Diesel Tow vehicle options

[71-LS6]

I pull with an 05' Dodge diesel, it pulls good, but after 90K miles I'm beginning to wish I had bought a GM with the Duramax / Allison combo. I've heard nothing but good news about them.

[prototype]

Thanks for the insight guys. I've just purchased an 07 Avalanche and absolutely love it so the news about the Suburban sounds great!

My old tow rig is a 96 1500 Suburban and the new Avalanche drives sooooo much nicer. This is the third Suburban that I've used and they all seem to last about 250K before they give up when used for towing. My trips are almost always 5K plus and are usually done in the shortest time frame possible so having the diesel guys pass me going 75+ fully loaded on the uphills is really getting to me. A diesel is going to take at least a few hours less per trip (more sleep time ).

This may sound petty but the smell of diesel fuel is the biggest reason that I've stayed away, you just can't seem to get rid of it. I guess I'll keep a box of disposable gloves in the truck. Any other ingeniuos ideas?

Do the diesels typically average 10mpg loaded with a trailer and does running 75-80mph really affect the mileage, it sure does on a gas Suburban.

I know the older Dodge and Ford trucks were really loud, after just spending the weekend in a friends Chev Duramax I noticed the fan is quite loud from the interior and seemed to kick in and out alot.

[Donnie]

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Do the diesels typically average 10mpg loaded with a trailer and does running 75-80mph really affect the mileage, it sure does on a gas Suburban.
I get 12.2mpg with my Duramax loaded running 65 to 68 hope to be up around 13mpg this year with my air box mod. yes going 75-80 will affect your mileage. on a side note I get 19mpg running 68 empty.

I know the older Dodge and Ford trucks were really loud, after just spending the weekend in a friends Chev Duramax I noticed the fan is quite loud from the interior and seemed to kick in and out alot. there is a fix for the fan running all the time. (the fan will kill your mileage) he must have an LLY motor.

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[CamarosRus]

Where I can read,hear find out about which years,models,engines of USED Dodge Cummins are good and which to avoid.....
I would prefer a 2 wheel drive, but understand there are few out there (????)

[Donnie]

Chuck,
the cummins are all good. its everything else around it that you want to avoid!

[musclcar]

thanks to all the stringent emmisions standards on all the diesel trucks for 2007 this is what happened to the new 2008 superduty trucks

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news0...ipe_fires.html

[Chevy454]

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My first diesel GMC 2005 fully loaded with trailer package - 2500 extended cab long box, I love it and like any body else here that has had one will probably never go back to gas tow vehicles.


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You ever driven a 8.1L/Ally truck, or even a 6.0L? We have both an 8.1L and a Dmax, and until we hung the Edge on the Dmax the 8.1L would *easily* outpace it with a load. And best as I can tell, their ain't a lot of difference in fuel mileage, either...however, while you can turn down the torque management on the 8.1L and gain some power, it is a lot easier to turn up the wick on the Dmax!

[mrrec]

I made the mistake of buying an 8.1 back when the Dmax was just out and the dmax was hard to come by - traded it after about 6 months. Sure, it had some power, but with automatic it was buzzing 5k rpm on the hills. 5 mpg. We're talking serious towing of 20k lbs and wind resistance. I've put 200k miles on dmax trucks and the same load as the gasser results in 8 mpg and never out of overdrive on 6% grades. The dmax pickups get 20 mpg empty. Your lucky to get a best of 15 EVER with the 8.1. Absolutely no comparison!
Dave

[ZL1mike]

2005 GMC HD Dmax with Triple Dog Power Pup with Outlook combo,,,
I will only purchase diesel trucks for hauling from now on.

[CamarosRus]

I'm trying to buy a 2003 Dodge-3500 Quad Cab, 2WD, (single rear tire), SIX SPEED, Cummins 5.9 HO.

Anybody have any experienced comments on this package......

Thanks,