TowRig.com - Diesel Discussion and Tow Tech

Not really trying to start a war here, juts wondering what tow rigs you guys have had in the past, and how you liked em compared to your current tow rig.

Last Rig- 95 5 speed 12 valve cummins 4x4

Current Rig- 02 GMC Duramax/Ali 4x4

I miss the simplicty of the 12 valve, but I like the power better from the Duramax. Im happier with the Duramax than the CTD.

New: 2005 Ram 3500 4x4 6speed with the Cummins diesel.

Old: 1992 Chevy 2500 4x4 automatic with a 350 gas V8.

There is absolutely no comparison. The Chevy gasser had to rev to the sky in order to marginally accelerate. The Cummins powered Ram will still pull you back into the seat a bit upon acceleration, and you need to be a little careful with application of throttle. The word "effortless" comes to mind. Mileage pulling my boat with the Ram is roughly the same as what the Chevy got empty.

As far as I can see I'll never have any reason to go back to a gas engine, at least in a truck.

for closer to apples to apples I'd have to compare my '03 yukon to my '91 chevy 1500. night and day. ride comfort, power, etc is just amazing. If you through my dodge in there it's not even comparible. I don't notice the boat (all the other 2 ever pull) and when I hook on 10000lbs+ it is just having fun. I'm waiting until I can afford a new truck and I'll have the power of the truck with the comfort of the yukon. :):)

I've had a bit of everything over the years. Ford, Dodge, GM; there have been good and bad in all of them. But I really like my current '02 2500HD much better than all that came before. My previous truck was a Ram that I also loved and had a hard time letting go of, but the build quality, while very good and giving me no troubles, is just not up to par with the "new" truck. Previous to that was a Ford, and before that a Chevy, and before that, a totally custom 69 GMC 11k (with 78 (IIRC) front disk suspension cradle, power brakes and steering, with a built 292 and SM465 - brutal) I converted into a flat bed "skid truck" car hauler with a pogo-stick sling. My least favorite was probably the Ford, but it was a fine truck too. Biggest beef with it was NO parts interchange, you almost had to bring in your VIN to get the right parts on some things...

Old tow rig: a 10" lifted 1985 K5 Blazer with huge bias ply offroad tires. Good power and torque through from a torquey modified 406 SBC and built automatic. I had really good brakes, due to a 3/4ton conversion and an aggressive proportioning valve that leaned the load heavy on the big rear drums. Still, it was a two handed grip on the wheel with anything more than about 4K behind it and some rough road.

New tow rig: 2001 Ram Cummins. I don't even think I need to say which tows better, in every way. Can't wait for the Juice and Attitude to get here for it.

New- 98' Chevy 2500HD 4x4 6.5TD way Better than all the others, most comfortable, most power, most stable, best brakes

Before that-90' Jeep Cherokee Limited 4x4 w/ 4.0 and auto Worked great for loads under 3500lbs, comfortable and had plenty of power to pull anything that I tried but the brakes sucked and had too much tail wagging the dog

Before that- 78' Chevy CC DRW w/ built 454 and TH400 2wd Brutal, lots of power and even more gas 6mpg, pulled 15k with it once and it did it without complianing. Truck was ugly, uncomfortable, hot, loud, and took WAY to much gas to feed. real stable but not as much power as my 6.5 and the brakes sucked

Before that- 95' Chevy 2500 (8lug) 2wd 180k mile 350 Pretty comfortable, fairly stable, NO POWER, 35mph up the grapevine in cali pulling about 5500lbs of ski boat and it over heated. got 9mpg empty and 7 loaded

First- 90' GMC Suburban 1500 2wd 350 700R4 My first towing experience. pulled the bosses 5500lb ski boat fairly well. Fairly comfortable, not as quiet as the 98'. Squated quite a bit in the rear with only the boat. Decent power for a SB...would pull the same load/grade as above but at 45mph. never got hot and was incredibly reliable. It wouldnt get you there first but it would always get you there.

New... 2005 Dodge
Older... 2001 Chevy S-10 (i think we towed a ditch witch with that one time)
First... 1986 Ford Bronco II (never towed anything w/ that cuz i didnt want to roll over or blow up rotfl )

OLD: 1993 Ford F-350 SRW 4X4 7.3 w/ Banks Sidewinder Turbo, ZF5 spd.

NEW: 2005 Dodge 3500 SRW 4X4 Cummins, w/Banks High Ram, cat delete
Airaid intake etc.

