need tow truck advice
 

got a buddy buying a truck looking for opinions from people that have some towing experience with these perticular trucks he's pulling a 9,000lb. trailer.
1)Chevy. vortec 8100 340hp/4200rpm 455ft/lbs / 3200rpm

2)Ford 6.8L triton 310hp/4250rpm 425ft/lbs / 3250rpm

3)Dodge 5.7L hemi 345hp/5400rpm 375ft/lbs / 4200rpm

I know what the #'s say but sometimes they don't refect actual ability. please no ford suck's, chevy suck's crap. thanks

When towing, torque is the most important and where it occurs in the rpm range.

The more cubes, the better.

For serious towing, The ford and Chevy in the list you you provided would be the most capable.

345HP at 5400rpm is great, but not for towing, more for racing.

One thing you forgot to mention, is what platform these engines are in? 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton, 1 ton?

baja daze: Yeh, I realize that but Ive towed with deisels rated @450lbs at 1800 and the gas big block @385lbs pulled better? I guess what I'm asking is people that own these trucks and their expierience with them. My opinion is the 8100vortec w/allison trans. is the hot setup but I'm not sure.

I've got an '02 F-250 with the 6.8L V-10. It tows great! I would rate it equally with the Chevy 8.1.

Ambusher makes an awesome point. Look at all the wreckers, ambulances, dedicated work trucks you see out there? Which trucks are the most seen?

I have an '02 Chevy 2500HD with the 8.1 and allison... Tows great. I can tow my friends scarab around with just a little grunting off the line(around 12,000lbs). He owns an '02 Ford F250 PSD with a chip... His truck does pull better. But it IS a diesel with a chip so one would expect it to. So I guess what I am getting to is either the Chevy or the Ford would pull great. No experience with the new Dodge so cant say anything about that.

GM 8.1L is phenominal. Couple that with the Allison or the 6spd. and you can't beat it in a gas motor.

Have to second the vote for the V-10's. We have the Dodge 440lb-ft @ 2,800. They're a great alternative to the Diesels.

I had a 454 'Burban with 373 gears. That sucker towed like a RR locomotive:D . Out pulled my buddies 6.5 turbo diesel with the same load(7500 lbs). We went to Minnesota together and he had a 32 gallon tank and I had a 40 gallon. He only filled up every other fill up for me:mad: The ones in between he just pulled over to the side and left it running till I pulled away from the gas pumps:rolleyes: .

I tow the 41 all over the place with 01 Chevy Dually, 8.1/ALLISON. I've only had one problem with it in 25,000 miles, broke a push rod on the way to Savannah last summer. The dealer said there was a bulletin out on it and was covered under warranty, but what a pain in the ass. Thanks to a good friend with a Peterbuilt, I was able to salvage the trip. Other than that its been a great truck and would buy another. I'm probably towing 15,000+ #'s.
Robert

I OWN A 2000 DODGE 1 TON 4X4 TURBO DIESEL AND TOW ALOT OF 30 TO 45 FT CAR TRAILERS, ALSO 25 TO 36 FT CRUISE BOATS, AND WAS REALLY HAPPY WITH THE POWER UNTIL 3 WEEKS AGO WHEN I BARROWED A 2002 TURBO CHEVY WITH THE HYPER CHIP PROGRAMER!!! I PULLED A 32 FT ENCLOSED TRAILER LOADED WITH A COMPLETE RACE CAR OPERATION AND COULD SMOKE THE TIRES FROM A STOP LITE !!! THIS THING IS UNREAL !!! THE OWNER WARNED ME THIS THING HAD POWER BUT I NEVER BELEIVED HIM, UNTIL I DROVE IT !! THATS WHAT I WILL BUY NEXT, AND AD THE CHIP FOR SURE!!!