it is a big camper though. my old trailer weight was 8100 or 8200 but that was not scaled that is what it said on the ticket.
i never thought about the long bed with the big tank. thats a good point i am actually looking at an 08 6.4 diesel tomorrow. long bed dually 4x4 crew cab. so i am trying to get as much as possible. I hate the fact you can not find any gas mileage on them. actually i was on ford forums today for the first time and some people are saying 9 mpg and some are saying 17 mpg. does not seem to be very consistent

Boy I don't really know what to say

I looked at the Keystone Sprinter Specs on their site for the keystone sprinter 311bhs ...

2008:
Shipping wt. 8365
carrying capacity 2610
dry hitch wt. 815
length 35'4"

2010:
Shipping Wt. 8344
carrying capacity 2756
dry hitch wt. 940
length 35'4"
GVWR 11,100

I think based on my personal experiences with two different trailers with lots of wt. tickets and always checking my tongue wt. when getting ready for longer trips with my Sherline tongue scale I would be shocked if that trailer did not weigh close to 9500lbs up to about 10,000 even if you loaded it reasonably. Also, it would not surprise me w/o significant attention to how you load it with a battery, two full propane tanks, WH full and like 10 gal of FW on board and empty holding tanks to see a tongue wt. in excess of 1,200lbs which is about the limit of most current trucks for the factory receiver.

I would guess you haven't driven outside the flat state of Fl or been on too many multiday road trips where the total distance one way is say 1000miles. I know you have towed a similar trailer but IMHO that 5.4L which I assume you have is not that strong of a towing motor and your 4-6mpg even in the flats doesn't surprise me. At 35'4" it's no wonder that you feel the effects of even the slightest wind. I just know I would do what you have and are potentially looking at doing with the 5.4L F150 and I think you're really going to be disappointed once you get out of the flats and even going up decent interstate type rolling hills, forget the mountains.

The combined wt. (trailer and van) for my rig is around 16,500 lbs and I tow it with a 7.3L diesel with a 4.10 rear end and I wouldn't want to go much heavier (Ford says I can go up to 20,000) and I get 10 to 11mpg unless in serious hills like the rockies, cumberland mtns, sierras, etc. and then I can see it drop in the 9 to 10 range. I can tow most interstates in OD with the cruise on and have what I consider acceptable towing performance and do a lot of longer trips (took a 11,000 mile circle of the U.S. back in 2004, trip to Bar Harbor, Me and the White mtns last year, and so far with my new trailer 4 trips to FW).

If you are even considering hooking that trailer up and carrying a golf cart I personally would be looking at a later model 3V V10 in the F350 flavor and then you might be close on the rear axle wts. with a GC in the bed. The V10 should get you around 10mpg, have more carrying capacity by a few hundred lbs over the diesel option. I'm not sure but the V10 won't get you more than around 12 to 13 mpg not towing and unfortunately the new 6.4L diesel which is a beast towing has poorer mpg than either the newer dodge diesels or Duramax. I would expect a 6.4L towing would get you between 11 and 12 and maybe up to 15 or so not towing and the high cost delta between the newer diesels and the very capable V10 makes that not cost effective unless you are putting huge miles towing maybe like full timing, etc.

Two things I would recommend since you already have the new trailer are:

1. Immediately if not yesterday, spend the $100 and get you a Sherline tongue scale so you know what your tongue wt. is and make sure you have the WDH to handle that and that your TV receiver is rated for that tongue wt. Don't forget to add the wt. of your WDH drawbar and WDH bars (typically around 70 to 100lbs) to that Sherline tongue wt.

2. You definitely need to get to a set of scales loaded up with full gas, TT ready to camp in and all the passengers and cargo you normally have. You should be getting several wts., but will leave that for another discussion.

What really catches my eye is the tongue wt. and while beyond the scope of this discussion another factor that adds to tongue wt. and what the receiver and WHD has to consider is any cargo wt. that is behind the rear axle and a GC in the bed will increase that, but how much is hard to tell.

I'm often chastised for some of the details and depth when I respond to towing posts, but you IMHO can't get around that ... it's not as simple again IMHO as some folks might think.

Good Luck,

Larry

 

[LONE-STAR]

With the 6.4 I would not except more then 13mpg empty and around 8 mpg towing. I have several friends that own these trucks and none of them get good fuel mileage and they all have srw not drw. Part of the problem is when they go into regen to superheat the particulate filter its burning more diesel then normal.

 

[bradisgoofy]

If you are going to tow a trailer and put a GC in the bed ,don't even think about anything less then a 1 ton.

Click on the link in my signature line that says fifth wheel. I hauled that setup for two years with my '04 3500 Dodge Ram Quad cab long bed with the Cummins 5.9, minus the extra trailer, and got 10 to 11 mpg going down the highway. I still own the truck and if I am real careful, in the summer, I can get 17mpg out of it.

 

[BRDof3]

Off-topic a bit, but how did you get totaled by water damage in 2 years? I might have been hesitant to get the same trailer if it leaked that bad, that quick.

 

[BigDaddyRog]

tears....lots and lotsa lonely teardrops!

 

[BRDof3]

 

[thegooftroopfla]

a

 

[thegooftroopfla]

yeah it got totalled but only by my stupidity. I had an immediate family member in critical condition in the hospital. i took the tt to a family members house to have a place to stay close to the hospital. as i was setting the camper up i turned the sink to let the air out of the lines when i turned the water on. as i was doing this i got a phone call the family member was not going to make it. i jumped in my truck and took off. i forgot to open the grey water and forgot to turn the sink off. when i returned 8 hours later the camper was full of water. i called my insurance company and told them the story. i was surprised when the adjuster showed up he was very sympathetic. i did not think they were going to cover it because of my stupidity but they did. on that note progressive is great with camper insurance. i was so impressed i am transferring everything over to progressive. anyhow the camper was awesome just i was an idiot with it. so got a new camper now and trying to find a truck for it

 

[thegooftroopfla]

does anyone know about the new ford scorpion diesel coming out in the next two months or why they are switching to it so quick