# 3/4 v 1 ton



## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

My brother would like a new truck. I did a little pricing online then went to a dealer. What is the advantage of 2500 v 3500? Neither list mileage but similarly equipped price difference is minimal.

BTW his wantof a new truck is cured for the time being. The T(rusty) 05 half ton looks good. Besides that he decided that will tow just as much on a flatbed trailer as any one ton. At least until something breaks.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

deadmoose said:


> At least until something breaks.


That is very true. Because if he regularly hauls something with a 1/2 ton that really should be hauled by a 1 ton something is bound to happen.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

Yup. At least then he got his money's worth.  Nothing regular. Just a bit of hay here and there.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Biggest difference in the two is stiff suspension, my 250 has car like manners, the 350 lets you know when you hit a reflector in the dividing line.....


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## Chessiedog (Jul 24, 2009)

Just look at the GVW stickers . I have two F-350's an 02 an 03 . The 03 is a cab an chasse has about 2000 higher GVW it lets you know when you run over a penny . On the other hand with a 24 foot gooseneck an 10 round bales for about 16 to 17000 pounds it's still not on the over loads , but the 02 would be .


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## Shetland Sheepdog (Mar 31, 2011)

I have a Silverado 3500 single rear wheel 1 ton, and son has a Silverado 2500HD 3/4 ton. One leaf more in my rear springs and one size up on my tires. My GVWR is 9900 and his is 9200. All else pretty much identical!


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Yup, superduty 250 to 350 gets you slightly wider tires with higher load rating and a lift block in the rear suspension. More 350's come with the heavier spring packages as well but you can get them on the 250 too. More to do with playing with registration/taxation rules in different areas.


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## RockmartGA (Jun 29, 2011)

deadmoose said:


> Nothing regular. Just a bit of hay here and there.


Then I vote for the 3/4 ton.


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## IHCman (Aug 27, 2011)

I bought a 2014 dodge 2500 diesel last winter. So far I like it really well. Pulls like a beast. At times I wish I'd have went with the 3500. In the Dodge to get the upgraded auto transmission and lower gears you have to go to the 3500. Price is a little steeper too just to get the 3500 not to mention those upgrades. I was a little concerned how my 2500 would pull with 3:42 gears but it pulls just fine, hardly notice my 32ft gooseneck with a load of cows on. I think they put the 3:42s in for mileage at highway speed and gear it down with the 6 speed transmission. Kinda strange but the faster you go the better mileage it seems to get. If you putz down the road at 45 you probably get 10 to 12 mpg. bump it up to 70 then you see 18 to 20mpg. My old 01 dodge was the opposite.


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## gbrett (Aug 16, 2013)

My F-350 was significantly cheaper to insure than the same vehicle in a F-250 version. Myagent said it was because they had fewer claims with 1 tons.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

Old thread. Price between half ton and 3/4 - 1 ton made a difference. He got a new half ton last fall. Good time to buy. 2 days later his boss tried to buy similarly equipped vehicle and was told sale was over. $3k more.


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## snowball (Feb 7, 2015)

What I did deadmoose was buy the 3/4 ton and then put the air bags under it, I felt like you get the best of both worlds the ride and better gear ratio of the 3/4 ton and when needed the extra suspension when under the trailer plus you can adjust the bags to the load weight .. I think it was about 1000. to put the kit on I've switch the same kit to 3 different trucks now I hauled quite a few loads at in the 18 to 20 K range and never had a issue with the suspension.. as you all know just the motors


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

I have a borrowed 1 ton dually right now with bags and the original spring overloads, boys is it a rough ride! You can't fully dump the bag pressure, 5-10 psi min so they don't chafe.


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## snowball (Feb 7, 2015)

Yea I got to leave 5 to 10 psi in mine also put it is still a good ride I bet it would be rough in a 1 ton . I know with a 18000 lbs load and 40 or 45 psi in the bags it carry's a load pretty nice I try to get down to just 5 psi when it's empty and no trailer to get a good ride out if it


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## azmike (Jan 4, 2015)

I use a F350 4 door truck for pulling, probably "up grade" to an older F550 with shorter cab as the big cab is difficult to hook up the gooseneck trailers. I don't care about the comfy ride as long as it pulls and stops! The truck sets while I drive a 95 Nissan with a little flat bed from ranch to farm (4 miles) and any chores that the 1 ton or Gator can't do!

I will add Kathleen's truck ('12 Frontier) is CLEAN & COMFY. No bullets rolling around the floor, rubber boots, jumper cables, misc hand tools, pistols, broken speakers, etc.... we call her rig the Townie truck.


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