I am new to the forums so this may have been answered many times over, my apologies.My husband and I are looking at used (~ yr 2005+, under 150k miles) Chevy Silverado 2500 w/Duramax engine/Allison transmission for towing a 5th wheel. Our concern is that most, if not all, used 2500 series will have been used for towing in the past, which could affect the engine/transmission/suspension. So, in your experience:How much does this affect the safety and driveability/longevity of the vehicle? If a 2500 crew cab work truck has been used for towing large machinery around a site but has lowish mileage, how does the towing affect the truck's future potential w/a 5th wheel?Will we regret spending $20-30k on a used truck (one that is built for towing)? Will we end up having to dump a lot of money in it down the road because it's been previously used to tow? Should we instead consider purchasing one new so we're the only ones putting tow miles on it? Of course, everyone has their own comfortability levels with buying used vs. new so I understand that it's a somewhat subjective thing... Any input/feedback/wisdom is greatly appreciated! Thank you! Kendall

This is kind of like asking how high is up. So many things come into play it's impossible to answer. That being said here is MHO.People worry Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to much about drive trains of pickups. I own an 05+ Duramax so I can talk about what you are trying to do.The things you have to worry about is window motors, AC pumps, alternators, seats, plastic junk that breaks in the interior, door seals, rubber anything, shocks, suspension components and many other things. That is what's going to more than likely go bad on an older truck or car."If taken care of" engines and transmissions can go many 100's of 1,000's of miles easy. By the way. I would much rather have a truck with 150K on it that was taken care of rather than a truck with 50K on it that was thrashed.Happy hunting!

Our Chevy 3500 ('03 Duramax) wrecker made it over 300,000 miles but by the end probably barely made 150 HP, and through its lifetime had a lot of fuel system, electrical, and rear-end problems. The transmission never hiccuped once however.Our '05 Chevy 5500 fared much worse, as it was often loaded to about 28,000 combined. By 200,000 miles it had to be traded off. The engine actually wasn't in terrible shape, but the extra heat from working hard effectively cooked all the wiring harnesses under the hood, so we were constantly chasing numerous faults that would make the truck stall or go into limp mode. It actually became a rolling road hazard, which is why we traded it off earlier than scheduled.

if your gonna put $30k in a truck get a new one. anything with a 100K on it is used parts wear out.

That year only had a 9200 GVWR and could scale around 7500 pounds before adding much. That leaves you a scant 1700- pounds for pin weight. In the real world that means a fiver under 9000GVWR not much in the way of fivers.

Turtle n Peeps wrote:The things you have to worry about is window motors, AC pumps, alternators, seats, plastic junk that breaks in the interior, door seals, rubber anything, shocks, suspension components and many other things. That is what's going to more than likely go bad on an older truck or car.Happy hunting!Agree... Absolutely NOTHING with our motor or tranny, but have replaced a window motor, heater vent modulator and one power mirror.

How many tow miles can one used truck handle? | Good Sam Community

44 Replies

carringb
Explorer
Feb 13, 2015
ib516 wrote:

I have heard of the emissions issues you mention, and agree, that should have been mentioned when I brought the POS 6.0L into the mix - just to be fair. The "weak auto tranny" is news to me though. :?
thought mine ('08 4500) was a fluke, but it was on a 3-week backorder, and now MANY of owners with the 68rc have needed replacement. The newer Aisin changed names to the 69rc and with its corresponding upgrades seems to be holding up much better.

That said.... root cause of my failure was the over-boost condition from the stuck turbo vanes causing overlap in the 1-2 shift.
ib516
Explorer II
Feb 13, 2015
FishOnOne wrote:
ib516 wrote:
The 2001 - 2004 Duramax trucks suffered from injectors that failed. $5000 to fix. Just google "LB7 injectors" and read for days. "LB7" is the GM code for the 2001 - 2004 Duramax engine.

The 2004.5 and 2005 Duramax trucks were prone to overheating. Again, google is your friend, and the key term is "LLY overheat". LLY is the 2004.5 - 2005 engine code.

The 2006 Duramax is an "LBZ". Buy one of these if you want a used Duramax. They have a 6 speed transmission (the older ones were 5 speed autos), and they don't have any serious flaws. They also got a bump in power in 06. Good news all around. About the only common issue I know of is leaking transmission lines. Minor issue.

