GMC 1500 Elevation or 2500HD

[labcamper]

Hi All,
Thinking of a new TV.
My Mini is 6300#.
Looking at GMC 1500 Elevation Edition. I know it will have no problem pulling trailer on the east coast, but we plan to visit the Rockies a lot over the next 5 years or so. My question, is the 1500 enough for the mountains or go with a used GMC 2500? There is about 10k difference in price for a used 2015.
I like the power of my 2500, but it has almost 100 k miles.
Thanks a bunch. Eight days in Glacier this August

[aceinspp]

I'd go with 2500 as it will pull the mountains a lot better than 1500 and if you ever deside to get a bigger tt you will be ahead of the game. Later RJD

[Kimber45]

what is the 1500 rated to pull 10k pounds? id say almost 4k pounds of give at the top of the rating would be enough for me. The camper has the name "mini" in it I don't think you need a dually diesel to pull it.

[ependydad]

I know OldCoot used his 1/2-ton truck and towed his smaller fifth wheel all over the country (Rockies included). He always said he wasn't the fastest up the hill but I can tell you that with my dually and a 16k trailer, I'm not either!

[007matman]

It really all boils down to what you're comfortable with.

I pulled my 74-7500 lb trailer last year with my Escalade (7800lb towing capacity) and it did fine on the flat but would really work hard on the hills and I found myself needing to go really slow to keep the engine temps down on the long rolling hills in Missouri. Sharper shorter hills were not a problem.

I did the tranny cooler and went through two complete sets of rear air shocks (and a new compressor), ensured the WD hitch was dialed in correctly, and wore the sides edges off the tires (yes, they were not LT's) and eventually a tranny as well. But in the end I figured it wasn't good to run something almost to it's max over long distances. It's just too hard on everything.

I initially was going to buy a 3/4 ton truck but noticed that in some cases I could get a better price(with lower miles) on a 1-ton dually.

I ended up with a fully bullet-proofed 2007 F-350 6.0 Powerstroke CC LWB King Ranch Dually. It's a total beast and only had 130k on it when I bought it. All in I have around 25k into it which includes alot work that was done. However, it'll likely see 500k (or more) from me as these engines once they're bullet-proofed are typically solid and will run forever.

People may say I'm in overkill but I'm going to bet that I have less issues pulling at 50% of my max versus someone else pulling at 90-95%.

I also now get 11-12 mpg when towing versus the 5-6mpg I got with the Escalade.

I've been slammed on this forum before for giving my opinion here but it's really how I feel and how I got to this conclusion. I'll keep posting with my experiences as long as I can help someone else out.

Again.. it's what you're comfortable with. Will it work? Yeah. Should you? Maybe not.. because..

[AZ Pete]

the 1500 is plenty, but with less than 100,000 on your current rig, what is the hurry, you should have a lot of miles left in it.

[007matman]

I can agree with AZ Pete. Your 2500 probably has the 6.0 gasser, right? I had over 200k on my Yukon (before we sold it) and it was still running strong.

I'd be tempted to keep it unless you really want something newer.

[Springerdad]

Something I don't think I saw mentioned, if you go 2500HD, and its a diesel, you'll have engine braking to count on in the Rockies.

[Mainframe]

Keep the 2500, it should go up to 200,000 no problem, these vehicles are much different than the trucks of yesteryear, many people run their trucks up to 200k now a days, especially the HD models, keep it, you are only half way there.

[TheMusikShoppe]

If you really want to change TVs, I personally feel that the more truck the better. Maybe you decide to get a bigger trailer two years down the road, then you're set TV wise.

Also I agree with 007matman, it's always better to only use 50% of your available power instead of 80-90%. That way you have power to spare if you ever need it.

I also agree with springerdad, having that compression with a diesel is awfully nice on long down grades! Living in California and doing a lot of mountain driving has certainly taught me that.

Just my two cents.

[bcmcdonald]

We towed our 21FBRS up to Glacier last year with our GMC 1/2 ton. The winds in Wyoming convinced us to get a different TV, so we found a used 2006 Silverado 2500HD with the 6.0 gasser and 212,000 miles on it. We just got back today from a loop through Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and back to Colorado. Coming up through Vail pass and then the Loveland Pass on I-70 confirmed it was the right choice. If we had a larger TT, I would be looking for a diesel, but we were able to pass the big trucks going up hill without slowing anyone else down. We got a good price on the truck and if I have to do major repairs on it, I will still be ahead.