I'm looking to upgrade my current tow vehicle. I have an 01 2500 Yukon XL $WD with the 8.1 motor. I have a tough pull going up the grades pulling my boat. The boat and trailer weigh out around 13,000 lbs dry. It's time to upgrade to a diesel.
I was getting ready to pull the trigger on a Chevy with the Duramax in it. I'm a true GM man myself and wanted to keep it that way. My neighbor has one and agreed to allow me to do a test tow with it. There's a fairly large hill by my house that I've tested my Burb on. I took the same hill with the Duramax and was very disappointed! My Burb actually pulled up the hill FASTER than the Duramax. WTF??? When driving down the freeway it felt like there was a load on the tranny all the time. When I let off the gas, the tranny started braking and would not coast.
I've also pulled up the same hill with a relative's 2004 Dodge with the Cummins. It was a true towing monster, but I've heard mixed reviews on their trannys. Haven't tried the Ford Powerstroke yet.
Has anyone seen or read a side by side towing comparison of the three trucks? I know this will likely star a Ford/Chevy/Dodge war.
You can't beat the Cummins power/upgradeability. The new Dodges are real nice, but the trans still takes back seat to the Allison, stock to stock. If your plan is to keep it stock or very mildly upgraded, and you have to have an auto, I'd go with the Dmax.
If you can deal with a manual, you can't beat the Cummins w/6-speed manual trans for towing.
13,000 lbs? Are you sure? :jawdrop:
I took the same hill with the Duramax and was very disappointed! My Burb actually pulled up the hill FASTER than the Duramax. WTF??? When driving down the freeway it felt like there was a load on the tranny all the time. When I let off the gas, the tranny started braking and would not coast.
How many miles did the DMAX have on it, they take about 10k to 15k to break in. When on the freeway, was it in tow/haul mode? Sounds like it was.
I Have The New 6 Speed Dodge And It Tows Very Well
The Power Is Great. Love The Truck.
That,s one heavy boat?
Huckleberry and I both have the same boat and they are very heavy! Mine weighs in at 11,600 lbs.
I just bought an 2005 8.1L 2500 Suburban and am also disatisfied with pulling the steep grades... Recently put headers and cat back which helped a lot...
Check into some of the ecm upgrades. I am not sure about the 8.1 but the 6.0's have a torque limiting feature which delays w.o.t. application for a few moments. This occurs even in tow/haul mode.I think I saw a thread here further describing it.
The allison trans will not coast. It is designed to assist in braking when in the tow/haul mode. My experience with the duramax compared to my 7.3 Excursion was that it did not seem to generate the torque off idle.
What kind of boat with that much weight?
Gentlemen, I know I'm taking my life into my own hands here but here goes...
I own an '04 Ford PSD 4x4 Crew Cab Long Bed. The truck is stock w/ 3.73's. I tow a 28' Blaze-N Toyhauler (pull trailer) which weighs 7600 pounds dry. I'm figuring with full tanks, 5 quads, and gear I'm towing over 10k pounds. Add six passengers and a 6th quad in the bed too
I have been completely satisfied with the towing power. The biggest grade I've been up is Cajon Pass where I was cruising an easy 60mph (I had more to give too). The road to Glamis doesn't have any serious grades other than the 60 leaving Moreno Valley (windy uphiller where the truck pulls faster than I wantr to go). Coming home I can run it hard (sorry about that) up the I-10 by the windmills into the headwind. I don't feel like I'm lacking for power. The tranny does it's job too. Same type of downshifting functions and holds shifts longer as the Allison does.
I'm not going to bag on the D-Max although I've had the same friendly Ford vs. Chevy "wars" with my friends. My buddy has an '03 Chevy D-Max (same config as mine). He kept wanting to drag race me (he's stock also). When we finally got it done, in 4 different runs I inched away each time. Not by much (1/2 a truck length) but they were very short runs. Anyway, we both agreed that we settled that one.
During one of our Glamis trips. We took the golf cart out and went through about 3 washes. I'm not exagerrating when I say there was a 10-to-1 ratio of Ford PSD's over D-Maxes pulling trailers. The guys that had the DMaxes all seemed to have them chipped w/4" exhaust. I know this isn't a scientfic study but it was interesting. Make your own conclusions.
I know the new Dmax has increased power. Another friend just bought one. He tows a 31' Weekend Warrior 5th wheel (he carries less gear than me). That little hill by the windmills will sure be fun when we run 'em up there
I know that most of us like power. I know that some of us will modify our trucks to get more of it. Right now I'm satisfied I can pull any hill I want. Now, once I put bigger tires that could change. I'm thinking 35's at the most. I'm expecting that I'll lose a little bottom end. We'll see.
BTW...This is my first Ford. I've been happy so far.
What kind of boat with that much weight?
It's a 33 Daytona. It was weigh at Lake X and came in a portly 10,100 lbs! :jawdrop:
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