While I'm at it, avoid any Ford diesel powered by the problem child 6.0L engine unless you REALLY like spending money on repairs. These are about the worst diesel engine put in a pickup in the last 15 years. They were used from 2003 to 2007 in Fords. They sell for cheap for a reason.

Full disclosure is to include the problematic 2007.5-2009 Cummins. These trucks continue to have issues with the soot clogging EGR valves, EGR coolers and DPF system, and a weak auto tranny.

I have heard of the emissions issues you mention, and agree, that should have been mentioned when I brought the POS 6.0L into the mix - just to be fair. The "weak auto tranny" is news to me though. :?
Bird_Freak
Explorer II
Feb 13, 2015
FishOnOne wrote:
45Ricochet wrote:
FishOnOne wrote:
ib516 wrote:
The 2001 - 2004 Duramax trucks suffered from injectors that failed. $5000 to fix. Just google "LB7 injectors" and read for days. "LB7" is the GM code for the 2001 - 2004 Duramax engine.

The 2004.5 and 2005 Duramax trucks were prone to overheating. Again, google is your friend, and the key term is "LLY overheat". LLY is the 2004.5 - 2005 engine code.

The 2006 Duramax is an "LBZ". Buy one of these if you want a used Duramax. They have a 6 speed transmission (the older ones were 5 speed autos), and they don't have any serious flaws. They also got a bump in power in 06. Good news all around. About the only common issue I know of is leaking transmission lines. Minor issue.

While I'm at it, avoid any Ford diesel powered by the problem child 6.0L engine unless you REALLY like spending money on repairs. These are about the worst diesel engine put in a pickup in the last 15 years. They were used from 2003 to 2007 in Fords. They sell for cheap for a reason.

Full disclosure is to include the problematic 2007.5-2009 Cummins. These trucks continue to have issues with the soot clogging EGR valves, EGR coolers and DPF system, and a weak auto tranny.

Good write up Ian. Who would have ever thought Ram would come up in this conversation :W Ahh yes the local Ram basher is still strong in his hatred of Ram. I guess his answer is the 6.4 PSD from 2008- whenever Ferd killed it.
Like other have said OP, most likely other items than power train will start costing you. 30K for that truck is overpriced IMO.

Good luck shopping

The local Ford basher in disguise strikes again...:Z
Who would have ever though Ford would have come up since the OP was asking about Chevy Duramax/Allison. Again I didn't bring up the 6.4PSD because it was irrelvent to the OP question, but I thought the my cummins input was about as relevant as IB516's input on the 6.0 PSD.

Nice try...:R
Ditto.
MFinCA
Explorer
Feb 12, 2015
AndyW wrote:
Best way to tell if it's been used to tow is 1) no fifth wheel or gooseneck in the bed, and no holes indicating one used to be there and 2) original paint still on the inside of the receiver hitch.

I just bought my used truck and it was exactly as described above. Absolutely clean inside and out with no drill holes in the bed and the hitch receiver was clean as new.

Funny story: I worked for a very large contractor. We had 2 identical pickup trucks that were bought at the same time. Each driven by only 1 individual. We had accidentally given each of the trucks the other's registration card. The trucks were about 4-5 years old.

Pickup #1 looked brand new. Clean both inside and out.

Pickup #2 was really dirty. Trash all over the inside. Scratches and dents all over the truck. The driver drove a pen into the dash to use as a holder.

Mechanically, they were maintained the same, but it was funny to see how 1 guy treated his truck vs. the other.
kaydeejay
Explorer
Feb 12, 2015
kscob wrote:
........3500s just seem so BIG. But of course, if that's what is going to get the job done then we'll take a look.
Other than the badge it is VERY hard to tell the difference between a 2500 and SRW 3500. They are essentially the same truck with beefier rear suspension and (sometimes) brakes.
But the extra 700-1000# of payload capacity is priceless.
FishOnOne
Nomad
Feb 11, 2015
45Ricochet wrote:
FishOnOne wrote:
ib516 wrote:
The 2001 - 2004 Duramax trucks suffered from injectors that failed. $5000 to fix. Just google "LB7 injectors" and read for days. "LB7" is the GM code for the 2001 - 2004 Duramax engine.