I bought the Ford new in '93, never been in the shop and it pulled like
a freight train.
I bought the Dodge new in May 2005 and it's been in the shop 3 times for the auto trans.
Both trucks pull very well but I'll have to give the Ford the "Ribbon"...waytogo

had a '95 f350 psd drw 2x4 cc lb-sold it
had a '03 silverado drw 4x4 cc lb-sold it
current '02 f350 psd drw 4x4 cc lb
current '95 f150 I6 300cid 2x4 sc lb (talk about a great motor)

nothing was wrong with the duramax with the exception that it developed a smoking habit (injectors again, nothing major) but i just felt more comfortable with the 7.3 psd mainly because my '95 had nearly 300k trouble free miles and was as strong as new. So i went back to what i was used to.

Old- 1995 F-250 PSD, 4x4 STD Cab
New- 1999 F-350 PSD, 4x4 CC

I worked at Ford when I bought my first truck and down loaded a Ryder moving van program. My mileage went from 18-20 to 13-15 but man did she run!!!! That was the only mod I did to that truck and it ran great. Some times I miss it, but the family just won't fit in a standard cab truck.

Now, my 99! That's a truck!! There are only a few things I like about my 95 that I wish Ford would have kept. Those stupid front 4wd hubs and sealed wheel bearings are a joke!! I also seem to recall the rear hub bearings are a touch smaller too. I also wish Ford would have been able to add a couple of degrees of steering angel in to the front ends. That would have been nice.

All in all, I'd have to say the new truck is a bit nicer to tow with. But neither one is bad.

Our 97 Suburban used to tow our camper, now it tows our ATV's. There is no comparison between the two. Going up I-70 East to the Eisenhower tunnel (a very long hill at about 10000 ft elev.) the suburban was in 1st at 45 mph, it was screaming. Same camper last summer, the ram went up in OD, OD! at 65, and my dad was just cruising. These trucks are unreal, that goes for all of them.

But not the 6.0 :eek:

Talk about night and day towing characteristics.

Here's my old, 1990, 3/4 Ton, Suburban on 42's. It has really soft suspension, (for the rocks) towing my Chevelle and my car hauler. This combination is just under 6000lbs. This particular trip was a white knuckle ride. I almost slid off the freeway when all the traffic in front of my stopped faster than I could.

http://www.scbd.org/phpBB2/modules/gallery/albums/Chevelle/DSC02227.sized.jpg

So far I've only towed a Toyota mini truck behind my new Dually but there's obviously no comparison between the two. Soon enough I'll be towing the Suburban behind the Dually.

http://www.scbd.org/phpBB2/modules/gallery/albums/BART/Picture_004.sized.jpg

Good looking truck!waytogo

New: 2006 Ram 3500
Old: 1998 2500 Suburban 7.4

Nothing more to say. :eek:

he he, this one is a good one....

old: 1998 K3500 dually, 454, 4L80e and 4.10 gears. stock 16 inch rims and 245-75's on it. could MOVE with no load but only got 8mpg empty 3 loaded. couldnt move with a trailer of 9500lbs or more... well, not too well anyway.

new: 2004.5 ram in my sig. moves GREAT with a 22k goose behind it.. love every aspect of the dodge and have no complaints other than the fact i bought a Srw vice dually....

Old: 1991 Ford F-350. Crewcab, dually. Rebuilt (on my nickel) automatic. 7.3L diesel. I loved this old truck. Great styling, fit me perfectly just underpowered.

New: 2006 Dodge Ram 3500. Quad cab, dually. Six speed MANUAL (lesson learned--no more automatics for me!!). Cummins. Love it!!!

Old: 98 12V QC 4x4 1 ton dually. Mostly stock with 268k on the clock
Good old truck, did what I asked, but not much more.

New: 06 Chevy D/A 4x4 CC Dually
Great truck. Pulls like nobody's business. Made me forget about the old dodge that I thought I could never part with.

Old: '98 Dodge 2500 360 Gas (Wife's DD)

New: '05 Dodge 3500 Dually CTD/48RE

Like others have said, "Effortless" comes to mind. It isn't until I put my 3,000lb slide-in camper into the truck with my K10 on the flatbed behind do I even have a drop in MPH on the big passes. The 360 would slow down to 45mph on small hills and pull passes at 25mph with it wide open in 1st gear without the camper. 65mph is all it would sustain on the flat

Night and day: Grossing 1900 lbs with the cruise set at 70 is and coming up a hill without even downshifting out of O/D or dropping 1mph just puts an ear-to-ear grin on my face :D every time.

