Opinions on towing with a 3/4 ton or 1 ton that is gas? How about towing a gooseneck with the shorter bed are there turning clearance issues with the nose of the trailer and the cab of the truck?
Obviously it depends on the specs of each individual truck/trailer. I have an 8ft bed because the nose of my gooseneck is square. I can drive it (carefully) with a short bed truck in a pinch, but no tight corners and it makes parking tough. The tapered ones generally allow you to use a short bed. I had an older gas 3/4 ton and even though all the numbers worked out fine, I always felt under powered, so now I have a 3/4 ton diesel. I think it was my particular truck that just wasn’t up to the job (always something wrong with it), as opposed to all 3/4 ton gas trucks. I definitely have more towing capacity than I need with the diesel, but I’d rather be over powered than under.
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Opinions:
- Diesels have somewhere between enough (older diesel) and ample (newer diesel) power. The big gas engines have enough power for all but the biggest trailers and driving full speed over the highest mountain passes. Diesels from the last 12+ years are generally much more expensive and complicated, use more fuel, less reliable, don’t last as long, and are less serviceable than the engines that built the reputation of the diesel for being fuel efficient and reliable. You buy a diesel now because you want it as much as any other reason.
Buying the big gas engine:
(+) cheaper out of the box
(+) cheaper to maintain
(+) reliable *
(-) poor fuel economy**
- big nasty subject, this. Just as a for example, if the engine computer thinks the emissions systems are having an issue, it will stop driving after 100miles on the newer models. Brand loyalty and anecdotal “evidence” abounds if you research this heavily.
** varies widely, both diesel and gas. Do your research; there are no factory numbers for mpg while towing. My 6.4L gets 13 mpg when highway towing. Compared to a gas engine that gets 8mpg in the same situation, if diesel is $3 and gas is $2.70 then $10k purchase difference will pay for itself in 94,000 miles assuming no additional cost in maintenance (a generous assumption in favor of the diesel). Many owners never tow that much in the life of the truck.
- It varies. Not only is the length of bed a factor, the height of the bed sides and shape of the front of the trailer. To make it even more confusing, there are slider hitches that allow the pin to slide back when more clearance is required. Generally it’s best to choose the longbed. You get more stability from the longer wheelbase, more useful cargo space, and bigger fuel tanks in some cases.
It’s harmful to generalize too much. It would help greatly to know what trailer you have or want.
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Interesting post, DHCarrotfeeder! Didn’t know newer model vehicles did that with emissions sensor fault.
I think there are a lot of variables to consider in regards to both truck and trailer configuration. I am more inclined to air on the side of safety and convenience. It is possible to haul a GN horse trailer with a short bed, but it comes with it’s own issues as Dutchmare mentioned above. Bit of a different scenario, but similar to some degree… I haul various BP trailers, one sits in tighter to the back end of my truck. To the eye, the difference is minimal, but it means I’m doing a multi-point turn in the same space I can just pull one tighter turn with other trailers.
There are also a variety of ways trucks, or any vehicle, can be made. One F250 may be vastly different than the F250 parked next to it, though they may appear to be comparable trucks. My 1/2 ton largely gets around without issue, but steep hills are a bit of a pain. I’ve used a different 1/2 ton once to haul in a pinch, I had to use 4x4 to get up a particular incline I can do in 4x2 in my own truck. That was a bit scary. Obviously there is some difference there between those two trucks, though they’d likely seem as though they were comparable trucks.
Diesels often make quick work of most hills. I can’t say much for 3/4 ton gas trucks, since I haven’t used one to tow with. I’d imagine they’d land somewhere in between, but once again, many variables to consider.
Another thing to consider for yourself is what type of hauling you intend to do. For me, I haul locally, and I’m not ever likely to do any long hauls or tackle any mountain ranges with my current truck. I know some folks who do haul with their 1/2 tons farther out of town or through those tough stretches, but speaking for myself, I’d only feel comfortable driving a 3/4 or 1 ton truck in those circumstances. So questions to answer for yourself in addition to truck and trailer specs, are whether or not you plan to haul locally or longer distance, if you live somewhere relatively flat or somewhere hilly, etc.
I can’t speak to truck bed length but I’d suggest really thinking about what you’re going to haul with this truck before making the price jump to diesel.
We bought a new to us truck (Sierra 3500) this year and my boyfriend wanted to look for a diesel. A close family friend owns the GM dealership and he said we were looking at a 10-12k price jump to get a used diesel. So I started looking into how much I would have to drive to make my money back. I’d have to drive that truck a lot. The estimates I looked at all said over 300,000 kms to get my money back. It is very doubtful I will have a truck that long. For reference, I just sold my 2004 CRV with 300,000 kms on it and the owner before me used it to commute close to 150 kms every day for 7 years. So you have to drive a lot. To pull one horse in a 2 or 3 horse trailer, a diesel would be a waste of my money.
