This is for all those who tow at max capacity

[Helmsey]

Welcome to the dark side! You know that smile you get now when heading up a hill and there are no downshift or revving?? It will take a while for that to go away

[Jerheye]

Originally Posted by dmdomokos

You are absolutely correct and this is another lesson learned. I bought the Suburban as a CPO used car and the dealer told me it had the tow package. What he really meant is it had a hitch. Upon further investigation of my sub-par towing performance, I learned it had the 3.08 not the 3.42 gears. So after adding the tranny cooler, LT tires and shocks, the Suburban really only was rated to tow 5300 lbs. So now I was not close to max, I was over. I read all the forums that said that with the 6 speed transmission, it should have been fine, and it was, on the flat and on short grades. What did the Suburban in was the long, hot grades with 20-30mph head winds fully loaded for a 12 day trip that was 2000 miles. I was driving in first gear to manage temperature, I was not flooring it. Floored it would have gone faster, but probably never made it to Las Vegas at all. The reason for my post was because I was in the other camp, hardcore, that I could tow at max, or even believe the other forums that I was fine even the way I was setup. So those of you like me, really evaluate your setup and it's limitations, the open road is tougher than you think. Also, once I was forced into a TV that was the right one, the stress I had towing, and not even realizing I had to the degree I had, went away. I was so relaxed and commented on it to DW so frequently on the trip, she said "I get it", glad we spent the money. She was not a fan of getting a new TV until this happened. Now she can't understand why anyone would not upgrade if they are close to max or as many of you are out there, "slightly" over. Yeah we spent some money, but wow what a vacation that I would not have enjoyed until upgrading our TV. And the DW now feels safe towing and has volunteered to drive now!

Did the same thing saw a big black suburban with the tow package. Bought it then researched it, added a tranny cooler still rated at 5200 pounds. Then [I] bought another suburban (Ltz) with the real tow package but alas the gvcr with wife and dog and hitch weight allowed me a couple hundred pounds of cargo, so now I have a F250 gas and little stress.I]

[HalfBubbleOff]

My 1500 Silverado has no issue towing my 7000 pound empty TT. Have not seen any serious grades as of yet, but it accelerates and maintains highway speeds at ease. It can cruise at 65 mph below 2000 rpm. Not sure how a 2500 would be that much better if it has the same engine and rear gears. My TV has the towing package and is rated at 9500 pounds.

[crookedread]

I had a Toyota Tundra and pulled an 8000 pound toy hauler. Loved it and it did very well. Hated pulling 4000 rpms going up the hills and at times it was difficult to get it stopped. The last trip back from Montana we caught a head wind in the Columbia River Gorge and I came back at a reduced speed and in third gear. It drove fine and I liked the truck but it was not the right equipment for the job. Sooner or later, headed for a catastrophic failure. I bought a Duramax 2500. No shifting down on the hills and with exhaust braking, no worries on the downhills. Cruise control and totally relaxing. I realize that it's not for everyone but don't try to convince me half throttle up 6% hills with the Tundra. I have been there! I loved my tundra but I will never go back!!


Crookedread
2016 Duramax
2011 Stealth 2312

[Coolharts]

Welcome to the oil burning club! Once you have a diesel you become a never gasser.


We love having a diesel Excursion, 2005 the last of the SUV beasts. IMO GM or Ford could sell full sized diesel SUVs especially to large families or those of us that along with two 2 legged kids have two 4 legged kids. Unfortunately the EPA won't allow it because SUVs are classified as station wagons.


The first long pull I made with the Excursion was to Nashville and the car hauler, did that twice over the mountains. A couple of years later we bought a 30' Puma and now the 33' Surveyor. The Excursion has done great with both campers, I pulled the Surveyor down and back to Disney World and the diesel never whimpered. We pulled the Puma to MD and it had no issues. Enjoy!

[Major Oz]

A few years ago, our RV setup was a 7400 (gross) TT pulled by a 2007 Chrysler Aspen Hemi, fitted out for towing.

LOVED IT

Ran up and down all over the rockies, including a few trips along the "million dollar highway" -- lots of 12K passes.

Virtually never went over 65mph, and, as I was (kinda) raised in the rockies, tip-towed down the hills out of habit.

Traded the combination for a MH.......regretted it.

I am, today, very happy with my 26FKWS / ecoboost 150 combo.

If we do swap....it will probably be smaller, rather than larger.

[The_Rhino]

Originally Posted by lbrjet

I think the difference you are experiencing is between 1500 and 2500 series trucks. I have towed at 98 percent of my max... and it has never skipped a beat...

