Trying To Talk Myself Out Of A 2500HD

[01tundra]

Originally Posted by jaycojay

You will be fine with a 1500 .... If you find one that interests you, feel free to send an e-mail, i work @ a GM Dealer, and can get you all the specs on the vehicle.

Great, thanks!

All the dealers seem to just copy and paste a generic description so you can't really tell what the truck has or doesn't have. The one I looked at online last night said 6-speed on one page and 8-speed on the other and also said it had the tow package, but the pictures showed no brake controller on the dash. They do typically list the VIN number though.

[paulandkaci]

We have a Hummingbird that we pull with an 2014 F150. WDH added made more of a difference than I thought it would. I had thoughts of moving to F250, but we have traveled with full TV payload and the current TV has performed well. The TV is also my daily driver and gas mileage difference and performance of the WDH talked me out of moving to the F250.


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[DanNJanice]

Originally Posted by 01tundra

Fuel mileage would be a no-go with my company car allowance.

The 5.3L gas or Duramax meet the requirements.

Hmmm, you work for a strange company. The diesel option on my F250 cost $8000. Yes, that is an eight followed by three zeros. For the difference in gas mileage between a diesel and a gasser it would take a lot of tank fills to offset the difference in price.
If it were me, I would get the 1500 w/6.2L gas and the towing package. I would not get the 3.08 diff, even with the 8 speed trany. Get whatever GM offers in the 3.70 ish diff range. With that combo you could tow two hummers.

[01tundra]

Originally Posted by DanNJanice

Hmmm, you work for a strange company. The diesel option on my F250 cost $8000. Yes, that is an eight followed by three zeros. For the difference in gas mileage between a diesel and a gasser it would take a lot of tank fills to offset the difference in price.
If it were me, I would get the 1500 w/6.2L gas and the towing package. I would not get the 3.08 diff, even with the 8 speed trany. Get whatever GM offers in the 3.70 ish diff range. With that combo you could tow two hummers.

We get a fixed car allowance and a gas card, they don't care what I buy or how much my payment is, that part is fixed. What they care about is fuel economy (listed) because that's the variable.

[Seann45]

Originally Posted by 01tundra

Yeah I know....can't have too much truck, but....

This will also double as my daily driver with a 7 mile one-way trip from home to the office, so it will be driven very little during the week with zero highway miles. Appreciate any opinions or insight - thanks.

Hardest thing on a diesel truck or any truck for that matter is short trips (7 miles) The engine just does not get hot enough.. 98% of all turbo failures come from shutting the engine off while it is still hot from a hard pull.. let it cool down for 2 min.

[TCNashville]

Originally Posted by Seann45

98% of all turbo failures come from shutting the engine off while it is still hot from a hard pull.. let it cool down for 2 min.

Correct. The hot oil "cokes" on the turbo bearings resulting in premature wear. If I've been running hard sometimes I don't even shut down during fuel stops. I run 10w-30 Rotella T-5 in my truck and change the oil every 5K well below recommended interval.

[bzeller]

Have you looked at the Titan or Titan XD? Either would be a good option as well. I agree with the previous posters that a diesel might not be the best fit with your stated driving habits unless you can regularly get her out for some work or higher speed driving for regens, etc. I came out of a '15 Dmax to the '16 XD. Both great trucks IMO.


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[01tundra]

Originally Posted by bzeller

Have you looked at the Titan or Titan XD? Either would be a good option as well. I agree with the previous posters that a diesel might not be the best fit with your stated driving habits unless you can regularly get her out for some work or higher speed driving for regens, etc. I came out of a '15 Dmax to the '16 XD. Both great trucks IMO.


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I have looked at them, just really want to try a GM product this time around.

[Bobx2]

Sounds like you really want a Duramax. I say, go buy one. You won't regret your decision, but you will question yourself if you don't buy one. The up front cost is more, but you will easily make that up in the re-sale value should you decide to replace it some day down the road. It is way more truck than you need for your current trailer, but it's not always about "need". Contrary to popular tales, the maintenance on a diesel is really much the same as a gas engine truck. $45 fuel filter once a year, and 2 1/2 gallons of oil instead of 5-6 quarts. I get 18-19 mpg running around empty on the highway, and about 15-16 when using it as my commuter. Towing, I get 9-12, depending on if I'm heading west, up in the mountains, or east, out towards the plains.

