Mountain Pulling

[rosstok]

Hi - We are new to MOC and not yet owners. (PMOC?) We are quite interested in the 3400RL (12400lbs dry/15600lbs max) and would love to hear your experiences about tow vehicles - especially performance in the Sierra and Rocky Mountains with similar type trailer weights. Would like to hear about what vehicle configuration you have -including which rear axle ratio - how it does up the steeps, and your views on SRW vs DRW configurations. It seems that many of your vehicles are diesels, but if there are gassers out there with a view on why gas, we'd be interested in hearing that too.

Thanks - we look forward to joining as owners!

[NCFischers]

First, welcome to the forum. you will find a wealth of information here. Don't be afraid to ask about anything or contribute when you can.
We tow with a Chevy 1 ton dually diesel. Diesels have a lot more torque than gas engines and will pull the weight easier. I prefer the dual wheels but as you will soon find out, all opinions are personal preferences. Pull with what you can afford and are comfortable with.

[Mudchief]

You will be happy with any diesel that you purchase. They all work great and will do the job.I have been in the mountains and my unit did just fine going up and coming down.

[Tom S.]

We have an 06 Duramax 3500 crew cab with the single rear wheels and a 06 Montana 3500RL. A year after we got both, we drove from Michigan to Alaska and back. This year to Yellowstone and back. So we have seen/done a lot of mountain driving. There no issues what so ever - other than the outrageous price of fuel in northern British Columbia and Yukon!

[bjj5633]

I only have towed about 500 miles but,my truck towed very well. My monty weighs 11500 dry.

[Delaine and Lindy]

We have owned several GM Trucks and had the Duramax/Allison. We also have owned SRW's and DRW's. It will depend on what type 5th wheel you decide on buying. You will find many who would only buy a SRW Truck, that again is choice. When you decide on the 5th wheel, and how much weight then that will determine what type Truck you need, 3/4 ton or the 1 ton or a real MDT. Most 5th wheels we have owned were heavy 14,000 lbs and up. So my choice has been the 1 ton with DRW's. You will also find that many RVer's are towing 5th wheels with two much pin weight or are over on GVWR. And many will tell you that the numbers on the Truck are a guide, not true its there for your Safety. And of course many will say I have been towing 5th wheels forever and don't have any problem and they towing heavy 5er's with a 2500HD. As for towing in the Mountains I have towed the Rockies with the GM 3500HD's 1 ton, DRW's and the Duramax never let me down and we were towing heavy 16,000 lbs. Gas engines just doesn't have the low end Torq that the Diesels have, did you ever wonder why most all over the road Trucks (18 Wheelsers) use Diesel engines. As for rear axle ratio, I have used 3.73 in the GM HD's and 5.12 in the 4500 series, and in the Freightliner it has 4.30 rear gear. And if your 5th wheel is over 16,000 lbs and your using the GM 3500HD's you will be in many cases over GVWR. The pin weight will be fine if you have DRW's. Good Luck on your adventure and have fun. GBY....

[Delaine and Lindy]

Double post, Senior moment.. GBY....

[Tom S.]

Obviously all you need is a really good Blazer:




I hope of course you know I'm kidding!!!

[JimnJulie]

Welcome to the forum. We have a 2006 3400RL and pull it with a Ford 250 Super Duty Diesel. When Julie retired we headed west from Ohio to New Mexico then thru Utah and back to Goshen for the Rally thru Colorado on I70. We head south to Florida each fall and north each spring back to Ohio following I77 and have had no trouble whatsoever with the Monty following along thru the mountains and valleys. Good luck with your choice

[exav8tr]

I towed my 3400 with a single rear wheel drive Chevy 2500HD (Duramax) the first year we had it. From Alaska to Arizona. The power plant did a great job. We bought a 3500 Chevy Duallie last year and the power plant and capability is the same. I do feel we are more stable with the DRW but that is just my opinion. As Delaine&Lindy mentioned, Decide on your 5er and THEN buy a truck to match or exceeds the weight or your trailer. Diesels are the way to go, BUT, several in our group tow with gassers and do it very well. Welcome to "The Best Darned Forum on the WWW!"