IMO gas 3/4 tons offer the best bang/buck for towing 7,000-9,000 lb. TT's... In 2013 I found a 2 year-old Ram 2500 CC w/5.7 Hemi & balance of powertrain warranty for only $14K... It's paid-off now & THAT makes driving cross-country very relaxing vs. pondering what else I could do with those $600+/mo. payments...

My lowly 2011 Ram 2500 CC w/5.7 Hemi is only rated to tow 9,100 with a GCVW limit of 15,000 - less than some 1/2 tons. Although we rarely push our payload of 3,000 we're very near GCVW when pulling our 8,000 (loaded) TT, family of 5, fiberglass cap, bikes, kayaks, firewood, etc. However, IMO it handles much better/stronger than 1/2 tons with the same/better specs without paying a premium for a diesel TV. We have no trouble maintaining the speed limit throughout the Smoky Mountains & the tranny temps never change...

IMO marketing departments are always pushing the specs of popular 1/2 tons to look better on paper than the competition... However, 3/4 gassers are marketed much differently. Manufacturers do not want to take-away from pricier diesel sales, so IMO they go easy on the specs... For instance, Ram upped the tow rating & GCVW of my 2500 by 2,000 the very next year with little changes to the design...

[Big Red and 30WR]

Never even come close to the 30,310 lbs tow capacity .

[checkmate99]

Originally Posted by HalfBubbleOff

My 1500 Silverado has no issue towing my 7000 pound empty TT. Have not seen any serious grades as of yet, but it accelerates and maintains highway speeds at ease. It can cruise at 65 mph below 2000 rpm. Not sure how a 2500 would be that much better if it has the same engine and rear gears. My TV has the towing package and is rated at 9500 pounds.

I have the same TT as you (282RK), that I use to tow with a 2010 Ram 5.7 Hemi, 3.55 gears and tow package. I got tired of watching the trans temp, and oil temps go well over 200 degrees. (We go out to the southwest each year). I purchased a 2015 Chevy 2500 crew cab with the 6.0 and 4.10 gears last year, and what a big difference. Tows the TT so much better with temps remaining below 185 degrees. Better payload (2750 lbs.) and towing capacity. 13'000 lbs for TT and 14,000 for fifth wheel. We are now looking for a fifth wheel, but will not go over 12,000 GVWR on the unit. Any comments or suggestions from those of you with this, or a similar setup, would be appreciated!

[dmdomokos]

Originally Posted by Coolharts

Welcome to the oil burning club! Once you have a diesel you become a never gasser.


We love having a diesel Excursion, 2005 the last of the SUV beasts. IMO GM or Ford could sell full sized diesel SUVs especially to large families or those of us that along with two 2 legged kids have two 4 legged kids. Unfortunately the EPA won't allow it because SUVs are classified as station wagons.


The first long pull I made with the Excursion was to Nashville and the car hauler, did that twice over the mountains. A couple of years later we bought a 30' Puma and now the 33' Surveyor. The Excursion has done great with both campers, I pulled the Surveyor down and back to Disney World and the diesel never whimpered. We pulled the Puma to MD and it had no issues. Enjoy!

It's an amazing conversion. My wife now says, "why wouldn't everybody buy a diesel"? To her, towing with the diesel is so much quieter and peaceful. No revving up every grade, no panicking about stopping for gas. The Chevy 2500HD Duramax is very well insulated for sound. I'm still laughing at myself. I was SO in the other camp.

[dmdomokos]

Originally Posted by HalfBubbleOff

My 1500 Silverado has no issue towing my 7000 pound empty TT. Have not seen any serious grades as of yet, but it accelerates and maintains highway speeds at ease. It can cruise at 65 mph below 2000 rpm. Not sure how a 2500 would be that much better if it has the same engine and rear gears. My TV has the towing package and is rated at 9500 pounds.

Funny you posted this. I thought this as well. It didn't dawn on me until I pulled the new 2500 in our small driveway, and then looked back at it. It's just plain bigger.

[jkoenig24]

You got away cheap.........



REAL MEN drive HDTs, not LGTs (LittleGirlyTrucks)..........

[win]

Originally Posted by dmdomokos

Funny you posted this. I thought this as well. It didn't dawn on me until I pulled the new 2500 in our small driveway, and then looked back at it. It's just plain bigger.

No comparison 👍

[HalfBubbleOff]

Originally Posted by checkmate99

I have the same TT as you (282RK), that I use to tow with a 2010 Ram 5.7 Hemi, 3.55 gears and tow package. I got tired of watching the trans temp, and oil temps go well over 200 degrees. (We go out to the southwest each year). I purchased a 2015 Chevy 2500 crew cab with the 6.0 and 4.10 gears last year, and what a big difference. Tows the TT so much better with temps remaining below 185 degrees. Better payload (2750 lbs.) and towing capacity. 13'000 lbs for TT and 14,000 for fifth wheel. We are now looking for a fifth wheel, but will not go over 12,000 GVWR on the unit. Any comments or suggestions from those of you with this, or a similar setup, would be appreciated!

