Anybody towing with a late model gasser?

Jarlaxle wrote:

sacmarata wrote:
Comparing a gas truck to diesel is apples to orangutans.
Sure theres those that say "my gasser pulls my 8,000lb trailer just fine."
In my experience those are the ones afraid to own a diesel because of the undo stigma put on diesels from common problems of the old technogy Fords and Chevys.
Almost any gas truck will pull 8,000 lbs. Heck I used to pull an old 23' trihull beast of a boat with my Nissan 4 cylinder. Yes...it pulled it just fine...until I learned what just fine really meant that is. I upgraded to a 4.0 Ranger. WHOA boy. I could almost keep up with fraffic on the flats. This was livin!
Well, a few years later I got the 12 valve and I immediatelyI felt stupid telling everyone my Ranger was the bees knees all those years. It wasn't! It pulled the thing, sure! But did it keep up with traffic? No! Did I go through a clutch prematurely yes!
I know comparing a Ranger to a modern v8 gasser isnt the same but the illustration wasnt to compare the two but to show how one can talk themselves into believing something is "just fine" when it's not.

How many of you accept adequate with your camping gear or get by on just good enough. Thats what yer doin with a gasser pulling over 8,000lbs. It will NOT pull as good as a diesel. It WILL NOT last as long. It will have premature wear. It WONT be worth as much with 150K miles.

My 1994 Cummins 12 valve has 324k carefree miles and will out pull any gasser off the assembly line in 3/4 or 1 ton.

If anyone thinks 45mph on the interstate is safe they are jaded.

A 30-valve Ford V10 will suck the doors off your truck on any long grade! 362HP beats 215HP...this is basic physics!

Note: a local towing company has a gas repo truck...and that truck is quicker up hills than the 7.3 PSD trucks! Why? Because it has more horsepower!

The gasser did wear out, though...it needed a motor a while back. It only had 553,000 miles!

Who told you I only had 215hp??? I've stated repeatedly that my 12valve like most all others has almost completely free mods and is pushing over 300hp. I estimate mine around 360hp but not gonna spend the money on a dyno just to find out I was +/- 40hp.

A slightly modified Cummins 12V will run lower RPM than the V10, put out more useable torque in range and last longer.

I have a problem with running higher RPMs than necessary because higher RPM's mean (in some cases) increased temps and always mean increased wear. It's simple physics. If I run a piece of sand paper over a board 400 times a minute it will have less wear than if I ran the same piece 600 times a minute. To my knowledge gas pistons, cylinders, cranks, cams, bearings, valves, etc don't have spectacular advances over the same in diesel.

I'm sure your service manager knows a lot more about trucks than I do, but I personally would not try to tow my fiver with a 5.4. I had one, and it was fine for smaller jobs but not the fiver! that was an '05, I am now driving my last Ford.

mitw44 wrote:
I know I have mentioned this before, but here goes again. I work for a major power generation company with a transmission/distribution department. We have hundreds of trucks, mostly Fords, from F250 on up to F750. A lot of them have work bodies on them, bucket lifts, etc. Many of them pull large trailers with all manner of heavy off-road equipment. If anyone puts a truck to work, it's our guys.

The fleet manager has been there for 25 years, and knows truck maintenance. Even though it's not his personal money, and has deep pockets to pay for repairs if he needs it, he does not order many diesel trucks. Almost all are gas, primarily the 6.8L V10, but also plenty of 5.4L V8's.

Between the weight of the truck work bodies, and the trailers full of heavy equipment, etc. these trucks get a real work out. And the gas engines do just fine. Our fleet manager just simply does not want to deal with the maintenance headaches and potential expense should something go out on one of them.

And our service department and mechanic staff would put most large dealerships to shame. So it's not for lack of time, money or talent. The gas engine is just a better bet for our setup.

Nothing personal against diesel, but the newer engines and fuel systems, along with the environmental smog controls have made diesel less competitive vs gas.

With a fleet of Fords very smart move! :B

Sorry, the Devil (AKA Ex Ford loyalest) made me do that, getting Fire Suite on now!!!:E

I know I have mentioned this before, but here goes again. I work for a major power generation company with a transmission/distribution department. We have hundreds of trucks, mostly Fords, from F250 on up to F750. A lot of them have work bodies on them, bucket lifts, etc. Many of them pull large trailers with all manner of heavy off-road equipment. If anyone puts a truck to work, it's our guys.

The fleet manager has been there for 25 years, and knows truck maintenance. Even though it's not his personal money, and has deep pockets to pay for repairs if he needs it, he does not order many diesel trucks. Almost all are gas, primarily the 6.8L V10, but also plenty of 5.4L V8's.

Between the weight of the truck work bodies, and the trailers full of heavy equipment, etc. these trucks get a real work out. And the gas engines do just fine. Our fleet manager just simply does not want to deal with the maintenance headaches and potential expense should something go out on one of them.

And our service department and mechanic staff would put most large dealerships to shame. So it's not for lack of time, money or talent. The gas engine is just a better bet for our setup.

Nothing personal against diesel, but the newer engines and fuel systems, along with the environmental smog controls have made diesel less competitive vs gas.