[lawrenceb42106]

We had a 3295RK and a 3400RL that we pulled with a 1 ton dually. The reason for the dually was for the pin weight on the truck. Several have or are pulling with a single rear wheel 3/4 ton trucks. Like others have said find the trailer you want then match the truck to the trailer. We had a 373 ratio for pulling. Now pulling a 295RKD Mountaineer with a dually.

[sreigle]

Welcome aboard. Our 2007 3400RL is very heavily loaded. At last weighing it came in at 14,620 lbs with 2/3 fresh water and all other tanks empty. We've towed our 3400RL all over this country over the past 6 1/2 years of fulltiming, including a number of 10, 8, and 6 percent grades. Plus, we towed UP this grade on Utah highway 12 ...

That one was with a 2005 Ford F250 6.0L diesel and auto trans.

As for SRW vs DRW, I personally see no need for a dually with a Montana unless it is important to you to not be a little over the GVWR for the truck. In that case, go dually. 150k or so miles towing Montanas with SRW. We'll stay with the SRW. You decide what's best for you.

Almost forgot, you asked about the Rockies. We towed across Colorado on I-70, from west to east, including over Vail Pass and through the Eisenhower tunnel on I-70. That altitude will slow you down but it's certainly doable if you're not in a huge hurry. Do be careful to watch temperatures and back off the throttle when they start to climb.

All of our tow vehicles, Ford and Dodge, have had the 3.73 rear axle and automatic transmission. The first Ford was a V10 gasser (it went across Colorado on I-70 also) and all the rest have been diesel. The gasser did a fine job but the diesels do better and don't work as hard. Both will do the job for you, in my opinion.

Whatever your decision, good luck and welcome aboard.

[TLightning]

Any diesel will pull fine.

The problem with a 5th wheel that heavy is that all 3/4 tons and most SRW one tons cannot handle the pin weight and remain with in the manufacturer's specs. Read "Delaine and Lindy" post, lots of good information in there...then get your calculator out and do the numbers. As a guide, the pin weight will be 20% of your trailer's GVWR...that number alone will put you well over the GVWR for a 3/4 ton.

[Gramps]

First off, WELCOME to the best forum around.

As mentioned before, it's a combination of personal choice and towing capability based on what you tow. My personal preference is the F350 Dually (mine is a 00 7.3 Power Stroke). DW and I just feel the Dually provides a more stable feel when towing. Diesel is king when it comes to towing. Another option to consider is the choice of transmissions. Many feel the automatic is the only way to go, others lean toward the manuals. We have the manual 6 speed in ours and love it in the mountains. No constant up and down shifting when climbing, and shifting to a lower gear when heading down allows the engine compression to do the work.

[thor]

welcopme to the form. daulies over single is nice for single fact that if you get a flat on one you are still safe to pull over or get yoou to the next service centre.depending on makes there is only 500lbs differnce betwen a daulie and a single because you have to subtract the weight of the extra tire weight of the rearend etc.also diesels are better in the mountains because the air is thinner the higher you go.diesels have turbos to force air into the intakes.gas engines like the 8.1 liters have no turbos to force air into it.less horse power the higher you go.

[akf15e]

Welcome! I think the diesel question has been addressed well. Remember that it is the same powerplant in each model - you're pulling ability is basically the same whether it's a 2500/3500SRW/DRW. Stopping is obviously going to be better on DRW with more rubber on the ground and more braking action. We had ours on some very steep grades this summer and had no issues climbing or descending.

As for pin weight - how do you plan on using the rig? Kids, dogs, loaded to the hilt with gear, generator, a 1/2 cord of firewood?? You get my point. Contrary to popular opinion, I can hitch up my 3400 onto my 2500 and NOT be over GVWR for my truck. That includes everything I need to take it on a weekend trip, which I do to go to some of my running races.

Now when we head to the beach for a week with DW, dogs, beach chairs, lots of food and drinks, etc., I go about 3-400 lbs over truck GVWR.

That being said, my next truck will be a 3500. I know I will not exceed GVWR on a SRW with the way we travel. However, I will consider the dually for some of the reasons spelled out here by others. My truck is my daily driver, so I'm not that hyped up about parking that beast around town. Not that it is an issue - mine only has 75k miles on it, does a great job towing, and should last many more years.

Anyway - any of the trucks will do OK (depending on your packing habits) - obviously more truck is better, but balance that with your needs and budget.

Good luck!

[8e3k0]

Diesel is the way to go when your pulling that kind of weight. You gain in torque, horsepower per gallon of fuel burned.
All three main manufactures of diesel engines have did well. From mid 2007 all diesel trucks were installed with filters on the exhaust systems to trap soot and every 100 to 200 miles a regen system goes on by burning diesel at a high rate to turn the soot to ashes prior to releasing to atmosphere. This system increases fuel consumption, do to restrictions through the exhaust, injector timing etc. so the late models do not attain the same fuel mileage as the earlier models without the emissions.
With weights that the 3400RL can run , we feel the dually is safer in stability and meets towing and carring capacities better than the SRWs.
We are very happy with our combination which is a 09 F350 King Ranch CC 4X4 6.4 liter, long box dually with 3.73 gears pulling a 3400RL Monty that is in the area of 14,000 Lbs. We also live near the Rockies and have had no problem in handling the combo in any type of road / hill combination. Its your choice, ask a lot of questions, try them all out and be careful of sales gimmicks. There is a lot of experience on this Forum if you have questions while trying to deside.
Simply do your research; it's a big investment; so you want to be happy with that investment. Ellis

[skypilot]

I've only towed with a diesel since having a trailer (currently SOB but started with a Keystone Cougar to a Montana Mountaineer). In any case, the diesel is built to run at medium to higher RPM and do it all day long (at least in my opinion). Several forum members have had V10 gas trucks in the past and as I look through the posts, it appears all have switched over to diesel.

In my own case the biggest advantage I saw when I initially purchased was towing ability (low-end torque, fuel economy when towing and longetivity of the engine). A lot of the posts I was reading way back when spoke of gassers getting 4 and 5 miles to a gallon when the diesels were 8 to 10. I don't feel those numbers have shifted. Now, on the other side of the coin, if this truck is also going to be your daily driver, then unloaded MPG as well as ability to get it into parking lots and around town will be a big factor. Any of the 1-ton models will meet your immediate needs -- I (notice the I) feel the diesel does it better as long as you work it and work it hard. The new models (2007.5 and newer) have reported problems when being used as daily driver type vehicles where they never really get good and hot working.

[rosstok]

First off, I'd like to thank you for all your responses - great information and insights! In part, I didn't realize that I was jumping into the great 3/4 ton vs. 1 ton debate, but overall, I discovered what I needed to know to make a decision. We got there quickly after that - by accident, fate or otherwise - lots of stories around this, I'll try to share later. Something about: the wrong pink slip, my mother-in-law, a dog named Boston, a wife who believes that a big truck is a thing of beauty, and two very late nights in Folsom Calif (no, not in the prison, but with some very good people at the Ford and Montana dealers in town - highly recommend them both). As to my original question - what vehicle is enough? The Montana Dealer summed it up by describing the towing capacity of our rig as "BIG".

So, if you want to know about the differences between 250s and 350s - pretty simple, an additional leaf in the rear and some modifications in the shock valving - that is about it. Translates to more axle capacities, thus tongue weight per the specs. Otherwise, the trucks are identical. - However, watch out for the rear axle ratios in the future, Ford has moved to shallower rear ends (3.31 standard)for the 2010s.

We are DELIGHTED to now be the proud owners of(pics to come):

[Tom S.]

Gearing is an interesting subject. Lots of people get hung up on rear axle ratios. While a high numerical ratio helps in the take off, it can also penalize your fuel mileage. GM stayed with the 3:73 gearing when they designed the Allison transmission to compensate for it. Ford may be doing the same thing with their trucks.