I believe going to the Chevrolet really made the difference from the Dodge. My point was, how would a 3/4 ton help me tow any better than I am now? My temps stay in the normal range towing through 100 plus degrees in Texas. I believe the 6.0 has about 50 more hp and the 4.10 gears are better for sure. I like my gas milage when I'm not towing over the 6.0.

[Ditchdigger]

Originally Posted by Shamrockthecasbah

dmdomokos,

Thanks for sharing your experiences. There's no question that there's no comparison in towing performance between a 5.3 liter Suburban and a Duramax, but the Suburban towing performance that you describe sounds unreasonably poor for a 7100lb loaded trailer. 18mph in first gear up most grades to Vegas! Are you sure there wasn't something else going on there? Did the Burb have the towing package with the 3.42 axle ratio or the standard 3.08? Suburban loaded down with people and luggage in addition to the trailer? Possible something wrong with the truck? Unless you were WAY over your GCWR I would expect better power than that.

I tow a 23IKSS that's about 800lbs less (loaded) then your trailer with a 2003 Suburban 5.3 (285hp)/4sp/3.73 vs your 5.3(320hp)/6sp/3.42. Assuming you have the factory towing package, your drivetrain should tow considerably better than mine. I've had to drop to second gear to maintain 50-55 mph up some grades in western MD and upstate NY, but never anything close to crawling in first gear. Loaded and ready to camp I'm generally at or just below my GVW and GCVW.

The hills in the EAST are mole hills in THE WEST. I have been up the hills he was talking about, and they are straight up and straight down, at 7-9% grades. They even taxes my "05" Duramax 3500.

[fast murray]

Originally Posted by HalfBubbleOff

I believe going to the Chevrolet really made the difference from the Dodge. My point was, how would a 3/4 ton help me tow any better than I am now? My temps stay in the normal range towing through 100 plus degrees in Texas. I believe the 6.0 has about 50 more hp and the 4.10 gears are better for sure. I like my gas milage when I'm not towing over the 6.0.

Apples to oranges.

I used to think a half ton gas was fine and it was for the most part on flat land. Gove it a good cross wind or some hills and you'll find its weaknesses. Having bigger axles, brakes, an exhaust brake and an engine that always pulls in high gear is a relaxing feeling that I didn't understand until I got one. I'll only go back to gas if I ditch the camper.

Diesel here is the same price as E10 gas and I do 18-20 so I'm good with the fuel economy too.

[Kevinwak]

Originally Posted by HalfBubbleOff

My 1500 Silverado has no issue towing my 7000 pound empty TT. Have not seen any serious grades as of yet, but it accelerates and maintains highway speeds at ease. It can cruise at 65 mph below 2000 rpm. Not sure how a 2500 would be that much better if it has the same engine and rear gears. My TV has the towing package and is rated at 9500 pounds.

I am starting to think that pickup manufacturers should add a duty cycle rating with their tow ratings. Think of it similar to welders. For 500 bucks I bought a welder that is rated to weld 1/2" steel, but it only has a 13% duty cycle, meaning for every hour it is running it can only be welding steel 13% of that time and the rest of the time it has to be cooling off. For more money I could buy a welder that has 100% duty cycle for 1/2" steel. It can weld that said steel non stop alL day long every day of the week. Yes lots of half tons have almost similar tow ratings to their 3/4 ton And one ton bretheren. But the duty cycle on the half ton towing 11,000 pounds is much less then the 3/4 ton towing 11,000 pounds. You can pull that much continuous with the 3/4 ton with minimal issues, Ye the half ton Will not last.

[JR Smith]

Every day I shake my head when reading how under trucked a lot of you are.Too small is dangerous and exhausting Go big or stay at home,Ive been there and done that,get a diesel if you want to enjoy the trip.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by Ditchdigger

The hills in the EAST are mole hills in THE WEST. I have been up the hills he was talking about, and they are straight up and straight down, at 7-9% grades. They even taxes my "05" Duramax 3500.

Believe me, the east has 7-9% grades; I've been on them. They may not go 3 or 4 miles, but they can go a mile or more.

[checkmate99]

Originally Posted by JR Smith

Every day I shake my head when reading how under trucked a lot of you are.Too small is dangerous and exhausting Go big or stay at home,Ive been there and done that,get a diesel if you want to enjoy the trip.

Don't need a diesel to enjoy the trip....lots of campers are easily pulled with a gas powered TV. Why does everything become gas vs. diesel on this forum?