picked up the new duramax 2 weeks ago. with 300 miles on the odometer i loaded my buddy's race car into my 24' box trailer and headed to michigan. went 75/80 the whole way out and back, display said just about 9.5 mpg's the entire trip. what do you guys think about this mpg's? i have no opinion on the gas mileage yet as the truck only has just over 1000 miles on the odometer and is bone stock...i sure hope it gets better though! the biggest thing i was looking for was how the duramax would handle all the weight and tow. i traded in my 05 super duty with the 6.8 v10, 5 speed auto. the duramax certainly has more power and it easily pulled the trailer but the superduty was definitely a better tow truck. lots of body roll with the chevy and the trailer swayed quite a bit. both trucks are 3/4 ton regular cab long bed 4x4's. im not disapointed at all, im just going to have to change some things to make the chevy do what i need it to do. either way i like the truck and im glad i got the duramax, i wanted a diesel bad and had to jump on the 0% financing...i just wish i had some extra money to start modding the truck!!!

mike

Sounds about avearge to me. I havent towed anything yet but it looks like it gets about 8-13 mpg towing and 13-20 unloaded.

Where do you live in Pittsburgh? I live in Irwin. ):h

I've pulled a 8,200lb 5th for three years now and when you push the truck at 70mph+ the fuel mileage drops like a rock.

I average 10-11mpg at 70mph+

14mpg at 65mph

And 15-16mpg at 60mph

I have also pulled my race car & trailer many times and my Duramax hadles like crap if you don't weight the hitch just right, should be @ 15% on hitch ball of total towing weight, less than that and the rear of the truck is all over the place.

On our old travel trailer I needed to drop the torsion bars a lot to help transfer the correct hitch weight,.

pulled my 30 foot camper the last two weekends and best i got was 9.4 and about 11 at 60 mph on back roads!!!!!!!!!! love the power but wish i still had my 05 LLY it got 13.7 pulling the same way!:(

Sounds about avearge to me. I havent towed anything yet but it looks like it gets about 8-13 mpg towing and 13-20 unloaded.

Where do you live in Pittsburgh? I live in Irwin. ):hi live in plum but im on the murreysville/moroeville side by the infinity dealer

well guys, i guess my mileage is on par with everyone elses. i cant go 65/70, it takes too long to get where im going!!!! i definitely had the trailer loaded and weighted correctly, im going to need sway bars i think. i know a couple other guys with hd's and they have the same problem...i wonder why???? shocks to loose?

Oh then I live really close. I live at the end of pleasant valley road (across from the Mcdonalds there rebuilding on 22)on sandy hill road. Have to hook up some time. Ever race imports at miracle mile?! ):h

Oh then I live really close. I live at the end of pleasant valley road (across from the Mcdonalds there rebuilding on 22)on sandy hill road. Have to hook up some time. Ever race imports at miracle mile?! ):hnot in my truck...yet! i would like to take my 03 cobra up there but they all know me and my car...they know they will lose:ro) i live about 2 minutes from that mc'ds

mike

Steel City, Shocks may be part of the issue. I popped the top rear shock mount on our new 3500 this past weekend while hacking holes in the truck (installing a retractible gooseneck :eek: ). I was surprised at how little rebound/compression dampening the shocks had. The big girl sure does ride nice though...at least untill the aux. spring pack makes contact and comes to the party!

PS. Hello all!!! Tom from NEPA!

well guys, i guess my mileage is on par with everyone elses. i cant go 65/70, it takes too long to get where im going!!!! i definitely had the trailer loaded and weighted correctly, im going to need sway bars i think. i know a couple other guys with hd's and they have the same problem...i wonder why???? shocks to loose?

Steel City, Shocks may be part of the issue. I popped the top rear shock mount on our new 3500 this past weekend while hacking holes in the truck (installing a retractible gooseneck :eek: ). I was surprised at how little rebound/compression dampening the shocks had. The big girl sure does ride nice though...at least untill the aux. spring pack makes contact and comes to the party!

PS. Hello all!!! Tom from NEPA!hey Tom whats happening? i have been giving serious thought to changing the shocks but i haven't made up my mind. everybody tells me just to put one of those sway bar kits on the trailer and that will fix everything. im going to see which one is cheaper, i like the way the truck rides now. even with 60lbs of air in all 4 tires, it's really not a bad ride!

mike

only 60 lbs in the tires? that would explain the body roll and the sway. I've pulled many different length and weight trailers and tire presure always makes or breaks the ride. I normally have 65 empty, 75 towing light(7-10k) and 80 towing goosenecks or fifthwheels. Fronts are normally 65 all the time. This unfortunatly makes the ride a little rougher, but it handles so much better. Also check the trailer tire, I try to keep them at 90%+ of recommended max and at 100% if fully loaded.

only 60 lbs in the tires? that would explain the body roll and the sway. I've pulled many different length and weight trailers and tire presure always makes or breaks the ride. I normally have 65 empty, 75 towing light(7-10k) and 80 towing goosenecks or fifthwheels. Fronts are normally 65 all the time. This unfortunatly makes the ride a little rougher, but it handles so much better. Also check the trailer tire, I try to keep them at 90%+ of recommended max and at 100% if fully loaded.tire pressure is definitely important but i ran the same psi in my ford tires without issue???

Steel City, did you Ford have overload springs? They help alot when it comes to handling heavy loads. Our F-350 had them and carried the gooseneck's weight quite well, the new 3500 is comparable at this point (one trip so far with only one horse) but may and probably will be upgraded to better than the F-350...waiting for the final verdict from the wife.;) The GM 2500 series does not have them even though they carry a heavier GWV than Ford or Dodge (9000 or 9200 vs 8600 or 8800).

Steel City, did you Ford have overload springs? They help alot when it comes to handling heavy loads. Our F-350 had them and carried the gooseneck's weight quite well, the new 3500 is comparable at this point (one trip so far with only one horse) but may and probably will be upgraded to better than the F-350...waiting for the final verdict from the wife.;) The GM 2500 series does not have them even though they carry a heavier GWV than Ford or Dodge (9000 or 9200 vs 8600 or 8800).it just had the standard f250 springs. i built the truck and didn't option them up for anything else. honestly, some sway bars will probably be all i need to tow a little better. before i even pulled the trailer, i did notice immediately how loose the truck felt compared to my super duty. definitely not as rigid and the handling isn't even close. regardless i still like the truck and im glad i got it, it's just very different from my ford and it's going to take some getting used to!!!