There is a truck for sale at GM dealership right now that is the same as my truck - same year, more than twice the mileage, exact same trim level but it’s a diesel. It’s listed for $19k more than we paid…
To me, the power difference = diesel all the way. And I’ve never known anyone who had a short bed truck and was happy with it. My DH has one because we figured oh it will be fine we have my big dually and a bunch of different trailers if we need to haul stuff. But nope, that short bed is super annoying and doesn’t fit anything. We’re thinking about selling his even though we only got it a few months ago completely because it has a short bed.
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axle ratio.
I have a 2010 F-350 single rear axle V10 with an 8 foot bed. It is an awesome and reliable truck. I pull a 2+1 with it, and occasionally a big flat bed trailer for farm stuff. I opted for a gas V10 because at the time, it was the best option for me to have the same amount of truck as the GMC 2500 that was retiring. I was told that diesel engines need to be used more consistently than the amount of driving I do, my truck was purchase new and has just under 60K right now.
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My thoughts on the long bed are that it gives me ample room for extra supplies in the bed as well as keeps the trailer away from my rear window, but for me in the event of an emergency I really want the biggest footprint I can have to keep that trailer under control. I went with a long bed, single wheel crew cab. You become very accustomed to driving the long bed and parking it is not really a big deal. I did not want the dual rear wheels as I do get into a mountain condo complex over winters that would take my fenders off if I had a dually! I love diesel and even if it never penciled out cost wise it is reassuring to have that beast under the hood.I get on average currently 16mpg. My gas engine trucks even without the trailer average 9-11mpg.
I think you will find this may vary widely depending on the specific vehicle. We have a “fleet” of trucks for our snow removal & construction business - both gas and diesel, most of them 1-tons.
I can tell you the current preferred tow vehicle (for equipment, not necessarily just the horse trailer) from our trucks is a 2016 F-350 diesel. However, we also have a 2016 F-350 gas which is also used as a tow vehicle quite often with no complaints. We have a 2015 Dodge Ram gas (1 ton - whatever their name is for it) and that is not a preferred tow vehicle. We have an older (can’t remember the exact year, 2003 maybe?) gas Ford F-250, and that one is a dog and is not used to tow anything. I don’t recall any details of towing complaints/compliments for the other trucks we have.
We do not have anything with a gooseneck, so I can’t comment on that.
A lot of good stuff already given. Personally I have driven a 2004 Chevy Silverado 2500 8ft bed big V-8 gas. Towed a 3 horse goose neck just fine. Comfy ride. Also have driven a 2012 Chevy Silverado 2500 diesel pulling a 3 horse GN. The truck had all the bells and whistles and drove fabulous. Would loved to have owned it. One of the nicest rigs I have ever driven. But it cost big bucks. The price of well equipped trucks are OUTRAGEOUS. You can buy a seriously nice BMW that has far more engineering, far better appointed for the same price of a lot of trucks.
Bed IMO comes down to what it is going to be used for by and large. An 8 ft bed is designed so that it can be loaded/stacked with sheets of plywood and other standard size building materials. Any GN can be hooked to it. With a short bed building material and a lot of other stuff will hang off the tailgate. Older GNs can be problematic with turning and nose not possibly hitting the cab. Depends on where the “post” is positioned in relation to the nose of the GN.
Me I would only own an 8 ft bed. I use the truck as a farm truck. Haul stuff in the bed and be able to borrow any GN if needed. Gas or diesel would depend on the price and only own a 4WD.
I have a 2007 Chevy Silverado, 2500 HD diesel with a short bed. My trailer is a Logan 3-horse GN, with a tapered nose. I have never had a problem turning, parking etc. However, because I live in a city, it is much easier for me to park my truck given the short bed.
I have a 2001 Chevy gas dually long bed. 8.1 liter engine and the first year Allison transmission. 4.10 rear axle (axle ratio is critical to performance) In all those years, have not yet clocked more than 60K. It’s job is to tow the 3H slant or the 25 foot flatbed. Both GN. Towing and hauling it does superbly.
It’s thirsty for gasoline, but powerful enough to pass the truckers on the long uphill pulls while grossing 18,000 pounds.
The balance between diesel and gasoline is mileage and cost. My choice was gasoline. The only reason I would switch to diesel is high altitudes like Denver, CO. Then a turbo would make a big difference in power over the normally aspirated gasoline engine.
With the new tier 4 diesel engine’s emission controls and DEF issues, the incentive for gasoline is even greater. One has to drive very many miles, quickly to make diesel a cost effective choice.
