Keep your truck, it looks great. Will be cheaper to keep and maintain than a new one. Go test drive a tahoe or escalade and hook your boat up to it and take it for a spin. I think you'll gain a new appreciation for what your truck can do. I towed a twin cat with a suburban and it would pull up hills okay. Stopping and maintaining control on two lane roads was a job. If I would of had to swerve, it would have been all over.

I had a friend tow mine with his half ton Chevy 2 miles on flat found to put in into storage and he said that was scary you really need a 2500 the suburban and avalanche do a good job with the 496 with 410 gears they are rated for 12000 but I would just keep what you have I get 12 mph with my avalanche empty and 9 with the boat in tow

I just can't understand going to a smaller truck. My brother in law has a 1500 Chevy. He gets worse mileage than me, is less reliable than the diesel, has less room in the cabin, and can tow about half of what I can. There just isn't any logic to using small trucks.

12 Empty and 9 with a 30'er is horrible. I get somewhere between 17 and 20 empty and about 10-11 towing my Cafe (14k+ when loaded) with a DRW F350. Even if I had a 25' Bayliner I can't find a good reason to own LESS truck?!?!?!

Thanks for the input guys. I think I already kind of knew the answer. I just needed some reinforcement. I think I will double up on payments and pay the truck off this year so I can just park it and buy a daily driver. Now that I have a son my number one goal is to make it home safe from all my weekend boating excursions.

I will add one more for keeping your current truck. I was towing my pachanga, which is a little smaller and lighter, with a 07 GMC Sierra rated at a 9500# capacity. I was within the legal limit of the truck's capabilties, but I would never attempt anything more with it. Borrowed my parents 07 Ram once, and it couldn't match the GMC.

NO....enough said...brakes #1, followed closely behind with suspension & power..people do it....some only once....

I see your point, BUT it depends on individual's needs. I don't need a truck for my work and 99% of my towing is up and down the ramp at my marina. I work in a downtown office. My truck doesn't fit in my building's garage. My Chrysler Aspen barely does. If I lived and worked in an area that I could get away with driving my F350 all the time, I certainly would. It would be diesel instead of gas and about 10 years newer because I wouldn't have the Chrysler's $700 payment. I'd rather have more money in my daily driver. Not everyone has $40-60K lying around for a late model DRW diesel truck to tow their boat every once in a while, nor the time and expense of maintaining an additional vehicle. Not bashing, just showing the other side of the coin.

Flat highway with the cruise set at 73-74 mph I would get 20-21 mpg in my Sierra. Then between 10 and 12 towing my boat depending on the conditions and amount of fuel in the boat.

baja 302,

you tow your 342 with a 1500?

just wondering i just bought a 2500hd, duramax for my current boat, and the one i want to move up to which is a 342

No. When I bought the 342 I got an F350 right after. I towed my previous 29 Outlaw with a 2009 Chrysler Aspen with no issues.

I keep my boat on its trailer at a marina. I have to launch it myself. I thought about trying to launch the 342 with the Aspen, but how many chances would I have gotten to screw that up? :eek: