Diesel Rig Recommendations???

[swrider]

Hello everyone, thanks for stopping by.
Well like the title says, I am trying to obtain people's opinions on the purchase of a new diesel vehicle.
I currently have a 2014 Silverado Z71 that I was planning on upgrading for better off road capabilities, but now that we are looking at having to tow about 8500lbs on a regular basis we think it would be best to switch to a heavier duty vehicle, in diesel.
I would love to get into a 2014 and newer Silverado 2500HD, but the cost is a bit more than what we would like to pay, so I am looking at all options now.
A consideration I wanna take is the new vehicle's capabilities as an overlanding rig. Hence, everyones opinion on this forum will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[JESSE A]

check out Dennis dillion dodge in ID,We flew out there and picked up a 2016 2500 diesel love the truck so far and the dealership was great. The cummins is amazing, i think we spent about 37k.

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[tgreening]

Dodge with the Cummins. They're a dime a dozen. I'm a Ford guy so you'd think 7.3 for me, but fan-boys have decided the 7.3 is made out of gold plated solid gold, demanding a premium for their 300k clunker so high it would be cheaper to buy a brand new engine from Ford and drop in your junk.

None of the mechanical diesels hold a candle to the modern electronic versions, in either power or fuel efficiency, but the flip side is they are dirt cheap to repair comparatively speaking. Some repairs, that would seem on the surface to be no big deal, can be second mortgage level expensive.

Really think over your decision to go diesel. Power, no doubt. Mileage, better. But purchase premium added to potential repair costs warrants serious consideration.

Frankly if it were me and all I were hauling was 8500# I'd go with a Ford with the 6.8 or 6.2 gasser. By all accounts they are powerful and reliable.

If locked on a diesel I'd opt for an older Cummins without the complexity (and expense) of the latest and greatest.

 

[SDDiver5]

Dodge with the Cummins. They're a dime a dozen. I'm a Ford guy so you'd think 7.3 for me, but fan-boys have decided the 7.3 is made out of gold plated solid gold, demanding a premium for their 300k clunker so high it would be cheaper to buy a brand new engine from Ford and drop in your junk.

None of the mechanical diesels hold a candle to the modern electronic versions, in either power or fuel efficiency, but the flip side is they are dirt cheap to repair comparatively speaking. Some repairs, that would seem on the surface to be no big deal, can be second mortgage level expensive.

Really think over your decision to go diesel. Power, no doubt. Mileage, better. But purchase premium added to potential repair costs warrants serious consideration.

Frankly if it were me and all I were hauling was 8500# I'd go with a Ford with the 6.8 or 6.2 gasser. By all accounts they are powerful and reliable.

If locked on a diesel I'd opt for an older Cummins without the complexity (and expense) of the latest and greatest.

x2. Find a low mileage V10 350/250/Excursion. My fam put 230k on our X towing our boat. Fully loaded with gas and wakeboards and all our other toys it was just over 7k lbs. Towed it just fine.

 

[Comanche Scott]

Hello everyone, thanks for stopping by.
Well like the title says, I am trying to obtain people's opinions on the purchase of a new diesel vehicle.
I currently have a 2014 Silverado Z71 that I was planning on upgrading for better off road capabilities, but now that we are looking at having to tow about 8500lbs on a regular basis we think it would be best to switch to a heavier duty vehicle, in diesel.
I would love to get into a 2014 and newer Silverado 2500HD, but the cost is a bit more than what we would like to pay, so I am looking at all options now.
A consideration I wanna take is the new vehicle's capabilities as an overlanding rig. Hence, everyones opinion on this forum will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Have you pulled the trailer with your Z71 yet? You may be pleasantly surprised.
The issue with diesels off road is the weight. That takes its toll on the truck, and the trail.
I'd go F150 EcoBoost 3.5L with the HD payload package, before going diesel for an 8,500 lbs trailer.
But I think your Z71 with a good hitch setup would do it just fine.
Now you get up around 10K lbs plus, and that's a different story.

Good luck with your choice. :beer:

 

[p nut]

Have you pulled the trailer with your Z71 yet? You may be pleasantly surprised.
....
But I think your Z71 with a good hitch setup would do it just fine.
Now you get up around 10K lbs plus, and that's a different story.

Good luck with your choice. :beer:

I agree with this as well. Test out your current truck first. You don't have a lot of steep, high elevation roads in LV, so I'd say a decent V8 in a fullsize truck would do the job.
-
Plus, switching to diesel---what's the net difference there? You'd be out several thousand, if not, tens of thousand?

