looking for a new tow rig.thinking 96-02 chevy,dodge,ford.maybe 3/4 ton suburban 4+4 with a 350,any thoughts or suggestions from out there? it'll need to handle 4000lbs car + inclosed trailer.
Tow Rigs.... Ive had few tow rigs the past ten years,Had good luck with diesels mostly.If you want a diesel,Ford,Dodge and Gm all make quiet,very powerful and long lasting diesel engines.I just bought a 2001 chev C3500 dually with the Duramax and Allison auto,I like it so far,but I'm hearing of injector issues these engines are tending to have.If your into gas rigs,then Gm big blocks are hard to beat,I would think a 350 may work a little hard pulling the kind of weight you have.Maybe a 6.0 Chev would work out for you?Rated at 300 hp.I don't see many of them in our shop either!That's a good sign. Sorry for the long post,its -20 here and I'm at work just waiting for the next wrecker call!
My .02 What he said! :TU: I'm into diesel, typically long lasting, good economy, good resale. If you really want a gas engine, the GM is hard to beat. I towed with Tim Clary's 2500 Silverado........it was a very good towing experience. I like the higher stance of my Dodge though, but that's minor.
Well the injector problems that our dealership has had , were the result of the fuel filters not being changed on a regular basis. AND always look where you get fuel too. the cheap out of the way places may not always have the cleanest fuel. My Duramax just drove 1500 miles in 36 hours at about 80 mph pulling a trailor see the story here I have only had a simple flywheel problem with mine in 25000 miles. I have a 6 speed in my dually
I sure like mine I've been real happy so far with my 97 F250 Power Stroke. Had 154k on it when I got it in Alabama, but looked like only 20k. Climate down there is a lot easier on them than up here. Couldn't afford a new one, so paid the price and found the nicest 97 I could. Doesn't like to start in the single digits here without plugging in the block heater, though. Sounds like rods are coming out of the block when it starts cold. Fun to roar around my back yard in 4WD granny low in 18 inches of snow! Towed twice with it and what a piece of cake compared to the little 5.0 in the 95 F150.
opinionzz The early Dmax had some sporadic injector issues which resulted in severe crankcase dilution. The injector body's were cracking. The common rail pressure runs about 28,400 psi at full load. You read that right...:jd: those issues have been resolved, as well as the drivability issues with the early 01's. They have a built in de-torque calibration in first gear only of about 75-80% of max power, to assist driveline reliability, but with a GOOD aftermarket box, once they are in second gear.... they flat out fly. I have been pretty impresed with a 4.10 geared new 6.0 in the 2500's. I may just buy one for myself in a 4wd platform with a 6.0.. I have pulled with a new 8.1 and 4.10's and they are awesome, but mileage sucks. Considering it takes about 150,000 miles to break even on the Dmax vs 8.1 initial price/fuel, the 8.1 looks REAL good right now. 90% of the motoring public doesn't drive 150,000 anyways. J
The question of diesel fuel economy vs return on investment came up during a coversation I had with one of our turbo division sales guy's. I mentioned resale value........it changed his whole equation on the diesels. Especially when I gave him a first hand account of my '92 Dodge, It would have been worth half with the mileage had it not been a diesel. The resale paid for the initial investment on that truck.
Magic Word- resale Kelly Blue Book listed the difference between the truck I bought with the Power Stroke vs an identical one with a 460 gas engine as $5500 in favor of the diesel. That's well over 1/3 what it cost me. Same goes for 4WD vs 2WD. Resale. I'd never consider buying a gas motor truck with over 100k, but didn't even blink at the 154k on this one with the good maintenance history. Don't know if Ford/Navistar has sorted out the bugs in the 6.0 they're selling now, but they were buying them back right and left last Fall under the lemon law.
I've got a '95 1 ton, 4WD, 4-door, single wheel, Power Stroke, automatic truck that's got 227,000+ miles on it and the only thing that's been done is it's had a new Turbo installed at 190,000 miles and I just had the radiater re-cored yesterday because I noticed it was running a little hotter than normal. I LOVE that truck. It gets 15mpg empty and 8mpg running 70mph hooked to a 48' car hauler with two B-body's loaded on it weighing 21,000+ pounds. I bought it, in like new condition, about four years ago for $12,000 with 150,000 miles.
Towing, eh? I know I will get LOTS of barbs thrown my way, but I'll tell you what my tow "rig" was when I last raced in 2002. A 94' Caprice LT1/9C1 (police package) with aftermarket 3.42 gears (3.08 was stock.) When a 94-96 Fleetwood was equipped with the trailer tow package in 94-96, they were rated for 7000#, and came with 3.42 gears. Roadmaster sedans and wagons, and civilian Caprices, have 2.93 gears and are rated for 5000#. I had a class III hitch, frame mounted, bolted (because I'm selling the car.) I did not add any rear-spring air bags, just the stock police springs and shocks. The rear rode a little low, which would be easily solved by adding the AirLifts. Car handled fine with me, my wife, my dad, some tools, and my 3700# H/O. OPEN trailer was about 1100-1200#. I didn't use a sway control but we had it with us just in case. Trailer brakes worked fine. The rig was completely controllable and I even achieved 12.9 mpg on the return trip. I was one of only 2 CARS that towed another car. Now, for longer grades, etc. I would wire a toggle switch for the electric fans, but all in all the car, with 120k on it, did fine! Admittedly a closed trailer might be a bit, no, make that MUCH more of a challenge, but it sure was fun! I say go get a wagon! Let the barbs begin........p
My .02 I've got an 01 K3500 4X4 withg the 8.1L. In my opinion, it beats the 6.0 hands down. Empty, I get 12.5 - 13.0 on the interstate between here and Lincoln and around 10.5 - 11.0 around town. It does drop significantly when towing, though. With Eric's lifted Dakota on the 23' trailer, around 9,000# total, mileage on the interstate dropped to around 8.0, however that was driving at around 90 mph with the cruise on and the A/C blasting away. I also have the Allison 5 speed auto and love it. If you want, PM me and we'll go for a test drive so you can see what it is like. I know you are in Gretna and if you want, we can do it. Might help with the decision. Let me know.
What was the problem? A Co-worker has a duramax and he had 1 or 2 Torque converter bolts come out and broke the bellhousing adapter if I remember correctly. His truck has ~20K mi. Just wondering if that is a common prob or not. He loves the truck though and I am jealous:laugh:
Looking for a truck myself! So you guys are saying Diesel is the only way to go, correct???? Also, they have a 2500 diesel on the lot here. Whats the difference between the heavy 3/4 (2500) and 1 ton (3500) as far a brakes go????Any real difference???? Peter
