Thanks for the help, I am in the same predicament
 

Thanks for the insight guys, I am dealing with the same dilema. I bought a 99 Tahoe last summer, this summer I bought a 29 Powerquest weighing in at about 9000lbs Wet with trailer. I am having a big problem going that far over the weight capacity, and cant get anything for resale on the Tahoe. I guess we will give it a shot this summer and figure out a new game plan next year if it doesn't work. Thanks again for the insight.

I'd like to add my $.02 to this thread.

I've seen a lot of talk about the Excursion vs Sub. FYI Motor Trend did a shoot out between these two. Here's what they came up with.

The Excursion was a V10, the Sub was a 3/4 ton w/ a 6.0.

The Sub outbraked, outpulled, had better fuel mileage, better comfort, and better handling then the Excursion. The Excursion won on interior room. They said the BEST overall buy between the two was the Sub the way they were equipped.

I'm quite sure if the Excursion had the PS in it that would have changed everything. I think they were trying to keep a fairly even playing field.

The Sub will also have better resale value too. Not that it's going to be great in todays market though.

I saw a reply someone had in this thread about bringing home their new truck and going straight to hook up their boat. I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY hope that the truck had been broke in a few thousand mile before attempting to work it like that!!!! The thought of doing that to a new motor and brakes makes me cringe! It's a very big NO NO! About the worst way to treat a new rig.

Buck
#183

53Fordf100, I tow a 1994 PQ 290 Enticer with an F350 crew cab dually 4x4 with the PowerStroke and 4:10 axle ratio. I can tow the thing up just about any hill around and it will not shift out of overdrive. If you tow long distances (in my mind that is over an hour) you cannot go wrong with a Diesel powered truck. The pulling power alone is enough for me, but add fuel economy and resale and it is difficult to beat.

Make sure whatever you buy, get the right axle ratio. Even a PowerStroke will struggle with your 290 if it is equipped with anything less than the 4:10's.

Buck183,

Thanks for the info from Motor Trend. I find that they tend to vote for the model or make that is the newest design. I have always been a GM man. But I can tell you after being very unhappy with the 2000 Denali we had, that I strongly believe Ford rules in big trucks for towing.

We purchased a 2001 Excursion Limited with the v-10 and I have never been so happy with a purchase. It cost almost $7000 less than the Denali and is three times the vehicle. We looked at a new Sub with all the goodies, but it does not compare to the Excursion.

Like you, I put 1500 miles on it before I started towing. The dealer said to put 500 miles on it first, but I like to play it safe.

Mark

Some times it makes my hart sad to see so many people that DON't know what the spec's really are!!

When I started this topic way back I did a great deal of homework on a lot of SUV's. Here are the results form the manufacters for gas only. The wife thing!!!!!!

Oh by the way, I have not towed yet and have 2400 miles on it.
are the numbers. The winner is the Chev Suburban 8.1L!

Suburban/Yukon XL 2500 2wd/4wd 8.1L V8 4:10 12,000lbs
Yukon XL Denali 6.0L V8 8,400lbs
Suburban/Yukon XL 1500 2wd/4wd 5.3L V8 4:10 8,600lbs
Excursion 2wd 6.8 V10 4:10 10,500lbs
Excursion 2wd 7.3 Turbodiesel 3:73 10,500lbs
Excursion 4wd 6.8 V10 4:30 11,000lbs
Excursion 4wd 7.3 Turbodiesel 3:73 3.73 11,000lbs

I asked a eng friend of mine at works for #### why the Excursion can't tow more. He says it is very heavy stand-a-lone.
It has to pull its own weight. He also stated the the Chev 8.1 L has more hp and tor then the V-10 Ford. I have to look at that one... Hard to beleive.

And the Suburban fit in the gar! The above unmbers were from the manu's and if you pick up a copy of Trailer Boats December
2001 mag or go to trailerboats.com, from page 54 to pager 60 is the 2002 model year towing guide. They have the same munbers!

