mhamershock wrote:
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Well, I'll complain. I have a 2011 and tow pretty heavy (8500) regularly. I have Max Tow but not HD, and I am right on limits. I did go E rated, bags, better shocks which helped the experience, but RAWR is not really where I need it.
I've had cooling fans fail, both exhaust manifolds warp, coolant leak at turbo (requires trans drop to get to the fitting), throttle body fail, hard shifts, and a few other things. 82K miles and not the most reliable motor I've owned. Thank goodness for extended warranty.
IMHO this little motor does not have the duty cycle to handle real work more than part time, especially if you do it in high ambient air temps. It can struggle to shed heat when the turbos are working hard.
All that said I don't think there is a more capable 1/2 ton than the EB 3.5, and when I get rid of this at 100K miles I will look at a MAx Tow/HD Payload version. I will also look at a diesel including the new Nissan 5.0 Cummins.
Mike
Your config sounds just like ours. And we too have beefed up the suspension. But I've had zero problems with the truck and engine, despite towing more than 8K 60% of the time. Still, ours has only 55K miles on it, and we move with the seasons to avoid the extremely hot and cold places.
The Nissan Titan XD with the Cummins or the F150HD are also looking like possible replacements for us down the road.