A while back, we blogged about how the Toyota Tundra was not the ideal vehicle to pull our RV. Based on our slow-moving experiences last year, we decided to upgrade to a diesel truck that would get us up over hilly passes without high RPMs, and we wanted a gas gauge that didn’t deplete right in front of our eyes. You can view the post HERE. As much as we loved our truck, long hours on the road were made even longer with a truck that felt like it was pulling a load of rocks was just not ideal for us. Pat did some research on some of the diesel trucks on the market, and looked into more details than “is the truck pretty?” (My first question to him). Some things that were important to him, and me too, even though I still wanted the truck to look good, were:
1. Diesel engine
2. Gas mileage / gas tank size
3. Horsepower and towing capacity
4. Integrated brake controller
5. Towing mirrors
6. Vehicle weight and size
7. Pre-wired for our future 5th wheel
8. Exhaust brake
9. Extended cab and comfortable space (for someone over 6ft. 5)
10. Back up camera
We decided to trade the Tundra in for a 2015 GMC 2500 HD. We got our value out of the Toyota, which truly was one of the best points about the Tundra, and upgraded to a longer-meaner machine. As we prepared for our first trip of 2015 (Estes Park, CO), we couldn’t help but be apprehensive about the truck, the gas, and making it up the few mountainous passes we needed to go through. We filled up the tank, and we got 11MPG, which really is fantastic considering we were climbing mountains almost the whole way. To put that into perspective, we got about 4-5 MPG pulling the RV in the Tundra. We smiled at each other when we passed the gas station we had to stop and fill up at last year, and at that point our GMC was just about 3/4 of a tank full. Giddy with excitement, we knew the truck was a good purchase. Our feelings were affirmed as we crested each mountain pass, and the truck was not struggling at all. We pulled with ease, and we made it to our destination with gas to spare. I’d say we are super happy with the purchase, and our adventures will be even better now that we can pull the toy-hauler with less concern and let’s face it, more $$$ in our pockets!
So here we sit, inside the RV while it rains, and we are enjoying our first weekend away in Estes Park. With adventure planned, we are excited for the weekend, and many more RV weekends to come. Now, if we could just find extra-long parking spots, we will be all-set. Why don’t these little towns come equipped with monster-sized parking spaces?