I'm going to be getting a car allowance starting in Jan and need to buy a truck. I've always had 1/2 ton pickups as they were cheaper, but it seems like prices have converged to an extent to where I could get a decently outfitted 3/4 ton for the same price as a half ton.

I don't necessarily need the 3/4 ton, we do an RV trip once or twice a year but have always been ok with a 1/2 ton though i'm sure the 3/4 would be better for towing a 7000+ lb camper. I will have a fuel card so don't care about mpgs.

What else should I be aware of going from a 1/2 ton to a 3/4?

If the maintenance is paid, not a deal breaker. Negatives for me: Will it fit in parking garages where you go for work? Harder to park in parking lots. Rougher ride.

That is about it. I love F-250's, but drive a 1/2 ton because of the above.

Gas 2500 is much better truck with a real v8. Planning on that being my next truck for all the same reasons you said.

Yeah, I would definitely get the gasser for my use case.

Go for it: Could you tow your camper without a WDH w the 3/4 ton? That would be the bonus for me.

Talk you out of it: more of a pain to park the 3/4 ton.

Brah

I feel like the 3/4 ton is a wierd overlap. These days, a half ton can handle most of what a 3/4 ton used to do. A 1 ton isn't any bigger physically. For me, I'd pick half ton or 1 ton. If you go 1 ton, don't forget the pick up the extra 1.5 feet of bed. There's a huge problem going around where the dealers seem to leave that part back in Kentucky. I don't understand it but watch out for it.

First question is gas or diesel. You've specified gas.

So now you have 2 options - ford and Chevy. Are you buying new? If not, make sure the Chevy 6.6 gas the 10 speed behind it.

If yes to new and financing, interest rates may be a factor. I refuse to pay more than 3% on an auto loan and that's pretty much not possible with super duties these days and hard to find on Chevy - unless there's a year end special going on.

If it's a ford, the 7.3 is a much better engine IMO. Death wobble can still be a thing on super duties as well

I had a 6.4 gas dodge 3/4 ton. Power wise, my ecoboost is more comfortable to tow with! Sure, the 3/4 ton dodge is built like a tank but didn't make power til 3k-5k rpm and I didn't like the constantly rev that high just to be in the power band. (On edit - my dodge 3/4 was 0% financing, caught that financing incentive in the fine print that wasn't really advertised.)

Some of that is preference, but I just think a 1/2 ton drives better, ie better acceleration and ride. They're still plenty big but easier to park. Cheaper maintenance and better fuel costs, too. And they're super capable - a 1/2 ton today is listed for higher towing than a 3/4 from 20 years ago.

So if a 1/2 met my towing needs, I'd prefer to keep it just because of the overall driving profile.

Todays 1/2 ton Towing is better than years past but payload is not. Trucks have gotten heavier. If MPG isn't an issue then absolutely go with the 3/4. Better brakes, ****** cooler, oil capacity etc. plus you have a N.A. V8.

Ride is rougher, mpg is worse and it's a big truck so parking is more difficult.

I get your point but I've towed a 7000 lb trailer with my Tundra and an F250 and it wasn't even close as far as comfort while pulling.

Edited to say that I agree with the poster below me that for two trips a year I would stick with a half ton.

A 3/4 ton is a much ROUGHER ride than a 1/2 ton. Significantly. So imo only get a 3/4 ton if you really need it for towing capacity. Or if you wear white bro glasses.

I don't think 2 RV trips a year are worth the trade off in ride quality and size inconvenience. Interior space is the same (at least on the Fords). Maneuvering in traffic is easier in a 1/2 ton as well. It probably does depend on where you live and drive, I live in a city so the size penalty is much worse than if you live in suburbia or somewhere rural.

They ride like sheet!

Bottoms line is you can't look like a little poosay driving a 1/2 ton. Step up to a man's truck.

Ferd, half ton,8' bed, V6 with boost.

You're welcome.

If I didn't need a 3/4 or 1 ton for my company, I'd probably do a 6.5' bed half ton. I'd only consider a half ton with that bed length.

I had a half ton with a 6.5 bed. Was frustrating not having. Enough bed length for many things. Also had a retractable bed cover so the mechanism shortened the bed length for bigger things like furniture.

True a 6.5 bed is better for city driving/parking.

Check what it does to your insurance rate. A 3/4 ton does more damage than a 1/2 when running into things.

Insurance is one of the things I was concerned about for sure, especially with how much premiums have increased in the last 2 years.

I've driven 1/2 tons forever and picked up a new 3/4 ton last week. Love it on the highway and the larger gas tank gets you just about anywhere you want to go in Texas on a full tank. On normal city streets it rides like a rough sob. Also it is noticeably harder to park/maneuver in small areas (I don't really notice just in normal traffic).

