I currently tow a 35' Fountain on a triple axle steel trailer with a 97' F-350 dually Power Stroke Diesel extended cab. I am thinking of getting a 2500 Avalanche with 8.1 liter gas engine with heavy duty transmission. The truck is used just for towing boat. I trailer appr. 5,000 miles a summer. The 35' Fountain and trailer weigh appr. 10,000 lbs. I would like to use the new truck a little outside of trailering. The dually is a bit of a pain in ass to park in parking space. I also have Lincoln LS that I will continue to drive day to day. Keep the dually vs. update to 03' Avalanche.

I have the 2500 AV, 2002, and I love it. I have only towed 7000lbs, but I can tell you it does it very well. Others tow lots more with their 2500 AVs and Suburbans (same exact running gear). I have also upgraded with wheels, tires, K&N FIPK, true dual fllowmaster exhaust in all polished SS, airbags, and a host of other goodies.

Is your dually in bad shape? Or is it just outdated? I have to admit, if you already have a diesel dually, that has no issues, I would keep it until you are done with it. I bet it is paid for, and being a diesel, you are going to get much better mileage with it than the 8.1L. I get about 11-13 daily driving, and towing is less than 9. Honest, keep the diesel dually for a while.

I never heard of anyone going from a diesel to a gas. I have a 33 Baja Outlaw with 3 axle steel trailer which i believe is the same weight as you or a little more. I pull with a 99 F250 Crew Cab PS Diesel which pulls and stops great but over 70 mph in corners it starts swaying. I know a dually would stop the problem but I am going to try an air ride system first. My gross weight of truck, trailer, boat and all is 19750lbs with boat half full of fuel. I am sure that is probably more than the mfg recommends to pull on a single axle rear. Drive over a scales at a truck stop or grain elevator sometime i bet you will be surprised how much you weigh. Everybody should know how much they are pulling. I saw a 42' Fountain being pulled last summer by the factory bumper of a .5 ton dodge last summer.

The Avalanche can pull 12,500 no sweat. It also is not bad around town. A lot easier to deal with than a dually.
If you only pull about 5000 miles at 8 mpg vs 15 on the diesel the difference is about 300 gallons fuel or $ 450 a year. You will pay 3500 alone for a diesel over the gas engine. 7 year payoff.

Wannabe

I was holding out for a Duramax/Allison 2500 or 3500 HD, when I got the Avalanche 2500. 'bsag' got me one helluva deal with 0.0% financing for 60 months as part of the deal.

Wannabe- you got to figure resale value in that equation. My buddies buy those big gassers and when they want to trade they get wholesale. You'll get that extra cost back when trading