camper1013 wrote:
When I heard about the 1/2 Chevy ton diesel I was really curious about the numbers. I always felt like I needed a little more power than the 5.3 on the freeway. I felt like I was working the motor too hard on some hills.
The problem for me is I was pushing the limits on weight with the truck. If I could have the diesel performance and stay withing the wights I would consider it. All I use my truck for is pulling anyhow. If your withing weights and want the diesel performance of the 1/2 ton I think its a great option. I do think if they put in in a Suburban they would make a killing. I still don't understand why they don't offer 3/4 Suburbans to the public anymore.
I think the killer is price and numbers for all 1/2 ton diesels. No manufacture is going to make a killer performance 1/2 ton. It would kill the HD line up sales. And the price to jump up to a 3/4 or 1 ton is not much more at that rate, and the numbers work out better for everything.
That being said, we bought a new 1 ton diesel and 5th wheel last week, so the 1/2 is no longer and option.
That's the thing with the little 150/1500 series diesels, you won't get the big towing performance advantage with them compared with available gas engines. Chances are the 5.3 will wax the 3.0 diesel on a hill climb. The appeal with the little diesels are that they can be a daily driver that can approach 30 mpg highway not towing, and still have the capability to tow a 7-8K travel trailer. The big sell with the diesel in the HD pickups is the vastly better towing performance compared to the gas engines and the fuel economy advantage is secondary.
