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Need a better truck.(diesel) to pull my 5th wheel

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Anonymous-0

Well-known Member
I have a 2003 Chevy 2500 with 6.0 gas engine. I use it to pull my tractors to shows and to pull my 5th wheel trailer on vacations. On my last trip pulling about 11,000 lbs I had a lot of problems in the mountains and only averaged about 8-9 miles to the gallon. I think I want to get a used diesel truck but need some very good advice on which brand to get. I want to spend around 20K. Any advice would be appreciated. I have heard some horror stories about the cost of maintaining or repairing a diesel and certain years seem to be problematic. Also what kind of mileage can I expect and should I get automatic or standard?
 
I have a 99 Superduty, 7.3 litre. I'm the original owner, chipped it, added a Banks Exhaust (little louder than stock) It is a automatic. Empty highway trip I average 20 to 22 mpg. Towing my 14,000 lb Raptor 5th wheel toy hauler, I most often am in the high 10's mpg, sometimes get the low 11's.

The truck has 100,000 miles, only problem I've had is the fuel pump died at 92,000 miles. It has been a good truck, plenty of power for me. Gonna keep it for a few more years.

Lloyd
 
20K to spend? Sounds like a Dodge Cummins deal waitin' to happen. Standard transmission is always better than automatic, but can be hard to find used.
 
I'd either go with a 05 up duramax/allison or a 03-06 dodge cummins 6 speed with 5.9L cummins. How heavy do you tow, do you have cdl license? You can buy cheap single axle road tractors cheap if you can justify owning one.
 
My 98 Dodge Cummins 1 ton is a little older than what you're looking for, but I can tell you what it's capable of mileage wise. This is a ton dually five speed so the mileage might be lower than a 3/4 ton. Loaded to 21000 pounds total vehicle/trailer weight (header trailer with 1- 40' header) it gets high nines to maybe ten MPG. It'll cruise at 60 MPH and will pull slight hills without losing ground with this load. Hard hills knock it down to 50 mph and a really hard mountain climb pulls it down to 35, but the big rigs aren't going any faster on this hard of a climb. The best mileage and power happens in the 2100-2300 RPM range. Highway mileage when empty is mid-16's.

I've driven a 1 ton dually Duramax loaded to about 28000 pounds vehicle/trailer with pretty good wind resistance. (double header trailer with 2- 39' headers) It struggled to maintain 60 and the mileage was in the 7-9 range. Empty mileage was 18. Another guy was running with me pulling a trailer identical to mine with a day cab semi tractor with a 350 cummins and we were neck-and-neck power and mileage-wise for the whole 1200 mile trip only he could go farther between fuel stops.The Duramax was seven years newer than my Dodge so I'm not exactly comparing apples to apples. Jim
 
2001 Dodge diesel 3500 with 6 speed manual transmission & the 5.9L. Don't get much better than that! Sorry, it's not for sale.
 
I got a 97 f350 power stroke deisel flat bed with a 5th weel welded to it. This truck is awsome! Anyone interested? $3000 cash or $2500 and a tandum axle trailer or i ll give someone the truck and a backhoe for a bobcat. Hell it dosnt have to be new or anything just need one. Thanks! Call Richard @ 813-900-9638
 
Went roughly 4,000 mi this summer pulling my 5th wheel with 06 Cummins Dodge 3500 SRW. Trailer is only a 28.5 ft weighing about 7,500. In the end the average was a solid 10mpg. But, you gotta figure in the mountains, wind resistance and speed~70mph. All models drop off a lot in mpg once you get above 60mph. For alot of towing talk check out Rvnet forums. Theres a lot of folks on there with all kinds of towing combos although not really towing tractors I find its good info.
 