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by Bobx2

Sounds like you really want a Duramax. I say, go buy one. You won't regret your decision, but you will question yourself if you don't buy one. The up front cost is more, but you will easily make that up in the re-sale value should you decide to replace it some day down the road. It is way more truck than you need for your current trailer, but it's not always about "need". Contrary to popular tales, the maintenance on a diesel is really much the same as a gas engine truck. $45 fuel filter once a year, and 2 1/2 gallons of oil instead of 5-6 quarts. I get 18-19 mpg running around empty on the highway, and about 15-16 when using it as my commuter. Towing, I get 9-12, depending on if I'm heading west, up in the mountains, or east, out towards the plains.

I would agree with this except that OP has a 7-mile commute. Not nearly enough to get the diesel hot. Modern diesels need to run to stay healthy, and 7-mile commute isn't going to get that done. If it's going to be a daily driver, this is a real problem (and as I said before, one reason I didn't go for a diesel).

[motorbreath]

Make sure you buy one on the lot and test drive the one you are going to buy. GM's quality control is not bad, but it could be improved. Look for defects in the frame coating, especially, this is the one annoying issue with my truck. The frame coating inside the tubular cross members under the bed came off.

Also, install a "catch can" immediately after purchase and don't be shy with the gas pedal. These two things will minimize carbon buildup inherent in direct injection engines. Ford and GM are late to the game, direct injection engines need auxiliary port or throttle body injection to solve the carbon buildup issue...Toyota and Subaru have been doing this for years.

Originally Posted by 01tundra

I have looked at them, just really want to try a GM product this time around.

[Crabman]

Originally Posted by motorbreath

Make sure you buy one on the lot and test drive the one you are going to buy. GM's quality control is not bad, but it could be improved. Look for defects in the frame coating, especially, this is the one annoying issue with my truck. The frame coating inside the tubular cross members under the bed came off.

Also, install a "catch can" immediately after purchase and don't be shy with the gas pedal. These two things will minimize carbon buildup inherent in direct injection engines. Ford and GM are late to the game, direct injection engines need auxiliary port or throttle body injection to solve the carbon buildup issue...Toyota and Subaru have been doing this for years.

Seems like they had some issues with the 5.3 using oil when they went to AFM which led to other problems. The pre AFM engines before 08 did not have those issues, nor do the 6.0's in the 2500s which do not have AFM.

[motorbreath]

I have the newest generation 5.3 EcoTec, still uses about 0.5l of oil between changes. I don't mind, fuel economy is great, pulls well, but many people disable AFM because of this. The dealer actually over fills to mitigate this, once my free oil changes end I will continue doing that.

Originally Posted by Crabman

Seems like they some issues with the 5.3 using oil when they went to AFM which led to other problems. The pre AFM engines before 08 did not have those issues, nor do the 6.0's in the 2500s which do not have AFM.

[01tundra]

Good grief.....you guys are scaring me back to a Tundra !

I have 186k on a 2003 Tacoma that shows no noticeable oil level changes between new and 7,500 miles later when I change it again.

I can't say I'm a Ford guy and the ecoboost makes me a little leary long term.....but maybe I should look at them a little closer.

Wish the Ford 7.3L PS's weren't getting so old now....

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by 01tundra

Good grief.....you guys are scaring me back to a Tundra !

I have 186k on a 2003 Tacoma that shows no noticeable oil level changes between new and 7,500 miles later when I change it again.

I can't say I'm a Ford guy and the ecoboost makes me a little leary long term.....but maybe I should look at them a little closer.

Wish the Ford 7.3L PS's weren't getting so old now....

Yeah, there were a lot of "horror stories" about the 5.3L AFM engines on the GM forums back when I was surfing them. Guys were getting all kinds of carbon buildup in their motors. I didn't keep mine long enough to experience any of that. But when I did have it, it seemed like my AFM was rarely engaged. Up to about 60-65 on even roads (or slower), I could get it to kick on consistently, but it would kick back off if a bird farted 200 ft in front of my truck. With most of my driving, I'm either going 35-40 or 70-80; AFM didn't engage much going that fast unless I was rolling down hill, but I imagine it saved me something at the slower speeds. I was really unimpressed with it; it may have saved me a little fuel economy, but certainly nothing to brag about.

My RAM engages the MDS a lot more than my GMC ever engaged the AFM, and it'll hold it longer unless there is a reasonable call for power.

