Vortec 6.0L owners: are you happy?
This is my first post, so I’ll start off with the question and you can ignore the rest of the background info if you want. For those of you who use your 6.0 L Vortec to haul a TC, are you happy or would you rather have a bigger gas engine or a diesel? I’m looking at a great condition/low mileage 2006 Silverado 3500 SRW (CC/LB) with a 6.0L Vortec & 4.10 rear axle, and so far most of the info I’ve seen for this combo has been positive. I’d like to get some other feedback before pulling the trigger, and I understand the limitations of this choice: see below.
My DW and I have been considering a TC for about a year now, and I’ve been lurking on this site ever since to soak in the vast array of knowledge and experience of forum members (yes, I’m sucking up!). We rented a Lance 850 on a 2009 Silverado 3500 SRW 6.0 L Vortec over the Thanksgiving holiday here in Alaska as a “test drive”, since that would likely be the fringe of when we’d ever use it. The truck did fine, even though the TC was likely a little heavy for it (about 2,900 lbs wet weight according to the sticker). We had a great time dry camping (even at 10 degrees!) and have decided to move forward with the process. Now the fun begins!
We have a couple of constraints, but my DW and I are fine with the trade-offs. We cannot consider a diesel because of DW’s allergy/asthma/odor sensitivities. I’ve had numerous diesel work trucks over the years and I certainly know what we’ll be missing, but all the torque in the world will be wasted if I can’t get my DW in the truck! Also, we we’re not considering a dually for similar reasons: the truck will have an active life when the TC isn’t on it, and DW just isn’t comfortable driving a dually. That limits the array of TCs that we’re looking at (ideally < 2,700 lbs wet weight), but that is fine with us. There is a short list of hard-sided TCs within that weight range that will suit our needs, and we’re also still considering pop-ups.
Step one is to get the truck, and for our situation, this combo seems like a winner. Thanks in advance for any feedback!
My DW and I have been considering a TC for about a year now, and I’ve been lurking on this site ever since to soak in the vast array of knowledge and experience of forum members (yes, I’m sucking up!). We rented a Lance 850 on a 2009 Silverado 3500 SRW 6.0 L Vortec over the Thanksgiving holiday here in Alaska as a “test drive”, since that would likely be the fringe of when we’d ever use it. The truck did fine, even though the TC was likely a little heavy for it (about 2,900 lbs wet weight according to the sticker). We had a great time dry camping (even at 10 degrees!) and have decided to move forward with the process. Now the fun begins!
We have a couple of constraints, but my DW and I are fine with the trade-offs. We cannot consider a diesel because of DW’s allergy/asthma/odor sensitivities. I’ve had numerous diesel work trucks over the years and I certainly know what we’ll be missing, but all the torque in the world will be wasted if I can’t get my DW in the truck! Also, we we’re not considering a dually for similar reasons: the truck will have an active life when the TC isn’t on it, and DW just isn’t comfortable driving a dually. That limits the array of TCs that we’re looking at (ideally < 2,700 lbs wet weight), but that is fine with us. There is a short list of hard-sided TCs within that weight range that will suit our needs, and we’re also still considering pop-ups.
Step one is to get the truck, and for our situation, this combo seems like a winner. Thanks in advance for any feedback!
