May upgrade our tow vehicle

Willie & Bev · 05-20-2018, 03:55 PM

Bev and I are thinking about upgrading our TV in the near future. Does anyone have the Chevy/GMC 6.0L V8? If so how does it do? Right now we are thinking of a 2500 Chevy. Our local dealers have some on hand. we are thinking about used ones around 2016.

Thanks,
Willie

E Rod · 05-20-2018, 04:45 PM

I had a GMC with the 6.0 and 4.10 rear end. Worked ok pulling my 32' Laredo but the hills would kill me. Truck slowed down and rpm's went high when go uphill. Traded it in. Now I have a 40'ft Alpine and a 2016 F350 6.7 diesel. No regrets. Pulls great going over mountains and exhaust brake holds truck well going down hill. Once you experience diesel, nothing will come close

Cougarpuller2016 · 05-20-2018, 05:11 PM

Make sure you get 4:10 rear end with the 6.0

Willie & Bev · 05-20-2018, 06:09 PM

I'm sure that diesel is the best. The extra price of the diesel is not in the budget right now. We will always be in the 24-27 Ft. range with a TT.

Thanks for the replies. The one that we have looked at has the 4:10.

KenW · 05-20-2018, 06:22 PM

I have a 2016 Chev 2500HD with a 6.0 V8, 4.10 rear axle, tow package. I'm towing a 2017 High Country 370BR, 12200 pounds. Overall I'm good, I have good power and stability even at the very upper limit of capacity. Now, with that being said I do wish I have the diesel.

Gegrad · 05-20-2018, 06:31 PM

Yeah, you have to get the 4.10 rear with the 6.0, otherwise the GCWR is only like 1000 lbs more than the 1/2 ton IIRC (with the 3.73).

busterbrown · 05-21-2018, 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Willie & Bev

I'm sure that diesel is the best. The extra price of the diesel is not in the budget right now. We will always be in the 24-27 Ft. range with a TT.

Thanks for the replies. The one that we have looked at has the 4:10.

Find the 3/4 ton gasser that you like and buy it. Pulling a 24-27' travel trailer around will be no problem with any of the big 3, even with a 3:73 rear end. In fact, I'd bet a properly equipped 1/2 ton would easily do the job. It just depends if you use your truck as a daily driver or if you electively want to be in a 3/4 ton all the time.

In any case, a diesel is not required (or from my standpoint, recommended).

Good luck.

instymp · 05-21-2018, 01:40 PM

I agree with Buster Brown. If you are keeping to the 24 -27ft.
Specially if it were to be a daily driver. 3.73
check the specs & capabilities.

lunge motorsport · 05-21-2018, 07:42 PM

I tow a 30' 5th with many upgrades. My payload is 2981 and the coach is about 11k fully loaded. On all but the steepest grades it pulls along fine with the 4.10 final drive. The only problem I had was climbing out of Death Valley at WOT for 20 mins. The trans temp went to 243 deg. Shortly after that I replaced it with one 2.5 times bigger. Haven't hit that same hill again but also haven't seen over 180 deg. since. I strongly recommend wider rims, 7.5'' stock width gets pushed around by the coach. I use 9'' on the stock tire size and would have done 10'' if I could find the correct offset in a 17'' dia. wheel but no luck. Taller wheel tire combos change gearing and I didn't want that.

bspiek · 05-31-2018, 04:38 PM

I had a Ram 1500 and a 27ft Springdale last year, with the family and all of our stuff I was considerably over the towing capacity. It never felt comfortable to tow at speeds over 55mph.

I switched to a 2016 Chevy 2500hd and it is a night and day difference, I don't feel like I'm fighting with the truck to tow the trailer. My wife said my mood has improved as well. To me it was worth the upgrade in the truck.

Willie & Bev · 05-31-2018, 07:50 PM

We found a 2016 Chevy Silverado 2500HD, four wheel drive, crew cab, 6.5 ft. bed, towing package and 4.10 rear end. This is what they call a work truck, but it has everything on it we need and only 50,000 miles. it is a certified pre-owned so there is some warranty left.

