The wrong truck...

[catoiler]

This ought to be good!My brother in law bought a Chebby 2500 2X4 with the 6. 0 (gas)and 4. 11 gears,(don't want no noisy stinkin diesel) and just traded in his 18' pull trailer for a 28' 5er. The boy was ragging about only gettin 7-8 mpg pullin the 18'. Just can't wait till he gets back from his first trip to see how bad this is going to be!Told him to keep me on speed dial so when he gets stuck on the first hill I can come rescue his sorry butt!! :-laf

After he could not keep up with my "stinky diesel" on a trip to Las Vegas up Baker grade(I had 2 cars on the back)and he had his little 18' on his.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

those LS1 based motors make good power and do pretty good on fuel empty, but we all know the Cummins is the only way to go



Forrest

 

[mattymac]

those LS1 based motors make good power and do pretty good on fuel empty, but we all know the Cummins is the only way to go



Forrest

Every one I have ever rode in was absolutly gutless! isnt the 6. 0 the same motor in the SSR?

 

[RustyJC]

Isn't the 6. 0 the same motor in the SSR?

Nope. They introduced the SSR with the 5. 3. BIG marketing mistake!



Rusty

 

[Andy Perreault]

It always amazes me how some people have it so ingrained into their brains that diesels are stinky, slow, noisy and gutless. My folks' neighbors are that way. They tow a 5'er, and they had a Ford 460 for many years and then bought a Chevy. Last I heard, the Chevy was for sale. I wonder if they're finally seeing the light?

Andy

 

[Mingoglia]

In the below picture you'll see my friend Claud's Chevy truck and trailer. I believe the trailer is a 18'. It's a toy hauler. It has the same specs (6. 0L, 4. 11). The difference is he has larger tires. You can actually barely make out the front of his white truck in this picture. You can see my other friend's '04 Ford with trailer as well... .



Anyway, we both weighed in the truck stop on that trip. I was just shy of 20,000 lbs... . I *believe* he was almost 14,000 GCVW.



We were traveling to the dunes on I-8 which is relatively flat. He had to slow down to about 50mph on several occasions because his truck was about to overheat. We were in a pretty good headwind, but this was still disappointing to me. My truck was running great and I was doing 75 in the very same headwind with the cruise control on without any noticeable temperature change. My trailer is much taller than his and my trailer is a wide bod (102" wide). Yeah, comparing mine to his is apples to oranges so ignore the comparison for the most part... . the point I'm trying to make is his overheating problems pulling a relatively light load.



On the way back from our trip without the head wind he had no problems BTW... . that is until someone T-boned his trailer going thru town about 3 miles from home.

Here's that link:

http://gallery.mikeandsherri.com/view_photo.php?full=1&set_albumName=album25&id=100_5518



Mike

 

[catoiler]

Sad part is he had a new 1500(about 9mo old lack of power!)before he got the 2500. I asked him why if he did not like the Dodges,Why not at least test drive the Duramax, And he said it was a $6000. 00 option. Bad part is he paid more for the Chevy than I did for the Dodge!and got half the truck. Go figure!

 

[Philip]

And he said it was a $6000. 00 option

That pretty much sums it up. He wanted to go cheap. If he wouldn't pay that for the Duramax. Then he wouldn't pay it for a Powerstroke or a Cummins.



I wouldn't waste my breath talking to him about trucks anymore. Let him learn the hard way.



I wouldn't let off so he can keep up eather. :-laf

 

[Forrest Nearing]

yeah, but he could have got a new Cummins for what he paid for that Ch*vy!!

 

[catoiler]

He say's he likes the ride better than my truck and I told him that's how a truck should ride not like a car!I talked to him today and he was asking how hard it is to put air bags on it as it squats to much(hehe)!Just got wind that he is leaving in the wee hours so it won't over heat!Now that's trust in a new truck!!

 

[Cummins Pilot]

I never even blinked at the cost of the diesel option. It wasn't a concern. I knew I wanted/needed and diesel. I wanted the Cummins, with a 6 speen 8' bed and quad cab. The rest was optional. If you tow and drive it long enought the 6,000 dollar upgrade pays off.

 

[DPelletier]

The extra cost of a diesel is a myth. There are only two scenarios;



- 1) You trade or sell the truck in the first few years - result: you get $10,000 more for your diesel than the going price of a comparable gas powered truck



- 2) You keep the truck for more than 5 years - result: you saved more than $6,000 in fuel.



These observations, of course, fail to take into consideration the better towing abilities and faith in the diesel's reliability that you've enjoyed in the meantime!

The only people than don't fit the above scenarios are those that plan on keeping the truck for a long time AND barely drive it, maybe only for occasional recreational use. If you can afford to buy a truck that you only use occasionally, you can probably also afford a diesel for its other benefits.

I currently own three gas powered trucks and three diesels and I track expense, mileage and maintenance costs of each.



Dave

 

[catoiler]

Yep he drives it to work and back everyday!Puts about 600 miles a week on it. Just on the fuel savings it would pay for it self pretty quick.

 

[catoiler]

Well he just got back and called and wanted to know if i knew where a dyno was so he could check what the advertised HP and Torque are against what the dyno says. He had more than a few problems going up some of the hills!!Seems it wanted to drop down to about 30mph. Mind you this one hill is pretty good but the old Dodge didn't think much of it. Now he wants to see if it does not measure up to the advertised specs if GM will do something about it. said i didn't think so as most numbers are flywheel rated. Then i got on with the schooling on diesels!! :-{} Oh ya gas milage was about 9-11 most of the trip! :{

 

[Grey Wolf]

Hey Cat take him over to R&E and have Ed put him on the dyno, then stand back and watch his reaction

 

[catoiler]

Yep thats where I told him to go!Then I willput mine on and show him what Diesel's are for!!

 

[rbattelle]

Oh ya gas milage was about 9-11 most of the trip!

That actually sounds pretty good for a gas engine towing a 28 ft 5th wheel. Am I wrong?

 

[ladyjaine]

That would be OK fuel economy if he were doing 75mph. But he had to slow down to 30 sometimes for the uphills. I'll bet the trailer would push the truck downhill faster than 30 mph. He got that mileage from gravity.

 

[dseabaugh]

At least he's a brother in law and can easily removed from the family. Not so easy if he was your brother.

 

[catoiler]

He says that how many times a year does he take the trailer out?Told him that even on a daily routine the savings would more than make up for the cost of the diesel, as he said he wants to keep the truck and traliler for at least the next ten years. . I think it won't be long before he gets one!He said he found one like he wants for around 36 grand so that means he is looking!