Which truck is best when towing a 12,000 – 15,000 lbs 5th-wheel or gooseneck trailer? I compare a 2020 Ram 3500 HD dually and a 2020 Ford F-250 to see exactly what you gain and lose when you spend an additional $30,000 on a new heavy duty truck.
2020 Ford F-250
The Ford F-250 is a crew cab 4×4 XLT with a 7.3-liter gas V8 and a 10-speed automatic transmission. This truck has a sticker price of approximately $55,000. Including the big gas V8 engine, this XLT has about $8,000 of options.
2020 Ram 3500 HD
The Ram is a crew cab 4×4 dually Laramie with a high-output 6.7-liter I6 turbo-diesel Cummins and a 6-speed automatic transmission. The red dually has a sticker price of around $85,000. This very well optioned truck has nearly $31,000 worth of options.
What are you getting for the big price difference? The diesel dually has more than twice the torque, nearly twice the payload weight capacity, more than twice the towing capacity, and relatively good fuel economy.
Which truck is best for you? If you tow regularly and tow heavy – the diesel dually makes sense. The longer wheelbase and wide stance make the truck for a stable towing platform. The diesel engine make pulling heavy loads nearly effortless.
If you are towing just once in a while, and if your are towing less than 14,000 lbs – then a gas-powered HD truck (like this F-250) is a very good choice.