got a 95 Cummins that was the 1st Dodge Club Cab Diesel in the County ... 5 speed , gets 18-22 miles per gallon , day after day , year after year , dollar for dollar , mile after mile, troublefree trip after trip , load after load , You Just Cannot Beat the CUMMINS Dodge ,. I have had Ford and Chevy Owners Come up to me and tell me if i ever want to sell...... , I tell em' , . Mine Is NOT FOR SALE !,.
 
i just bought a used deisel truck 2 weeks ago so i can tell you what i learned while shopping i did not look at chevys though i looked at dodge and fords in the early 2000's ended up with an 02 f250 7.3 for a couple reasons im a dodge man normally but the same style fords were about $5000 cheaper here in pa my truck was always shed kept and real nice shape if you go with a ford get a 7.3 or a brand new one skip everything in between the new emission laws ruined the 6.0 ford has a new auto tranny that caterpiller claims is bullet proof they tested it behind 1500 horse engines so im told. im getting about 21 mpg with mine empty havent towed enough with it yet to know about that from what ive gathered from locals that own these same style trucks is a cummings gets better milage but in say a truck pull the ford and chevys win them because they have more horses. its been my experience with gas engine trucks anyway that dodge has heavier springs for towing and most of there parts are universal so to speak making them cheaper a dodge caravan takes the same oil filter as a 3500 truck i know i rambled a bit but i hope it helps
 
Ive had two Dodges, a 93 3/4 4x4 ex cab 5 spd and a 98 12v 3/4 4x4 ex cab 5 spd. Those were the best trucks ive ever had and wish i had them both back. I have a 2000 F250 crew cab with a 7.3 automatic. Its a decent truck, but i miss the torque of the Cummins and the manual transmission. Plus the mileage of the Ford is about 5 less than what my Dodges were getting.

I would say a 2000+ Dodge. Find a 6 spd, 4 wheel drive ext cab. They ride nice, good power, even stock. Either a 3/4 ton or 1 ton would work fine.

Always ask what repair/upgrades have been done. What kind of engine oil has been used, fuel filter changes, any fuel additive used. Dont get in a hurry and the right one will come along before you know it.

Good luck and keep us posted.
 
Better hang on to your bootstraps.

The boys in at the shop told me that the last (customer pay) diesel engine that they had replaced/repaired(?) ran right at $13K.

You already have a nice used truck. Do you really wanna trade sideways into something with little or no warranty?

Dunno, but think if it were I needing the extra lugging ability, I’d go up front and look at the new row.

The only difference is gonna be that extra cost of the diesel which you'll have to pay anyway, no matter what; new or used.

As always, this is just my opinion,

Allan
 
I bought a 07 Dodge 2500 with a auto trans and 5.9 cummins, best purchase I ever made. I pulled my 35' camper to s Carolina through the mountains with plenty of power, and I get 18 to 22 mpg. Mike
 
I have never owned a diesel pickup.

Buuuttt it seems to me if your buying a diesel to save on fuel, the savings will not offset the higher cost of the diesel pickup.

Let say you get 4 miles to the gallon more with the diesel. And spread that over 150000 miles. That would save about 1400 gallon of fuel. 1400 times 3 bucks a gallon is $4200 savings in fuel.

If you spread that over 7 years you save 600 a year.

Interest on the extra cost of the diesel engine is around 500 a year.

Your lugging power may be better but how many of those miles do you pull the weight around.

Use to be a gasser had to have a tune up every year and the deisel required none. A gasser will go over a 100,000 without a tune up now.

Son in laws company is switching back to gassers. They own about 30 pickups for service and between the cold winter problems and the higher maintance costs they gave up on diesels. He puts on about 40,000 miles a year.
 
