Family of 6 future tow vehicle.
I'm just looking for some opinions here. Current situation is: 2005 GMC yukon XL 2500 8.1 big block with 180,xxx miles. 2017 coachman Freedom express 320bhds probably around 9.5k -10k loaded up r...
Forum Discussion
parker.rowe wrote:vjstangelo wrote:
....The 8.1 should be fine, ...since it has the Allison transmission.
Suburbans didn't get the Allison, but other than having less gears the 4l80E is a fine transmission.
Correct. The CARRYALL platform did not get the Allison 1000 transmission. I think the 8.1L got a 4L85E transmission, not the 4L80E. I don't recall the difference, but the 85 version was engineered to handle the higher torque of the 8.1L.
OP, after all this discussion it sure sounds like your current vehicle is the one that meets your needs. Making the switch to 4.10 gears or going back to OEM tire size might just be the ticket for you.
Oh, one more thing. Are you still using the OEM receiver? If so, ditch that flimsy thing and get a good Class V Receiver. You'll find much better load transfer with your WD hitch and your wife and 4 kids will be much safer. The OEM receiver on that era of GM truck was poorly engineered and built.
KJ
