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What are you towing with?

GoSlowGetStuck said:
I am considering going this route because the burbs are cheap to come by. How do you like it overall, for power and fuel economy? I'd be switching from a duramax and I'm prepared for the mileage hit, I'm always curious to hear real world numbers though.

A truck payment buys a lot of fuel!
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i drove off the lot in my suburban for 7k, 2wd 8.1 leather. it tows as good as my old 02 7.3, no joke. It gets 9mpg but when you factor in what i have in buying it and the fact that an ENTIRE replacement crate motor probably costs as much as a set of injectors for a cummins, it made perfect sense for poor little me on a college kid budget. Sam is daily driving it and i can't pry it away
from her. you can drive it at the crawl if you want...its a friggin blast :D

unloaded im seeing double digits between 10 and 11...im taking it to in tune motorsports and having it tuned this summer, the consensus ive seen on the interwebs is a good dyno tune can increase mileage.



Camping350 said:
Three transmissions in a gas rig at 40 up hill with a tail wind will never go back to gas for towing. Love my Duramax and Allison. Up hill overloaded 55 easy.
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what does being a gas rig have to do with the transmission? 8.1's came with allisons in the trucks but its such a cheaper motor to maintain, diesel rocks dont get me wrong but on a tighter budget gas is great. the 4l80e in mine is great
 
4l80e came on the 2500hd not an allisons, my old 2500hd ha that tranny, it got warm up hill towing my toy hauler and i had the biggest b&m tranny cooler i could buy
 
morgan320i said:
4l80e came on the 2500hd not an allisons, my old 2500hd ha that tranny, it got warm up hill towing my toy hauler and i had the biggest b&m tranny cooler i could buy
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I had that tranny i called it the 4l80 POS $7,500 in repairs 2 b and m coolers gauge. Of course I had the 350 motor. I will never go back to gas for towing anything the diesel just has the power and torque to do it without screaming and decent milage. What is your 8.1 getting around town and towing? I get 14.5 empty and 11-12 towing almost 15K
 
I sold my chevy and bought an 06 f250 diesel, i get almost 22mpg empty highway , and towing uphill in the sierras with my 20 foot 2900lbs trailer, jeep firewood and a week of camping equipment i was getting 14 mpg
 
My 2500 crewcab chevy 6.0 gas was lifted with. 35's no way i got over 11 empty when i drove 12 hours with my loaded tow hauler cost me almost 450$ each way thats like 5 to 8mpg,
Lastyear i towed my mastercraft ski boat 540 mi each way to laughlin , nv, mostly flat , my ave mpg was over 16
 
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JohnX said:
Upgraded injectors for my Cummins were $500 .....for the set.

My recommendation for anyone on a budget that wants to tow....12 valve Cummins.
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This.

Buying my 12v was the best decision I've ever made. I freaking love that truck, its soo simple and easy to play/work with. Great power and realibilty, along with great mileage. I got 14mpg towing my pig of jeep to PA last time and have no problem get 20+mpg empty. Did I mention its a blast to drive?
 
24v injectors are about the same. It's the common rail injectors that are $$$.
 
shortxjdoug said:
i drove off the lot in my suburban for 7k, 2wd 8.1 leather. it tows as good as my old 02 7.3, no joke. It gets 9mpg but when you factor in what i have in buying it and the fact that an ENTIRE replacement crate motor probably costs as much as a set of injectors for a cummins, it made perfect sense for poor little me on a college kid budget. Sam is daily driving it and i can't pry it away
from her. you can drive it at the crawl if you want...its a friggin blast :D
Click to expand...

^^ This ^^

My new rig:



Loaded 02, 4x4, 8.1, $9k. LOVE it. Makes 9mpg towing the XJ at 75, which dollar-for-dollar costs about the same as my 7.3 at 13mpg, without all the downshifting it try n keep the turbo spooled up. Walks away from BeerGoggle's 12v...

And, plenty of room for the dogs.

Yep, LOVE it...

Robert
 
Toyota Tundra with 5.7L Hemi. Flat tows great. I'll be taking this to Moab in Oct.

IMG_4346_zps09ff30e2.jpg
 
Hope you guys realize 90% of the cars on the road have hemispherical combustion chambers before you go calling BS. ;) Mopar only owns the name, not the design.
 
JohnX said:
Is his an early non intercooled model?
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I imagine so. 93 maybe? It was a dog, another guy's gas 6.0 outran it, too.

But the 8.1 really is something. I have no doubt it would at least keep up with my powerstroke, and I really suspect it would outrun that, too...

Robert
 
my buddy has a 94 12v and my 1990 350 sbc chevy g20 van leaves it in the dust both empty and towing. he's towing a suzuki and i'm towing an xj so i have a bit more weight to boot. those things are slow as hell. sure, you can make them faster, but i can always build a 383 for next to nothing.... :D
 
I won't dispute that MANY gas motors will out run a stock cummins, and MANY gas motors can be built cheaply and still hang with a cheap built cummins....the difference will come in mileage. My cummins will pass anything I want going up any hill I've found towing everything I own....and still get in the mid teens fully loaded and well over 20 empty.
 
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