First post here. I will be getting a 3/4 and after hours of reading posts' I guess a gasser may be the best for me. I was wondering if anyone here is unhappy with their 6.0 and would have wished they had the Duramax instead? My truck will not be a daily driver, so I couldn't see paying the extra $$ for the diesel. But with that said, if I do mostly towing with this, will I be happier with the diesel?

My dad has a 2004 GMC 2500HD with the 6.0. He is not happy with the mileage. Outside of that, he is happy with it. It doesn't get used much, but when it is out, it gets used. Mileage is the only thing he is unhappy with. It tows well and does exactly what he needs it to.

I love my 7.4L in my dually. Strong engine. Pulls whatever I need it to. But here again, just not happy with the mileage.

There are a few 6.0Ls around here, and they all like them, except for the mileage...we have an 8.1L Sub and my wife absolutely LOVES it (it's her daily driver)...but, I say the same thing about our LB7 c/c dually (never have seen the mileage numbers everyone claims). If you're planning on lots and lots of towing or several hundred thousand miles then a diesel would be the way to go, otherwise you're gonna be hard pressed to recover the additional initial and maintanence costs...(says the guy who's already done that math!)

Also, prior to our Dmax dually we had a 7.4L c/c dually with a Paxton & 4-speed+splitter...was a pulling MOTHER, but would go through our auxillary tank like Sherman through Georgia! Sounded brutal, too...

how heavy are you towing. how many hills will you deal with.

If you expect to hook up to a big trailer and have the same acceleration and mpg when the truck is empty, expect to be the first across an intersection when towing, expect to pass other vehicles climbing a hill when towing, expect to maintain 75 mph uphill when towing, then yes you will be unhappy. The 6.0 is quite a workhorse, won't be as fast as a diesel but it will get you there. As for mpg and cost of diesel vs gas.....just do a search and look at the 1,000's of posts about it.

I've been very happy with both the 6.0 and 8.1. The 6.0 I had could tow 6,000 lbs with ease. It towed 12,000 lbs but was working hard to maintain 65mph on hills. So far my 8.1 hasn't slowed down for nothin :D

how heavy are you towing. how many hills will you deal with.

If you expect to hook up to a big trailer and have the same acceleration and mpg when the truck is empty, expect to be the first across an intersection when towing, expect to pass other vehicles climbing a hill when towing, expect to maintain 75 mph uphill when towing, then yes you will be unhappy. The 6.0 is quite a workhorse, won't be as fast as a diesel but it will get you there.
Excellent advice...and here are the numbers I crunched a while back that helped me decide...(the prices are a tad low since it was a while back, but you get the idea):

Per 1,000 miles
8.1L: 10mpg @ $3.50/gallon = $350 per 1k miles
6.6L: 15mpg @ $4.25/gallon = $285 per 1k miles (but you'll also incur more cost per service)

So, for me to overcome the $4000 *minimum* price difference difference between a used gas and a used diesel truck, with a savings of $65/1,000 miles, I'm looking at over 61,000 miles to recover the cost...and that's without adding in the additional cost when it's service time...and, when buying used, with the diesel you assume a substantially higher price risk should something happen to the engine. But, like trouttrooper said, depending on your plans, a diesel may be the way to go...for long trips with the big trailer, our Dmax is what we choose...but otherwise, gas gets the nod.

Gasser is fine unless you are doing heavy duty towing. But if your buying a used truck I would get an 8.1, much funner to drive and more pulling power and gas mileage isnt too much difference than the 6.0.

I love my gasser. Would have liked a diesel, but in reality unless I was pulling heavy loads constantly it did not make too much financial sense for me. Personally for me, I would rather put the money I would have spent on a diesel into some sort of interest earning account and let it go to work for me right away. Construction is so slow right now anyway I do not need to be driving the truck much, as long as I have my car to get to my other job. I have not filled my truck up with gas in over a month now. I wonder how much longer it is going to take before we start utilizing Hydrogen more so we can tell the oil companies to shove their useless crude oil up their a$$.

First post here. I will be getting a 3/4 and after hours of reading posts' I guess a gasser may be the best for me. I was wondering if anyone here is unhappy with their 6.0 and would have wished they had the Duramax instead? My truck will not be a daily driver, so I couldn't see paying the extra $$ for the diesel. But with that said, if I do mostly towing with this, will I be happier with the diesel?

What will you be towing? At what elevation? Does it have to be new? Is used an option?

You'll generally be happier with diesels for heavy towing. However an 8.1 tows almost as well and is much more fun for everyday driving but you'll need to be open to buying used.

The high price of diesel has essentially leveled the playing field between gas vs. diesel. I wouldn't get hung up on ROI analysis unless you're a high mileage driver.

I don't know why they stopped making the 8.1. I don't know how many mods they had out there but I can imagine you can get some serious power out of the big block.

The main reason I decided on gas was the fact that the diesel was so costly upfront, plus if the new 4.5 comes out and gets good mileage I may shoot for one of them as a daily driver after they have all the bugs worked out.

I wish I got the 8.1 because I didn't realize back then that the MPG's were about the same, but I do love my 6.0 for what it is-no complaints. I only drive it about 6000 miles/year, and don't tow very much weight, but I would recommend it.

I love my truck, gas mileage isnt great but its done everything I've thrown at it, I've towed up to about 8,000 lbs. without a problem, you definately know its there but it'll do it. I'm sure from reading other posts it will do even more.

The 6.0 will handle almost anything you throw at it. My dad has towed my brother-in-law's International 856 with an Allied loader on it. I think the trailer comes in somewhere around 4500 0r 5000 (I can't remember right off hand) and the tractor comes in around 10,000 pounds without the loader. Around 15,000 and the 6.0 towed it. This makes my 454 work and it makes the 6.0 rev a lot, but it will get it moving and with the trailer brakes, it will stop the load to.

I wouldn't want to do it all the time, but it gets the job done. BUT, this is why I still hold onto my dually because it will do it better.

sometimes i think you all look into the cost too much, if the duramax is what you really want then its worth paying for. otherwise the 6.0 will get the job done for cheaper, but it wont be as nice.

Look in my garage and you will see how I like my gasser. That old 454 is gettin tired with over 300K miles but it is stilla mean old truck. That CAT 420 weighs about 19,000-20,000 because it had the extendable boom I am not real sure on the weight. And my load max 35+5 tandem dual weighs about 8,000 empty so you do the math not the biggest load I ever had but was like hualing a huge building I could feel the wind hitting it. Granted I did explode a U Joint on the way up to my land (SEE HOW TO BREAK A TRUCK IN TRUCK USES FOR THE PICS) but it is still a mean old monster.

sometimes i think you all look into the cost too much, if the duramax is what you really want then its worth paying for. otherwise the 6.0 will get the job done for cheaper, but it wont be as nice.
You make it sound like the diesel is a couple hundred dollar option.

when your buying used its not huge. a few grand, like i said if you want it its worth it. if your just lookin to get the job done and its not your daily driver then it may not be worth it.

the new 6 spd gets better mileage than the older trucks. Diesels not neccessery unless your towing alot of weight alot of time.

ive had them both. 6.0 gas and a Dmax and if you can find a good deal on a diesel and can handle a little extra payment diesel is the way to go. the diesel power cant be touched by gas. also fuel economy is better than gas so you break about even on fuel cost.

I was in the same situation as you and decided on a Duramax which I purchased last July, it's a regular cab 2wd W/T and the only options were upgraded seats, cruise control and CD player , I got it brand new for $24,600, it gets almost 20 mpg and is a towing monster of course, the Predator helps :D