bimbert84 wrote:
One thing to look out for is the tow package on the vehicle. Ordinarily, trucks equipped for heavy towing don't come with 3.08s. It's possible (likely?) that there are other significant differences between the 7000# configuration and 9500# configuration, most notably cooling.
-- Rob
Precisely. Therein lies the rub.
You look at these marketing blurbs from truck manufacturers and the lack of real details leaves much to be desired. Just try and see if you can find where in the user manual or online, you can find what constitutes a "towing package" or a "trailering package" or "heavy duty towing package" beyond the one or two main components (hitch, or trailer wiring -- duh!) they typically mention.
There is little useful mechanical information and oftentimes what is there is inconsistent. If there was good information there would be much less speculation and spin-off misinformation on the internet. And there is no more relief in going into the dealer and the salesmen are typically less knowledgeable than the consumer and the parts guys usually don't have the training or experience in advising beyond "what is your VIN number ... here is the part number you need". In other words the technicians and parts guys are all "parts replacers, not mechanics like in the days of old.
I am going to get a VIN number of a 9600# rated truck and with my VIN number I will see how far I can get regarding what is actually on the truck from the factory. I will report back to this thread in case anyone is interested.
