Towing with Gas

There are too many opinions on towing lol, mine included. If you are buying a truck to tow with I think the consensus it to get a minimum of a 3/4t though. Doesn't have to be a diesel, but it would be optimal.
 
billyjp2 said:
I made sure to make clear in my first post that I was asking specifically about 3/4 ton trucks, but hey senseless arguing never hurt anyone right? :D
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I would tow a 4x8 utility trailer with nothing less the a 1T DRW diesel, anything less is a baby killer.

:D




My dads old 98 1T SRW 4dr/LB GMC towed decent with its 5.7/4l80 setup, I pulled black jeep around with it a few times with no major complaints. My old 89 3/4T chevy pulled awesome with its 5.7/TH400 but the lack of OD topped me out at 55-60 loaded or not, gas mileage sucked regaurdless too.
 
87manche said:
I never had a problem and I was towing with the "small" chevy half ton. Brakes on both trailer axles, properly setup controller, WD hitch. It can be done safely if you're not an idiot, it is far from the 3/4 ton hitch it up and go because the truck can handle 3 times that load.

but really, if you want to be really really really safe, I already provided you with that option.

MDT FTW.
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My Ram is a half ton and I have no worries about it. Same 5.7 as the big ones though I do believe. Just rides better.
 
i still say search out a 8.1L w/ allison, you will love that thing and out pull the older diesels.
 
Johnnie Walker said:
Possibly consider an older F250/F350 with a 460. More power and typically 11 mpg unloaded/loaded.
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At the most they might get that. My friend has a 460 truck, it gets 6.3 mpg's around town unloaded with a light foot. He plowed one storm with it, and got 3 mpg's. I guess you can get rid of the air injection system in those and they'll get better milage (~10).


I've done quite a bit of towing with 5.4 f350's and obs chevy's with 5.7s both vortec and tbi. I had a 95 suburban with a tbi 350 with 180k on it that out towed the 5.4 which had 70k on it and had already gone through a tranny and headgasket. I also have a 3/4 ton GMC that has 215k on it and still pulls great.

Like someone else mentioned, the 3/4 ton trucks come with bigger brakes and running gear. Definitely something to keep in mind.
 
I'll have to do more searching for it, but there was a good gas tow rig shootout by a pickup magazine online. They tested the rigs at factory track used for developing the trucks. Pretty good shootout, lots of data, lots of abuse.
Bottom line winner was the V10 Ford. Good chassis, gearing, etc. Downside was the mileage, sucked all the time. GM did well, not as much grunt as the Ford, mileage was much better with no load. Hemi powered Dodge did well too, they noted poor gearing choices in the transmission as one of the limiting factors.
One comment I remember, was other than against the latest of the diesels, these trucks did pretty damn good as tow rigs. Even approaching 2500lb loads.
 
For comparison


8.1L Vortec ... HP: 450 TQ: 490
6.8L Triton..... HP: 362 TQ: 457
6.0L Vortec.... HP: 325 TQ: 370
8.0L Magnum.. HP: 300 TQ: 450
5.7L Hemi ...... HP: 345 TQ: 375
 
My dad regularly tows a 32 ft camper trailer with his '04 GMC 2500HD (6.0L, 4l80e, 4.10) and he loves it. Sure, it only gets about 13mpg loaded or unloaded. He loves how it handles hills. He used to tow the same trailer with their '97 GMC Suburban (5.7, 4l60e, 3.42).
 
Phil said:
I have to second the comment about not towing over 2500 lbs with a half ton. It's just not safe.









I have a Ram with a 5.7 Hemi and it tows great. Plenty of power and not much worse mileage than my buddy's old Cummins Ram in my experience. I endorse a gas tow rig for weekend towing.
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I tow 7k lbs with my Yukon! It does have the 6.2l but it is very safe as far as I'm concerned. It stops very well and if the trailer is set up well It rides perfect. Would a 1 ton be better? Yes but not needed.
 
I'm with ARB on this one .... the 8.1 Chevy with the Allison is a really nice rig. They are hard to find though.

If you have $15k to spend, there is no reason you can't find a very nice Duramax or 7.3. Limit your budget to $14k and expand your search region to the entire U.S. Spend a grand to fly out and drive it home. I'm serious, there are hundreds of GREAT deals out there - just think outside the box.
 