But, people buy Lexus which does the same job as Toyota.
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Concur with the above. If you do “yellow pad analysis” of gas vs. diesel gas will win on cost almost all the time.
That said I’ve got 2008 Duramax which I bought at the nadir of the pickup market in 2008. That one will beat a gas truck but only because I bought it REALLY cheap. I also have the advantage having none of the post-2009 environmental controls that are proving quite problematical in the Real World; that makes a huge difference in resale value. A friend of mine in CO just bought a new RAM Diesel and the first thing he did was have an aftermarket shop strip out as much of the environmental mods as he could. That cost him some real money and his warranty but the performance and economy gains, for him, are worth the cost.
Diesel, performance wise, is good and sometimes better than gas. The sound is cool, the smell not so much! 
The cache’ is certainly there!!!
G.
Others have already made the key points but a couple of things – you can get a gooseneck extender. My 2010 F150 has a short bed and while I would prefer a longer bed, I have a 9 inch extender coupler that you swap out on the trailer. No issues with the cab and trailer.
The other is your climate. I opted for gas in part because it gets very cold here and starting a diesel in winter is a PITA – you need to plug them in and they need to “warm up” for a few minutes to drive halfway decently.
That said, a diesel sounds better…so it is a matter of personal preference really as long as you have enough engine to pull what you are pulling. We used to have a 454 and it could pull a steel 4H with LQ, loaded, very well in the mountains.
I pull a 17’ gooseneck with a gas Chevy Silverado 2500 with the 6.5’ bed. The gooseneck has a tapered nose and I have not had any trouble with it, even with very tight turns. It gets about 10 mpg on regular hauls around here, but can drop to about 8 at highway speeds over mountains. For me, the cost of diesel wasn’t worth it.
One thing to keep in mind is that there are several different bed lengths for “short” bed. I think the Chevy’s are 6.5’, but I’ve seen some that are definitely shorter.
I have a 2000 Dodge Ram with an 8 foot bed. I’d love to get a newer truck, but can’t find one like it…it seems that all the new trucks, even 1 tons, have the short bed. My GN has the tapered nose, and a friend towed it with her short ebd & said she had no problem. But honestly, I wouldn’t give a short bed truck house room. to me, it’s basically a mini van with an open back. I like to be able to bring along hay/water/supplies in the bed if I need to, and I want the stability of the full sized bed.
Thanks for all the advise…this was research as I currently have a 2005 Ram 3500 DRW diesel, 8’ bed and pull a 3 horse slant load with an 8’ short wall. It’s a pulling monster and you don’t even know the trailer is back there and I get around 16 - 18 mpg while towing. Since I currently also have a GMC Terrain that I drive every day I was considering going back to one vehicle and was considering a gas engine truck only for the fact that I drive 70+ miles a day back and forth to work and gas being at least 25c or greater less than gas, less expensive up front, less expensive to maintain and less expensive to insure etc etc etc. I know what ever I do I’ll stick with my 8’ bed but I’m still considering gas vs diesel.
THANKS AGAIN!
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I was considering similar questions at the end of the summer and ended up getting a 2008 F350 with the V10 gas engine and the 4.1 axel ratio. It has 4wd and a 6.8 foot bed with the crew cab. The crew cab adds length and it’s hard to park a full 8 foot bed with the crew cab in our area. I’ve been happy with it and have hauled a 3 horse trailer with a small lq, which is about 12-13,000 fully loaded. It’s rated to pull considerably more than that and it’s powerful going up steep grades, although I’m sure it doesn’t have quite as much torque as the diesel equivalent. No loss of speed or power and it’s got plenty of both for what I need. I’ve generally had good luck with the Ford gas engines and my mom still has my old 1992 F250 with the 461 engine as her farm truck. A few factors for me were initial cost, lower maintenance costs for gas engine, and the fact that it’s not a daily driver and gas engines are more tolerant of sitting for a week or two than diesel engines. The air emissions are also substantially better for a gas engine than even a newer “clean diesel”, and the newer diesels do not have the same fuel economy or reliability as the older diesels. It’s hard to make a truly clean burning diesel that is also fuel efficient and reliable. As far as the bed size, the 6.8 with the crew cab was a nice compromise for me in terms of parking and turning radius, and I got a Popup cushioned coupler extension coupler that I added to the trailer that acts as a mini airbag and gives me some extra room. Another factor for me was that we are in CA and once you get a diesel duellie you are in a different registration category and have to pay much higher registration fees and keep a log book, even for personal use. The gas F350 with the single rear wheels is just under the threshold, so there are now a lot of used diesel duellies being sold at a discount.
