Towing questions...

[G-MONEY]

Close but it was still a pickup not an SUV

[tony dunn jr.]

Diesels all the way for towing. I put a Magnatec transmission pan with synthentic fluid on my powerstroke and it made a considerable difference in trans. temp. About 40 degrees on the gauge. Read about it in Trailor life mag.

[tony dunn jr.]

Diesels all the way for towing. I put a Magnatec transmission pan with synthentic fluid on my powerstroke and it made a considerable difference in trans. temp. About 40 degrees on the gauge. Read about it in Trailor life mag.

[sdfortress]

That's right. Diesel's rule. I pull our 22Ve with an 04 Dodge 3/4" crew cab with Cummins and I am truly in heaven. It almost seems like it's too much power (oxymoron). The boat's not even there.

[tony dunn jr.]

And with diesels you can put an exhaust brake on for the downhills so you are not on the brakes hardly at all. So besides much better fuel economy better brake and rotor life maybe it don't take as long as you think to recoop the extra engine expense.

[NICKYPOO]

My '96 3/4 ton suburban needed brakes every 12,000 miles like clockwork. I've got 50,000 miles on my '04 Duramax/Allison and have yet to put brakes on it.

[Paublo]

NICKYPOO
Your experience is exactly like mine and brings back some bad memories. My '98 3/4T burb got 7 sets of front brakes in 5 1/2 years and 75k miles. My '04 D/A has 55k miles and no sign of brake wear yet.

[tony dunn jr.]

A Ford Powerstroke with all the Banks Including an exhaust brake=Studly Tow Rig. IMO

[NICKYPOO]

Paublo- It's a beautiful thing aint it. Now that I know what a tow vehicle should be, I hated that burb. Altough it did keep my wife and I safe when I put it head on into the center divider and 60+ mph. At least it was good for something.

Only 4 more weeks 'till I'm in your back yard.

[talltigeguy]

I used to own a suburban. I have yet to forgive Chevrolet for having made such a ridiculous vehicle. It broke down and needed big maintenance items every other week. Even though the new Chevy Duramax seems like a good thing, I won't get one because these are the same people that made my Suburban.

I own a Ford Diesel Excursion and she pulls like a dream!

[wrangler]

I would think that diesel Excursions would be cropping up on the used market pretty readily right about now with the current state of gas prices... I'll have to keep my eye out...

[Paublo]

Talltigeguy, I was there too. Besides the brakes that I mentioned before, I spent $500 in GM extended warrantee deductables (5x$100) in those 4 years with my burb. The good part is that it saved me over $4000 in out of pocket repairs. On the other side, I have had 0 issues or repairs on the newer truck. So maybe they are starting to get it right.

It would be hard to beat the Excursion with the PS for a people hauling/towing machine, and now Ford dropped it.

[xpjim1]

I have a 2003 Silverado 1500 HD Crew Cab with 75,000 miles. Not a problem yet and have not replaced brakes yet. The 6.0 pulls the boat great. When gas prices started going up this year the truck retired to the house in Arizona and I commute in a 95 Cirrus I bought for $1000 with only 57,000 miles. It gets almost 30 mpg going from CA to Havasu. Truck only has to pull boat 11 miles to the ramp. No problems with Chevy here

[chpthril]

Safety is the single most important factor in tow ratings. you could tow a boat with a Yugo, but once it got up to speed, you could never get it slowed down in a panic stop. A larger vehicle i.e a 3/4 or 1 ton will have far more stopping power than a 1/2. this gives it a higher tow rating and makes it a safer choice. Also wheelbase lenght has a lot to do with how stable a 'rig' will be at hwy speeds.

For what it's worth, my 'rule of thumb' is to try to keep my load under 75% of my tow vehicles rating. this gives me a little 'breathing' room so to speak.

anything you do to your truck that would increase capacities and reduce heat is worth every penny in the long run.

The 'tow/haul' mode on GM's is a great feature. it extends the shifts to get the engine into it's peak torque range and also increases transmission fluid pressure to prevent slipping. Slipping is friction, friction is heat, and heat is bad!!!

[NICKYPOO]

Originally posted by chpthril
Safety is the single most important factor in tow ratings. you could tow a boat with a Yugo, but once it got up to speed, you could never get it slowed down in a panic stop. A larger vehicle i.e a 3/4 or 1 ton will have far more stopping power than a 1/2. this gives it a higher tow rating and makes it a safer choice. Also wheelbase lenght has a lot to do with how stable a 'rig' will be at hwy speeds.

For what it's worth, my 'rule of thumb' is to try to keep my load under 75% of my tow vehicles rating. this gives me a little 'breathing' room so to speak.

anything you do to your truck that would increase capacities and reduce heat is worth every penny in the long run.

The 'tow/haul' mode on GM's is a great feature. it extends the shifts to get the engine into it's peak torque range and also increases transmission fluid pressure to prevent slipping. Slipping is friction, friction is heat, and heat is bad!!!

Well put!