Najataagihe
07-07-2005, 12:18 PM
Hi, Y'all!
Greetings from the Land of the John Deere Racing Academy.
I am now the owner of my first GM diesel-powered truck.
I was a line mechanic for Chevy when the first one came out in 1978.
Due to the misery associated with that thing and the original 6.2 on the HumVee, I went from a 1994 C1500 with a 350 and the Sport suspension package to a Y2K C3500 dually with a 454, when my wife and I decided we wanted to haul a Travel Trailer (TT).
Four years later, after some unforeseen circumstances, we finally got the trailer last November.
UNfortunately, due to a dealer Grand Opening Sale, we got the 38' 5th wheel (FW) my wife had been drooling over for the same price as the 31' TT we had decided to get.
I say UN-fortunately, because it didn't take but two or three short trips to realize that a 12,000# (with no water in the tanks) trailer was a tad heavy for a 454 with a 4.10 rear end (seeing as it was rated for only 11,800).
My wife broke my heart when she told me, "Honey, you're going to need a new truck."
I cried for a week (Yeah, right).
Anyway, truck shopping we go!
First stop, 2005 Kodiak C5500 with Monroe truck bed conversion over in Atlanta.
Lovely beast. Drove well, but cost $57K.
I called my local salesman and asked if he could do a dealer transfer on it.
No dice.
While looking into ordering me a C4500, he asked if I had looked at the NEW C3500s.
Of course, I hadn't.
I figured if a Y2K truck topped out at 13,000# with a 4.56, that it was a waste of time to bother with a Class 3 truck for a trailer that rated 13,500# - no safety margin.
WRONG!
I had read in the trailering forums that the Chevy pickups had been built on a 12,000# frame and just racking up the capacities (as RV equipment manufacturers tend to do) did not turn a 12,000# truck into a 15,000# truck.
WRONG, again, but this time it wasn't me.
Chevy changed a LOT between Y2K and 2005.
Torsion bar front suspension on a two-wheel drive model!
Hydro-formed frame, instead of welded.
And, Good Lord, what did they do to the BRAKES???
You can lose teeth, if you stomp on the pedal!
Anyway, we bit the bullet and bought the lovely truck described in the sig line.
We decided to go diesel because of the enthusiasm of the diesel owners in the RV fora.
Being just a tad leary of Chevy's version, I took a CLOSE look at the design of the motor.
We bought it after seeing some really good thinking had gone into it.
I am now a die-hard fan of the Duramax/Allison combination after towing the HOW for several short trips and a 3,000 mile road trip we took last month.
My old truck would strain going up hills and have to really work to move that FW.
On the exact same route, the new truck downshifted ONCE.
Braking is incredible in Tow mode.
Using the same brake controller, I had to reduce the trailer brake output from 9 amps to 2 amps!
BIG difference.
Mileage is up from 11 in town to 16.....19 on a recent tank!
Towing mileage has increased from 6-7 to 10-12!
There is a HUGE difference between hauling a 12,000# FW with an overloaded truck rated for only 11,800# and hauling that same trailer, loaded, at 13,000# with a truck rated for 16,400#.
I like this truck.
No wonder so many folks are enthusiastic about them!
:D
Greetings from the Land of the John Deere Racing Academy.
I am now the owner of my first GM diesel-powered truck.
I was a line mechanic for Chevy when the first one came out in 1978.
Due to the misery associated with that thing and the original 6.2 on the HumVee, I went from a 1994 C1500 with a 350 and the Sport suspension package to a Y2K C3500 dually with a 454, when my wife and I decided we wanted to haul a Travel Trailer (TT).
Four years later, after some unforeseen circumstances, we finally got the trailer last November.
UNfortunately, due to a dealer Grand Opening Sale, we got the 38' 5th wheel (FW) my wife had been drooling over for the same price as the 31' TT we had decided to get.
I say UN-fortunately, because it didn't take but two or three short trips to realize that a 12,000# (with no water in the tanks) trailer was a tad heavy for a 454 with a 4.10 rear end (seeing as it was rated for only 11,800).
My wife broke my heart when she told me, "Honey, you're going to need a new truck."
I cried for a week (Yeah, right).
Anyway, truck shopping we go!
First stop, 2005 Kodiak C5500 with Monroe truck bed conversion over in Atlanta.
Lovely beast. Drove well, but cost $57K.
I called my local salesman and asked if he could do a dealer transfer on it.
No dice.
While looking into ordering me a C4500, he asked if I had looked at the NEW C3500s.
Of course, I hadn't.
I figured if a Y2K truck topped out at 13,000# with a 4.56, that it was a waste of time to bother with a Class 3 truck for a trailer that rated 13,500# - no safety margin.
WRONG!
I had read in the trailering forums that the Chevy pickups had been built on a 12,000# frame and just racking up the capacities (as RV equipment manufacturers tend to do) did not turn a 12,000# truck into a 15,000# truck.
WRONG, again, but this time it wasn't me.
Chevy changed a LOT between Y2K and 2005.
Torsion bar front suspension on a two-wheel drive model!
Hydro-formed frame, instead of welded.
And, Good Lord, what did they do to the BRAKES???
You can lose teeth, if you stomp on the pedal!
Anyway, we bit the bullet and bought the lovely truck described in the sig line.
We decided to go diesel because of the enthusiasm of the diesel owners in the RV fora.
Being just a tad leary of Chevy's version, I took a CLOSE look at the design of the motor.
We bought it after seeing some really good thinking had gone into it.
I am now a die-hard fan of the Duramax/Allison combination after towing the HOW for several short trips and a 3,000 mile road trip we took last month.
My old truck would strain going up hills and have to really work to move that FW.
On the exact same route, the new truck downshifted ONCE.
Braking is incredible in Tow mode.
Using the same brake controller, I had to reduce the trailer brake output from 9 amps to 2 amps!
BIG difference.
Mileage is up from 11 in town to 16.....19 on a recent tank!
Towing mileage has increased from 6-7 to 10-12!
There is a HUGE difference between hauling a 12,000# FW with an overloaded truck rated for only 11,800# and hauling that same trailer, loaded, at 13,000# with a truck rated for 16,400#.
I like this truck.
No wonder so many folks are enthusiastic about them!
:D