MadMav wrote: Anything over 8-9Klbs needs diesel power. Go with a 7.3l Excursion and upgrade the rear suspension.
Mav
You ever had an 8.1 equipped truck?
I had an 8.1,and now I have a Cummins.
The first time I towed with my Cummins I was dissapointed. From the talk here,I was expecting the clouds to part and angels would start singing. I mean towing with a diesel is supposed to be a religious experience,right?
A diesel just doesn't pull that much better than an 8.1
For those that haven't pulled with an 8.1,its a very strong engine. It does have a big thirst for fuel,but to say it can't handle more than 8000-9000 lbs is rediculous.
If GM had still offered the 8.1,I would have bought another in a second.
I have actually gotten 17mpg with the vehicle traveling on level ground and at 55mph, lightly loaded.
Well, in all fairness, I have never checked fuel mileage under just one condition like this. Do you have the trip computer on board that shows instant mpg?
The 38-gal tank on the burb means that you are likely to encounter a variety of driving conditions before you re-fuel and check previous consumption. Oldtymeflyer likely had a nice tailwind over that stretch of road to record 17 mpg. Aerodynamics does have a lot to do with it, the burb is not exactly a low profile vehicle.
And yes, I not only know how to read, I also know how to maintain my vehicles
I don't have a Burb, but I do have an 8.1 GMC 2500HD, and I can tell you that when I bought mine in 2002, the 8.1 had a higher tow rating than the diesels. When I was towing in the mountains, I would chuckle when I would come up on a deisel belching black smoke at about 45 mph and I would blow past them with my 8.1 with a larger trailer. The 8.1 is an awsome engine, It's a shame they don't offer it anymore, but, it is thirsty.
When snow birding in So. Fla last year the guy next to me had an 8.1 Burb towing about a 31 ft tt, and he loved it.
Not many understand, nor know the differences between a small block and a big
block. Some even think a small block with extra cylinders equates to a big block.
Close, but there are differences. Closest is the Ford V10.
Issue is SMOG and CAFE, but that was before direct fuel injection (gasoline),
which if was around when the bean counters decided to kill off the big block, it
might have lived.
Just manufacturing tolerances has some get higher MPG. My 1996 7.4L gets 15.4MPG
often enough to claim, but not often enough to enjoy.
-Ben Picture of my rig
1996 GMC SLT Suburban 3/4 ton K3500/7.4L/4:1/+150Kmiles orig owner...
1980 Chevy Silverado C10/long bed/"BUILT" 5.7L/3:73/1 ton helper springs/+329Kmiles, bought it from dad...
1998 Mazda B2500 (1/2 ton) pickup, 2nd owner...
Praise Dyno Brake equiped and all have "nose bleed" braking!
Previous trucks/offroaders: 40's Jeep restored in mid 60's / 69 DuneBuggy (approx +1K lb: VW pan/200hpCorvair: eng, cam, dual carb'w velocity stacks'n 18" runners, 4spd transaxle) made myself from ground up / 1970 Toyota FJ40 / 1973 K5 Blazer (2dr Tahoe, 1 ton axles front/rear, +255K miles when sold it)...
Sold the boat (looking for another): Trophy with twin 150's...
51 cylinders in household, what's yours?...
I have had both, the v10 Ford and the 8.1/Allison. While the v10 did get a little better MPG, it couldn't hold a candle the power of the 8.1. My combo weighs just over 20,000 lbs. It can pull fully loaded from about 1350 rpm without a downshift if you ease the throttle down. Towing My setup got around 8mpg and empty it got around 10mpg.
I don't have the Burb but do have a 06 Silverado Ext long bed 8.1L 6spd Allison 4.10 and can get 13.8mpg at 62mph all highway no mountains. Stop and go forget it.
I had a '98 3/4 'Burb when I bought this trailer and was only getting 6.5 mpg when towing,but was getting as much as 15 solo. I had a K&N,which I changed back to OEM inside of 6 months,and a Flowmaster 50 muffler.I looked at both the 8.1 and V10 "burbs and "EX"s and finally decided on the 7.3L PSD "EX".A friend of mine has the same trailer and a 8.1L 'Burb and he is averging 8.5 MPG and it handles his trailer,with the same towing setup as me,really well.The big difference is that I am averging 17 mpg solo and 10+ towing and the towing on a 4K trip like ours this summer makes a world of difference.
IMHO,the biggest difference that I found ,is that the Suburban is ready to tow when you get it and the "EX" isn't. Ford built it for the soccer mom's,not the towing business.My burb would turn around inside the "X" and was easier to get in and out of. I had to put airbags,new shocks,a Hellwig sway bar and load range "E" tires on it.(The previous owner didn't tow,so only had them put on "D" on the recall and those tires were a piece of junk.)
I did put air bags on the burb as soon as I got it and then discovered that I really didn't need them.I put 35# in them as compared to the 80# to tow the same trailer.I have also put an AFE stage 1 intake,going to change to the 6637 soon,and a MBRP 4" turbo back exhaust and that helped the power a lot..
I would still,with all the changes,suggest the diesel Excursion as it is bigger,heavier and with several expensive additions a heck of a tow vehicle..It's a lot cheaper to operate in the long run and should last longer. OOppss,I put $4K into 4 injectors this summer...
* This post was
edited 10/06/08 10:51pm by an administrator/moderator *
Bigdog wrote: A friend of mine has the same trailer and a 8.1L 'Burb and he is averging 8.5 MPG and it handles his trailer,with the same towing setup as me,really well. The big difference is that I am averging 17 mpg solo and 10+ towing and the towing on a 4K trip like ours this summer makes a world of difference.
Let's do the math:
Suburban gets 8 mpg towing, so for 4,000 miles uses 500 gals of unleaded at $3.49/gal for a total cost of $1,995.
Now the diesel X gets 11 mpg towing, a paltry 3 mpg improvement. So, in 4,000 miles uses on 1,452 gals, BUT good ol' #2 fuel oil is $3.99/gal for a total cost of $1,452, a SAVINGS of $543.
JustLabs wrote: A diesel just doesn't pull that much better than an 8.1
For those that haven't pulled with an 8.1,its a very strong engine. It does have a big thirst for fuel,but to say it can't handle more than 8000-9000 lbs is rediculous.
Thank you. I have preached this for years. Much to my condemnation.
BTW, the fifth wheel tow rating on a 8.1L with the 4.10RA is 16,000lbs +or-. As far as tow ratings go, that puts it way up into diesel land.
To the OP-
My mileage is 9~10 towing, 11 around town, 15 interstate with the cruise set on 70MPH. These are almost identical #s to my wife's 2001 2500HD 6.0L gasser. Her's gets 16 interstate @ 70MPH.
Bigdog wrote: A friend of mine has the same trailer and a 8.1L 'Burb and he is averging 8.5 MPG and it handles his trailer,with the same towing setup as me,really well. The big difference is that I am averging 17 mpg solo and 10+ towing and the towing on a 4K trip like ours this summer makes a world of difference." OOppss,I put $4K into 4 injectors this summer... ...
Let's do the math:
Suburban gets 8 mpg towing, so for 4,000 miles uses 500 gals of unleaded at $3.49/gal for a total cost of $1,995.
Now the diesel X gets 11 mpg towing, a paltry 3 mpg improvement. So, in 4,000 miles uses on 1,452 gals, BUT good ol' #2 fuel oil is $3.99/gal for a total cost of $1,452, a SAVINGS of $543.
Can't argue with that!
I tow with the 8.1 and buy gas so I guess I can add that with the injector replacement
There will be an advantage to the 7.3 in 7 more 4000 mile trips if there are no more replaced injectors.
I consider my fuel bill as a easy budget payment plan spread over a number of years and miles if you will, sort of pay as you go with no interest charges.
2005 2500 Avalanche
2004 30' Terry Quantum 290FLS
Equal-i-zer,Prodigy
Calgary Alberta
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