It makes me wonder if GM has introduced any OEM fixes in their late model trucks for that oil problem? And I wonder if the 8spd trans helps with keeping the engine in a sweet spot where the AFM can be more effectively utilized?

[Crabman]

Originally Posted by motorbreath

I have the newest generation 5.3 EcoTec, still uses about 0.5l of oil between changes. I don't mind, fuel economy is great, pulls well, but many people disable AFM because of this. The dealer actually over fills to mitigate this, once my free oil changes end I will continue doing that.

That`s within the acceptable range. But those that had the issues were burning several quarts between changes and many eventually led to a total rebuild or replacement. I would think GM has that solved by now since it began 10 years ago.

[DanNJanice]

Originally Posted by 01tundra

Good grief.....you guys are scaring me back to a Tundra !

I have 186k on a 2003 Tacoma that shows no noticeable oil level changes between new and 7,500 miles later when I change it again.

I can't say I'm a Ford guy and the ecoboost makes me a little leary long term.....but maybe I should look at them a little closer.

Wish the Ford 7.3L PS's weren't getting so old now....

Quite frankly, if I were in the market for new 1/2 ton pickup the Tundra would be at/near the top of my list. I assumed from your screen name that you already had a Tundra and wanted to switch or did not like it.

[motorbreath]

I have the redesigned 5.3 they introduced in 2014, AFM definitely engages frequently when unloaded, even at highway speeds. I think they mitigated the issue with oil consumption, but my understanding is that all cylinder deactivation systems will result in some oil consumption. I change my oil every 3000mi (5000km) or 4 months; I am seeing about a liter of consumption. Keep in mind, I am relatively hard on my truck and do alot of short trips where the engine is not able to warm-up to operating temperature.

That being said, if Toyota was selling an updated Tundra when I was in the market, I would have bought that instead.

Originally Posted by Camper_bob

It makes me wonder if GM has introduced any OEM fixes in their late model trucks for that oil problem? And I wonder if the 8spd trans helps with keeping the engine in a sweet spot where the AFM can be more effectively utilized?

[01tundra]

Originally Posted by DanNJanice

Quite frankly, if I were in the market for new 1/2 ton pickup the Tundra would be at/near the top of my list. I assumed from your screen name that you already had a Tundra and wanted to switch or did not like it.

I bought a 2001 Tundra new and kept it for 11 years, but by the time I sold it the only thing left that was factory Toyota on it was the engine and hood.

I also owned an '08 Tundra which I really liked, but we traded it in on my wife's FJ Cruiser and I bought the '03 Tacoma at around that same time. That's why I'm keeping the Tacoma since it's something I've always wanted and it's paid for.

Which is kind of making me sway a little more back toward a 2500HD DM (or preferably a 3500HD SRW if possible). I could always keep using the Tacoma as the daily driver and only run the diesel on extended trips or when camping. which would in turn keep the miles down on it. I was full bore on the 2500/3500 HD until the guy told me about his $11k fuel pump failure.....

My '01 Tundra wouldn't have made the best of TV's, but with the 4-speed transfer case and front & rear 1-ton GM axles with air lockers it sure wouldn't have gotten stuck towing our little TT anywhere

[NVGun40]

Originally Posted by 01tundra

I bought a 2001 Tundra new and kept it for 11 years, but by the time I sold it the only thing left that was factory Toyota on it was the engine and hood.



I also owned an '08 Tundra which I really liked, but we traded it in on my wife's FJ Cruiser and I bought the '03 Tacoma at around that same time. That's why I'm keeping the Tacoma since it's something I've always wanted and it's paid for.



Which is kind of making me sway a little more back toward a 2500HD DM (or preferably a 3500HD SRW if possible). I could always keep using the Tacoma as the daily driver and only run the diesel on extended trips or when camping. which would in turn keep the miles down on it. I was full bore on the 2500/3500 HD until the guy told me about his $11k fuel pump failure.....



My '01 Tundra wouldn't have made the best of TV's, but with the 4-speed transfer case and front & rear 1-ton GM axles with air lockers it sure wouldn't have gotten stuck towing our little TT anywhere

That's what I like to see. I have built a couple of rock crawlers. My newest project is going to be a 96 XJ Cherokee. Just waiting till things thaw. Going with a full snorkel set this time as well.
I assume your air lockers at ARB? I am looking at Detroit for the Jeep because I have always used those, but I have a few friends who are pushing me towards ARB.


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