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#1 |
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look at anything 3/4 ton first--- Suburbans are nice tow vehicles too---- will this truck be your daily driver??? Lots of choices out there---
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#2 |
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Diesel is best. Chevy duramax or dodge cummins. At least 3/4 ton is best. the resale value of a diesel and the durability is far better than the gas trucks. If you can find an older F250/350 with a 7.3 with under 150K miles that would be a good choice too. Stay away from the 6.0 fords. I would not even think about trying to tow a big trailer with a gas truck.
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Mike Pearson 2485 SS |
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#3 |
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My '99 455" 3/4 ton Suburban pulls my 24' ATC trailer just fine. Personally, I would not buy another steel trailer. Later model 8.1L 3/4 ton GM trucks tow just fine also. Pete Peery tows his steel trailer with one of those. I guess you can get that 8.1L gas engine in a Suburban? My preference would be a Duramax Suburban, but GM doesn't offer them.
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Ed Wright 4156 SS/JA |
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#4 |
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they dont offer 8.1 engines from gm anymore
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#5 |
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I have a '02 Silverado 2500HD with an 8.1 and Allison trans. Tows a 24' enclosed just fine.
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Bob Don 128 SS |
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#6 |
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I would highly recommend the 8.1 gas motor in a Chevy or GMC. I've got a 2001 dually and it does a fine job with a 26-28ft. Enclosed trailer. You also get the Allison trans. If you ever pull with a dually you will realize why so many people use them to pull a trailer.
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Greg Hill 4171 STK |
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#7 |
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What kind of fuel mileage are you getting with the 8.1. Towing and empty. Just curious. The big gas motored trucks I have had were brutal on fuel.
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Mike Pearson 2485 SS |
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#8 |
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Had to get one built fairly early in the model year, when they were available. Same with the later 454". You couldn't order one late in the model year. GM could only afford to sell so many each year. Both were hard on GM's CAFE (Coporate Average Fuel Economy) averages. That average gets too low the gov fines them. Both can be helped a good bit with some tuning. Both engines had the timing so backed down to help Hydrocarbon emission, you could almost tow a building on kerosene with no detonation. LOL
The 8100 can perform much better (faster) while getting better gas mileage with the normal 4L80E transmission. It is hard to overcome the excessive torque management in the Allison transmission computer.
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Ed Wright 4156 SS/JA Last edited by Ed Wright; 02-11-2015 at 07:56 PM. |
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