mwvettec5

I have an opportunity to trade my Lincoln Navigator for a '03 Chevy 2500HD pickup with the 8100 gas motor and Allison transmission.

Anyone w/ experience with the Chevy - I assume it's a great tow vehicle, what kind of mileage towing, in town etc ??? The one I'm looking at has 65,000 miles and looks to be in overall great condition.

My Navigator is not the best tow vehicle - it's supension is too "cushy", it gets 8-9 towing a 26 ft enclosed trailer and about 12 MPG around town. BUT, it's very luxurious and it's only used for towing once or twice a month to go to the local track which is a 70 mile round trip.

We do need a 4WD in the winter but only for short (10 mi round trip) drives to work and around town.

About the only reason I'm looking at the Chevy is the Nav doesn't like to haul my trailer much faster than about 65 and the possibility that fuel will be more "sanely" priced in the future (next year) - that would be a reason to travel further to other tracks.

THANKS for any info/advice !!!

John Shiels

my friend had one and it got 8 mpg towing his 24' trailer all around the country. He has the short bed and extra cab which leaves him with a small tank so he is always stopping for fuel. He never had any problems with it,

He has new new one now with the smaller motor.

RusherRacing

We had one for work that I drove quite a bit with. We used it to tow our 26' enclosed. Yep 8 mpg loaded 12 mpg unloaded both of those hwy. The trans was great! Smooth! It was a decent ride considering what we were towing. We did trade it in for a Dodge Diesel. We also have a couple ford super duty crew cab duellies with the powerstroke those are nice I actually prefer them over both the dodge or the chevy.

OCCOMSRAZOR

I have an '08 2500 HD w/ Allison, but the 6.6 duramax diesel.

I love the truck and the transmission. Very smooth and the trailer setting changes shift points so that your engine helps with slowing down and takes a bit of load off the brakes. The entire rig is totally set up for towing.

The diesel engine is really strong with something north of 650 ft lbs of torque. When towing my 24' enclosed trailer, I get around 14 mpg.

I'd check out a diesel if you have the option, but I'm certain that the gas will also fulfill your needs.

ZO6NTHEWIND

I've got a 2003 2500 HD 8.1 w/Allison Trans. 4 door 4wd Long Bed, that I bought new. Right now about 23,000 miles.
12 mpg Hwy w/o trailer. 8-10 with either a 28 foot 5th Wheel 'Toy Hauler' or a 24 foot open car trailer with 4-5 quads and the bed (with cover) loaded to the hilt.
It pulls the above mentioned so well it's almost over kill for the loads. It will cruise easily at 70-80 all day long, (well about 4 hours then have to stop for gas ) 36 gal tank.
I bought the 8.1 over the diesel for 2 reasons. #1 the dealer discounted this truck about $10,000 off MSRP. The diesel option is $4,200 more and they would only discount those trucks $6,000 off MSRP. so my savings was about $8,200 plus what I saved in sales tax and finance charges. #2 As you can see by the listed miles I don't put very many on.
I don't think you could go wrong with the combo you're looking at.



Later,

AMERICANMUSL

The Allison trans is about bullit proof...we use them on all our Fire Engines with zero issues by comparison(you're talking 40Klbs +...it will outlast your Engine. Better if it was a Diesel but sounds solid otherwise...it comes with the Corporate 14 bolt yes?

Ed

Tim01Coupe

Ever notice wht you hardly ever see these for sale? People love them and usually don't part with them. Buy it. You will get another couple hundred thousand miles out of it before you wrench on it unless you totally abuse it, and it takes most abuse.

BuckeyeZ06

I think I know who you are talking about, and if so he llves his truck! Good vehicle.

EvilBoffin

My co-driver & I used to tow my 2900lb Porsche in a 20-ft., pointy-nosed enclosed trailer with his 2500HD turbo-diesel 4x4 w/Allison tranny. It was a superb tow vehicle - especially after he loaded it with a SuperChips tune. It actually got BETTER gas mileage after the tune, which also increased torque to about 725 ft.lbs, IIRC. Even up major hills, it simply didn't have to down-shift anymore.

Gas mileage was between 13 and 17 MPG no matter what we used it for, and he liked to tow at 75-80 MPH (I know, I know,,,).

Zip Corvettes

What are you guys with the Duramax's doing wrong. I had an 05' that if anyone ever saw us at show, I towed a 40ft 5th wheel. I would load a car and about 6-8k in catalogs in it plus the canopy and chairs and everything else we could fit in it. On my trip to Chicago for the Bloomington show if we were running 67 I was getting 13-14 mpg now if we pushed the speed up to 75-80 the I would drop to 9 (right Paul). The owner of Zip now has a 07 2500 with the Dura, now the 05 was stock, but I bought a SuperChips Cortex for the new truck. Towing a open trailer down to Charlotte I was getting 22.6 avg and coming home with a 58 on the trailer I was avg 18.2. So I like the Duramax, I personally have a F-350 now that has a modified 7.3 in and I on the quest to get the mileage that the new duramax gets. If you are getting less then 10 mpg you are driving too fast, I know how tempting it is with all that power, I think my co driver might have hit 90 while I was alseep somewhere on the Indiana turnpike.