Ford did not ruin the 6.0 it is made By international truck co as were all the 7.3s and the last engines in fords 6.4 i think. Ford is making there own diesl now and i am not a ford man I drive a Chev dura max. get 18 to 22 miles per gal runing empty pulling 25 ft bever tail 5th wheel running 75 miles per get 10 to 11
 
$2500 for a rebuilt injection pump for a 98 Cummins 24 valve. Ask me how I know. Took it in to have the fuel gauge sender replaced. Sender and in-tank fuel pump are all in one. There is a new update where the in tank fuel pump is larger, along with new wiring and relay. This eliminates the lift pump. That cost me in the area of 800 bucks. When I drove away the injection pump gave up the ghost so I drove it back to the shop. Paid them $3500 by the time it went back out the door with new tank pump-sender and rebuilt injection pump. That'll buy a lot of spark plugs. Injection pump probably went out from being run out of fuel by the previous owner. Running a gasser out of fuel isn't that big of a deal. Jim
 
8-9 MPG pulling an 11,000 lb. trailer isn't all that bad. That would be around $35 in fuel for 100 miles.

If you had a diesel - the same 100 mile trip at 13 MPG would cost $25. Not a huge difference. And many diesels won't get as good as 13 MPG pulling a trailer.

I have many diesel trucks, but my newest is a 94. All mechanically injected and all easy to work on. No huge investment involved.

I just looked at the lastest actual trailer-towing tests for new 2011 diesel trucks from the "Self-owned Ford", the "Government-owned GM" and "Italian-owned Dodge." $60,000 for a truck, in my mind, is just nuts. The sales-tax alone is more then I'd ever pay for a truck. Seems fuel mileage is a silly non-issue once that kind of money is involved.

New truck tests:

2011 Ford F250 and F350. Engine: 6.7L V-8 Power Stroke with auto transmission.
F250 got 17.61 mpg empty, 13.25 mpg pulling 10,000 lb. trailer.
Ford F-350 got 17.04 mpg empty and 12.45 mpg pulling 12,000 lb. trailer

2011 Chevy Silverado 2500HD and GMC 3500. 6.6 Duramax diesel and Allison auto trans.
2500 got 20 mpg empty and 13.5 mpg while towing 10,000 pounds.
GMC 3500 - GMC 3500 17.83 mpg empty, and 11.02 mpg pulling 12,000 lb. trailer.

2011 Dodge 2500 and 3500. Engine: 6.7L I-6 Cummins and auto trans.
2500 - 17.49 mpg empty and 12.5 mpg pulling
10,000 lb. trailer.
3500 - 14.75 mpg empty and 11.35 mpg pulling 12,000 lb. trailer

My 92 Dodge ex-cab, 4WD, Cummins intercooled cost me $3300 10 years ago. Gets around 19 MPG empty and 13 MPG pulling a 10,000 lb. trailer - AND - I can fix it myself when needed. No payments, cheap liability-insurance only, etc.

My 94 Ford ex-cab, 4WD, 7.3 IDI turbo gets 2MPG less, empty or towing.
 
I agree, pulling an 11000 pounds and getting 8-9 miles per gallon is pretty *&%^# ^%#* good. You'll be lucky to get that with a diesel.
 
Hmmmm, I dunno.

The worst I've ever seen is 11.9 and that was with a long upgrade tow with a real tall headwind.

'Course we don't have to contend with the traffic or the hills out in this country.

Allan

15mh66u.jpg
 
I bought a Ford F250 6.0 diesel new in 2003. WORST vehicle I"ve ever owned and I will never look at a new Ford again. That 6 liter diesel lasts only about 80K miles and is $12K to replace. I"ve had to do it twice, once under warranty, the other out of pocket. I just replaced the truck with a "97 Dodge diesel with 240K miles on it. Too soon to tell but I sure feel I"m better off.
 
For Sure,

Talk to the Ford boys and they'll tell ya that the '03 was a real problem.