Well that my .02 and again thanks for all the help.
The 8.1 L Sub is getting 14.1 MPH. Not bad?????? :)

2002 Chevy Silverado 2500HD 4x4 Crew cab - real room for 4
8.1 (496) BIG block - 11mpg most of the time, 9mpg towing
Allison tranny - this thing is the real cool part
4.10 gears - 4 wheel burnouts anyone?
15,300 lbs towing capacity - that's a lot of boat

We got the big block because no diesels were available and the extra cost never really pays off.

Go big and it gets a whole lot easier on you and your equipment. Even if you don't use all you got, it is real nice knowing that it is there if you did need it. Mostly that applies to brakes because of the other idiots out there.

Hey wildfire I got curious and punched the numbers in on autotrader.com and a 2002 Chevy silverado crew 4x4 8.1L, allison tran, trailer tow, hitch had a MSRP of $40561 then i went to the same place a ran a Ford 4x4 crew XLT, ps diesel, auto trans, and the same trailer tow and came up with $37950. In my area diesel is .06 cheaper and i get 20-22 mpg in my Ford all day. How can you say the extra cost of diesel doesn't pay?:confused:

BUCK183, that was me who bought the PS diesel truck and towed my Donzi 26ZX all weekend before buying her, my 01 had 17,000 miles on her when I bought it...

This is a great thread, the only thing I truely disagree on is the statement saying diesels are not worth the extra cost in the long run, I am sure I will still be a memeber here in a about 300,000 miles, :D I could be wrong on longevity, I hope not.

Towing about 8,000 lbs, 67mph @ 1700rpm, I have put 3000 miles on here so far and am getting 14mpg towing, 17 to 18 everyday driving.

In defense of the GM guys I have heard great things about the Duramax.

FORD guys, this site/link is all you ever wanted to know and more...

http://ford-diesel.com/

Good luck all. Bryan

Most importantly, I am only talking Chevy 8.1 vs Chevy Duramax, not Chevy vs Ford when I mentioned the diesel payoff.

The Duramax diesel in the Chevy was $4137 more, minus the $731 for the 8.1 leaves a difference of $3406. The national average prices for fuel are: diesel at $1.223, regular at $1.130 per gallon. Assuming that the diesel gets 18mpg and my truck at 11mpg, it will take 97,922 miles to break even. This is of course assuming you pay cash for the truck and does not include the extra interest on the $3406. The above prices are dealer cost which is what I pay because the company I work for won the GM Supplier of the Year.

The Chevy is my wife's truck (she thinks we got it to pull horses ;)). I am a Ford guy and have driven a PSD Excursion and owned a V10 F250SD. The Duramax and 8.1 spank them both in throttle response and the 8.1 is definitely stronger than the V10 in towing. As they say, there is no substitute for cubic inches (496 vs ~418).

I can't say for sure that the Duramax will beat the PSD in towing as I have not personally used either in that application. IMHO, in just around town and highway use the D'max is the winner based upon personal test driving experience.

I do have a buddy with a chipped F350SD dually PSD who has worked with a friend of his who has the Chevy Dmax. They were both hauling round bales on gooseneck trailers (15,000lbs +). He says the Dmax couldn't pull away from him. But remember that the PSD was modified and the Dmax was stock.

If you would like to further discuss capability, let's talk transmissions. I have never experienced anything like the Allison tranny. That thing is incredible for towing in hilly country because of its ability to downshift going down a hill, thus saving your brakes. It is far superior to anything Ford has to offer.

I also checked the company web pages and both trucks are rated similarly to tow off the bumper at around 12-13,000 pounds. However, the seat of the pants test says the Dmax and the 8.1 beat their like rivals.

However, I still wish we could have found a diesel.

WILDFIRE, first off, you got a great truck, I would be proud. I look at an 01 4x4 crew dually that had 7,000 miles on it for 28K.

Great philosophy and numbers, thanks, I love an objectionable opinion.

Mine was not paid for in full, but damn near, 4.9% on the rest, yes FORD gave me the rate on a used 01, credit unions were 5.5%. I wish I could have squeezed the payment out for 36 month 0%, but not possible, had to do 48 to match my retirement.

So 97,000 to break even, my only thought here is the V10 will be tired and a diesel still strong at that milage. Yep some added upkeep costs, but better than another truck.

I did want to add those prices sound a bit high for a GM "A" Plan price???

Bryan