 

[swrider]

Have you pulled the trailer with your Z71 yet? You may be pleasantly surprised.
The issue with diesels off road is the weight. That takes its toll on the truck, and the trail.
I'd go F150 EcoBoost 3.5L with the HD payload package, before going diesel for an 8,500 lbs trailer.
But I think your Z71 with a good hitch setup would do it just fine.
Now you get up around 10K lbs plus, and that's a different story.

Good luck with your choice. :beer:

Have not tested it as of yet, but I probably will as we are picking up our utility trailer this week.
The first question the guy at the dealer asked was what vehicle we were gonna be using. Told him it was the Z71. He asked what gears and I told him it came with 3.42. Dude just smiled and said we were good to go for 9000lbs +
All I have to do is install an aftermarket brake controller, cause the truck didn't come with one, buy a hitch and we should be good to go.
Big reason I was hesitant of using this truck for regular towing was that even though it is rated to tow 9400lbs, pulling 8500lbs on a regular basis would beat it up more than if I have a 2500Hd or similar. And by regular basis I mean about two to three times a week.
But we'll see. I love this truck, and the mpg's that it gets. It would suck to go with a bigger truck. But work might demand it.

 

[swrider]

On a second note; is there anything I can do to the truck to make it better at towing?
Any parts I can swap out / upgrade to beef it up???

 

[Clutch]

Have you pulled the trailer with your Z71 yet? You may be pleasantly surprised.
The issue with diesels off road is the weight. That takes its toll on the truck, and the trail.
I'd go F150 EcoBoost 3.5L with the HD payload package, before going diesel for an 8,500 lbs trailer.
But I think your Z71 with a good hitch setup would do it just fine.
Now you get up around 10K lbs plus, and that's a different story.

Good luck with your choice. :beer:

Those TFL dudes love the 5.0 F150...pulled 9000 lbs over the gauntlet like it wasn't even back there. No turbos to worry about either.

 

[p nut]

On a second note; is there anything I can do to the truck to make it better at towing?
Any parts I can swap out / upgrade to beef it up???

If it were my truck, I would get a (bigger?) transmission cooler, and a Scangauge (or similar) to monitor transmission temps. Maybe an air bag in the back (if necessary). I'm assuming you'll equip it with properly with WD hitch.

 

[p nut]

Those TFL dudes love the 5.0 F150...pulled 9000 lbs over the gauntlet like it wasn't even back there. No turbos to worry about either.

Although! They gave the Gold Hitch award to the 3.5TT The 5.0 has a nice sound to it. Although, for my aging ears, the quietness of the V6 suits me better. :costumed-smiley-007

 

[Clutch]

Although! They gave the Gold Hitch award to the 3.5TT The 5.0 has a nice sound to it. Although, for my aging ears, the quietness of the V6 suits me better. :costumed-smiley-007

The EB is rated a bit higher for towing, and the torque is available at lower RPM, i can see why they gave it the Golden Hitch award....ALTHOUGH! the 5.0 V friggen 8 is pretty good for us old skool curmudgeons, who don't want to worry about not one but TWO turbos when the old girl gets some miles on her. Can be had a little cheaper off the lot too. I and finding them in the high 20's for a Super Cab, long and short bed.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/699809581/overview/

 

[p nut]

The EB is rated a bit higher for towing, and the torque is available at lower RPM, i can see why they gave it the Golden Hitch award....ALTHOUGH! the 5.0 V friggen 8 is pretty good for us old skool curmudgeons, who don't want to worry about not one but TWO turbos when the old girl gets some miles on her. Can be had a little cheaper off the lot too. I and finding them in the high 20's for a Super Cab, long and short bed.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/699809581/overview/

Nice find! Steel wheels, check. Manual windows, check. 7k lb GVWR (2k+ lb payload), check. E-locker, check. The ONLY thing missing is a 36-gal tank (I believe. At least according to This site). Thought this was funny, listed under features: "XL/Workhorse"

 

[Marine]

very nice truck basic no frills

 

[swrider]

If it were my truck, I would get a (bigger?) transmission cooler, and a Scangauge (or similar) to monitor transmission temps. Maybe an air bag in the back (if necessary). I'm assuming you'll equip it with properly with WD hitch.

I was thinking of a transmission cooler. The truck already comes with a digital temp gauge for the transmisson. Not sure about an airbag yet, or maybe an added leaf?
As for the WD hitch, i hadn't even heard about it until you mentioned it. I'll do some reading up on it. The guy at the trailer place didn't mention this. But i'll read up on it.


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