Too bad the public had to be the sacrificial lamb on that guy. :>(

Allan
 
This is my little story:
We had a '90 GM dually with a 454 gasser in it. Not sure what is drove empty because it seldom did for us. The important stat was towing. I'd haul about 100 bales on a bp trailer 3 hours on the highway with some hills and get 10-11 mpg. Then we got a '92 Ford F350 single wheeled, non-turbo with the 7.3. A little gutless on the hills, but it still got the job done. Same hay hauling got us 14-15 mpg. Now we have the '04 Ford F350 single wheeled turbo 6.0 - injectors from the factory are one colour; mine is a rainbow of colours, proving it's needed injector work more than once since new. Odometer is at 140 000 miles, we put on 21000 since buying. Same hay hauling gets us 11.5-12 mpg. After we're done with this diesel, I'll likely be going back to a big gasser, but that's hopefully several years down the road before we decide.

hope this helps
Jay
 
For a while I was in charge of maintance on a fleet of pickups. The co started out with 6.9 ford diesels, then went to 7.3 diesels. We spent more on repairs and maintance on these units than any others. At the same time we had a Chevy 1 ton dually with the 6.5 diesel, ran it 300000 miles with very little cost, of course it would not pull the hat off your head. Just before I left they started purchasing Dodges with the Cummings. We spent very little on repairs on these units. 2 years ago they started using Chevys with the Duramax and allison tranny. I see the boys at the gas station every morning. They say the Chevy is the way the way to go ride better and go quicker than the ford or Dodge. I dont think you can find a duramax for $20000.00. If I were to look for a used 1 for that money it would be the Dodge.
 
I have an 08 Ford F-350 6.4 Diesel, automatic, 4x4. Just driving around empty I get 13.5 to 14 mpg. I had an 03 F-350 6.0, Worst truck I ever owned. The 6.0 was junk, I got so mad at that truck I bought an 07 Chevy 3500 Duramax, then I really learned what junk was and went back and traded that for the 08 Ford I have now. Ive added a complete banks power kit to it, and its got power out the butt, pulling a 25,000-27,000 lb loaded trailer I get 7-8 mpg. Pulling it at about 14,000 i get 10 to 11 mpg. I havent had any mechanical issues with it at all, and ive got 93,000 on it in 2 years. Good Truck, Still going on the original brakes yet too!
 
Keep your chevy 6.0L. Those engines where pretty much bullet proof. Good power, good fuel milage (for a pickup). You cant justify buying a diesel just to save on fuel. As IAGary explained, the savings only add up if you keep it 150-200K miles and never have to work on it -- impossible scenario with the new engines. I have a 2004 6.0L ford powerstroke, been a ford man my whole life, i will have to think long and hard about buying another ford diesel ever again. POS doesnt even begin to describe the 6 litre. Best running pickup ive ever had before 98k miles on it, worst pickup ive ever had overall now, only 156k on it now...
 
I have an 08 duramax that I bought new in march of 09. I got $14,300 off sticker cause it was a last years model still sitting on the lot. All I could find was new around here in MO. Found this one in Smyrna beach FL. Flew down and drove it home for a cost of $530. Thats flight, room, food fuel everything. I love it. I just turn the key and it does everything I want it to do. Bro in law has tons of money and he has owned them all. He loved the cummins but the rest of the truck was falling apart after two years. Had some fords and the last one { best looking truck I've ever seen} Ford bought back under the lemon law after a huge fight. He bought his 1st GMC with a duramax and he says he will never own anything else. He pulls a big four horse trailer with liveing quarters in it every weekend all over the nation. Since then his dad and 4 uncles and myself have all bought a duramax and are all happy. Father in law had to put a power steering pump on @ 190,000 miles for a leak and as far as I know that is the only wrench that has touched any of these trucks. Not saying duramax is better or worse than another brand just that I've been very happy with mine. Not sure you will ever save enough on fuel to justify the trade but you will enjoy the way any of the new diesel trucks drive. I think the Fords are the best looking. The dodge has a great engine and I think the Chevy is a nice mix of both. My 2 cents. Sorry for all the mis spellings. Should have paid better attention in english class.
Paul Shuler
 
Atta boy Harlan!