The 2004.5 and 2005 Duramax trucks were prone to overheating. Again, google is your friend, and the key term is "LLY overheat". LLY is the 2004.5 - 2005 engine code.

The 2006 Duramax is an "LBZ". Buy one of these if you want a used Duramax. They have a 6 speed transmission (the older ones were 5 speed autos), and they don't have any serious flaws. They also got a bump in power in 06. Good news all around. About the only common issue I know of is leaking transmission lines. Minor issue.

While I'm at it, avoid any Ford diesel powered by the problem child 6.0L engine unless you REALLY like spending money on repairs. These are about the worst diesel engine put in a pickup in the last 15 years. They were used from 2003 to 2007 in Fords. They sell for cheap for a reason.

Full disclosure is to include the problematic 2007.5-2009 Cummins. These trucks continue to have issues with the soot clogging EGR valves, EGR coolers and DPF system, and a weak auto tranny.

Good write up Ian. Who would have ever thought Ram would come up in this conversation :W Ahh yes the local Ram basher is still strong in his hatred of Ram. I guess his answer is the 6.4 PSD from 2008- whenever Ferd killed it.
Like other have said OP, most likely other items than power train will start costing you. 30K for that truck is overpriced IMO.

Good luck shopping

The local Ford basher in disguise strikes again...:Z
Who would have ever though Ford would have come up since the OP was asking about Chevy Duramax/Allison. Again I didn't bring up the 6.4PSD because it was irrelvent to the OP question, but I thought the my cummins input was about as relevant as IB516's input on the 6.0 PSD.

Nice try...:R
valhalla360
Navigator
Feb 11, 2015
As others have said, for that age, $30k is way too high of a price. You can either go newer or cut that down. I haven't priced them lately but you are probably looking at $10-15k for a 2005 in decent shape.

How big of a 5th wheel, in particular what will the loaded pin weight be? If you can find a 1ton Single Rear Wheel, it would be a good upgrade for negligible cost difference but if a 3/4 ton has enough payload, it wouldn't scare me away.

I wouldn't worry about a truck already having a 5th wheel hitch. In fact, I would prefer it for some added cost savings. A plow setup would be more of a concern.

It's nothing for a truck to run 200-250k miles. Just check it out and if you are really concerned, see if a local mechanic will do a compression check and look it over for a hundred or two.
kscob
Explorer
Feb 11, 2015
What great input! We seem to be looking at 30-35' fifth wheels. Diesel is a must. So just because a unit can pull 13-15K (everything included) like the newer Chevy 2500s, doesn't mean it should, is that what I'm hearing? That the axle/spings can be problematic even if there's enough towing power? 3500s just seem so BIG. But of course, if that's what is going to get the job done then we'll take a look.
Paul_Clancy
Explorer
Feb 11, 2015
Bamaman1 wrote:
All 3/4 ton trucks are bastard units. With a diesel engine,they have the power to tow heavy, but they don't have the rear springs and axle components to handle full size fifth wheel trailers. You really need to limit yourself to a mid size fifth wheel at the most.

Id agree to a point about keeping away from large-full time trailers with a 2500hd. But the GM 2500hd diesel does have the same rear end \axel as the 3500hd. Difference is leaf spring, tire and wheels in the year the op is looking at. Also the 3500hd srw is long box only before 2011 I believe. and in a crew cab those are long indeed.
psuce
Explorer
Feb 11, 2015
There are a lot of used options out there. I put the search parameters of: diesel, less than 100k miles, and $20-30k into cars.com and here is what I found within 200 miles to me:
GMC 2500 - 14 total
GMC 3500 - 3 total
Chevy 2500 - 24 total
Chevy 3500 - 14 total
Ford F250 - 70 total
Ford F350 - 82 total
Dodge 2500 - 51 total
Dodge 3500 - 12 total

Most seemed to vary between model years 2004 to 2011. I'm not sure what you would consider too far to travel to look at/buy a vehicle, but at least you can use it as a tool to help you decide on what level of vehicle you would like to pursue. I am a Dodge guy so I can't comment on the longevity or issues of the GM vehicles, but I do have 300k on my Cummins. Good luck in your search!!!