BurbMan wrote:
Here's what the big block looked like compared to the Duramax in 2001. Would be interested to see a similar comparison on the new Ram 6.4 hemi and the Cummins.

Agreed. I have searched high and low and can't find an image of the 6.4L hp/tq curves anywhere on the net.

Jarlaxle wrote:

ib516 wrote:
From the 2010 HD Shootout at Pickuptrucks.com:

2010 Ram 2500 5.7L Hemi/5 speed auto/4.10 with 383hp/400tq:
10k trailer tow
0-30 level ground 7.7 sec
0-60 level ground 21.0 sec
1/4 mile 23.3 sec @ 64 mph
7% grade with 10 k trailer 33.96 sec @ 45 mph peak speed


2010 Ram 2500 6.7L Cummins/6 speed auto/3.73 with 350hp/650tq:
same 10k trailer
0-30 level ground 7.0 sec
0-60 level ground 20.9 sec
1/4 mile 23.0 sec @ 63 mph
7% grade with 10 k trailer 31.65 sec @ 50 mph peak speed

The differences aren't exactly earth shattering.

I realize this info is from 2010, but it's a good illustration where they were tested head to head in the same conditions. It also isn't the 385hp/850tq/Aisin/4.10 diesel tow monster you can get today, but in the gas vs diesel discussion, the gas engines hold their own, though they certainly don't out perform the diesels.

It's also not the gas 6.4/8-speed tow monster that you can get today!

The 6.4 does not come with an 8 speed.

The performance of the gas is not the killer for me.They perform fine. With the capacities of these trucks now days and I often use those capacities and then some, you will need most of the hp that the truck is capable of producing and I'd rather have it at 2500-3000 instead of 5000.

fla-gypsy wrote:
My 2009 6.8L does a real nice job

X2 :)

With my old 6.0 the only time that I saw temps in the range that you are reporting was when the TC was going out... Never had an issue with the truck pulling 10k through Georgia area. To me it's about perception, engine running at 3-4k rpm is not screaming.... People always freak and think that the poor little engine is screaming... Lol...It's not, and it's not going to explode or drop a piston along the way. Running at that rpm is normal when it needs the TQ. Simple. So OP there are several running gas trucks pulling campers out here. Perception seems to be the biggest mind block that people have when it comes to pulling campers. I have stated that I have pulled campers with both. It's really up to what your willing to spend. For me...newer diesel, a big negative, why? All the potential cost and emissions that are present. Open the hood to a new diesel, and tell me how easy that engine will be in working on it, or how cheap it will be.... Older diesels are great without the emissions but.... Higher miles means more truck repairs. So the choice is urs, there are several options, if u go gas then go with the 4:10 gear, just a personal preference. New offerings of gas engines are looking really good. Despite GM keeping the 6.0 around for a while, I still like mine and don't complain about pulling the wieght. It really does well, its obviously a good engine to keep around for GM since it's darn near bullet proof. Anyway get what you want, but don't look past the newer gas choices if u want to stay simple and reliable. Btw just got back from fort wilderness and had the same conversation with a fellow camper.... Who is now switching back to gas due to some issues on his current truck. Ain't saying what brand or engine, no need to start another thread war ( probably another member here). Look at my sig, this is what I currently own and will be keeping for a long time. Previously had been a DMax and cummins not listed yet. Also to add the new dodge 6.4 is looking really good, should put a smile on a few faces around here. Good luck on your search.

Here's what the big block looked like compared to the Duramax in 2001. Would be interested to see a similar comparison on the new Ram 6.4 hemi and the Cummins.

The L18 on the left is the 8.1L gas and the Duramax LB7 is on the right.



Sac sorry to hear your old 6.0 is not up to the task, i never see trans temps over 200 with our 9000 lb TT. The biggest thing helping the gas truck today is the new 6 speed transmissions. Elight just took his TT from Louisville down to Myrtle Beach and said his new 6.4 had it and then some.

Nothing wrong with that old 1994 and it was sure better than the gassers in 1994 but different story today.

ib516 wrote:
From the 2010 HD Shootout at Pickuptrucks.com:

2010 Ram 2500 5.7L Hemi/5 speed auto/4.10 with 383hp/400tq:
10k trailer tow
0-30 level ground 7.7 sec
0-60 level ground 21.0 sec
1/4 mile 23.3 sec @ 64 mph
7% grade with 10 k trailer 33.96 sec @ 45 mph peak speed


2010 Ram 2500 6.7L Cummins/6 speed auto/3.73 with 350hp/650tq:
same 10k trailer
0-30 level ground 7.0 sec
0-60 level ground 20.9 sec
1/4 mile 23.0 sec @ 63 mph
7% grade with 10 k trailer 31.65 sec @ 50 mph peak speed

The differences aren't exactly earth shattering.

I realize this info is from 2010, but it's a good illustration where they were tested head to head in the same conditions. It also isn't the 385hp/850tq/Aisin/4.10 diesel tow monster you can get today, but in the gas vs diesel discussion, the gas engines hold their own, though they certainly don't out perform the diesels.

It's also not the gas 6.4/8-speed tow monster that you can get today!