I did it

brianf40 · 07-09-2016, 09:06 PM

I finally bought a towing vehicle that will be a long term investment for my family and I. I was towing my 31ft 7000LBS dry weight travel trailer with my Ram 1500. Power was there but the stability was not. I was always concerned about my family and their safety when i was towing. So my wife and i made a decision to buy a larger truck. Well, we bought a 2016 GMC Siehara 2500 with the 4.10 gears. Im thinking this was an upgrade....

Yeah it was more than what i wanted to spend and it was a big decision but my family and safety comes first.

crunchman12001 · 07-09-2016, 09:18 PM

Congrats on your new truck. Enjoy!

DavidBo · 07-09-2016, 09:20 PM

Be sure to share your MPG with us after a few trips. I'm willing to bet you'll see an actual improvement over your previous TV.
I wholeheartedly agree with the upgrade concerning safety. I too will be buying a bigger truck in a few years before the DW and I take a half a year or so of early retirement and cross the country. My current setup requires serious weight management, something I'd rather not have to worry about so much.

rockfordroo · 07-09-2016, 09:35 PM

You don't say if you got the 6.0L gasser or the diesel.

brianf40 · 07-09-2016, 10:00 PM

6.0 with 4.10 gears

Max towing is 13000lbs

win · 07-09-2016, 10:13 PM

You will like the truck!!
I have a 15 LTZ and I love the way it pulls.
Just got home from a two week trip camping through BC , all mountains.
The 6.0 pulls 12000lbs amazingly, most of the time I didn't know the 5th was behind
Averaged 10.2 gpm

rockfordroo · 07-09-2016, 10:24 PM

Glad to hear it. I haven't towed with mine yet. Possibly Monday!

brianf40 · 07-10-2016, 01:05 PM

I'm towing on Friday.

Kevinwak · 07-10-2016, 06:33 PM

Congrats. I hope to make a similar post soon, just getting over the sticker shock of going from an 07 F150 to a new F350. I love both the GMC and ford after our test drives, and the ford is winning out on price, that is why I am swinging that way. Otherwise I also loved the gm truck.

DocGTO · 07-10-2016, 10:09 PM

Congrats. You will love the heavy duty truck experience. What WDH do you run?

brianf40 · 07-19-2016, 01:44 PM

Update

I loved the towing experience compared to my previous truck. Gmc towed it like nothing!!!! Avg mpg was about 10ish.

**Flybob** · 07-19-2016, 02:01 PM

You will most likely have to make some adjustments to the hitch. The ball might be higher ( you did not say what year 1500) and TV will probably not squat as much. Not a big deal, but don't want to be surprised when you hook up for the next family vacation.

Phenom · 07-19-2016, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brianf40

Update

I loved the towing experience compared to my previous truck. Gmc towed it like nothing!!!! Avg mpg was about 10ish.

Congrats on the truck.

That's some pretty good mileage. I've yet to see over 8.5 towing my 30' 7000lb trailer at 65. I've got the 3.73's so maybe that's the difference or maybe just that it sits up higher than most other tt's I see.

brianf40 · 07-19-2016, 02:19 PM

I have the 4.10 rear

Yeah i have to adjust the hitch a hair. Nothing extreme though

Brother Les · 07-19-2016, 02:38 PM

Safety, first and always. the 2500 is a good upgrade. congrats

rockfordroo · 07-19-2016, 02:41 PM

Used my Silverado 2500 last week, about 85 miles. Got about 9.5 mpg going and about 8.5 mpg coming back. Only have 500 miles on it, so I'm hoping the mpg will improve as she breaks in.

brianf40 · 07-19-2016, 02:48 PM

That's what I'm thinking. I only have 800 on mine

doc73 · 07-19-2016, 03:02 PM

Your mpg is going to depend on your driving style (ie: speed and Jackrabbit starts), terrain and gear ratios. Size does not seem to matter much, within reason. When I looked at the larger gas trucks I found that they were not really going to give a huge increase in mpg, maybe the 10 as suggested, but possibly the same as the 1/2 tons. But where it would shine is the stability. There is no comparison between the 1/2 grocery getters and the HD 2500 / 3500 (or 250/350) trucks for stability and ease of towing.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S7

Kenny kustom · 07-19-2016, 03:10 PM

We just did a 450km trip up to riding mountain national park.

Hand calculated 12.5mpg.
24k lbs combined.

More than ecstatic with that result!

2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

Phenom · 07-19-2016, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doc73

Your mpg is going to depend on your driving style (ie: speed and Jackrabbit starts), terrain and gear ratios. Size does not seem to matter much, within reason. When I looked at the larger gas trucks I found that they were not really going to give a huge increase in mpg, maybe the 10 as suggested, but possibly the same as the 1/2 tons. But where it would shine is the stability. There is no comparison between the 1/2 grocery getters and the HD 2500 / 3500 (or 250/350) trucks for stability and ease of towing.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S7

The stability is night and day. Couldn't agree more. I think the OP made a good choice.

You may also like: