need Tow Vehicle

I bought a used 2000 durango to pull my boat (about 5000lbs) but it only had a 4.7 in it, and it cannot pull the boat for more than 15 minutes. Now I am looking at a 2007dodge ram w/hemi 40,000 miles or less for $17,000. Is there anything better? I think the diesels cost too much and I only need to pull 5,000. I know the hemi can tow it for a several hour trips plus get 20mpg when not in tow, so is this the way to go? It does have to be an extended cab and 4x4. The dodge is the only truck that I have experience in towing, so please let me know what vehicle you have towed your boat for long distances and has worked for you.

When you say diesels cost to much are you referring to purchase price or maintenance? If gas and diesel prices keep going up you will be able to get some pretty awesome deals on a diesel, and diesel per gallon will drop again after the summer. it always does.

But if you are convinced with staying with a gasser, I think you best bet will be to get an F150 over the Dodge. Even a chevy 1500 over the dodge. Part of it is my bias to Ford, but I also have a buddy who tows to powel from Phoenix all the time and he really has liked the truck. Obviously the diesel will tow better, but the F150 still does a pretty good job overall.

I have an '04 Hemi Quad Cab 1500 and it tows my 23' boat with tandem trailer quite well. It handles the load better on the hills than my dad's 4.8L Chevy but I guess that's expected.

I have 2wd but with a limited slip differential so I've never had trouble even on wet ramps.

I get about 15 MPG going to and from work (1/2 city, 1/2 hwy 8.5 miles each direction) but can get 19-20 on pure highway. When towing 5,500 lbs + gear I get about 12 hwy. Overall I'm pretty satisfied with the towing/daily driver balance it offers.

The diesels just didn't make sense for my application because I pretty much just drive it 8.5 miles in the AM, 8.5 miles in the PM and then tow the boat 4 miles to the launch 1-2 times a week during the summer. I do the occasional weekend boat tow down the highway and it handles that just fine.

f-150 eco-boost

Never towed with the Hemi but I have a 4x4 super crew F-150 with the 5.4L V8 and it tows awesome. 5000lbs is a little more than I normally tow but I pull an X-45 from time to time so it is something I do. That being said the Hemi has anywhere from 35 to 70+ additional HP so I would think it would tow very nicely. One of my buddies has a Durango that he tows with but his rig is only around 3500lbs.

We have 2010 crew cab ram/hemi - I bought it becuase our 08 tahoe transmission got hot every time we towed over a steep grade. Because of this experience I will never buy another 1500 chevy for towing. My feedback pretty much mirror's jeff's except for pulling the boat out on a slippery steep ramp. Its the only truck that I have had, that has trouble pulling the boat (tires spin) out of the water in 2 wheel drive. I am sure if I had weight in the back it would be fine and since its 4 wheel drive its a non issue.

Originally Posted by elc

My feedback pretty much mirror's jeff's except for pulling the boat out on a slippery steep ramp. Its the only truck that I have had, that has trouble pulling the boat (tires spin) out of the water in 2 wheel drive. I am sure if I had weight in the back it would be fine and since its 4 wheel drive its a non issue.

Not sure what you're pulling but I'm pulling a 23'. The tongue weight with the boat on the trailer is enough to give me sufficient traction. I do spin sometimes when pulling out the empty trailer though because of the reduced tongue weight. I still get up the long, steep ramp just fine though.

I have the LSD though and that's not necessarily standard but a lot of them have it.

Oh, also I have street tires on mine too which tend to offer better wet pavement traction than all terrain or mud tires. So, I f you had 4x4 and mud tires I could see where you'd probably need to engage the 4WD to avoid spinning the tires.

Joey, last time I checked diesels cost so much more than than gas for similar year and miles, fuel cost more and you can get a gas truck that gets 20 mpg, not sure how many mpg the diesels can get. I am just buying the truck to use for the next 3 or 4 years or next 100,000 miles. If the prices come down, I will look at them.
Joe and Corey, I figure the F-150 could pull, but I need year, miles, cost, mpg, and general overall like/dislike of the vehicle to make a comparison.
I appreciate everyones comments and I do value your opinions, thank you.

I think you are going to be pretty disappointed if you are under the impression that a 5.7 Hemi will get you 20mpg. I've owned Dodges and sold them and they are nowhere near that. It'll tow just fine for you but so will a 5.3 Chev and a 5.4 Ford. Fuel economy on them is all within a couple miles per gallon, so thats not exactly gonna change your life if you go with one over another. My preference in order is Ford, Chevy then Dodge. The QC on Dodge has dropped some over the last few years as they simply didn't have the funds to keep it up.

Mine is a 2007 F-150 Supercrew XLT 4x4 with 38,000 miles on it, I don't drive much free way (only work 8 miles from home by back roads and 13 by freeway) doing that I get about 14-15 mpg. The only real freeway trip I have was towing a small camper (13' Scamp) and I got about 17 mpg on that trip (including a lot of slow off freeway driving).

I tow boats quite a bit but all the lakes are within 20 miles so I don't have any idea of mileage while towing anything heavier over a distance.

That being said I love the truck. I use it like a truck. I haul dirt, pull boats/camper, pull trees and shrubs out of the ground, go hunting, etc. I also use it as a daily driver and grocery go getter. The one small thing I really like about the truck are the mirrors, they work awesome for backing up a boat/trailer and are bigger than most of the other trucks I've driven.

Things I would change
-No "post holes" in top of bed (my dads 06' has them) makes for limited areas to tie down items and I like to use them as hand holds when climbing in the bed.
-Should have gotten running boards, to cheap to buy them now
-Tray on dash is a little shallow (pens roll out and between dash and windshield and are lost forever)

Originally Posted by hatepain

I think you are going to be pretty disappointed if you are under the impression that a 5.7 Hemi will get you 20mpg.

My '04 can do 19-20 HWY all day @65-70. That's calculated based on trip meter mileage and gallons required to refill, not the computer. The computer is only about .75-1 MPG optimistic in my experience though so it shows 20-22 on the display.

I suppose 2WD that may be true for some end users depending on the rear end. I'm thinking more along the lines of a 4WD and more average MPG. The 4WD averages 14-15 MPG from my experince though they are rated at 14/18.

Hate, with gas goin' to $4 a gallon I think I will be driving right at 65 when I get the truck, heck anything gets better mpg than the durango. My brother in-law, not so much, he cannot drive 65, and he pays for it! He is the one that let me borrow his truck(ram) and when I was done he said I was getting 24mpg(I know, don't believe the lieometer)
also, as long as you keep it in 2wd, you will get better gas mileage, right?

Originally Posted by joeshmoe

as long as you keep it in 2wd, you will get better gas mileage, right?

There are a lot of factors that commonly make a 4WD get worse MPG even when in 2WD:

-A lot of 4WDs don't have locking hubs (Auto or manual) on the front. So, when you're in 2WD it's only disconnected in the transfer case so the front tires spin the axle shafts which spins the differential which then spins the driveshaft at all times. This makes it a little bit harder on the engine/transmission to roll the truck

-There's the additional weight of the front axle, drive shaft, transfer case, etc. You haul this weight around regardless of whether you're using it or not.

-Most 2WDs have a bit of a "raked" and lower suspension attitude compared to the same vehicle in 4WD. The taller, more leveled suspension of the 4WD reduces MPG.

-Most 4WDs also have larger/heavier tires that are more resistant to rolling.

I would advise against the Dodge. Due to the changing of hands Chrysler has gone through in recent years their quality control has plummetted.

My opinion is a little biased but-

I own a 2005 Dodge 1500 Lonestar that i bought new. It is a street truck and i don't abuse it or take it offroad or race it. But it has gone through 7 power steering pumps had to replace the motor, and the tranny shifts really rough. I have had numerous other problems and as soon as its paid off its gone and I will never own another Dodge.

The dealer has always tried to find ways to get around the my using the warranty. When the original motor blew up at less than 1000 miles they tried to make me claim insurance because it melted the radiator and they said there was no way to prove i was keeping it full and it just overheated,(Bursting into flames literally) Then another mechanic found that there was an shorted wire and a leaking fuel injector. It also had a hole in a piston.

And then instead of a new truck or new motor they found a wrecked truck with the same amount of miles pulled that motor and installed it in mine.

I will NEVER do business with dodge again. Go with a Ford, Chevy, or Toyota.

Toyota? 2006, 51,000 mi $16500,anyone have one? aren't these trucks with 6cyl? gas mileage?

Originally Posted by joeshmoe

Toyota? 2006, 51,000 mi $16500,anyone have one? aren't these trucks with 6cyl? gas mileage?

They are available with V6s and V8s. MPG isn't any better or worse than comparable American trucks. I think the 06 would be the slightly smaller generation with no middle seat in the front and a really small middle seat in the back. The newer ones (Not sure which year they changed) are a bit bigger and have comparable interior space to the American 1/2 tons.

Oh and my budget when I was looking last year was $11k and I did find '04-06 V8 Tundras at the top end of that price range but they all had 130k+ miles. I'd think you could find an '06ish one with 50k for around $16,500 but I haven't checked book values or anything. I ended up finding my '04 Ram quad cab w/ Hemi and 47,000 miles in really good shape for $10,000 even so I couldn't pass it up.

Consumer Reports FWIW rated the '04 Ram 1500 really high. The only truck that they rated higher for that particular year was the Tundra.

'04 Ram quad cab w/ Hemi and 47,000 miles in really good shape for $10,000
wow, I I'll take it! How'd you get that deal?
When I buy a car, the first thing I do is jump in the back seat to see how comfortable the ride will be for my two kids. If the back seat is as comfortable as the front seats, I would consider the car. It sounds like the tundra might be that truck where the back seats are comfortable. comments?
Also, maybe I shouldn't be looking at just one type of truck, but looking to get a truck with a good deal.

Originally Posted by joeshmoe

'04 Ram quad cab w/ Hemi and 47,000 miles in really good shape for $10,000
wow, I I'll take it! How'd you get that deal?

I wasn't in a hurry and had cash. The seller was in a hurry and desperately needed cash. He had it advertised at $11,500 which was already a good deal but I sat on it for a couple of weeks and he caved to my $10k offer when it didn't sell fast enough. It's a 2WD SLT so a pretty good deal but obviously not as good as it would have been if it was a 4WD.

Originally Posted by wakecumberlandky

f-150 eco-boost

amen!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by joeshmoe

I bought a used 2000 durango to pull my boat (about 5000lbs) but it only had a 4.7 in it, and it cannot pull the boat for more than 15 minutes. Now I am looking at a 2007dodge ram w/hemi 40,000 miles or less for $17,000. Is there anything better? I think the diesels cost too much and I only need to pull 5,000. I know the hemi can tow it for a several hour trips plus get 20mpg when not in tow, so is this the way to go? It does have to be an extended cab and 4x4. The dodge is the only truck that I have experience in towing, so please let me know what vehicle you have towed your boat for long distances and has worked for you.

Im curious why the Durango can only tow for 15 minute intervals. I use a 2000 Grand Cherokee with the same engine; no issues here. With a trailer, the last boat I was towing was around 4700 lbs...

Another thing, is anyone honestly (stop the bs please) getting 20 mpg while towing a boat with a V-8 (gas) truck? A 2011 Ram 4x2 with the 5.7 liter V-8 gets 20 mpg on the highway, does it really not lose any mpg towing a 5000lb load?

This towing threads always enterain me...

Originally Posted by MattieK27

Another thing, is anyone honestly (stop the bs please) getting 20 mpg while towing a boat with a V-8 (gas) truck?

I don't think anyone made that claim. I know I didn't. Review my posts above and you'll see that I said I get about 12 MPG HWY when towing 5,500 lbs.

Originally Posted by Jeff

I don't think anyone made that claim. I know I didn't. Review my posts above and you'll see that I said I get about 12 MPG HWY when towing 5,500 lbs.

Other threads have thrown that number around; I am just trying to clarify. I think people get wrapped up in pride of ownership and tend to report skewed numbers. 12 MPG is what I would expect with that setup.

Originally Posted by MattieK27

12 MPG is what I would expect with that setup.

BTW I'm a paw paw when towing especially with the wife and kids in the truck because I know how out of hand things can get at higher speeds with that much weight if a tire blows or a panic stop is necessary. So, my 12 MPG figure is at 65 MPH on mostly flat ground (Only the occasional overpass). It gets worse at 70-75 and probably into the single digits at 80 MPH (Never tried that fast).

Originally Posted by joeshmoe

. It sounds like the tundra might be that truck where the back seats are comfortable. comments?
Also, maybe I shouldn't be looking at just one type of truck, but looking to get a truck with a good deal.

I just sold an 05 4.7 tundra access cab 60k miles. The truck was a great all around truck except the back seat was not comfortable. If you care about the back seat and looking at the old body style, a double cab is a must. The only reason I got rid of it is because my brother needed a truck. I got an average of 15 mpg and about 10-11 when I towed something. It actually towed pretty well for a smaller V8.

Jeff, sounds good, I don't have access to 10k right know, but that seems the way to go, would like OBO to mean just that, but people put it in there add to just attract attention.
Matt, the durango is notorious for overheating(after I bought it found out it is even mentioned in in the owners manual that if the vehicle overheats to pull over on the side of the road) no problems when I'm not towing. Also its only a 4.7engine in 2000, I think the next year they put a bigger engine in.
I don't expect to get 20mpg when towing, but I only tow 1 or 2 times a week, so why not go for 20 mpg when not towing.

Ed, Im a little hesitant on the 4.7tundra because that is the size of my defunct durango's engine, but I am definitely checking out the double cab!

Originally Posted by joeshmoe

Ed, Im a little hesitant on the 4.7tundra because that is the size of my defunct durango's engine, but I am definitely checking out the double cab!

I had an 07 Malibu Sunscape 21, which is basically a VLX in terms of weight, etc. Tandemn trailer, as well. I towed it with an 02 Sequoia with the 4.7 and had no problems whatsoever. The lake we ride at is about 30 miles away. I think the Tundra would be a good choice to handle what you need.

If you're looking at an 06 or older Tundra you will be disappointed in it's lack of power. The 07+ with the 5.7 are a totally different animal...but they are a lot more money too.

I have a 2010 Tundra and love it. But if I were looking at a 5-7 year old truck Tundra would not be an option. Have you looked at a Chevy with the 6.0? The 5.3 is weak, but it will get the job done. The 6.0 is much better for towing if you tow a lot.

No, the 6.0L isn't any better, I've had both. The reason they're weak is the torque management that limits the truck to keep from burning up the ****ty transmission thats in them.

Supposedly the 6.0 in the pickups is a really big gas hog too. I've heard the 6.0 in the Escalade is a different beast and is more efficient.

I've spent plenty of time towing with both the 6.0 (2002 3/4 ton Silverado) and the 5.3 (2001 Tahoe) and there is a big difference. Both get under 10mpg while towing

The 6.0's I've had were in a 2500HD with 4:10 gears. It got 12-13 around town, at best. Towing was around 7-8mpg. That's towing a 5500-6000# boat. The other 6.0 is my wife's Denali. 375hp (compared to 325 in the 2500HD), AWD, and 3:73 gears. The Denali gets around 15 in town, and 8-9 towing the same load. My crew cab long bed LBZ Duramax 4X4 gets 18 on the interstate, 15-16 around town, and 14-15 towing. While towing it never loses so much speed that it has to downshift on the inclines, plus it pretty much stops on it's own on the offramps thanks to the exhaust brake. <--That's not a sales pitch on a diesel, so don't start a bunch of crap. i've towed with at least 12 different vehicles from large to small. Just stating facts. And for the record, I've got less in the diesel truck then I did in the 2500 gas burner, and the Denali.

sorry John, I'm still not feeling any love for the diesel. If I had the year(2006 or newer), make, cost, and mpg, I could make a choice maybe.

Alright I spent my Sunday driving trucks. My plan is to sign for a new GMC Sierra 1500 4X4 Crew Cab 5.3 tonight.

I drove 2011 F-150s and Chevys/GMCs. Here's my assessment.

Exterior Looks: They both win. I think the GMC has the best looking frontend, and I love the wider looking body, and the chiseled looking hard lines. I'm mixed on the Ford, but from the side profile, it looks sweet. I do dislike all of the grooves on the tailgate. Overall I like the looks of both.
Interior: They both win again. The GMC is a little more elegant looking and warmer. While the Ford definitely has the cool factor going on. It felt a little more plasticy. I would be happy with either interior.
Motor: Hands down, the new Ford 5.0 fricken rips! Noticeably more powerful than the Chevy 5.3. Although I wasn't disappointed with the 5.3, and I have owned one in the past, the 5.0 Ford made my jaw drop. The Ecoboost wasn't a consideration. There were only 2 on the lot, and neither of them were crew cab 4x4.
Suspension: The ford felt quieter and smoother, but I believe that is because the suspension is softer. The GMC felt firmer and stiff, and seemed to have less body roll. I liked this.
Price: Chevy / GM is making fat deals right now. They have 5500 in rebates and the dealer is offering an additional 2K off. Maybe more when I get done with him.  They are also coming through big on my trade in. The Ford XLT was 3,000$ more to start with, and they have no special incentives because all of their 2011s are hitting the lots with brand new motors. The sales guy offered 2000 off.

I can get the GMC for roughly 9,000 less than the Ford. Both suit my needs and I like them equally.

One small issue. During the test drive, the check engine light came on in the GMC. If it weren’t for this, I would have signed yesterday. I’m waiting for a call to explain what the deal is.

Would anyone have reservations with buying a truck that did this at 48 miles?

Originally Posted by joeshmoe

I bought a used 2000 durango to pull my boat (about 5000lbs) but it only had a 4.7 in it, and it cannot pull the boat for more than 15 minutes. Now I am looking at a 2007dodge ram w/hemi 40,000 miles or less for $17,000. Is there anything better? I think the diesels cost too much and I only need to pull 5,000. I know the hemi can tow it for a several hour trips plus get 20mpg when not in tow, so is this the way to go? It does have to be an extended cab and 4x4. The dodge is the only truck that I have experience in towing, so please let me know what vehicle you have towed your boat for long distances and has worked for you.

I would suggest if you are going to get a diesel that you should go with the dodge ram. No one to date has been able to match the durability or the performance ot the cummins engine. However, if the diesel is to expensive, i would suggest either a chevy or gmc 3500. you can pick up a used one for a decent price plus they are meant to tow. they have an allison transmission in them that is great. Even the 2500 seriers is a good tow package. All in all, dodge makes the best as far as diesel goes otherwise i would go with a chevy or a gmc truck. Hope this helped

Suspension: The ford felt quieter and smoother, but I believe that is because the suspension is softer. The GMC felt firmer and stiff, and seemed to have less body roll. I liked this.

Thats odd it usually the other way around. I can tell you that our truck has a higher payload rating so that wouldn't make a ton of sense (yes sense note sence or since )

I hear ya its pretty tough to pass up paying that much less but Fords are just flat out selling right now and Ford is managing inventories well (too well if you ask me) so incentives have been slight relative to the past.

Glad you like the 5.0. I've had mine for 1000 miles now and love it! I'm getting killer fuel economy with loads of power.

"Would anyone have reservations with buying a truck that did this at 48 miles?"

Absolutely. RUN do not walk away from this truck and have them find you a different one. This is a precurser of things to come. I have been down this road too many times.

My only other comment is that there may be a reason GM is offering a ton of incentives. Just a thought.

I thought the suspension thing was odd too. But the ford just felt top heavy.

I bought the truck actually. They came down even more and I ended up getting 9000$ off MSRP. For a 2011, that's pretty damn good. Really it was a trade for a ****ty interest rate. I just put a good chunk down to offset and will be focused on an early payoff.

I found a statement issued by GM that says O2 sensor errors are common during the break in period on GMs below 1000 miles. They reset it, agreed to take the truck back if it popped up again. So far so good. I'm not going to let it worry me.

Yeah yeah...that's what they all say. I took the chance though.

"My only other comment is that there may be a reason GM is offering a ton of incentives. Just a thought. "

Meaning their trucks have problems? haha

The 5500 rebate is actually from the finance company. The dealer took 3500 off of the truck on top of that. There were no factory incentives.

You'll love your new GM truck with the 5.3L. Its the most practical and solid work horse out there.

5 years - 100k miles says a lot

And its pretty obvious but that is a lot better than 3 years 60k or 40k like some other domestic truck companies since the probability of something going wrong exponentially increases with age and mileage.

[QUOTE]I bought the truck actually. They came down even more and I ended up getting 9000$ off MSRP. For a 2011, that's pretty damn good. Really it was a trade for a ****ty interest rate. I just put a good chunk down to offset and will be focused on an early payoff.[/QUOTE

Just refinance your truck after a few payments. The dealer won't get bit and there is no way you can. If you walk into your credit union show them your balance relative to the value of the truck they'll jump at the chance. If you lived in my are I could have gotten darn close to that for you but yeah you got a good deal.

Thanks Hate. Good advice. I didn't think you could refi an auto, but my best shot is probably to go for it while the value of the truck is still greater than the loan as you suggested.

I'm very happy so far. So smooth and quiet. The 6 speed keeps the motor in the meat of the powerband when I'm on the gas. I'm loving the transmission.

Anyone know what good / bad transmission operating temp should be? My truck has a digital gauge that I've been keeping an eye on. I've never had this before. Around town it stays around 150, where on the freeway she's about 10 degrees cooler.

found one 47,000 miles 2006, 4x4, quad cab, dodge with hemi for $17,500 don't think I will get a deal like Jeff for 10k, but if I can get one for around 15k, I will go for it! Here's another deal as good as Jeffs, my brother in-law would sell his 07dodge for $10k(what he owes) 50k miles,quad cab, hemi, and I would let him use it anytime he needed it! how could he lose? but his wife(my wife's sister) won't allow it.
looks like the price of the trucks are starting to go down with the price of gas going up, I still have to see how much money they will give me with a trade-in for the durango.

Thanks Hate. Good advice. I didn't think you could refi an auto, but my best shot is probably to go for it while the value of the truck is still greater than the loan as you suggested.

No sweat. Yep banks jump at the chance to take your money when you're a good credit risk.

everyone wants to much for their used trucks! I will not pay $20,000 for a vehicle with over 50,000 mi. It would be more cost effective for me to buy a new truck. I can get a special offer from my bank march and april for 3% fixed financing. Should I buy now or wait till fuel prices hit $5 a gallon, then buy?

I wouldn't be scared of that dodge. Before owning two different diesels, I owned a Suburban with the 5.3 (towed great), a 04 F150 with a 5.4 (truck was solid, but did not tow well, very underpowered). And a 07 Dodge 1500 with a hemi (also towed very well). Obviously the two different diesels I have had after these are superior, but if all your using it for is a boat, the Hemi will do just fine. I had no quality issues with any of them.

I think this is it. 2003 dodge, quad cab, hemi, 86,000mi for $10,000
anyone familiar with this year and model?

Originally Posted by joeshmoe

I think this is it. 2003 dodge, quad cab, hemi, 86,000mi for $10,000
anyone familiar with this year and model?

That's pretty much the same as my '04. Two common problems are leaky steering racks and rear differential damage if it has the limited slip.

My rack was leaking when I bought it but it was just a leaky low pressure hose that I was able to throw a worm drive hose clamp on and it has been leak free ever since. Others are not so lucky with a simple fix and have to replace the rack. They are reportedly junk even if you buy them new from Dodge so I'd probably just get a cheap re-manufactured one if mine needed replacement.

On the LSD there are some tensioning clips on the clutch packs that frequently break and then float around in the differential potentially causing damage. You could pull the plug (Rubber, no tools required) and stick your finger in the lube then look for glitter like metal flakes in the oil for a quick check of the gear "health". The only way to know for sure if it's affected is to pull the cover though. I think in '05 or '06 they beefed up these clips so that the risk of failure is much lower. It seems like they are more likely to break in vehicles that have been treated roughly. If caught early through regular fluid changes the clips are non-essential and can be removed if found loose in the differential housing. I read about this after I bought mine last year and pulled my cover at 50k and there were no signs of clip failure.

One more thing is that my shocks are shot at 50k. This seems premature but my dad's '06 Silverado with only about 20k more miles than me has the same issue. I haven't replaced mine yet so I feel every bump about 3 times due to the lack of dampening. Mine are not leaking so they must just be worn internally.

