For the Elite II, what truck would you purchase if money wasn't the issue?

[George Alexa]

There are gas trucks and diesel trucks.  I asked ten people what to buy; some said it was gas, and others said it was diesel.  I like the looks of GMC trucks.  Do I even need a truck?

[Rolind]

I bought a diesel F250. Great truck, great range and plenty of payload.  The downsides to a diesel are increased initial cost, increased maintenance costs, possible issues in extreme cold weather and reduced payload compared to the gas version of the same truck, IMO. I do a lot of the routine diesel maintenance myself.  I don’t think you have to have a truck, but it is very helpful to have a place for gear, chairs, propane etc.   

[ScubaRx]

5 hours ago, George Alexa said:

 I like the looks of GMC trucks.  Do I even need a truck?

Yes , you need a truck, a real truck. Not a SUV. 
The bigger the truck, the better. 

For most people, a 3/4 ton (2500) is enough. 
Personally, I’d want the diesel. You said money was not an issue. If you need/want more cargo capacity, get a 1 ton. Then, you can take almost anything with you and it’s not a whole lot of money difference between the 3/4 ton and the 1 ton any way. 

[Half Fast Hugo]

I've towed with 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton trucks all my life from various campers to inboard powered open fishermen boats when I lived in Florida. IMO, nothing tows like a 3/4 or bigger diesel. Do you need it? No. Is it nice? Absolutely! My son and I debate this all the time. Using a 3/4 ton diesel as a daily driver when you're not towing is not nearly as cost effective when you add in all of the additional costs. However, if you're towing a lot the scales tip to the diesel, again in my opinion. The new 1/2 ton diesels intrigue me as they seem to cover daily driving and towing but, my 3/4 ton duramax sure makes me feel comfortable whenever I get into the mountains or heavy traffic. I'm lucky to have the benefit of not using my diesel as a daily driver so it is garaged through the cold Minnesota winter next to my LEII.

[rideandfly]

We can fit a 1/2 ton pickup in our garage, would have to measure to be sure a larger pickup would fit.

[StillGame]

I started towing our Elite II with an F-150 gasser. I had enough power but was limited in payload capacity. Also, with a 1/2 ton pickup you have to use the weight distribution hitch, which can be a pain to put on at times. I needed to buy a newer truck a couple of seasons ago, due to mechanical issues with an older truck (not towing realted), so I  now tow with a Silverado 2500 HD, 3/4 ton also running on gas. The benefits are not needing to use a weight distribution hitch, and an extra 1000 pounds of payload capacity. It's amaxzing how much gear you may want to carry.  Add in 36 gallons of gas when weight is a consideration. Gas vs diesel is a personal choice. My Silverado  is my daily driver, and it actually gets better gas mileage that my F-150 did. 

[MAX Burner]

Personally, money not being a factor, the bigger the better (BIB).  This being the case, it would be a 1-ton maxi crew cab 4x4 w/8-ft bed for us.  Most likely a F350 Tremor - my buddy has one and it's impressive.  Very versatile for our lifestyle.

If the beast is solely used for a TV, we'd double the size of our Casablanca "hangar" for the massive truck.  We owned a RAM 3500 for many years and it lived outside - not the best situation.  Our RAM was my EDD (every day driver) - one needs to "plan ahead" when maneuvering through the city with that long-ass rig, for sure.  But for hauling loads of yard waste, gravel, or generally heavy loads it was a wonderful rig to own.  Maintenance wise, it was very affordable - OTOH, fuel costs were a downside especially after 2020 when diesel jumped 2 - 3x.

The pros and cons list is a long one - but with money not an issue....  BIB, seriously.

[rich.dev]

Here’s an interesting comparison between a 3/4 and 1 ton Silverado/GMC…what’s really the difference?

 

[Patriot]

4 hours ago, MAX Burner said:

Most likely a F350 Tremor - my buddy has one and it's impressive.  Very versatile for our lifestyle.

