I'm lookin' at a medium duty purchase in either a 5500 or 7500 and not sure how to go on this. To start with I'm going to use it to haul gravel & top soil. The dealer can get me into a 7500 rated at 25950 with the 215hp Duramax 7.8 and a 6 speed manual trans. Any opinions out there from any experienced owners? My questions are:


1. Is the 7.8 Duramax a good choice? (my other option is a CAT)
2. I can get the 7500 for about 40K. Is this a better option than the 5500?
3. Anything to look out for when ordering a 7500 medium duty?


This would be my first medium duty and I would like to minimize any rookie mistakes up front.
Thanks,


JP

The 7.8 L is a Japanese engine, they are good ones, but you are stuck only using your med. duty GM dealer for any warranty work though. The Cat does give you the option of many more dealers.

k.pascoe,


Thanks for the response. I am not too worried about service as we have an authorized service location here in Evansville and they aren't a GM dealership. As I was looking through the spec sheet it seems that the 7.8 Duramax has a much better warranty than the CAT...if ya can believe that! Any pointers as to what options I should be looking at on this purchase? The guy I talked to seemed to have this thing beefed up, i.e. dbl frame rails, HD front rear axles, etc. Funny, there doesn't seem to be an option for a locking diff. Anyways, all input is welcome.


JP

Aways on a hard working truck, make sure to get the highest horsepower motor that you can get behind the transmission your getting. Get the most batterys as possible, highest output SINGLE alt.


Back to your engine, I would still order the CAT, again the Isuzu engine is a good one, but the torque rise is a little different than the CAT. Next if you plan on keeping the truck for a while, the repair parts for the 7.8 L are made in Japan (waiting,downtime,cost,ect.) At least the 7.2 L Cat is used in almost every med. duty chassis out there. Parts are easy to find, and much cheaper.

Next if you plan on keeping the truck for a while, the repair parts for the 7.8 L are made in Japan (waiting,downtime,cost,ect.) At least the 7.2 L Cat is used in almost every med. duty chassis out there. Parts are easy to find, and much cheaper.





Good point! I never thought about the availability of parts being an issue. As far as horsepower, I'm looking at the 215 hp 860 ft lbs engine. I believe it is roughly the same between the Dmax and the Cat. I am also leaning toward the 6 speed manual and I think the 250 horse motor is the highest you can use for that tranny. I really don't want a 10 speed with split shifting. I know, I'm a punk, but I want to keep it as simple as possible until I get the hang of the business.


JP