Ok how about it folks. It doesnt have to be your current truck. But what is the hardest you ever pushed a truck to the point where you said "WOW" and just loved your truck so much more.


My Dmax is too new right now that I havent had a hardcore experience.

But with my old 1985 K20 4x4 I remember out at a Deer Lease having the entire bed loaded with big mesquite trunks for BBQ wood. It was pouring rain and to exit the deer lease there was a pretty steeeeeep grade about 75 yards long. Put that baby in 4lo and she crawled up there. I was really impressed with that old truck at that moment.

My previous truck was a '99 K2500 6.0L 4:10 gears; went from Austin to our farm (about 100 miles) with 14000# of sheetrock on a gooseneck trailer that weighed 2000-2500#. So that would have been near 16-17k# + truck and stuff.:eek: It didn't stop real well at first, I forgot to boost my brake controler a tad:rolleyes: Then all went well, concidering the load.:ro)

89 S10 Blazer with a 4.3 with 280K that we where going to drop a 350 into. Started it put it in "N" and through a brick on the throttle. It ran at red line for a good 45 mins before it got to hot and locked up.

Well it isn't completely a truck....but I think I pushed my 93 S-10 Blazer the hardest one time of anything I have ever owned. I was coming back to IL from a Habitat for Humanity trip in OK. On the way, the minivan in our group broke down. "Fortunately" one of the guys on the trip bought a 16' flat deck trailer for a new business he was starting and I was towing it back home with the Blazer.

So, just west of St. Louis, MO the van breaks. No help anywhere around and we have 12 people stuck figuring out what to do. Since my vehicle had the seats folded down carrying luggage, we put all the luggage in the minivan. We loaded the van on the trailer and strapped it down. With no minivan to hold people, I end up with 7 people in my five passenger Blazer. The other 5 people are riding in a Ford escort wagon. :rolleyes:

We drove for a couple hours until a full size truck was able to meet us and take the trailer. Those hills of MO pretty much killed my truck. We couldn't budge past 40 mph up the hill and then we would do about 75-80 mph down the hills. :eek:

I think the transmission gave up the ghost 9 days after I got home from that trip. I had 94,000 miles on that tranny so I figured it lived it's life. :) I have to say that I gained a good appreciate for Chevy and the 4.3 Vortec engine (and hell even the tranny) after that. That little Blazer towed a trailer carrying a minivan, 12 people's luggage, and 7 people in the Blazer through the hills of MO near St. Louis. I was just glad to get home since the tranny was leaking fluid and blowing smoke the entire time pulling that load.

Nice one Dave.

were is old soldier at so he cane tell you how over GCVW you were:D the mini van itself prob weight close to 4000# not including the lugage:ro)

Thanks guys....I know I was pushing the limits (ok...over it by a mile) of that Blazer. Due to time constraints we gave it a try and it worked ok until we were able to meet up with the full size truck. I've been trying to dig up pics. I found some of the "Steep Grade" sign and one sign showing a semi on a big hill. :D

I was impressed...still am that the Vortec pulled it. I am definitely glad to have the D/A combo now...haven't pulled anything even close to GCWR.

your rigth still impressive buy any mean s

what is the hardest you ever pushed a truck.



Either going to be the time a guy backed his exploerer up pushing his jet ski trailer into the atlantic to get the PWC's loaded. Either it was a rapid inciming tide, the sand washed from under the wheels, or both. Either way, his explorer wad grounded on the frame, water up to the top ot the rear bumper, and waves crashing against the rear then splashing completely over the entire vehicle. Called and waited for a wrecker, but when he showed he would not come onto the beach. Truck was now in worse shape. Took a winched jeep and numerous hand completly around the sides and rear of the explorer to dislodge it and set it free. It wasn't my truck, but that is definitley the hardest I have ever pushed a truck......:lol: :lol:

Damn that sucks. All that salt water probably ruined everything. . I would have started to push the car INTO the water and claim it as a total loss LOL.