@MAX Burner Excellent taste! 🤩🇺🇸 Ha! I can say we are very happy with our 6.7 liter 1 ton Diesel Tremor. Long haul comfort, safety, up higher cab view, fuel mileage when towing, zero issues with cargo capacity or tongue weight. The diesel engine brake did a fine job all through out our trip to Colorado descending through many of the Rocky Mountain steep passes. No need to heat up our truck or trailer brakes as the diesel engine brake worked flawlessly. On a few of the passes we traveled on they had local law enforcement checking brake temperatures with infrared heat sensor tools on vehicles descending down the mountain. We were never brake check or flagged to pull over with our rig. Several cars and trucks were made to pull over until their brakes cooled. Most 1/2 ton trucks will tow and Oliver, I fall into the club of how well the truck with stop a fully loaded ready to camp Oliver. No white knuckles towing or slowing with our beast. It’s the right tool for the job in my experience.

@George Alexa yes you need a truck imho and are wise to do your due diligence. Whether it is diesel or gas that is all according to your budget and what works for you with regard to payload and camping style. We started out towing our Oliver with a half ton truck and quickly learned that we could be pushing the legal limits with our payload capacity. Naturally this was a concern due to the legal implications if something were to happen operating an overloaded tow vehicle. We sold our 1/2 ton and bumped up to a 1 ton and never looked back.

We like keeping our vehicles garaged and when we built our home I made sure it would accommodate a larger heavy duty truck like our Super Duty.  

Best of luck in your decision on a tow vehicle! Drive em all and pick the one that will serve you best.

Welcome to the forum.

Patriot🇺🇸

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 11 by Patriot

[John Dorrer]

3 minutes ago, Patriot said:

@MAX Burner Excellent taste! 🤩🇺🇸 Ha! I can say we are very happy with our 6.7 liter 1 ton Diesel Tremor. Long haul comfort, safety, up higher cab view, fuel mileage when towing, zero issues with cargo capacity or tongue weight. The diesel engine brake did a fine job all through out our trip to Colorado descending through many of the Rocky Mountain steep passes. No need to heat up our truck or trailer brakes as the diesel engine brake worked flawlessly. On a few of the passes we traveled on they had local law enforcement checking brake temperatures with infrared heat sensor tools on vehicles descending down the mountain. We were never brake check flagged to pull over with our rig. Several cars and trucks were made to pull over until their brakes cooled. Most 1/2 ton trucks will tow and Oliver, I fall into the club of how well the truck with stop a fully loaded ready to camp Oliver. No white knuckles towing or slowing with our beast. It’s the right tool for the job in my experience.

@George Alexa yes you need a truck imho and are wise to do your due diligence. Whether it is diesel or gas that is all according to your budget and what works for you with regard to payload and camping style. We started out towing our Oliver with a half ton truck and quickly learned that we could be pushing the legal limits with our payload capacity. Naturally this was a concern due to the legal implications if something were to happen operating an overloaded tow vehicle. We sold our 1/2 ton and bumped up to a 1 ton and never looked back.

We like keeping our vehicles garaged and when we built our home I made sure it would accommodate a larger heavy duty truck like our Super Duty.  

Best of luck in your decision on a tow vehicle! Drive em all and pick the one that will serve you best.

 

 

 

 

Happy with our 2013 F250, 6.2 gasser. If I needed a new truck, I would go either with the 250 or 350 gasser, with the shorter bed. Currently we have Crew Cab with 8' bed and it used to carry an 8' camper.

[CRM]

Money no object? I'd contract with Toyota to build me a one ton diesel V8 truck in 4WD. 🤣

[Patriot]

Just now, CRM said:

Money no object? I'd contract with Toyota to build me a one ton diesel V8 truck in 4WD. 🤣

Bullseye💯 on point! 👍🏻😄

[katanapilot]

26 minutes ago, CRM said:

Money no object? I'd contract with Toyota to build me a one ton diesel V8 truck in 4WD. 🤣

Toyota already did.  https://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/30/sema-2007-toyota-tundra-dually-diesel/

[CRM]

17 minutes ago, katanapilot said:

Toyota already did.  https://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/30/sema-2007-toyota-tundra-dually-diesel/

Early Gen2 body style.. even better!

