New truck for me??

[GA1dad]

On the 12th someone stole my 2002, Silverado 2500HD. The insurance company called last night and advised I was getting a check for 10 grand, which was more than I paid for it. So now I have to buy another truck to pull my Grey Wolf 26DBH, which I believe is around 7500#.

I never was pleased with the 2500HD with the 6.0. She didn't like towing and hills,,,and gas mileage was horrible whether towing or not. And the turning radius on the Chevy is huge.

My question- with a $10,000 budget, what used trucks would top your list? And maybe a little on why you would choose it.

Thanks in advance

[GA1dad]

Been shopping. Found a 2004 Dodge 3500 with 5.9 and just over 200k. Seems like maybe there was a lift pump issue, unclear. Any opinions?

In the interim, my uncle is gonna loan me his 2007 Chevy k3500 dually. We may or may not make a deal on it,, but I'll have something to towe with for now atleast.

[rottidawg]

therink wrote:
Keep in mind, the GM 6.0 has come a long way since 2002. The 2007+ 6.0 with 6 speed trans is a whole different drive train, is proven and bullet proof in my opinion. A 4:10 axle is recommended for towing.

Agreed.
With my truck camper and motorcycle trailer I'm carrying/pulling around 5,500 pounds with my 2012 Chevy 6.0 gasser. No problems whatsoever and I pull the Ike tunnels and other passes over 12,000' on a regular basis here in Colorado.

Another advantage on the newer models is the standard 36 gallon gas tank on the short/standard bed models (11 and above?). The 6 speed also seems to have helped MPG.

[spoon059]

LIKE2BUILD wrote:
The 6-speed, 6.0L GM trucks might be a completely different towing experience than the 4L80E.

KJ

I think you might be surprised at the newer 6.0. My father in law tows about 9000 lbs with his 2011 Chevy 6.0 with no problems at all. towing mileage obviously isn't as good as my Cummins, but it handles the weights just fine. You can probably find a used 6.0 with lower miles for a lower price in better shape than a diesel. We are eastern US and traverse the mountain ranges in this area quite often. He has no problem generating enough power to tow at 65-70 mph.

Good luck!

[LIKE2BUILD]

SouthpawHD wrote:

therink wrote:
Keep in mind, the GM 6.0 has come a long way since 2002. The 2007+ 6.0 with 6 speed trans is a whole different drive train, is proven and bullet proof in my opinion. A 4:10 axle is recommended for towing.

I agree. Just back from out West and and had ZERO issues pulling my TT up through the mountains. I passed semis and other TTs on several uphill climbs.

The 6-speed, 6.0L GM trucks might be a completely different towing experience than the 4L80E. In my '04 truck I had several hills in VA and TN that I ran 2nd gear, 4,000RPM @ 45MPH and took several minutes to climb. There were no issues and the truck handled it mechanically just fine. Maybe with 2 extra gears the 6L80E takes the hills better and requires fewer RPM from the engine to keep the load moving.

In which model year did GM start delivering the 6L80E? Was it in the '07 1/2 trucks when they switched body style? I know that was the shift when Duramax's started getting the DPF but I don't know if that's when the gas engine transmissions changed too.

KJ

[SouthpawHD]

therink wrote:
Keep in mind, the GM 6.0 has come a long way since 2002. The 2007+ 6.0 with 6 speed trans is a whole different drive train, is proven and bullet proof in my opinion. A 4:10 axle is recommended for towing.

I agree. Just back from out West and and had ZERO issues pulling my TT up through the mountains. I passed semis and other TTs on several uphill climbs.

[bucky]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^What he said^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[SoCalDesertRid1]

For 10K, this is what I would be looking at-

'94-'02 F350 7.3 Powerstroke
'93-'02 Dodge 3500 5.9 Cummins

[Bionic_Man]

As stated, it will be difficult to find a diesel in that price range. I would look for something with the 8.1. I just sold an 03 2500 Burb with that engine, and it was a work horse (and drank fuel accordingly).

[LIKE2BUILD]

GA1dad wrote:
Thanks for the replies folks. You are right Like2build,,,

It's ridiculous seeing the number of 18-25 year old rednecks driving around my area with lifted 4X4 diesels rolling coal out of chrome stacks in the bed.

[GA1dad]

Thanks for the replies folks. You are right Like2build,,, seems like diesels are the new muscle cars.

[donn0128]

10K. Buy a decent used Dodge Cummins with a manual trans.

[LIKE2BUILD]

GA1dad wrote:
...I have to buy another truck to pull my Grey Wolf 26DBH, which I believe is around 7500#.....I never was pleased with the 2500HD with the 6.0. She didn't like towing and hills,,,and gas mileage was horrible whether towing or not. And the turning radius on the Chevy is huge.

My question- with a $10,000 budget, what used trucks would top your list? And maybe a little on why you would choose it.

Thanks in advance

I had an '04 2500HD with 6.0L engine towing a camper with similar weight to yours. It worked fine and was very reliable. We go each year to the NASCAR Bristol Night Race and the hills through eastern KY, VA, and TN get a little long and steep. As you said, listening to the engine scream at 4,000RPM in the Appalachians is not a pleasant experience.

Fuel mileage won't be great in any HD truck so I don't know that I would use that as a deciding factor. Also, they all need a hay field to turn around...just the nature of the beast.

Used diesels for $10,000 are going have a LOT of miles. You'll have to search a long time to find that grandpa driven diesel with low miles. We have a used diesel truck dealer locally. They constantly turn over inventory, so someone has to be buying these trucks. Typically anything on their lot under between $15K-$20K will have well over 200,000 miles. Trucks between 100K and 175K miles will have prices north of $20,000.

Other options might be an F250 with the V10 engine or a GM2500HD with the 8.1L engine. Both will have more torque than a 6.0 without completely winding out the engine on hills.

Unfortunately you're in a diesel sellers market. Oil burners are the new muscle car and kids are snatching them up for crazy prices. That means prices are inflated and values will stay high for quite a while.

[rhagfo]

I would suggest that you be looking at either a late 2nd Gen Ram (2000 to 2002) with the Cummins, or a F250 with a 7.3 PSD, in decent condition.

Neither will be the HP/torque killers of today's diesels are, but unloaded mileage will be better, they will make the hills flatter when towing.

[therink]

Keep in mind, the GM 6.0 has come a long way since 2002. The 2007+ 6.0 with 6 speed trans is a whole different drive train, is proven and bullet proof in my opinion. A 4:10 axle is recommended for towing.