Dono

Monday morning my beloved cummins was totaled in my driveway by some drugged up loser. He went racing thru the subdivision after hitting several cars on the main road then thru my front yard and slammed into the side of my truck. He then proceded to back up and slam it again 3 times ripping the cab from the frame. I'm thinking why is this idiot attacking my truck. His van only stopped after it could no longer run. The idiot tries to flee on foot and myself and another guy hold him on the ground until the cops arrest him. Believe me it was quite the morning.
So now i need to invest in a new ride. I'm thinking about the 2500hd chevy ext cab with the 8.1 and six speed manual 456 gears, 4x4 of course. I would have to take it directaly to the local truck shop for a 6" lift and 33's. I need some opinions on the room inside the ext. cab and also if the manual is the right decision. Every auto tranny i've had seems to shift to early and feel doggy. Also how bad of gas milage can i expect on the highway (non towing). I may spring for the crew cab but not sure yet. thanks in advance

hp500efi

Yikes, that sounds like a lot for a Monday morning

I would spring for the crew cab for the extra room and four doors. The Allison tranny is the way to go (Auto), I think you will find it works wonderful with the new 8.1 V8. Not sure on the gears but 4.56's sound like a lot.

Wildfire

We have the:

2500HD Crew cab 4x4
8.1 - Allison transmission - 4.10 gears (steepest available I believe) This truck/tranny is not doggy in any way
Rated to tow 12,000

Stock tires are 235/85R16 with an overall diameter of 31.7". We have 255/85R16 Dayton Timberline AT's with an overall diameter of 33.1" on the stock wheels, no lift. These tires were rated a "best value" by consumer reports and have performed very well.

We get 11mpg in normal driving and 8-10mpg depending upon what you are towing.

If you want a lot more info on these trucks, check out http://www.62-65-dieselpage.com/forum1.htm

boot

Sorry to here about your truck being murdered !!

I drove the new chevy big block ,4.10, auto . THe guy that bought my old 85 40' formula bought one to tow it . THat boat is real heavy !! It towed like it wasn't there ! UNbeleivable !!! .I am a manual man myself but that package worked perfect . I would not go for any more then 4.10's .if you can get 3.73 I would ,beleive me . Unless your towing a 70' MAgnum you don't even need 4.10's ! The crew cab would be better if you have any adults to take along . I think you will be very happy with ether trans you pick with that motor . It will pass anything on the road except a gas station !! This guy said towing the formula back to Illinois from nj he got 5 mpg. He said it wasn't too bad empty .Said it never went below 75 mph on the mountains with the boat .not bad for an auto !!

OnTheBay

Wow bummer to hear about your Cummins

I just purchased a 2002 K2500 Chev Avalanche with the 8.1, 410s and auto trans. Darn thing will smoke the tires, not that that is my intent mind you, but if you are not careful when taking off at the light you could very well get a ticket for squealing wheels. Just turned 1,000 miles and so far gas mileage has ranged between 15 mpg all highway to 10 mpg all city, and 8-10 mpg when towing. Not too bad, for a bad truck. I pull a 26 footer which weighs in at about 7,800 lbs loaded, I never knew it was back there. So far I am very happy with the Avalanche’s configuration half pickup half suburban.

Good luck with your purchase.

Joe

RonS

Dono, I also have 2500hd crewcab with the 8.1. Pretty much what everyone said is on the mark in the previous posts although I get about 8mpg towing, 5 seems pretty low.

The only thing I wanted to add is I have heard about some shifting issues with the Allison when large tires are put on the trucks. You might want to go to Pickuptrucks.com and either do a search or bring up the question about larger tires over there.

Cord

iTrader: (2)

My feeling was that the trans was shifting just when the turbo was starting to come in. If somebody had a chip that would let you hold the gears for a while longer and would raise the rev limit, I think the truck would actually be quite quick. The ability to downshift when you brake is also a very nice feature.

Shorty

Ouch, that bites. My truck is as dear to me as my boat. I feel your pain. Find out what the insurance company wants to keep the wreck, that diesel and tranny are probably still good and worth something. Hell, I'd be happy to stuff them into my Ram!

Lee

iTrader: (4)

Sorry to hear about that Dono, but look at the bright side now you can get a F-350 Powerstroke 4X4

Audiofn

Man oh man that sucks!!!!!!!!

I will put a vote in for the Crew Cab and also I would take a look at the Ford. I am very happy with mine so far. I get btwn 16 and 18 miles per gallon mixed driving.

Jon