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Looking at the above vehicle as an all around truck that can tow my camper of 8000 lbs as towed. Any first hand impressions of the 2500 chevy as far as reliability, maintenance costs, fuel usage and towing ability would be appreciated.
Comparisons to Ford super duty would also be interesting. Thanks

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Fred, there was an earlier conversation from a couple weeks ago about this. We have a couple of 2500 HDs in our group at work, a 2010 and a 2016, both 6.0 gassers. One is a 3/4 ton ext. cab long box and the other is a 3500 cab & chassis with a stake bed on it. Other than size, they don't drive too differently. The 1 ton doesn't feel nearly as big as it really is driving down the road. It is a dog though, even unladen but I have to imagine the curb weight on it is pretty substantial. It gets up to and maintains speed but acceleration is pretty slow.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...-gmc-chevy-3-4-ton-pick-ups#Post11982044

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Royce,

Unless you have your heart set on a gas engine HD, IMHO, 2500 HD trucks, towing, and diesel engines go hand in hand. Sure, a 2500 gas engine truck will tow your 8000 lb. trailer. But where are you towing? For me, for example, towing here in Colorado, with frequent trips into the mountains and over high mountain passes like Wolf Creek, Eisenhower Tunnel, Cottonwood Pass, Vail Pass, LaVeta Pass, Raton Pass, etc. etc. with a travel trailer dictated the Duramax diesel in my truck. Any of the current 2500 class trucks, whether GM, Ford, or Ram, will all do the job, it is simply a matter of personal preference.

I had a 2009 Ram 1500 that I used for a while to tow my travel trailer, but even the Hemi engine was straining at high RPM over the passes. A 2500 would have increased its towing weight capacity, but not the ability of the Hemi to carry the load.

Another consideration of diesel engines is the engine braking now available on all of them. Believe me, when towing a load downhill, this is a very valuable feature.


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I think the question of diesel vs. gas really depends on how much you are pulling (how much weight), and how often/how far.
A few weekends a year close to home probably does not make the numbers work, but more often and a lot farther tips the scales towards the diesel option.

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Just got rid of a Ford 350 diesel, 2014. Right off the showroom floor, it wasn't as tight as our Tundra that had towed the trailer from here to Dawson City, down through Oregon, to Nevada, to Bella Colla and all over Montana and Alberta. every so often, the directional signal module would detach and hang loose, but the dealer had to se it happen before looking at it. It got about 11 towing, just a mite better than the Tundra, and when a bearing wrapped around the crank and we had to sit beside the road in the freezing rain out of Pincher Creek waiting for a tow, then rent a car and drive back to Montana to get the Tundra to retrieve the trailer, and then wait almost three months while they replaced the engine, my love affair with diesels had waned.
The Tundra has power enough but has over 120,000 miles on it and am thinking a real 3/4 ton truck might make a better compromise every day truck/tow rig than another Tundra.

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Not the same year, a 2015, but a friend in Idaho bought one to pull his 8K pound trailer and absolutely hated it. He advised that the transmission used is weak and therefore programmed to not downshift so it was a dog towing when there was an incline. He traded it in after a month of ownership for a Duramax/Allison and is thoroughly pleased.


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Throwing this out there. Be honest with yourself. How far do you tow and how often? Alot of friends have campers and buy diesel trucks to tow them. They brag about being the first on top of the mountain. Most never go more than 70 miles. You don't need to fly and you don't need to scream your engine. If you drop a gear going uphill, it is possible to lift your foot a little, lower rpm slightly, and go up the hill. My dad has had 2500 GM trucks since 2004, all 6.0 I think. They have done well for him, but he doesn't pull anything heavy.


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I talked to a couple of guys that had Bully Dogs installed, best thing they ever did (they claim). Granted they where not on the '17 model, but 6.0s.

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I think the 6.0 is a great engine....my brother is approaching 300k on his ...he has not touched the engine or tranny...just tires and brakes...he travels for work and tows a toy hauler trailer...pretty heavy.....

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If you tow your 8,000 lb trailer more than a couple of times a year, I would recommend going with the DuraMax. The transmission and engine are set up to handle the weight and you will be happier with it even though the mileage won't increase enough to offset the extra upfront cost in any appreciable way. We had a 35.5 ft goose neck travel trailer that we pulled with a Ford Powerstroke when we bought it, and later with a GMC DuraMax. We only took a couple of long trips every year, but made several round rips over to south Texas each year (usually about 1,600 miles round trip.) The DuraMax teamed with the Allison transmission was the far better performer. I had occasion to use my son-in-law's Chevy with the 6.0 liter gas engine for one trip, and I was literally grinding my teeth most of the time.


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Originally Posted by Dillonbuck
Throwing this out there. Be honest with yourself. How far do you tow and how often? Alot of friends have campers and buy diesel trucks to tow them. They brag about being the first on top of the mountain. Most never go more than 70 miles. You don't need to fly and you don't need to scream your engine. If you drop a gear going uphill, it is possible to lift your foot a little, lower rpm slightly, and go up the hill. My dad has had 2500 GM trucks since 2004, all 6.0 I think. They have done well for him, but he doesn't pull anything heavy.

Originally Posted by Dillonbuck
Throwing this out there. Be honest with yourself. How far do you tow and how often? Alot of friends have campers and buy diesel trucks to tow them. They brag about being the first on top of the mountain. Most never go more than 70 miles. You don't need to fly and you don't need to scream your engine. If you drop a gear going uphill, it is possible to lift your foot a little, lower rpm slightly, and go up the hill. My dad has had 2500 GM trucks since 2004, all 6.0 I think. They have done well for him, but he doesn't pull anything heavy.


It's not about how often you tow, it's about whether the engine and transmission is up to the task even if you just go once a year. Remember an 8000# travel trailer also has significant aerodynamic drag at freeway speeds.

I can't imagine a gasser being remotely close to a good choice for pulling an 8000# travel trailer at highway speeds, especially if you'll be running through the mountains. My boat's a mere 4000#'s with the trailer and I never once regretted getting a diesel to pull it.

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Not trying to say a lessor truck is equal to a heavy diesel. Just saying a lighter truck can do a job, and a good operator can get the job done, while minimizing wear on the equipment.


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Well, thanks for the input.

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Originally Posted by 458 Lott
Originally Posted by Dillonbuck
Throwing this out there. Be honest with yourself. How far do you tow and how often? Alot of friends have campers and buy diesel trucks to tow them. They brag about being the first on top of the mountain. Most never go more than 70 miles. You don't need to fly and you don't need to scream your engine. If you drop a gear going uphill, it is possible to lift your foot a little, lower rpm slightly, and go up the hill. My dad has had 2500 GM trucks since 2004, all 6.0 I think. They have done well for him, but he doesn't pull anything heavy.

Originally Posted by Dillonbuck
Throwing this out there. Be honest with yourself. How far do you tow and how often? Alot of friends have campers and buy diesel trucks to tow them. They brag about being the first on top of the mountain. Most never go more than 70 miles. You don't need to fly and you don't need to scream your engine. If you drop a gear going uphill, it is possible to lift your foot a little, lower rpm slightly, and go up the hill. My dad has had 2500 GM trucks since 2004, all 6.0 I think. They have done well for him, but he doesn't pull anything heavy.


It's not about how often you tow, it's about whether the engine and transmission is up to the task even if you just go once a year. Remember an 8000# travel trailer also has significant aerodynamic drag at freeway speeds.

I can't imagine a gasser being remotely close to a good choice for pulling an 8000# travel trailer at highway speeds, especially if you'll be running through the mountains. My boat's a mere 4000#'s with the trailer and I never once regretted getting a diesel to pull it.

Add a 30 mph headwind to that equation, and you really begin to appreciate a diesel!


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I towed a 26' box (30' total length) TT that was around 6,000 pounds with a 2005 1/2 ton chevy 5.3. It did OK locally, but on a 5,000 mile trip through the Rockies, Yellowstone, and glacier it sure felt like the truck was working. Some of the worst was the grind through Kansas with a headwind and slight uphill, where the truck would want to drop into second gear at 60 mph.

I have done the same trip with a 2011 duramax and it was a world of difference. That being said, I am positive that a 2017 2500hd with the gas 6.0 and 6 speed would do quite a bit better than that old 5.3. It gives you a frame of reference. What worked ok with a 12 year old 1/2 ton should be good with a new 3/4 ton gasser, and a dream with a diesel.

FWIW, I am looking at the same basic truck (reg cab 2500hd gas) for my kid who wants a long bed truck. The HD series is so much more truck than the 1/2 ton for not much more money, other than at the pump.

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Originally Posted by 458 Lott
My boat's a mere 4000#'s with the trailer and I never once regretted getting a diesel to pull it.


Recently had a caliper lock up on my '11 F-250/6.7L (108K Mi all by me). Buddy and I were going to go ice fishing so we drive my rig to the Ford dealer and hook up my 14' Aluminum tandem axle snowmobile/ATV trailer to his '15 Ram 1500 w/5.7L/8spd. On the trailer is my tracked ATV with tub/flipover ice-house and his snowmobile. So there's 1500-1700# on the trailer plus whatever the trailer weighs. We climb a whopping 500 vertical feet over the 180Mi one-way trip. He's got the cruise set at 70MPH. He's got it in tow/haul mode and that tranny still did an awful lot of shifting. This was in March.

Fast-forward to last weekend. I hook up my 4K# boat/trailer to my F250. The boat is taller and wider than my truck. I set the cruise @ 81 into a 20MPH headwind and make the same 180Mi trip as above. Narry a hiccup, never shifted out of OD.

I have no idea what my 28' bumper hitch camper weighs nor how it's ballanced regarding tongue-weight. Just hooked it up, took it easy for the 1st 10mi or so then set the cruise @ 68, again, never shifted out of 6th, just easy hassle-free set it and forget it towing.


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I have a Dodge 2500 with the diesel. I don't really need the diesel but dang it's nice when hauling a load. For hunting, I'll hang on my 5k camper plus load a stock rack with 4 llamas in the bed. That will weight about 1700 to 1800lb and it has a lot of wind resistance. The camper's an old flat fronted one and it has a lot of wind drag, too. It's a m/t and I very rarely have go down more than 1 gear. If I do it's because of sharp corners where I have to slow down too much.


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If I were thinking gas engine in a 3/4 ton I'd save the money and just buy a newer Tundra. Actually 120,000 miles on a Tundra isn't a lot of miles.


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I've got two Duramax/Allison equipped GM trucks. I bought them for the diesel. If I wasn't buying a diesel, I'd look hard at the Tundra and if I didn't want a big diesel, I'd look hard at the Titan HD.


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I've had a Tundra and no thanks I wouldn't trade my 2500 gas truck for another. Mechanically the Tundra is top notch but the body is made of tissue paper and it's suspension can't handle any real weight. I'm a pretty big guy but when I stood on the tail gate it would bend and u lean on it and the body dents. It didn't get any better gas mileage than my 6.4L Hemi does now....


Rob
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