I'd stick to a 1/2 ton given the choice.

Seems like the half tons have gotten much much more refined over the years and the 3/4 tons are much rougher.

Jack Boyett said:

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Seems like the half tons have gotten much much more refined over the years and the 3/4 tons are much rougher.

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Yep, half tons have become luxury family vehicles and the capability of 3/4 and 1 ton trucks has continued to increase. I can imagine it's basically impossible to optimize for incredible towing/payload capacity, minimizing harshness, and cost all at the same time. Trucks are ridiculously capable nowadays.

If you only pull a 7K lbs trailer twice a year get a 1/2 ton. We pull a similar weighted trailer 6-10 times a year and I have a super crew F150 with a long bed. Dimensionally there isn't much difference in my truck and an F250 with a short bed, but the ride quality during a daily commute is much better.

A 3.5 EcoBoost in an F150 will have more perceived power than an F250 with the 7.3 gas. The 3.5 has 400hp and 500lbsft with twin turbos and a flat torque curve, while the 7.3 has 435hp and 485lbsft while hauling around 1000 lbs more base weight.

If you like the way the F250 looks more get it. But don't be fooled into thinking there's a huge difference unless you are daily towing and hauling. If that were the case a 250 is the clear winner for the durability. For occasional hard use they are almost the same.

Edit: forgot to mention I have a 36 gal tank which gets me between 500 and 600 highway miles depending on conditions and where I'm going. I think in a short bed 250 you get a 24 or 26 gal tank.

Edit 2: realized I was referring to short bed and long bed in my post and OP may not be aware. A long bed on a super crew F150 is 6.5' and a short bed on a super crew F250 is 6.7'.

I drove a 2019 F250 gasser for about 2 years and downsized to a Chevy 1500. I think every day about going back to the 3/4 ton and probably will within the next year or so. Do it and don't look back.

I have daily driven a HD truck for the last 10 years and close to 3/4 of a million miles. Parking garages are my only downside. I don't notice a big difference in ride(particularly in the Chevy with IFS) compared to my friends half tons. I like the durability of big displacement V8s and bigger fuel tanks. I've had gas, diesel 4x4 and 2wd. The modern GM 6.6 Gas with the 10spd is a perfectly usable everyday vehicle, probably will last longer than a half ton with engine life.

You can tell who the Ford HD drivers are here.....

Get a GM. Your back will thank you later.

Had a F250 powerstroke but the DEF crap drove me crazy. (Yes, I should have deleted it.)

This past spring got a '19 F250 Lariat, 6.2 gas, crew cab, long bed. Love this truck. I need the space, not necessarily the weight capacity, in the bed for what I do. I am impressed every time I drive it. It rides as smooth and quiet as my wife's Acura RDX. Tech level is great, not overdone. Even with 2500 lbs, rides very well. 48 gallon tank gives you good range, I get about 14mpg.

1988PA-Aggie said:

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Had a F250 powerstroke but the DEF crap drove me crazy. (Yes, I should have deleted it.)

This past spring got a '19 F250 Lariat, 6.2 gas, crew cab, long bed. Love this truck. I need the space, not necessarily the weight capacity, in the bed for what I do. I am impressed every time I drive it. It rides as smooth and quiet as my wife's Acura RDX. Tech level is great, not overdone. Even with 2500 lbs, rides very well. 48 gallon tank gives you good range, I get about 14mpg.

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It probably rides better with 2500 lbs in the bed than empty

Yeah the empty bed is what will drive you crazy

Yep, they ride like a tank when not on the overload springs.

https://media.ford.com/content/dam/fordmedia/North%20America/US/product/2021/super-duty/21-Super-Duty-Pickup-Tech-Specs.pdf

There's really no difference between a F-250 and a F-350 these days unless you get a dually. As far as ease of parking, as long as you are okay with having to park a little further out it's not a pain. Parking my wife's 1/2 ton Ram is marginally easier than my F-250. I usually just end up parking in the exact same places.

You have a fuel card, so that takes the biggest negative out of the equation. Get the 3/4 ton....it's cooler!

As already stated, the ride will not be near as smooth as a 1/2. It'll be a little harder to park at first, but I'm assuming you'll have a back up camera, so just back into parking spots. It's easier.

BenTheGoodAg said:

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Some of that is preference, but I just think a 1/2 ton drives better, ie better acceleration and ride. They're still plenty big but easier to park. Cheaper maintenance and better fuel costs, too. And they're super capable - a 1/2 ton today is listed for higher towing than a 3/4 from 20 years ago.

So if a 1/2 met my towing needs, I'd prefer to keep it just because of the overall driving profile.

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I don't know...my 2019 F250 PSD could really move if you spooled the turbo and blip the throttle properly.