6.0 tow motor?

Now that I have a family and only one income I find myself wheeling much less than I used to. I also have less time and money to spend at the shop and on the buggy. I can never just quit, its in my blood, I think of little else. But I am thinking of downsizing. We're going on a road trip soon and really don't have an ideal vehicle to do it in. We're taking the diesel but lots of the luggage is just going to have to go in the bed exposed to the weather. If a downpour happens we'll have to pull over, throw the essential crap in the mother in law's lap, and wait until it stops raining to put it back. (Don't like the idea of putting a topper on and off to tow my goose.) It has me thinking about how ideal a Tahoe or Suburban would be for future trips. I could get a smaller bumper-pull to pull the buggy with, I think it would be safe enough. My buggy is 5400 lbs. The price of diesel these days makes the diesel truck an expensive / unnecessary luxury. I know the torque curve of a 6.0 won't be nearly as nice as a diesel but, really, I drive the diesel so rarely its almost dumb to have. It's a 2008 Dodge and it has 40,000 miles on it. :****:

So is it possible to build a 6.0 that has a bit more torque than stock and will still be reliable and about as fuel efficient as stock? I have an LQ4 in the shop that needs freshening along with L92 heads and intake. I could easily swap it into a used Tahoe. Being that I own HPTuners fine-tuning over time wouldn't be difficult.

Does anyone else tow with a 6.0? How does it do? What kind of mileage?

Put a Vinci trucker cam and a 80e in the Tahoe and it should haul just fine .. definetly gunna wanna run helper bags in the rear the coil sprung suspension isn't the best for towing

Probly want to put some 4.10 gears in it too

What about one of the hard/segmented tonneau covers that roll up at the front of the bed? That doesn't fix the diesel $$ issue though.

RustyC said:

What about one of the hard/segmented tonneau covers that roll up at the front of the bed? That doesn't fix the diesel $$ issue though.

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That and I just don't need the big trailer any more. I no longer have 2 rigs to tow, its just me now. I used to tow my brother but he sold out and then I towed a buddy but he built a toterhome.

put cover on bed and get a bumper trailer. you already have the truck. tahoe or burb suspension is not going to live long

2500 suburban might be a better choice

gomer pyle said:

put cover on bed and get a bumper trailer. you already have the truck. tahoe or burb suspension is not going to live long

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That's probably theed best advice.

I towed the Tacoma once with my dads 6.0 I didnt even make it from Scottsboro to Gray Rock without having to fill up with gas. They make good power but the mileage brings the suck. uke:

BustedKnucklefilms said:

I towed the Tacoma once with my dads 6.0 I didnt even make it from Scottsboro to Gray Rock without having to fill up with gas. They make good power but the mileage brings the suck. uke:

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This is true as well. They don't get great mpgs at all.. gas burners in general burn more fuel when weighted down. That's where a diesel would come in handy.

Re: Re: 6.0 tow motor?

I'd just get a topper and sell the gooseneck. Will be much nicer in the long run.

I had a 06 2500hd with 6.0/4l80e and the difference between it and my duramax is enough that i've swore off gas tow vehicles.

The 6.0 averaged 8-9 mpg towing One Toyota crawler on a 18' car hauler. The crew cab duramax gets 16-17.

I have a 32' open deck bumper pull that I regularly pull 2 crawlers or my crawler and race truck on, and the diesel still gets 11-12 mpg.

so my range is doubled, not to mention that I can actually hold speed up any hill I come across.

If you aren't driving the diesel everyday, then the service really isn't that bad. And if you are, invest in some good full synthetic oil, and pull an oil sample and send it off for oil analysis rather than just changing $100 of oil.


In short: diesel> gas

BustedKnucklefilms said:

I towed the Tacoma once with my dads 6.0 I didnt even make it from Scottsboro to Gray Rock without having to fill up with gas. They make good power but the mileage brings the suck. uke:

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WTF????????? I pulled my Taco all the way to Auburn from Sylvania (15 minutes from Scottsboro) on pretty much exactly one tank of gas in my 2500hd 6.0L. 22 gallon tank I think?

I tow with a 03' 6.0L, it definitely does the job...but it does bring the suck on long hill climbs, unless you get a good run on the hill. IMHO...it seems like every gasser gets the same loaded or unloaded. I get around 9.0mpg unloaded or towing 6500+/-

If the diesel it paid for, I say keep it. I'm looking for a Dodge with a Cummins and a 6-speed.

I thought about going the same route. You may check into a set of 243 heads(smaller combustion chamber and smaller intake ports for better low end), shave them to get to about a 11:1 cr (stock lq4 is around 9.5:1 I believe, and still run pump gas). Talk to TSP or one of the shops that can custom grind a cam. Tell them what you're wanting to do and they should be able to get you a good, lowend high torque cam profile. Considering the ls motors love to live at high rpms, that should help bring the power and torque curve down the rpm range some, and put it where it's more usefull towing. I've been told you can get a fairly broad torque curve out of the ls if it's set up for it. May be something to check into since you already have the lq4 and are thinking of freshing it up anyway.

My 06 Dodge has 70k on the clicker. Diesel is high and Val and I have regular jobs know, no more own my own business rock star money. I have been having the same delima, sell the truck to free up some extra money and buy something gas burner for much less. The extra money would be nice but my Dodge is paid for and when it sits it's only cost is insurance. I have come to the conclusion of keeping it. It still gets about 21mpg on a long trip with the topper on loaded with four people and luggage.

I bought a huge plastic bin just for road trips - it stores all of our luggage in the bed and I have a toolbox for the rest.

A gas burner sucks towing long distances and gets terrible fuel mileage

Thanks ya'll. Think I'm just going to put the topper on it, get a bumper pull trailer, and hang onto the gooseneck for those rare occasions that I need it.

That and toppers are cheap. I towed all over with my cummins dually, sold it, have a gasser 6.0 now, hate it so bad I want to crash it, take the ins money and buy part of another diesel

blacksheep10 said:

That and toppers are cheap. I towed all over with my cummins dually, sold it, have a gasser 6.0 now, hate it so bad I want to crash it, take the ins money and buy part of another diesel

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laughing1




JJ I think you made the right choice ( although I don't particularly care for a cummins, it's better than any gas tow motor), especially considering that you drive up from FL to go wheelin

I have a 2010 2500HD with a 6.0 and a 6l80e, all stock. I think the 6 speed makes a bit of difference in mileage. I get 13-14 in town and about 11 towing. I bought it new and as much as I like a Diesel I just couldn't justify the $5000 difference between it and a gasser. As I understand it the Diesel version of mine gets identical mileage in town and a little better towing. $5000 + higher fuel costs = I think I made the right decision no more towing than I do......

I tow with a '01 2500 Yukon XL. It has the LQ4, 4.56 gears with 35's which takes it back pretty close to the original 4.10's. Gas mileage does suck but it tows good. Not like a diesel but good enough for a buggy and trailer. Stock suspension with one buggy is just fine. Mine has 240,000 miles on stock springs and sits like this with a bumper pull: