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1500 or 2500

Lary0071 said:
He said: "It will be a daily driver and used to haul toys around primarily. I have a 20ft boat and trailer, a 14 foot trailer, a 10 ft trailer, Polaris side by side, golf cart etc."

20' boat? Pish, light. Nothing to it.
14' trailer? Camper? That can (and often is) hauled by a little 6 cylinder unibody SUV. That's a joke for a half ton.
10' trailer with a ATV or golf cart? Lets go wild and say it's a 1,500 trailer and a 1,500 machine. My wife can tow that with her Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk 3.2L.

Dude... come on! A Ford F-ing Ranger could handle his towing needs with ease! There is nothing at all that he is talking about that needs more than a well equipped half ton. Some of you guys are near nuts about trying to tell everyone with a gracery bag in hand that the need a HD truck.

For his use case it is a waste of money, a compromise in comfort, and a long term loss of money due to fuel economy... and you can for real expect gas and diesel to be nearing the $8 and $10 a gallon area in the near future.
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I never said a half ton couldn't tow what he currently owns. But based on OPs initial post, saying he wants a truck that is more than capable and feels safe I think the 2500 Hemi suits that. Everyone has different tolerances for pushing the capabilities of their truck. His current towing situation is easily handled with a 1500, his boat weighs probably 5k at most and everything else is lighter. But he outlined that here and there he needs more truck than that so the 2500 with a hemi would be a good fit.

The price difference is nominal between the two so get what you're comfortable with.
 
Personally anything over 7500 lbs I'd go with the 2500. Gas or diesel. Just less wear and tear and safer.. anything over 14000lbs I'd go 3500. Long distance hauling I'd go diesel. I wouldnt go ho unless i needed it.. the only ho truck i had seem like everything on the truck wore out at 40k miles (ball joints, tie rods,u joints) maybe i just had a bad one but ive had better luck with the so cummins 2500 since ,it does eveything i need it to..Again everyone has there own opinion..
 
OP, How often do you tow?

The 1500 will be a MUCH better daily driver that rides nicer, handles better, accelerates harder, stops sooner, and consumes less fuel. How far is your daily commute? Highway or stop/go city?

If you plan to daily drive the truck, think hard about what fits you best.

We all love our HD trucks, but they are NOT the best tool to daily drive IMO. I'd rather be in a small passenger car to DD, but I live in SoCal where traffic sucks, so there's that.
 
Basser53 said:
Personally anything over 7500 lbs I'd go with the 2500. Gas or diesel. Just less wear and tear and safer.. anything over 14000lbs I'd go 3500. Long distance hauling I'd go diesel. I wouldnt go ho unless i needed it.. the only ho truck i had seem like everything on the truck wore out at 40k miles (ball joints, tie rods,u joints) maybe i just had a bad one but ive had better luck with the so cummins 2500 since ,it does eveything i need it to..Again everyone has there own opinion..
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The HO diesel wore out ball joints, tie rods, and u joints faster than the SO diesel?

Intersting.
 
gimmie11s said:
The HO diesel wore out ball joints, tie rods, and u joints faster than the SO diesel?

Intersting.
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Yes the one I had sure did.. also had 410 gears .. never got over 16 mpg on it either.. like I said maybe I had a bad one..
 
Lary0071 said:
That's silly talk, nothing more. The HO has no effect on steering parts. Bad roads and heavy loads do...

2022 Patriot Blue 3500 Dually Limited Longhorn 6.7L with 4.11 gears.
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Totally agree... seemed like a very strange statement.
 
Basser53 said:
Yes the one I had sure did.. also had 410 gears .. never got over 16 mpg on it either.. like I said maybe I had a bad one..
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Maybe coincidence on the suspension wear.

now.. the 16 mpg? Yep.. that's all HO-related. mine does about the same..
 
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Well I'm no expert like you all are , but just to clarify I always blamed it on the extra torque..I felt the truck wasn't built for it.. It was the only ho I had and the only truck I've owned with that many problems , gas or diesel.. that truck also had all kind of electrical issues that im sure had nothing to do with the cummins... maybe just coincident, . .idk..
 
gimmie11s said:
OP, How often do you tow?

The 1500 will be a MUCH better daily driver that rides nicer, handles better, accelerates harder, stops sooner, and consumes less fuel. How far is your daily commute? Highway or stop/go city?

If you plan to daily drive the truck, think hard about what fits you best.

We all love our HD trucks, but they are NOT the best tool to daily drive IMO. I'd rather be in a small passenger car to DD, but I live in SoCal where traffic sucks, so there's that.
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It comes and goes but it's a low percentage. Maybe 10% of the time overall. I live in Atlanta but work remotely. So no daily commute unless I just choose to go into the office out of convenience for face to face meetings. The longest commute requires traveling to airport for business travel.

I agree with you on So Cal traffic. It isn't fun. Neither is Atlanta traffic but I stay out of the congestion / rush hour times by working from home most of the time.

There's been a lot of great feedback from everyone in this thread. I am not surprised there are opinions on both sides. The 1500 would work but I also don't mind the larger truck and capacity. I do wish the interior updates were the same on the 2500 as the 1500 but I don't know if that's a deal breaker for me. I do appreciate everyone's perspective on it.