I've never driven an 8.1, but I've driven the 6.0, and they have great power. A former co-worker tows horse trailers with his 6.0 GMC 2500 somewhat regularly and he loves it. His mileage sucks though, so I can only imagine what the big block would return. I drove a Duramax LBZ, and it was a-freaking-mazing! Made me lust after a diesel, even made me forgive the hideous 05ish redesign Chevy saddled the Silverado with. Everyone I know with a Cummins absolutely loves it. Powerstrokes seem pretty decent. After my brother broke his leg at KOH, I went back to drive his rig out and got it stuck on a berm (sun was in my face and I missed the road curving). It was a slow speed stuck on a dirt road, so not horrendous, but still, this was a lowered dually Chevy with 3 dirt bikes in the bed towing a heavy flat bed trailer with a Jimmy on 39.5s sitting on the framerails. I finally convinced someone to stop and after some cajoling and reassuring, convinced him to hook up to me and drag me off. He was in an Excursion with Powerstroke and 37s. Pulled that whole setup off with no trouble. He didn't think his truck had the guts to do it, but I think he came away pleasantly surprised.
 
I've got an LBZ chevy, they are expensive and way out of the $15k price range in loaded form but you might be able to find an LLY work truck in that range. Then just change the turbo mouthpiece and tune and you are good to go.
 
Towing with a 5.4 2 valve can be painful. I've done it with a manual and 4.10s ... Once you get it in your head that the engines don't mind the tac sticking straight up or a bit to the right, they're fine.

For what its worth, I towed a trailer quite a few times (usually camping gear for a week trip) and was able to get 13-15 MPG. The key is to drop it down a gear as soon as you see a hill. They get MUCH better mileage pulling in the higher RPMs.
 
Just rode shotgun with my buddy to RC this weekend.. Towed a YJ on 35s on a brimar 18ft open deck with his 2007 1500 4 door ram 5.7 auto. Truck pulled great and even rode decent had no issues at all with stopping or taking off. Granted the hills it would start turning some RPMs. We pulled the mountain on rt 501 off 78 if you know this mountain you know its a pure test of your tow rig truck went up the hill at 4k rpm but made it up and down the back side without an issue... Got 9.5 mpg towing at 65mph



Ive also did a run to virginia and back to get a 4 runner with an 04 chevy 2500 hd 4 door long bed 6.0/auto/4.10 And that thing pulled great at about 70-75 mph 11 mpg

So far the best thing Ive towed with though is my 97 7.3 PSD ford its got an auto and 4.10s Towing at 70-75 mph i get 12mpg and im pretty hard on the go peddle. Pulls hills with ease stops great but does ride like shit... best part is I paid $3800 for it with a new trans and 110k on it in Very good shape...

Find yourself an OBS (old body style) Ford with a 7.3 powerstroke and youll love it. Youll really love the extra cash in your pocket too
 
WAD357 said:
So far the best thing Ive towed with though is my 97 7.3 PSD ford its got an auto and 4.10s Towing at 70-75 mph i get 12mpg and im pretty hard on the go peddle. Pulls hills with ease stops great but does ride like shit... best part is I paid $3800 for it with a new trans and 110k on it in Very good shape...

Find yourself an OBS (old body style) Ford with a 7.3 powerstroke and youll love it. Youll really love the extra cash in your pocket too
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That was a hell of a deal.
 
billyjp2 said:
That was a hell of a deal.
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Gotta love craigslist! A truck similar to mine can be had for around 7k if not less...

Also as for towing with the Ford 5.4s my buddy has had 2, a 99 and an 05 the 99 had a 4 speed auto towed like shit and had no balls... the 05 had a 5speed auto and towed much better but still not all that great.. Stay away from the 5.4 and thats coming from a ford guy


I also had an 87 f350 with a carb'd 460 stick and a 5 speed on 38.5s never towed with it but that truck was FAST probably blow the doors of my chipped 7.3 So id think it would tow great.. I probably got around 10mpg with it with a fairly heavy foot.. it was old cheap and reliable and great for what it was..
 
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