Anyone regret going from 3500/2500 series to a 1500 series?

[Seth5005]

Half ton is great

 

[displacedtexan]

Half ton is great

God I hated mine.

Saw some pictures of it earlier and got mad at myself for buying it.

 

[Fatcamp]

I had a 2005 GMC Sierra, best truck ever.

1992 F150 4X4 6 cylinder with a manual.

Drove early 80's half ton Chevys with 6 cylinders and 3 on the tree for uears when I was young.

I have fond memories of them all but they just can't do what my F250 does.

 

[Bearwhisky]

Get a 3/4 ton gasser. Best of both worlds. Bigger size like the 1 ton, cheaper maintenance like a 1/2 ton, lighter weight for off roading and not sinking in the mud. Made the switch about 8 years ago and Ill never own anything different unless I HAVE to have the extra torque of a diesel.


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[ben h]

Funny this thread popped back up again. Fitting the olny photo I could find of my F150 and trailer was at the gas station. The empty weight on this 20' trailer is 3500lbs, so I'm probably tops 5000lbs here. At BEST this truck gets 8-9 mpg pulling this, which doesn't really matter all that much if you pull it a couple hundred miles, here or there, but most my trips are 500+ miles one-way and stopping that much for fuel gets old fast. I think this truck has the 30 gal tank, so larger would help with that. I recently replaced this truck with an F350 with the 6.7l diesel and 48 gal tank; my 1st trip towing with it isn't till March, so we'll see how that goes by comparison.

Thought I'd update on my last post. I just got back to Nashville TN from the Gulf of Mexico with my F350 and there isn't a single thing I liked more on the F150 than this truck. The F350 is something like 3" wider and 24" longer, so it doesn't park well, but it's not like the F150 really excelled at that either. The extra range while towing on the diesel is SO much nicer on long trips (I have the 48 gal tank). I don't think this would matter all that much if you occassionaly tow considerable distance. Just thinking about this reinforces how much I hated that F150 (for my needs).

 

[5MilesBack]

I saw something on the news a couple weeks ago that said the average annual cost of vehicle ownership right now is $12k/year.......NOT including car payments. What on earth. Does anybody on here (that drives a reasonable amount of miles) even come close to that number?

 

[MuleyFever]

I saw something on the news a couple weeks ago that said the average annual cost of vehicle ownership right now is $12k/year.......NOT including car payments. What on earth. Does anybody on here (that drives a reasonable amount of miles) even come close to that number?

Did that include insurance? Insurance rates are getting crazy for some people and locations.

 

[Headwaters]

I bought a new F-250 gasser last year as a tow vehicle for my center console fishing boat. It was to replace my ageing 2013 Tundra that really struggled when pulling the boat at highway speeds and for any long trips. The towing experience of the 3/4 ton is night and day different than the Tundra due to the heavier frame, suspension and brakes as well as the torque. Offroad, the 250 easily handled the National Forest roads where I hunt although the ride was much firmer than my Tundra. I aired down the tires to 45psi to soften things up and to avoid rock punctures. The only downside was the slight increase in width while going down narrow brush choked roads resulting in the inevitable pinstriping and the increased turning radius over the Tundra. On the highway, the truck rode like a half ton with the weight of my base camp in the bed and still got 17 mpg, same as my Tundra. The intown experience of driving a bigger truck is as everyone here has said, harder to park, (I won't take it into a parking garage) banks and drive thru's are tight, and gas mileage really drops. You can't just zip around in traffic due to the size but it is much safer than a car. I don't like running errands in the 250. My Tundra (or any 1/2 ton truck) is a better in town vehicle. I'm keeping the Tundra as a "beater" and a 3rd vehicle for my family which may not be an option for some guys and is understandable. What the OP and anyone else considering a move up in size needs to consider, is a 3/4 or 1 ton right for their needs. Some guys need the towing and weight capacity and some don't, that's for them to decide, and some guys enjoy driving a bigger truck.

 

[Mountneer]

Through the years we've skipped back and forth between camper styles & weights, which dictated what truck we've used. I've run 1 ton diesels from Dodge, Ford, and Chevy. And 1/2 ton hemis and Silverados.

A few things come to mind in my experience & uses:

1. Pulling anything up grade or against wind requires more engine than you'd probably think. And high altitude very much matters in engine efficiency. The engine makers design things so tight up against the HP vs RPM curves that a few % difference in engine load really matters. But that's how they all meet their power & fuel ratings for marketing purposes.

2. A full load of firewood in the box feels way better with a 8500# truck underneath it.

3. Yeah, 2500/3500 class is more expensive to own. But it makes me sad when I physically look at & feel the "beefiness" difference in half-tons & heavy duties.