WBHighwind

Ive been going back and forth constantly over trying to decide on a diesel or gasser for my next truck. Im pretty sure I want chevy, and I know I want at least 2500 level, but after that, Im just kinda waiting on the right deal to come along.

ZO6NTHEWIND

I'd like to know what kind of tune he did to get that kind of mileage, was it the 8.1 gas or the Diesel?
I have heard that those 'pointy-nosed' trailers saved a lot of MPG.

Later,

EvilBoffin

Sorry - forgot to mention, it was the turbo-diesel w/Allison tranny.

He later replaced that diesel pickup with a 8.1 gas Tahoe 2500 SUV (his wife's idea), and it's towing mileage is indeed down in the single digits. It's currently dead though - threw a rod and toasted the motor...

Yeah, the 'pointy-nosed' option only cost an extra $300 on a $7k trailer - a real no-brainer purchase. It extended the front for a good 15 square feet of extra storage up front, it helped prevent jack knifing during lock-to-lock turns and certainly made a big difference in fuel mileage.
.

AMERICANMUSL

Diesel without a doubt and look for the Dodge when Allison returns in 09...the only weak link with my Dodge2500HD Cummins.

I'm a just a bit biased!

mwvettec5

THANKS for all the responses and info !!!

I'm having trouble making the decision to trade my Navigator. Mostly because we use it more around town than for towing and both of us really like the Nav.

I should make a decision here and now because I own the Nav and can make an even trade for the 2500HD - who knows where this market will be next year and who else will give even 1/2 of what the Nav is worth in a trade on something else (if I wanted rid of it).

I'm planning on a full season of track days next year but pretty sure we won't be traveling further than 300 mi round trip (unless fuel comes down, but I guess that's wishful thinking).

Bottom line is - the Chevy 2500HD makes a better tow vehicle but the Navigator works OK for the short trips, the (gas) mileage is almost exactly the same and the Nav is a lot "cushier" around town.

Most of the responses above have been about the diesel, is the 8.1 gas motor a good choice, will it live a long life (150,000 mi plus) ???

THANKS again,

ghoffman

I have a new Silverado 2500 HD with the 6.0L gas and a 6 speed trans. It is great towing my heavy 28 foot trailer with all the crap in it, lots of power considering the mass. It has some really nice features like the integrated trailer brake controller (seen on the lower left side of the dash) that displays the gain on the dash, a trans temp gage, trip computer with integrated Nav system. The dual rate springs and full floating axles with big 4 wheel disk brakes work very well. The interior looks like a Caddy and is very comfortable. Now the bad news, the gas mileage. If I drive at 65 MPH on level ground it will do 10-12 MPG but 8 up and down hills.





Oh yea, it works well in the winter if you engage the 4wd!

c4cruiser

If you can give up the "cushy ride" for the increased towing capacity (and safety) then I would make the trade. The HD2500 does not have that bad of a ride even when empty.

The 8.1 motor is not the best for fuel economy and that's why folks have commented on going with a DuraMax diesel truck. The price of diesel is dropping and it's pretty common to see fuel milege figures in the low to mid 20's when empty and 13-15+ when towing. And you can easily expect 300K or more from the Duramax motor. The 8.1 is just not going to run nearly that long without some sort of issues. The overall maintenance costs (oil changes, filters etc.) with the Duramax will be lower in the long run too.

John Shiels

ne reason it should not go 150,000 if it was taken care of and I don't mean changing oil every 3,000 that is not required. You better ride around on a bumpy road in the truck to make sure you like it. My personal choice is I would rather ride around in my dooley than my Excursion for ride although it may be the wheelbase. They both have Bilsteins. Not sure what a full season is but I go about 350 miles rond trip to Pocono and Lime Rock and I would not want gas. Diesel will walk a gasser with ease. There are probably some real bargins out there on trucks so don't panic if you miss this trade but I guess your truck is in the same boat so a trade may be good.

You will not have all the enclosed space as the Nav has in the truck. Even a cap is some what different. As far as trading your car they have liitle value now and most dealers will not even take them on trade as the wholesalers can't even sell them. Diesels do get some great milelage trick is a light light foot on both pedals.

SouthernSon

2007 (new style) Sierra diesel/allison 20K miles. 2500hd 4x4

towing 24' enclosed steel with car - 13.5 mpg at 65mph/ 10 mpg anything over 70mph.

towing open trailer with car - 15.3 mpg at 75 mph.

truck only on open interstate - 19.2 mpg 70 mph/ 18 mpg 78 mph.

John Shiels

if I do 60 mph on cruise no headwind in my Dodge I get 23+ on level ground and about 1500 lb. of tools in the truck. So now we are talking a 8500 lb. vehicle. Excusion is the same.