This is probably overkill for our 177LHS. When we are ready to upgrade our RV we won't have to worry about puling it as long as we stay with a reasonable size.

johnnyringo · 06-03-2018, 07:27 AM

We began towing with Envoy with the 5.3. We moved up to a 2014 Yukon Denali with the 6.2. Big improvement!

hguilford · 06-03-2018, 07:45 AM

I got a fantastic deal on a 2018 Keystone Avalanche 320RS in January and at the time had a 2015 Silverado 1500 LT. The 320RS weighs in at about 11,500 lbs so I bought a 2018 Silverado 2500HD WT with the 6.0L gas engine to pull it since the diesel added about $10K to the price tag. It was an easy financial decision for me since I knew this truck was capable of pulling that much weight and we aren't full time RVers and mostly camp within a days drive. On level roads I can pull this trailer 65 mph all day long, but uphill is where it struggles.
When my wife retires in a couple of years I will definitely upgrade to the diesel puller since we will be traveling longer distances for longer periods of time, but for now I'm happy to pull over into the slow lane going uphill with all the 18 wheelers, turn on my flashers and drive 45 mph and watch the diesel pullers fly past.

DNKCowboyFan · 06-03-2018, 07:52 AM

I have a 2015 Chevy 2500HD with 6.0L and tow package. Pull a 34 ft Keystone Sprinter fifth wheel with not problems. The diesel is probably better, but like other responses, I didn't want the added cost, and this truck is a daily driver and I didn't want the diesel. Also do not want to navigate a 1 ton around in city traffic either. If you are like me, I think you will have no problems with it.

Kevg298RE2016 · 06-03-2018, 08:20 AM

Willie,

I have a 2016 Silverado HD gas 6.0 with 4:10 gears and six speed transmission and have hauled my Outback 298RE last summer to Colorado Springs and it does fine. All hills and different climates will cause a slight adjustment on the vehicle until the computer adjusts. I think you’d be fine looking at a used 2016 Silverado HD gas.

Good luck on your decision and happy RVing

ExtremeRVing · 06-03-2018, 09:05 AM

We have a GMC 6.0L with a 3:73 rear end.

We pull a 27ft Keystone Hideout TT.

It does a great job. I am sure a 2500 with a 4:10 rear would be more efficient for towing (better performance), but the 90-95% of the time not towing, that would be my question.

Kevinc2011 · 06-03-2018, 03:53 PM

I had a 3/4 ton yukon xl with that 6.0 liter engine and 4.10 geared axles. It puked pulling a 10k tt through short sand hills and City Traffic on I485 around Charlotte NC. It had all the extra cooling systems etc... that were offered. It got 8mpg with that camper, and only 12MPG without it. There are much better tow platforms out there.

johnlewis · 06-03-2018, 04:33 PM

We tow a 37' 5th wheel with a 2012 Ram dually, with Cummins diesel. While the truck was in the shop, I borrowed a 6.0l Chevy 2500 with 4.10 rear end. I am glad we have a diesel, because the 6.0l had to work hard pulling uphill, and it was almost impossible to hold speed without shifting to a low enough gear to get engine up to about 4,000 rpm. Buy a diesel. The torque they produce makes it much more enjoyable to drive.

lmf580 · 06-03-2018, 05:34 PM

I have a 2003 Chevy HD 2500,6.0 v8, auto, towe package, 4 wheel drive, 4:10 gears, 8 foot box. We pull a 29 foot montana fiver, wieght of about 8500 lbs. Truck has a full instrument panel for towing. Handles fiver very well. On a long grade (3-4 miles) you have to get on it but it does good considering the load (5400 lbs truck and 8500 camper). Pulling is not as much a challenge as stopping.

Phil Saran · 06-03-2018, 06:13 PM

We have a 2012 Dodge Ram 3500 6.7 diesel, 3:73, 4 dr., 4x4 6.4 bed with a
B&W sliding hitch.

At the end of June we will take possession of our "new to us" 2018 Keystone
Cougar 30RLS that is a 6 month old owner release back to the bank "repo".
for about 1/3 the cost of new. My last RV was a MH and got 7 MPG towing a
4K 2011 Dodge Dakota 4x4. The 5th wheel weights in at about 12K and I hope
for 10 MPG.

You may also like: