Duramax Owners

[t1mrtork]

Hi everybody!
I am going to pick up my new 2005 chevy duramax 4 door 1 ton dually next week! Have any of you had much trouble with the diesel? How has it towed for you folks? I am towing my 3400rl with my 94 6.5 chevy diesel 2500 single wheel right now. I am really anxious to see how much differnt it will tow. Its a big purchase and hope it will be as trouble free as my old truck. Any heads up on problems or any good news would be appreciated. Thanks

[OntMont]

quote:Originally posted by t1mrtork

Hi everybody!
I am going to pick up my new 2005 chevy duramax 4 door 1 ton dually next week! Have any of you had much trouble with the diesel? How has it towed for you folks? I am towing my 3400rl with my 94 6.5 chevy diesel 2500 single wheel right now. I am really anxious to see how much differnt it will tow. Its a big purchase and hope it will be as trouble free as my old truck. Any heads up on problems or any good news would be appreciated. Thanks

We have a 2001 2500HD. Not a speck of trouble. Tows like a dream with a 3255RL behind it. Alison transmission is great. Just put in Tow/haul mode and Drive and let her GO!

For myself, I would be looking at the new 3500 SRW, but the 3400 is a big trailer, so the dually may be right for you.

Just put new tires on it today. I wore out my Michelin 245/75 set (which I had carried over from my old truck) and put on a set of Michelin 265/75. This gives me almost another 750 lbs of tire capacity. The 245s were running at, or just over their rating.

All the current trucks seem to be good, but I am confident that you will be happy with your choice.

[DHenry]

My 2002 has been trouble free, tows like nothing else I have ever had. I would get another if I needed to but I only have 21,000 miles on this one so it should go for awhile longer.

[t1mrtork]

I was also wondering what kind of milage anybody was getting.

[Northstar]

t1mrtork congratulations on your new truck. Sounds like you will be having lots of fun with that rig. Keep us posted. Happyrving.......

[Montana Sky]

Congrats on the new truck... While towing my 3400RL I average 12-14mpg, empty on highway it runs 19-21mpg. City is usually 16-18mpg empty. This is my second Duramax and have not had a bit of trouble with either. You have a great tow vehicle and coach. Enjoy them both.

[aljolleyjr]

I have a 2004 4x4 CC D/A dually and this is my 3rd. Duramax, haven't had any trouble with any of them. My mileage ain't great. 8.6 to 10.2 towing and 15.5 to 16 solo,but I only have 5800 miles on it. Hopefully it will get better. It dosen't have any trouble towing my 3295 Big Sky. Good luck with yours.

[NJ Hillbilly]

I have the exact '94 6.5 and use it everyday. My wife drives it to work and we pull a 2 or 4 horse trailer with it. It does a good job towing.

Now the difference between it and the '02 with the D-Max is night and day. You will love the extra power and the way the trans shifts.

Good Luck with it.

John

[BillyRay]

have an 02 with no problems. love it...only getting 10 - 13 mpg though.

[Bill Hill]

Congrats on the new truck! We have a '04 2500HD SB Crew Cab 4X4 with the D/A and love it. No trouble whatsoever! Right now we're towing a 30'/7000lb travel trailer and getting about 12-13 mpg towing, 14-15 around town, and about 18-19 on the highway solo.

BH

[Glenn and Lorraine]

Got the '03 2500HD with the Duramax and 51000+ miles and I love it.
Mileage--20+ without, 12+ with.
Troubles--nothing out of the ordinary.
Wore out the Firestones in just 38,000

I'd buy another but not until this one gets broke in.

[t1mrtork]

Thanks for all the imput. Sounds like the biggest problem is getting the engine broke in. Guess that means lots of traveling to get some miles on it.

[Montana_2203]

I just bought a 2005, 3400RL and I have an '02 Duramax 2500HD... single wheel.... I have 265 tires and keep them properly inflated... I also got a sliding 5th.wheel, Reece 16K, but frankly, I haven't found that I need to move the 5th. wheel to make tight turns.... I hope I am ok with the single wheel deal since the truck is paid for and I don't want to spend any more extra money on a dullie or a conversion... Sure would like to hear some positive stuff on this setup.... I love the camper and although we only pulled it 70 miles to our home..... our "maiden" voyage is scheduled for Williamsburg, Va. the second week in November.... we can't wait.....

[snowbunny]

We have a 2001 Silverado D/A and love it. Have had no problems at all. On the Rally trip we covered 3220 miles (2900 towing our Montana) and averaged 12.5 mpg. We have just over 60k miles on it now.

[Karl]

I'll reply with a reply I gave on another thread.

We have a GMC 2500 Duramax/Allison also, crewcab short box towing a Monty 3295. I have towed it about 15,000 miles thus far, and have been VERY satisfied.

I use the Tow mode when towing, however, I often will hit the button briefly to go out of tow mode to allow the tranny to shift into 5th just a bit sooner than it would in tow, then I go back to tow mode. I do this especially on two-lane roads where I will be driving at a speed just a bit below the "sweetspot" which seems to be 63 mph/1800 rpm on my unit.

There have been a few times in mountain driving, and more times driving against a severe headwind that I have used the "lockout" of 5th to keep the tranny from doing the seek and shift.

I did ask my dealer about my habit of undoing "tow" to allow the upshift, and he/they did not feel that that would be any problem.

I applaud GM/Chev for arranging the marriage of Duramax/Allison and hope they have many offspring!

[sreigle]

Speezack, the single rear wheel is fine in my opinion, whatever that's worth. In the past 19 months of fulltiming we've put on 60,000 miles towing our Montana with a single rear wheel 1-ton truck.The 3/4 ton will be just fine. In fact, we just traded for a 3/4 ton last week. If I recall, the 3400 has a relatively light pinweight so you shouldn't have any problem with the truck sagging in the rear.

[Montana Sky]

Speezack,
I tow the 3400RL with the 2500HD and have not had any trouble yet. Nothing to worry about, just enjoy your trip to VA.

[rehorner]

Our 2004 GMC 2500HD CC 4X4 w/ D/A has been trouble free so far (17,000 mi.). Getting 18 mpg unloaded; got 13 towing my previous trailer, but it was only 5500 lbs. Just got a 3380RL but have not been on any trips yet.
We love the truck, the diesel is quite unobtrusive, and the Ally is the best tranny. Tow/haul mode is great - it upshifts and downshifts at just the right times.
Good choice and good luck with your new truck!
Pam and Bob

[Montana_1683]

Dear tlmrtork,

We have a 2001 GMC 2500 crew cab long bed, with duramax & allison tranny. The duramax pulls our 2005 3295RK not much differently than our previous 99 Prowler TT. The only difference is getting up to speed when going from a dead stop when entering the Interstate. I pull in overdrive without using the tow/haul mode. If you are towing, Trailer Life Magazine does not reccommend use the cruise control, this causes the tranny to shift down to 3rd gear rather than shifting out of overdrive into 4th gear. Also by anticipating grades, the tranny rarely kicks out of overdrive, unless the grade is rather long and/or steep. You will notice an increase in fuel mileage by using overdrive.

Gary

[Dave e Victoria]

We have an 03 Duramax with the HyperTech program. We pull a 3295 Big Sky (well over loaded). The truck has 50,000 miles with ZERO problems. We are getting 11.3 mpg pulling the trailer and about 18 otherwise. I have owned 27 vehicles over the years (European, Japanese, and all three American big brands) and this one is the best of all.

The mid 04 changes to the Duramax made it even better.