As far as 3/4 tons go, that is absolutely true. As far as half ton diesels go, there are some mpg gains available if a half ton can handle your load.

Got it.

I think your overall usage costs are going to be similar between the duramax and 6.0L gas motor when you consider fuel and maintenance. The diesel will cost a little more up front, sell for a little more when you get rid of it, and offer you more torque while you have it. But either is more than capable of doing the job.

Disclaimer: if gas goes back up to $4+ per gallon, you'll wish you'd gotten the diesel because fuel mileage savings will likely exceed extra maintenance costs by a significant amount.

1/2 ton is a name tag that has hung around too long. The truck are only 1/2 ton in name. The 1/2-tons of today have more capability than most of the heavy duty trucks from days gone by. The difference in how much a 1/2 ton gas and 3/4 ton gas weighs is not that much and in the big scheme of things you can get more powerful motors in the 1/2 tons than are offered in the 3/4 tons. The 5.7 hemi, Toyota 5.7, GM 6.2 all put out more power than the 6.0 vortec.

If the truck is light in the front end you need to work on your weight distribution. I can see how someone would feel that a 2009 5.3 is undergunned when it comes to towing a 31 foot camper, but a lot of that is do to being geared for gas mileage.

I wouldn't choose a 1/2 ton to tow it cross country although I believe it would do it without issue, but I would pick it over a 3/4 ton to do a handful of 100 mile trips a year etc.

I have the 2015 GMC half ton with the 6.2 and towing package, pills my 28 foot 5th wheel with no problem and get's a lot better mileage then my last truck that had the 6.0 in it. Just my two cents.

If you tow it a lot go with the diesel IMHO.

As far as 1/2 ton vs. 3/4 ton the 3/4 ton is heavier duty and has larger brakes and better suspension to handle the load better.

It also costs more, drives worse when unloaded, and gets worse gas mileage. That's why the debate becomes about what you "need" to do the job and how much you're willing to pay for stuff that's just "nice to have".

How much is your life worth to you? I've seen several bumper pull trailers flipped over on the side of the road after the trailer started to whip. I've never seen a 5th wheel flipped, I'm sure they do; but I've seen 3 bumper pulls flipped. All were with 1/2 ton trucks.

And there's more to a 3/4 ton than just the name. Actually I don't know why anybody that pulled on a regular basis would buy a 3/4 ton when the 1 ton is just a few hundred dollars more and has way more payload capacity. Get weighed by a DOT trooper and see how your payload looks.

Now I'm not talking about the city slicker who pulls his little trailer 50 miles to a campground or the guy who pulls his trailer to the hunting camp once a year. I'm talking about the guys who pull trailers on a fairly regular basis or travel across the US.

I don't disagree with any of this. Similar to what was mentioned before, you need to consider how often and how far you're towing. If you're pulling a 31' trailer all across the country on a regular basis, then a 1-ton really should be at least in the discussion. If you're just pulling it 100 miles round 3 or 4 times a year, then a half ton is plenty. Somewhere in the middle and maybe a 3/4 ton makes sense.

I'm getting a 26-28 foot TT here in about 2 years and will be hauling it on one long trip every year and 2-3 really short trips. A half ton is plenty for that since the other 95% of my driving is highway commuting to work.

Guy's thanks for all the input. I am not pulling cross country. Will stay with in the state of Texas. Wife wanted a camper for a long time and wanted to keep her happy. You know what they say about a happy wife. I know I will catch trouble for that. I do have a WD hitch. It took me a little bit to get it adjusted. I now have more weight on the front end. It handles better. I'll have to drive a little slower for piece of mind.(60-65 not 70-75) Plus ya'll saved me a lot of money. Most will be off interstate driving. That's what I like about TTF the suggestions you get from the members. Thanks again.

I think your making a good decision. I will also say your probably safer towing your travel trailer 60-65 with a 1/2 ton then 75 with a 3/4.

Please don't tow a camper at 70-75mph. If you had to stop in a hurry, you'd end up jackknifed and maybe dead. Too much rolling load and top heavy to slow down.

This is easily remedied. A dpf bypass and a computer tweek will make the diesel run like it should.

And it's just a matter of time until that's 100% illegal. They already have federal & state laws requiring you to disclose if you have tempered with the emissions system when you trade a truck in. Some time in the not so distant future they'll be checking during inspections.

That's not entirely true. I have a 2014 6.7 Cummins 4x4 automatic that's all stock, empty I get 19-20 mpg and pulling my SxS or Cargo trailer I get 12-14. It has all the emissions and uses DEF

I towed yesterday on a trip. Went down the interstate at around 60mph. When a truck would come by it would take the wind off the rear of the trailer some and want to pull me towards the truck. it is still a little lite in the front end. Pulled on another FM roads and it pulled fine. Still could run 60-65. Just need to move a little more weight to the front.