While I was still an undergrad, my last job was at an industrial seal distributorship. One of the morons in the warehouse drove the stand-up electric forklift outside and tried to turn around in the dirt. It sank immediately up to the chassis on the skinny solid wheels.
I chained my 01 2500HD w/ 6.0 to the backrest, clicked it into 4LO, put it in reverse and eased backwards. Nothing, not even a budge. Eased back again, gave it some gas this time- still nothing. Finally, I just eased it to the floor- engine went up to about 2600 rpm stall speed and stayed there. There was a little wheel scrub, less than I thought there would be. I held it there for about a minute, had a guy in the forklift hold the deadman down to release the brake and it finally eased out enough to where it would roll on the pavement again.
My trans temp reached 230 and the clutch fan was screaming after about 20-30 secs. Never had any mechanical problems out of that truck up to when I traded it in at 68k.

I took our first dmax, a 01 2500hd through Donner pass with a load of boat docks that put my gw at about 36k.

I had a scary experience pulling a 13,000 lb fifthwheel up the western side of "Wolf Creek Pass"...I was sure I was going to melt my engine and tranny before I got to the top.

With 6000 miles on my new 03 Dmax, I loaded up an dual axle, dually tired goose neck Dump trailer (8,000# empty) with 22,000#'s of landscape rock and hauled it 20-30 miles to my mother-in-law's house. On the scales, I wieghed 36+K (truck and trailer) and had no problem moving it. Not sure if that's the hardest it has worked, but that's the heaviest load it has toted.

Pulled out our 6k forklift from a muddy hole and pulled out our single axle semi tractor and trailer stuck in the mud. Regularly pull 1200 gallons of water. Had 66 bags of seed in the bed this spring.

I pulled out my fathers 03 gasser with my old 01 gasser, plowing snow and he drove off into a deep ditch, like we couldn't even see the truck nosed into it. I pulled it out pretty easy.


My brother has a y2k 2500 crew cab 454. We had a 105 horse tractor on our green bean harvester and tried to start and it burst into flames. Had 4 employees there at the time, my brother immediately jumped into his truck, I yelled to yank the hitch pin and we pulled that monster to the water supply. It was a load on the truck, he had it in 4lo and dug up the drive way the whole way. Cost a new harness and batteries(I broke the battery posts off trying to stop the short)

I drive mine just about every day. If you know me...'nuf said:D

This was a gas truck But it did the job anyway. My neighbor had an idiot Semi driver hauling in a load of hay (78000 lb gross) & dropped off the side of the driveway in the muddy ditch. So farmer Joe hooks the 1086 IH to the front & no go. So Joe calls & I said we'll see what happens so I pull up with my '79 K-10 plow truck & pull out the 30' suicide rope hook on the back of loaded semi, give the driver the sign that we're about to wreck something, positon transfercase in 4 Lo, Crouch over accross frt seat, Push right foot 1'' through floor & in about 15 second when the dust settled the semi was sitting on the road again. God I love my trucks.

The most I think I ever ''pushed'' was a '1960 C60 Chevy dump I had with a V-6 GMC engine in her with a driver's side broken motor mount.Stupidly, I did'nt replace it right away--I thought it would be fine for a while , and it was until I put about 8 ton of fill on her back and climbed an un-godly steep ,long hill.Well,the engine rose up and jammed the gas linkage balls to the wall.The only thing I could do was ride it out and prey because there was no way I would be able to stop and hold that truck on that hill.Matter of fact,my buddy jumped out and was walking along side me for agood quarter mile until a side road appeared.It was just a miracle no one got hurt that day.:exactly:

i dont really have anything compared to these, but just towing a 6500lb trailer up the hills in colorado with my foot on the floor for miles at a time.
that was before the chip:)

The old girl has been doing stuff like this since my grandfather bought her in 1985. 302,000 km later she is finally getting her first rebuild. She's the toughest stock truck I've ever seen and noone but chev/GM put out a truck like that at the time. Just wish GM would go back to SFA in there HD trucks.
:chevy::grd:

Multiple 30-40 second chassis dyno pulls with EGTs over 1800 degrees. :eek:

We needed some long tests to stabalize the data. All in the name of discovery of more HP. :D

Might not be a good truck story, but when I was in highschool, me and two other buddies "borrowed" my dad's 1990 buick regal. Loaded 3 sleds on a two place trailer, and headed out to Tug hill from Albany.
200 miles later we were there, I was shocked at the gas mileage, (6mpg I think) but for a front wheel drive car with 3 sleds and all our riding gear it was amazing!