Re: Gm 6.0 litre v v t v8 tow vehicle engine
 

If the one Kevin had, '09 GMC 2500HD crew cab 4x4, is any indication, I'm sure you're hearing correctly. He never liked it. I could nurse 12MPG out of it with an open trailer on the Interstate, but it took some real work, and it never was nice to drive.

While I'm reliably informed you can work wonders with some PCM tuning, the results, I hear, put it on par with a stock 8.1.

Kevin sold the '09 GMC, and bought an '02 Chevy, same truck except 8.1 and an Allison, he's real happy now, where he was real annoyed before.

I've got an 03 2WD 3500, 8.1 and an Allison, I'm pretty happy with it stock. I'm sure my list of future upgrades will leave me thrilled.

Re: Gm 6.0 litre v v t v8 tow vehicle engine
 

Hi Guys,

My last fill up was at a Pilot Station and the Regular Unleaded 87 was $3.39 a gallon and the Diesel was still up at $4.09 a gallon...

That's 70 cents a gallon difference.....

Welcome to California........

Bob

Re: Gm 6.0 litre v v t v8 tow vehicle engine
 

I bought a new 2500 2014 crew cab 6.0 with 4:10 gears to replace my 1999 suburban with a 454 that was getting tired. I tow a 28 foot trailer total weight about 9,000. I actually get better mileage in tow mode. Towing I get 8 to 11 mpg depending on terrain. When not towing I get 13.5 as an average. Straight highway by itself I have hit 15.4mpg.

Re: Gm 6.0 litre v v t v8 tow vehicle engine
 

Never had a newer gas Chevy but have an '07 2500HD crew cab long box LMM duramax and would never tow with anything but diesel again. I can get 12mpg with the family and the 24'. Another thing to think about of diesel over gas is longevity, the diesel will always outlast a gas when apples to apples conditions.

Re: Gm 6.0 litre v v t v8 tow vehicle engine
 

I saved about $6K not buying a diesel. I do not need to worry about extremely expensive fuel injectors, fuel injector pumps, or turbochargers.

My 8.1L, with proper maintenance, will probably go 250K miles. At which point, even with substantial upgrades, will not require a lot of money to rebuild.

Any repairs needed by my 8.1L are very quick and easy, and usually relatively inexpensive. I have not had to touch mine, just going by experience.

The same cannot be said for a diesel. I've worked on them. Everything is expensive, and most of it is difficult or at least very time consuming.

Again, I'm speaking about an 8.1L, not a 6.0L, which I would not want in a truck I was going to tow with.

Sure, a DuraMax will probably blow right by me, and it will get 30% better fuel mileage. I can live with that. Especially for the price difference.

Re: Gm 6.0 litre v v t v8 tow vehicle engine
 

I love my duramax I irdered it new in2002 6 speed stick 4 x 4. It was 35k out the door and has 347,000 on it. I avg 20 mpg in the Chicago suburbs. Problem for me is that a comparable replacement is 65k or more.
I have been looking into. 2500hd gasser but the talk about 6.0 liters is discouraging. All of the diesels suffer on mpg with the emissions so it is really hard to justify.
My brother has a suburban 1500 with a 5.3 and I towed straight through from belle rise to Illinois once with no issues getting 10 mpg. I guess I assumed , more cubes and an Allison six speed would be hard to beat. I only have a 24 ft trailer , but I guess I need to do more research.

Re: Gm 6.0 litre v v t v8 tow vehicle engine
 

I bought my '03 used, with under 75,000 miles on it, for $15K, and it is a loaded cream puff, ask Kevin next time you talk to him. If you look, they're out there, I found a 1/2 dozen. My old bank screwed up and I missed a nice '06 GMC with 72,000 miles for $13K. At the same time, I passed on a garage kept '05 with a stick with under 77K for around $15K, it was not as loaded as mine, but was owned by a drag racer who did a lot of business with the dealer outside Atlanta.

Re: Gm 6.0 litre v v t v8 tow vehicle engine
 

What does your 8.1 get for mpg towimg and empty?

Re: Gm 6.0 litre v v t v8 tow vehicle engine
 

Around 12 running close to 80MPH empty, and around 10 running near that fast with an open trailer and a 3400# vehicle.

Ed Wright says there is much to be had with his program, a couple of guys have told me it is worth 2-3MPG.

I know for a fact my tires are too short, an my gear too low. I can drop 200-400 RPM and pick up 2MPG.

I'm actually looking at converting to taller medium truck tires, for more load and towing capacity, and lower RPM.

Re: Gm 6.0 litre v v t v8 tow vehicle engine
 

What program are you or Ed using? I have 03 8.1 with Allison trans and getting 10-11 and 12-13 highway.Thats if I drive 55-60 mph.My tires are one size larger than stock.Its a crew cab single rear wheel 2500HD with 4:10 gear.