What truck should I purchase or should I..
 

stay with what I have.

I'm in the process of purchasing a new 2019 Supra SL. I currently plan to tow it with my 16' Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71 CC short box. My previous boat was a '14 Supra SA350 so a bit lighter.

My thoughts are the F250 Lariat, RAM 2500 Laramie or either of the GM 2500 models.

My concerns with staying with my current tow vehicle are mainly the tow capacity: 9400lbs max. The Supra SL comes in around 5600# dry add fuel and its topping 6000# add the trailer and now I'm at 7500#. Its not leaving a lot of room for gear and people.

Thoughts and opinions are appreciated. I might be overlooking something and I know this forum will bring it to the forefront.

Thanks,

What do your towing distances consist of?

From the house to Lake Anna 60mi, to Smith Mountain Lake 192mi

If you can afford the 2500 move up to that size truck to tow the SL. You would be able to get away towing it with the 1500 Silverado every now and then but to tow it consistently to Anna and Smith Mountain you will be way better off with a diesel 2500. The SL is heavy and will give any 1500 a good work out. Your fuel mileage will be terrible with the 1500. Plus it’s just sketchy backing that heavy boat down the ramp with a 1500. It can be done but the correct truck for the job is a 2500 with out a doubt.
Truck wise I would go with the Ram. They always seem to be a better value compared to the Ford and Chevy’s.

I would go Ram (and I did). GMC is out for me with their independent front suspension and goofy square fender lines. I like the Ford at a lot, however my friend has a tile business and recently made the switch from a Ram fleet to a Ford diesel fleet. He said the Fords are spending way more time in the shop. His trucks tow and haul every day. I bought a Ram for the motor. Hard to beat Cummins on reliability and simplicity. I think you'll find them to be slightly less expensive too. Mine is a 2011 and has been trouble free. I'm also running a tune with over 1000 ft lbs of torque. It's fun.

They're more expensive to maintain and run, but the added control and climbing the hills at 1500 RPMs in 6th gear will put a smile on your face. I'll never go back to a 1500. They are stiff, so as a daily driver the hd trucks can wear on you a bit.

Hard to go wrong with any of the 3/4 ton diesels. The GMs are my least favorite because I also don't like the funky square wheel wells. I've towed with both the Ram and the Super Duty. I prefer the look of the Ford over the Ram, but that's personal preference. The one thing I am certain of though is that the Ford accelerates a lot stronger than the Ram. I don't know if it's V8 vs. i6 or faster turbo spool up, but the SD feels like a rocket compared to the Ram. One other thing: according to Car & Driver magazine, the Ram has electronic issues with their giant touchscreen.

Excursion with any engine other then the 6.0. They come in very handy when you have a large riding crew. You can find them very affordable.

60 mile trip 1500 all day.... 192mi no way imo ... It can be done but i wouldn't want to do it regularly. Lucky for you, you already own a 1500 so try it out on a trip or two and then go from there. I towed our 23' mastercraft with a 15 yukon that had the 5.3 and 6spd... that motor trans combo was not fun to tow with. 6.2 is a different story, our 17 esv with 8spd handles the boat just fine. My o8 duramax was nice to tow with but grew to hate that thing for everyday in a hurry. my back hurts thinking about it. (it was lifted and done up so was much harsher than stock. prior to lift, it was leveled and that was even worse.)

half ton truck prices are nuts. But the new f150 or ram diesel is a great option. I have towed large trailers for thousands of miles. 3/4 ton trucks work better period. I have a 2011 f150 ecoboost. I was towing around 200 miles each weekend, don't tow anymore since we bought a home on the lake. With that said, the f150 was impressive and pulled without a hiccup

Chevy 5.3 is weak and there are better half ton options for towing. I would get a 3/4 ton if you can put up with the difference in comfort!

After dropping a rod through the pan of my Chevy Avalanche I bought a 2007 GMC 2500 Duramax, also traded my 2003 Tahoe up to a 2019 Ford Excursion Ecoboost 3.5/10 speed. Both new tow rigs do extremely well compared to my older Chevy's. The Duramax is simply a beast. My Jeep rock crawler/trailer combo is about 7500#s, the Duramax tows it like nothing is there. Easily passing at 75mph going up the altimont pass (6-8% grade). What is best about the truck is not the power but the engine braking is great when going downhill. I can tow Jeep up ice house road to the rubicon with the diesel and it's completely uneventful compared to the old Avalanche that had power, transmission, and overheating issues every time I made that trip.

The new Expedition is also pretty impressive. That little 3.4 twin turbo and 10 speed automatic are shockingly capable. The trans keeps it in the torque range, it pulls much harder than any of my Chevy gassers ever did. It also has the engine braking, seems like they may be doing with turbo vanes like they do on the duramax. The boat is lighter than the Jeep, I have not yet towed the Jeep yet with the Expedition but it seems quite capable towing the boat to the point where I don't have any strong preference between the Duramax or Expedition.

GM needs to up their game. The power and efficiency of the Ford ecoboost has them beat by a large margin. The new GM Jr Duramax might be a game changer, but avoid the new GM gassers...

Cybertruck!

I've been pretty impressed with my 3.5 ecoboost. Quite capable with the max tow package and pretty fun to drive when empty.

2019 Exursion eco boost? Pics please. :eek:

He says Excursion in the first part of his post which had me confused as well but later corrects himself by saying Expedition.