Truck in front of the camper
I've been out of the truck camper world for a few years but want to get back into it before I get too old to enjoy it. Looking to buy an older Chevy 3500 w/ an 8.1 gas motor. Want to make sure I can ...
Forum Discussion
Grit dog wrote:
Way too quick….they’re 300k mile engines, average I’d say. While I haven’t seen any 300k’s in our fleet, the company has a ton of them and plenty of late 2000s models that have been beat on daily for the last 15 years and a new engine or significant engine problems are not heard of afaik.
The 8.1 can be a great engine. Also can be an oil sucking pig and you won’t know it until the check clears….
The 6.0 which will doo fine in front of the 4L80 albeit kinda anemic is even better if you step up to the late 2000s or newer for the 6L80.
Don’t expect better gas mileage than any other truck or similar size/era. That’s not what you’re purchasing anyway and frankly is WAY down on the list of importance when buying an old truck and expecting great service out of it still.
we build drag motors out of 300k 6L engines. pull them part new bearings, cm tuning and you have 550HP, throw a Pro charger on that and you have 7-750hp and you can bag on it all day.
in a previous statement you say it isn't about HP/Power that can be solved with just tuning. With nothing else you can take a stock 6L LS to just about 500 hp.
but buddy has the big motor with a factory super charger.. he has no issue towing the race car trailer with his camper on but it gets 8 to 10mpg all the time haha