Nice, ain't they................ :>)

I usually don't get into tugging matches, but yestereday I did. Left that poor soul so far in the exhaust it was laughable. :>)

Allan
 
I run an '03 1-ton, single rear (3.73), 4WD, Ram, 5.9 Cummins, NV 6-speed, long cab, long bed. Rated for 9900 GVW, it scales about 4800 front and 3200 on the rears, total 8K with me, a full tank, and the stuff that always travels in the truck, which leaves me about 1900# for hitch weight. The 8K is heavier than the curb weight in the book, but the only weight that's been added is the B&W hitch and it's frame, another 200# or so. You could cut down the weight of the vehicle some and still keep the capacity (i.e, increase the available hitch weight) by going with a short bed and/or short cab -- just make sure with a short bed your hitch is mounted or of the slide-back type so that you have room to kink the whole rig without the corners of the camper becoming "close friends" with your cab. That's more an issue with the MegaCab than the regular extended cab, but it's worth noting.

Running around bareback, I get 19-20 mpg. About the heaviest I've hauled with it is 14K, the rated limit on my gooseneck tractor hauler. With that load on the 3.73 rear, I generally run a gear lower than I would with something lighter and get about 9 mpg. A 4.10 rear would hurt your mileage on the light end but can actually help on the heavier loads.

Campers (read "wind resistance") are mileage killers. I don't notice any change in mileage pulling my empty car hauler (2K). I hauled a 3500# car on it from Maine to Virginia (total 5500#) and the mileage only dropped to 18. But . . . put my empty (2900#) box trailer on behind and mileage drops to 14 with the wind resistance. Load that same trailer up to the full 7K and I'll still get 12. Point being wind drag will kill your mileage real quicklike. There are gadgets and gizmos (foils, spoilers, fins . . .) that claim to help but there's no escaping the effect of drag.

I've been real happy with the Ram. It's stock, and has done everything I've asked of it, no argument. The only thing I've added is the exhaust brake. It does its best work with the motor at 2000 rpm and above, but I wouldn't be without it. The torque on the Cummins is super, and there are plenty of hosses for all I've ever asked of the truck.
 
I was buying my truck about the time Ford had problems with the 6.0 and went with the Ram.

My understanding of that whole debacle is that Ford blew it. Navistar told them the motor was not ready for production and Ford got all up in a pucker and insisted that Navistar deliver it nonetheless.

If that is basically correct, Ford got what they asked for.
 
Navistar desined the engine to work a certain way, FORD put their programming in the computer to detune the engine to prevent warranty issues, PLUS, Navistar wasnt ready to release the engine to Ford, but Ford wanted it "now". We have several 7.3s and 6.0s in our fleet at work and NONE have had the problems that they are notorious for in the Fords! One 6.0 has close to 650000 miles on it!
 
I don't know ? Seems like eveyone wants to go 100 MPH up hill with a full load. How do you ever get stopped once you crest the top and start down the other side ? You must not have electric trailer brakes ? You must be running something way better ? I was never impressed with electric brakes.

Those diesels sure drop off mileage with a load.
Sure is funny how the old 454 and 460 with only 4 speeds can pull all you want ( and more then you really should ) and get around 8 MPG empty or loaded it doesn't seem to bother them ?

I think you are better off with what you have or if you need more for pulling a trailer step up to a medium duty REAL truck.
 
Where are you from and what's your bottom $ on the Chevy? Might do you a favor and relieve you of the pos. Mail is open.
 
I was just reading and i am looking for a truck to haul my camper 14000-16000 i have a 1977 chevy 30 that i built with a 350 4 bolt main and put the rear together myself. It has the old 4 speed manuel with granny low. i get 8-10 miles to the gal. running 65-70 if i run 55-60 it a little better not much. I am looking at a ford 7.3 with 67,000 miles use to be an ambul. an help it is welcome. I am not a ford guy and don"t want to spend the money right now on a 4500 or a FL 50 or 60 unless i have to Thank You
 
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