Toy haulers with segregated garages under 10K gross and $20K https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2004-Keystone-TAILGATOR-278RR-5003216191 https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2012-K-Z-MXT-302-5002464674 https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2013-Forest-River-Rv-Work-and-Play-Ultra-Lite-275ULSBS-5003283947 https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2015-Forest-River-Vengeance-29V-5003221788
Carvana...I had a good experience with them. Pretty good pricing compared to my local dealers. https://www.carvana.com/details/896504/2009-chevrolet-ltz-pickup-4d-6-12-ft- https://www.carvana.com/search/2000131340/2015-chevrolet-lt-pickup-4d-8-ft-
Seems to me, you are allowing a very good budget, so you shouldn't have a problem. Having towed with gas and with diesel, in both trucks and a roll back tow truck, I would buy the diesel truck you can afford. Towing with a diesel is so much less hassle. They don't need to rev as high, and just work better. Looking at the example above you seem the diesel torque was at 1800rpm and the gas was over 4k rpm. For a daily driver I would not choose the diesel, as I think a gas vechicle will do everything needed now a days, and gas engines seem to last just about as long as diesels anymore.
I agree, my 5th wheel is a 30' 10K but when I bought the truck I only had a 17' enclosed and I still got the diesel anyway. I've towed most every pass in the western US from Houston headed to Cali, Idaho, Washington, Utah, etc. Even with a 12-13K trailer I keep 60mph up the biggest inclines without trying. I could push 70+ if I wanted to but I see no point in racing to the top, in a gas truck I'd have no choice but foot to the floor to keep 60-65. Sure it would do it but I like the comfort that diesel provides and my truck is used solely for towing now. OP has a different consideration since he plans to daily the truck and only plans to tow big 10-20 times a year. Again I agree with rob, for a daily you can't beat a modern gas truck that will get you 300K+ good miles. I was willing to pay the diesel tax because I love the power and not caring about payloads or weights or whatever. I did pay for it when I dailyed the truck in HD tires, oil changes, fuel filters, and general oh shit expenses that comes with the diesel, but again I was willing to pay that tax.
My 6.7 ford has a reversed layout with the injectors on the outboard side of the Vee and the exhaust on the inboard side. While it's damn near impossible to see it looks like the engine would need to be pulled along with a sh*t pot of misc. stuff. I wouldn't trust the local ford dealer to do this job.
Someone above mentioned this and it is worth repeating. If you get an older diesel and toy box, consider getting an econobox for your daily. That is what I did. I actually daily drove my Duramax 90 miles round trip for around a year when I blew up my natural gas civic, before buying another natural gas civic. For me, driving a big 8 ft bed, extended cab, through parking lots, etc. is a royal pain, plus the freeway expansion joints get the thing bouncing a bit. Every day finding a parking spot for lunch, parts runs, customer site visits, etc is so much easier in a car. Plus I went from 15-18mpg in the diesel to 32-38mpg in the econobox. Maintenance is also much less money in an econobox versus a big diesel truck.
I already have a sedan in good condition. I don't intend to use the 2500 as a dd. However, in the event the need does arrive I would like to have that option, which why I'm not interested in class A or C.
I'm pretty happy with my Duramax and would definitely consider buying a newer version of the same truck without the injector issues. However I would also look into a 06-07 Dodge with a Cummins Allison combination. That was pre def and regen stuff. I had a friend who had one and I think it got about 24 highway mpg.
Are people really getting some of the asking prices of good examples?! I'm seeing $25K+ in most well-kept models......
Eh, I looked at sold prices and they are much lower, probably in the range of $18-20K max for really good examples. If they're well over 200K miles then $15K or less. I think some of these guys with trucks that are pre-EPA nannies think they're sitting on pots of gold all of a sudden.....
Yea, just like guys with Ford 7.3's. I had one and have the industrial version in my tow truck. In the regular truck, I didn't really like it. It had much less power, versus my Duramax, and the transmission doesn't even come close to performing as well as the Allison in the Duramax. Plus Ford front ends wear out pretty quickly and you have to keep replacing stuff up there with the heavy diesel.