Final Truck Research

Five weeks ago, I posted an article regarding my initial truck research. Because of the trailer weights we are considering, our truck will be a one ton dually. A second article was posted a couple weeks later.  Readers passed along the pin weights of their fifth wheel trailers were running between 19 and 21% of their total trailer weight. That’s also consistent with what others are reporting in forums. The pin is the front of the trailer that rides on the truck’s rear tires and is a reason we are going with a one ton dually.

I found all three manufacturers can handle the weights we are interested in. I researched the 2016 and 2017 truck models. Base prices on their least expensive trucks were within $720 of each other. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) for 18 new truck builds, with the options I was initially interested in, varied as much as $18,435. And of those new trucks, 12 were over our budget.  In a roundabout way, it helped to further narrow the list with our decision that we wanting leather interior. None of the new truck models were within our budget with leather interior. The decision then became what used trucks we could afford that had the options we were interested in.  There were huge changes from 2016 to 2017 in Ford heavy duty trucks. The Ram was unchanged between those years and there were a few changes in the Chevy/GMC. It took some time but I was able to locate used trucks with most of the options we are interested in.

Research showed an average discount of 22.24% off the new MSRP for trucks if bought one year old. And those are compared with ones located on dealers’ lots at their asking prices. Many had mileage of less than 10,000. Several were even at local dealerships.

All things considered and for what are my preferences, the Ford F350 Lariat and Ram Laramie 3500 were the two trucks I am most interested in. As a side note, I was surprised to find the Ram is the only one of the four brands that’s available in 2017 with factory air suspension.

Another point I want to make is about brand loyalty. I get it. The last three trucks I’ve purchased were Fords. On several occasions folks have suggested they wished they could buy one companies engine paired with another’s transmission. ALL four manufactures have the same powertrain warranty. So, if they think their truck has a better setup then why not show it in the warranty? Personally, I’m hoping that having a couple trucks in mind to purchase will at least double the chances of finding a fair deal.

We should purchase our truck next year and will most likely trade-in one family car at the time. Most likely we will keep Karen’s car to be sold sometime before we leave in 2019 on our future in an RV. We are discussing selling it earlier if she is comfortable driving the larger truck. I posted about going to one family car.

Because I’ll have at least three specific trailers selected and know their critical weights, I have no problem buying the truck first.

I put together a spreadsheet on the topic.  Sorry, I only knew how to post the spreadsheet link as a PDF. If you have trouble loading the spreadsheet and want a copy send me an email at mseneker@hotmail.com. I’m happy to send it.

Truck Comparisons PDF  (click here to see the spreadsheet). The nuts and bolts of the research is outlined in the spreadsheet which was easier than repeating it all within this blog post.

Here are a few internet links of more interest than others:

• From the Big Truck Big RV YouTube site: 2017 truck of the year opinion. He owns a 2016 Ford and selected the 2017 Ram. Here is the link. He adds all three manufacturers can handle a 20,000 pound fifth wheel and believed no engine/transmission is better than another.
• Roads Less Traveled blog has several postings regarding their 2016 truck upgrade. They test drove all of them!
• Side by Side Video: 2017 one tons by MrTruckTV and another guy I’ve seen in a lot of videos. Towing around 22,000 pounds. Pin weight in this test is at 19% or over 4,180 pounds. Max tow for the Chevy is 23,000 pounds so they had to limit in order to compare. Chevy won the race with Ram coming in second place.

If you find any details in this post to be incorrect, please let me know. I’m no expert and don’t want to put out any bad information.

After writing this blog post I’ve kept looking at truck adds each day. I’m finding some wonderful trucks around the 20,000 mile mark. Found a 2015 Ram 3500 Laramie Longhorn Limited Edition for an asking price of $51,700 at a local dealership. And a loaded 2016 Ford F350 Lariat with less than 10,000 miles at another local dealership listed at $55,000. There are newer dually Ram Tradesmen Editions out there in the mid 40’s in great condition.