[Rivernerd]

35 minutes ago, CRM said:

Toyota already did.

Wish Toyota still made 'em.  I would own one.

[Steph and Dud B]

We're happy with our GMC 3500 crew cab gas dually. The gas engine is perfectly fine with a smaller trailer like an Oliver and doesn't have the DEF system to deal with. Tons of storage space.

As for the duals in back... the game was money is no object, so why not!

The major downside to us: it has the turning radius of the Queen Mary, so swinging into some sites can be tough. 

[Steph and Dud B]

Incidentally, the gas/diesel pendulum for heavy trucks is swinging again. Most new ambulances are gassers now as are many fleet trucks. I just bought a large service truck with a 7.3 gas engine and will say I was impressed. With $10K saved up front, cheaper fuel, and lower maintenance expenses, gas is a contender again.

[routlaw]

Surprised to hear from you guys regarding diesel requiring more maintenance than gas powered. Had always thought the opposite to be true. Shows what little I know. 

That aside will throw in my two cents worth on trucks for the E2. For now years now we have been using an F150 with 3.5 E-Boost engine and while 95%+ this is completely adequate enough I agree with others given the weight of the Oliver E2 a half ton truck really is the lower limit to be considered. Let me also add the first 8 years we had our Oliver we towed with no issues what so ever WITHOUT the Andersen WD hitch and only adopted it due to some potential or theoretical legal issues. In the early years of Oliver I was not alone within this endeavor and just recently (past month) saw yet another Oliver E2 owner with half ton truck and no Andersen hitch. My own personal opinion is I hate the thing 90% of the time, so its very easy to understand why so many have gone to 3/4 ton trucks or larger.

There is another issue worth considering too. Last year while heading down to the Wind River Range in WY we decided to go over Teton Pass rather than taking the longer route via Idaho Falls and through the Snake River Canyon. This descent of 10% grade for miles should not be taken on by such rigs as ours. With a 6 cylinder eco-boost engine there simply is not enough engine brake power from the smaller engine to take on such loads and while being as cautious and careful as I could right from the beginning of the pass it required far more conventional braking than was ideal to the point all brakes from the truck and Oliver were smoking half way down while trying to maintain the required speed limit which was futile. It is worth noting the rig in front of me, half ton or larger pickup with 5th wheel was having the same trouble. Effectively I had to escape to the nearest pull off, to allow time for brakes to cool off.  Granted this is an intermountain west situation and not likely to be a concern for those of you traveling and camping back east, but I will not repeat this endeavor again. @Patriot hinted at this issue in an earlier post and I would emphasize take this warning seriously if money is not an issue.

I constantly see people out on the road towing with what appears to many as far too little tow vehicle for the trailer they are dragging around. Scares the stew out of me. We once met a couple down in Utah towing a 25ft Flying Cloud Airstream with a Tacoma, not making this up. To this very day, Tacomas have still not integrated rear disc brakes on those pickups. 

Safe travels and happy camping.

 

 

[Steph and Dud B]

1 hour ago, routlaw said:

Surprised to hear from you guys regarding diesel requiring more maintenance

I was referring to maintenance costs. Pretty much every repair on a diesel is more expensive than on a gasser, largely because the parts tend to be heavier-duty. Oil changes are more expensive, too. More oil, bigger filters. And some have reported issues with the DEF system, but our last diesel was pre-DEF so I can't speak to that personally.

We really did need a diesel with our fifth wheel. It was nice using the diesel truck pumps at service plazas and listening to the engine hum along at low RPMs on hills, but the gasser does just fine with our Oliver.