My Tahoe is well equipped. It rides nice and has a tighter turning radius than I will get in the truck. I already know I will miss the ability to whip into a parking space as a last minute decision or just make a u-Turn at a normal intersection. My son has a Silverado LT with a 3" lift and 20X10 Nitto Grapplers. It takes a little more pre-planning on those u-turns and parking when I am driving his truck!

We will keep the Tahoe (wife will drive it) and we will get rid of her explorer. If we need the creature comforts of the Tahoe, I guess we can still drive that.
 
Pig Daddy said:
It comes and goes but it's a low percentage. Maybe 10% of the time overall. I live in Atlanta but work remotely. So no daily commute unless I just choose to go into the office out of convenience for face to face meetings. The longest commute requires traveling to airport for business travel.

I agree with you on So Cal traffic. It isn't fun. Neither is Atlanta traffic but I stay out of the congestion / rush hour times by working from home most of the time.

There's been a lot of great feedback from everyone in this thread. I am not surprised there are opinions on both sides. The 1500 would work but I also don't mind the larger truck and capacity. I do wish the interior updates were the same on the 2500 as the 1500 but I don't know if that's a deal breaker for me. I do appreciate everyone's perspective on it.

My Tahoe is well equipped. It rides nice and has a tighter turning radius than I will get in the truck. I already know I will miss the ability to whip into a parking space as a last minute decision or just make a u-Turn at a normal intersection. My son has a Silverado LT with a 3" lift and 20X10 Nitto Grapplers. It takes a little more pre-planning on those u-turns and parking when I am driving his truck!

We will keep the Tahoe (wife will drive it) and we will get rid of her explorer. If we need the creature comforts of the Tahoe, I guess we can still drive that.
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If you're only towing 10% of the time I flip my stance, you're good with a 1500 unless you plan on getting a bigger boat/trailers in the future. You can have your cake and eat it too that with with creature comforts.
 
Pig Daddy said:
It comes and goes but it's a low percentage. Maybe 10% of the time overall. I live in Atlanta but work remotely. So no daily commute unless I just choose to go into the office out of convenience for face to face meetings. The longest commute requires traveling to airport for business travel.

I agree with you on So Cal traffic. It isn't fun. Neither is Atlanta traffic but I stay out of the congestion / rush hour times by working from home most of the time.

There's been a lot of great feedback from everyone in this thread. I am not surprised there are opinions on both sides. The 1500 would work but I also don't mind the larger truck and capacity. I do wish the interior updates were the same on the 2500 as the 1500 but I don't know if that's a deal breaker for me. I do appreciate everyone's perspective on it.

My Tahoe is well equipped. It rides nice and has a tighter turning radius than I will get in the truck. I already know I will miss the ability to whip into a parking space as a last minute decision or just make a u-Turn at a normal intersection. My son has a Silverado LT with a 3" lift and 20X10 Nitto Grapplers. It takes a little more pre-planning on those u-turns and parking when I am driving his truck!

We will keep the Tahoe (wife will drive it) and we will get rid of her explorer. If we need the creature comforts of the Tahoe, I guess we can still drive that.
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So there it is.. if the Tahoe is a keeper, buy the extra capability of the 2500! Should be nice.
 
I was surprised no one mentioned resale value. How long you plan to own a truck and how many miles you plan to put on it make a difference IMHO. I never pull a trailer and the only thing I've carried of any size and weight is some safes I moved from one house to another. I used to buy a new truck every three years and found the 2500 with the cummins I could put 70k miles on and if I keep it clean get between 75-80% of what I paid back when I traded them in. Of course I was driving it to work but most of the miles came from a 400 mile trip I took every Sunday in them. I haven't checked values on the 1500s but I'm guessing you will give up a significantly greater amount in depreciation on them.
 
I had an old Tahoe too and would just tow a small popup camper but could definitely feel that going up hills even though it is probably only around 2500 pounds or so. I got a 2500 hemi at the advice of the forum because I plan to get a bigger trailer someday (probably later rather than sooner now since they are all ridiculously priced!). I had one built just the way I wanted and it actually probably came out cheaper than a 1500 off the lot. I really only use this truck for vacations or camping, etc. so I don't put many miles on it and when I do, they are on the highway so the mileage is probably not THAT MUCH worse than a 1500. I got a really nice surprise when I went to license it and it was only around $100 when I was expecting it to be around $600. Apparently trucks over 6,000 pounds are exempt from a bunch of the taxes around here so that will make up for some of the gas money :) Seriously though, I can't even feel that little trailer behind it where the Tahoe I definitely could and I am happy with the ride. I don't think the truck is actually any longer or wider than a 1500 (just a little taller) so parking shouldn't be that big of a difference. It is nice you are keeping the Tahoe though because I I kind of miss it sometimes. My wife won't drive this truck around time so I guess when we replace the other sedan, we'll have to get another smaller SUV for when she has more than will fit in the trunk.
 
Pig Daddy said:
The price difference between a 1500 5.7Hemi eTorque and a 2500 is about $1000 with the being 2500 slightly more expensive.
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If you get a 1500 then skip eTorque, that will save you ~75 lbs of payload.

I would also opt for the air suspension
 
I am a more than needed versus less. I would buy the 2500 Hemi, 4:10. You get heavier axles, brakes etc, and no ESS.
 
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