Just my opinion, get a diesel. I towed for 6 years with a 1/2 ton, first with a 2008 F150 Crew Cab with a Roush supercharger, then with a 2013 Ecoboost F150. As far as power and stopping, either one of those would do the trick, however with my camper or a trailer loaded with a tractor on it, if there was any wind at all above 60-65 it was a handful. With my 2015 F250 I can set the cruise at 80 and not worry about it in similar conditions and towing the same or a little more weight than what I was towing with the F150's. To me, it was worth saving $5000 to get a 1/2 ton.

My only issue with diesel is that I drive about 4000 miles a year, weekends . Truck is gonna sit most of the time .
Hmm the new Chevy 1/2 tons do look tiny . I guess I could take a second look at the 3/4 ton crew cabs and do without leather .

What is the difference between your diesel truck sitting or your gas truck sitting? Anyone that tells you how great their gas 1/2 ton pickup tows has never owned one of the newer diesel 3/4 tons. THERE IS NO COMPARISON!!!!!

I know my 2007 with the 6.0(367hp), 4:10 gears and the older 4 speed transmission pulled great. I would assume with the increased hp and newer tranny it would pull just as well even though it has a lower gear ratio.

Before I bought the truck I took it home and pulled my boat on a hilly stretch for about 6-7 miles. My previous truck downshifted into 2nd gear on tiny hills and drove me nuts.

I agree the new Diesels are BEASTS! But a little overkill for 8000lbs.

X2 on this.

I let a friend borrow my F250 diesel so I pulled my DCB F26 with our 2008 Escalade ESV (3.42 gears) on about a 300 mile trip. Escalade pulled with no trouble at all, but definitely no comparison to the F250.

I have a brand new 2015 Max Tow 5.3 3.73 and an older 3/4 ton Duramax. Yes the diesel tows better but is completely unnecessary at 8000 lbs. Any more with the price of diesel over gas, and the initial cost of the Diesel engine, you better be doing a lot of heavy towing (9000 plus lbs) or just have the money to burn. I rarely use the DMax to pull the boat anymore, just for my equipment trailers.

Don't let anyone tell you towing 8K lbs. with a half ton is "like nothing is even there". That is total BS. What I've towed with my 1/2 ton rated to tow 9.700 lbs. You know both boats are behind you.

I'm a diesel owner and would never go back to a 1/2 ton gasser. However, the new 1/2 tons have a lot more towing capacity than my previous '06 Silverado. Pulling 9000 lbs with the old one was a nightmare. The suspension was squirrely over bumps & dips in the road and it really struggled going up hills. It had the 5.3 & 3:42 rear. My Duramax is a dream. But I want to say that towing with a lifted truck is a non-issue if you have a good quality lift and a professional installation. I have 100K miles on my Fabtech 6" lift, been towing 9K lbs. since I got the truck and I tend to forget the truck is lifted. You will probably be fine with the new 1/2 ton Silverado but a 3/4 ton diesel is a much better choice.