Old Rig 95 F150
New Rig 05 Super Duty so glad I upgraded and cant complain

well in only 17 so my first rig is my 99' i love it and i pulls the horses adn other constrction eqimpment very well..


my dad on the other hand had a 1997 powerstroke and curently owns a 2005 kingranch dually..... im not that big of a fan of the 6.0l but still love this truck. pulls the what ever we throw at it and then some

Old rig: 1995 Chevy 1500, 2wd, 305 V8, 5 speed, Hypertech chip, 2" leveling kit (rear drop), straight pipe + resonator

New rig: 2001 Dodge 2500, 4x4, Cummins, 6 speed, 4" straight pipe

Quite an upgrade. I have a permanent smile now, I think... :D

Old Rig: RAM 2006 3/4 ton CTD Short bed Auto.
New Rig: RAM 2006 1 ton CTD Long bed Dually 6Sp.

Well, I loved my old rig but didn't have the capacity to haul a 53 ft trailer with 3-4 cars safely.
Only gripe I have with my new rig is, it's a manual(get tired shifting in traffic)

Once business picks up I may pick up a another 3/4 CTD to BOMB the hell out of it.

oldest 1992 F250 7.3 IDI non turbo
pulled great but lacked HP to maintain 75 on highway pulling fiver

old 2002 F350 dually 7.3
awesome puller, but tranny couldnt take added hp and pulling the new heavier fiver

new 2006 F350 dually tow boss
FREAKING night and day difference in HP and pulling prowess
yee haw :D waytogo waytogo

94 Dodge 2500 4x4 reg cab 5.9 cummins auto
Decent power. Didn't do too well pulling 10k. Suspension was very nice when loaded. Wish I still had it to hop it up a little. Only got around 10 mpg empty and even worse loaded.

2001 F150 supercrew 5.4 with superchip auto
Good power empty. Pulled 10k very well. Stoping and suspension was another story. Used alot to pull lighter trailers. less than 6k. 14 MPG empty and 8-12 towing.

Current
2005 F350 CC Dually 4x4 6.0 Powerstroke Auto
Very good power. Best puller owned to date. Great stoping, suspension etc. 10k Not even noticed when towing. The truck pulls a enclosed trailer that weighs 15-16k across the state. gets 8-10 MPG loaded and about 15-16 empty at 70 on innerstate.

new .. 05 gmc 2500hd duramax/allison
old .. 02 chevy 1500 silverado, couldnt pull what i wanted so had to move up to the duramax diesel..hahahaha

old 01 doge 2500 cummins 5.9 5 speed cc swb 4x4 did pretty decent

new info is on my signature and ya its a helluva lot better i just miss the 5 speeds ease of shifting compared to the 6er, its not terrible i would still get the 6er today if i was buyin a truck

My previous tower was a 2001 Dodge 2500 4x4 with an auto trans and 4.10 gears - powered by a 5.9L (360) gasser. Unloaded mileage was 12-14mpg, towing was 4-7 mpg (~9000# RV trailer 34').

Current tower is a 2002 Dodge 2500 4x4 with an auto trans and 3.55 gears - powered by a 24V Cummins turbo diesel. Unloaded mileage is 19-23mpg, towing is 11-13mpg (same trailer), and diesel fuel is usually 10% cheaper than reg unleaded where I live.waytogo

I'm glad I made the switch.

1st old 2002 dodge 3500 with 6 six speed done a great job
2nd 2004.5 dodge 3500 six speed is a better truck than the 073500 5.9 6 speed i bought last dec im very Disappointed the truck !!!

im very Disappointed the truck !!!

Why?

Why?
to be the same truck the fuel millage sucks it dont have the power that the 04 has and at 15000 k it dont seem to be getting no better

Last one: 2001 Chevy 2500 4x2 extended cab long bed 6 liter V8

Current: 2006 Chevy 2500 4x4 Crew Cab Long bed Dmax
2005 Dodge 2500 4x4 Quad cab Long bed Cummins

I love the engine - tranny combo of the chevy. I prefer the "big-truck" looks of the dodge...the cummins aint bad either - I do HATE the dodge tranny.

New: 2000 F250 Ext. cab short box 7.3L psd. auto Bully Dog 120hp programmer, 5 inch exhaust

Old: 1994 F250 reg cab long box 7.3L IDI turbo diesel, built auto trans, upgraded fuel pump, dual 3 inch straight pipes

Sold the '94 because i was getting tired of spending money on little things and wanted more room and a better ride. I love my 2000 but i wish i would've kept my '94 every day.

Current rigs that see tow duty:
2004.5 Ram 2500 Cummins/Auto .......Long distance/heavy loads
2000 F-350 4x4 V-10 Auto SRW......around town/lighter loads
1998 Suburban 2500 4x4 Vortec 454........ Pulls quads to dunes
2006 Silverado 3500 D-max 4x4 SRW (Wifes rig)....pulls horses ALOT
1993 K3500 6.5/NV4500/241.......... ranch truck
1998 K3500 6.5/NV4500/241.......... ranch truck has had a goose neck attached sice we bought it hauls hay and feed and firewood mostly

Former Tow rigs
1991 K2500 GMC Burb' 350/4l80E/241........Traded in on 2000 ford
1988 K20 Burb 350/TH400/241 ......still have was T-boned 2 years ago
1980 K20 454 4-spd/205 .......still have ,my "Yellowk20" to high to tow
1987 K20 454 NV4500/205..........Smashed front end (elk at 75mph)
1980 K20 400/TH400/203.....rusted out then parted out
1993 W-250 Cummins/NV4500/205...... rolled by ex-girlfreind
1979 F-350 400/NP435/205......... Rusted out/tree fell on cab
1977 W-350 440/Clark 5 speed /divorced 205 4.88 gears .......still have this pulled it down to restore and never finished


I have to say they all pulled good. But the Newer trucks win in comfort and power.......and Mileage

Previous rig: 1992 Ford F150 2wd regular cab long bed. 4.9, E4OD, 3.73 gears. Towed my dual ATV trailer, my 18' camper and my 18' boat fine if you were in no hurry. I pulled Lovers Leap and Fancy Gap many a time with. The truck was the best vehicle I have ever owned. I sold it with 240k on the clock and the only thig I ever had to do to it was replace a alternator and the bearings in the 8.8 rear. Its still going strong for the new owner. The only reason I sold it was because my towing needs got bigger than it could handle.

Current rig: 2000 Ford F350 Supercab long bed. 7.3, 4R100, 3.73. It tows or hauls what ever I have asked it to. No complaints there. I have replaced the water pump, pinion seal, CPS, and alternator. It has 199k on the clock. Hope it is as good of truck as my F150 was. It has some big shoes to fill.

Well, lets see. I guess that it is kind of like apples and oranges. My last tow rig was a 2004 Dodge QC, 4x4, SB, 2500 with an automatic tranny. New rig is a 2006 Dodge QC, 4x4, LB, 3500 dually with a standard tranny. The 06 is far superior to the 04 when it comes to actually working. The 04 was the better one of the two when it came to running down the highway empty or intown driving. Since this is a towing site then the 06.

Old- 1997 F350 XLT 4x4 PSD Not one problem, Not even the transmission (it went at 100k & 170k) towing 10,000k always. Things wear out and I consider this to be wear and tear. After 10 years and 205k miles EVERYTHING still works as it should.

New 2007.5 Dodge 3500 DRW Crew cab 4x4 6.7 Cummins 6Spd. 1000 miles Runs good, lots of stuff to play with inside Cd player doesn't work:mad: havn't towed with it yet.

Lets hope this thing treats me 1/2 as good as my Ford.

I have heard of Dodge having issues with CD players before.

I have heard of Dodge having issues with CD players before.

I don't know but I'm leaving to take it back right now, we'll see how that goes.
I just talked to the service Guy and he said if it needs a new one it has to be ordered ( of coarse it needs a new one it doesn't work) god forbid they have one in stock. But according to him it cost $2000, YEA SO .......... the truck cost $50,000.

The problem is the dealer is over 1-1/2 hours from home and I have a job. I don't have the time to be driving back and forth all the time.

I don't know but I'm leaving to take it back right now, we'll see how that goes.
I just talked to the service Guy and he said if it needs a new one it has to be ordered ( of coarse it needs a new one it doesn't work) god forbid they have one in stock. But according to him it cost $2000, YEA SO .......... the truck cost $50,000.

The problem is the dealer is over 1-1/2 hours from home and I have a job. I don't have the time to be driving back and forth all the time.
2k sounds like a lot for a standard factory cd player...

2k sounds like a lot for a standard factory cd player...
Navigation system is integrated 2k is just what I was told.

Just for reference The Dodge 6.7 will out pull my old PSD (man that hurt to admit) but my factory Ford CD player still works.

Old: '94 dodge 2500 4x4 reg. cab 360 V8 5 sp man.

New: '04.5 dodge 3500 qc drw 4x4 auto CTD

No comparison. I pull my skidloader and materials for my fencing business, close to 10-12000 lbs. My old truck could hardly keep it at 65 mph on the flat.:doah:The brakes were hardly good enough to stop the truck itself, and worst of all it didn't get better than 10 mpg empty. The new truck can stop the trailer better without trailer brakes than the od one could with trailer brakes. As for power, we won't even start on that.rotfl Enough said. I like my new truck.:D

old: 97 ranger 4.0 5spd with a ton of bolt ons

new 04 f250 6.0

there is no compareson

old: 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 CTD 4X4
new: 2007 Dodge Ram 3500 DRW 6.7 CTD 4X4

old: 97 ranger 4.0 5spd with a ton of bolt ons

new 04 f250 6.0

there is no compareson
Yep I would say that for sure.