Other than that I'm not aware of any common problems.

Thanks Jeff, thats good to know. It is a 4x4, so woulud the rear differential be a problem?

Yes, it's the same rear differential on 2wd or 4wd. The only variations that would be completely unaffected would be those without a rear limited slip differential because they would not have clutch packs and therefore not have those tensioning clips. LSD was optional but I think the vast majority of them with the Hemi have it.

There are two non invasive ways that I know of to determine if it has the LSD. 1) have a Dodge dealer run the VIN to see what it was originally equipped with. I believe they refer to it as a "No Spin" differential on those reports. 2) Chock the front wheels and jack up both rear tires. With the transmission in Park if you spin one wheel and the other spins in the opposite direction then you have an open differential. If it spins the same way (Might need to be in neutral) you have a limited slip or a locking differential.

finally, bought a 20011 dodge 4x4 quad cab with 10,000 mi on it for $25,000 its got a hemi. I have already driven this truck 280mi on 14gallons of gas, Awesome!

0% chance a crew cab 4x4 hemi will get 20 mpg. unless it is a mini dodge truck or you drive like a 90yr old woman.

I just upgraded my 2000 Silverado LS to a 2007 Avalanche LTZ. I have a 5.3 in my old Silverado at 150k, I have a 5.3 in my Tahoe at 92k, the Av has a 5.3 with 72k (with active fuel management). All of them have piston slap when first started in the cold, just makes me feel like I have a diesel haha. I warm up my trucks and they seem to last. My mom also drives a Buick Raineer (Trailblazer) with a 5.3 that I selected for her. I guess you could say I like this motor? It seems to be the best balance of power, fuel economy, and reliability. None of these trucks are super powerful but they have just enough to get the job done. When towing I don't run overdrive, I put the tranny in tow/haul, and I exercise 2nd gear when climbing hills but try to keep the revs under 42-4300 for longer climbs. They climb fairly well in 2nd if you keep the revs above 3000, if it gets under that you might find yourself down in 1st! I get into 1st in a couple areas when I tow up to Tahoe once.

I gave Ford, Nissan, Toyota, and Dodge a good look before buying the Av but nothing came close at $5k more.

"0% chance a crew cab 4x4 hemi will get 20 mpg"
then someone is sneaking gasoline in my full size 1500 dodge ram truck with a Hemi, while I am driving it! Stop it!
Filled the gas tank up. Drove 280 miles. Filled the gas tank up again it wouldn't take more than 14 gallons, topping it off.
maybe the gas station is giving me more gas than I buy? doubt that or the miles driven in my truck are reading a lot more than actual miles driven, I better check that one! that should be easy to do since all highways are marked with mile markers. Yes, I know its not going to get 20mpg when I'm towing the wakeboard boat.
Tro, What about the 2011 quad cab, Hemi, 4x4, truck selling for $ 25,000 Whats the chances of that?

and my "little" dodge truck has a towing capacity of 10,000 lbs.
also, I was going 60mph up hills and 75 mph down, not really sure how a 90 yr old drives unless she's from Pasadena.

Congrats on the new truck!
I regularly get 19 mpg if I only drive on the freeway (2010 4x4 crew hemi). Once I get off th freeway or if I am in stop and go traffic it drops to 14.

Originally Posted by mikeski

....... I guess you could say I like this motor? It seems to be the best balance of power, fuel economy, and reliability. None of these trucks are super powerful but they have just enough to get the job done.

Thank you. I have the 5.3 & 4.10s in an 05 Avalanche. Just turned over 2500 hrs & 105k miles. Still runs great, gets 16 or 17 mpg all day, 12 towing, doesn't burn a drop of oil, pulled us LOADED to Hells Canyon & back last summer (18 hrs round trip), has the largest locking trunk in the bizness, and seats 6 for dinner.
And I love driving it with the back completely open all summer long.

Bill, I wish I had the 4.10 gears. Mine has 3.73's and I seem to get 16mpg after a few tanks, combination of city, freeway, and stop n go commuting. I would guess I could get 18 on the open highway.