I am trying to make up my mind as to whether the 6.5 can be made into a pulling truck for pulling rv's constantly. Some say the engine is too wimpy or not up to the task of constant pulling. With some mods I would think that the 6.5 is a capable truck. What about you? What do you think? Any use their truck for constant pulling? If so what kind of MPG and weight when pulling? Also mods done?





Thanks,





Tony

P.S. not the truck listed in my sig- but a one ton.........





Tony

TonyB,


I towed with one for about 150,000 miles. Trailers ranged from boats to units that went 8,000lbs. It is 'mildly' powered. Only trouble with the engine I had was one injector pump and an occasional overheating on long grades.


Mine had an automatic transmission. That was NOT up to the task. If you forgot and left it in OD the thing overheated and boiled it's fluid. It had to be towed in 4th gear to work reasonable well.


With transmission mods I guess it could be used on a reasonable heavy basis but I do not recommend it.

buy an old dodge 5 spd

I am trying to make up my mind as to whether the 6.5 can be made into a pulling truck for pulling rv's constantly. Some say the engine is too wimpy or not up to the task of constant pulling. With some mods I would think that the 6.5 is a capable truck. What about you? What do you think? Any use their truck for constant pulling? If so what kind of MPG and weight when pulling? Also mods done?





Thanks,





Tony<!-- Signature -->

The 6.5 is a sturdy engine and can handle be overloaded all day if need be. I know a guy that towed a large bobcat with one for several years all over the place (about 9000lbs total trailer weight) with no problems. He replaced it with a new Duramax a few years ago and blew two engines the first year he had it with the same load. Yes he is hard on trucks but the 6.5 survived in the same task for years and still ran well when traded.

I plan on towing up to 10,000 lbs on occasion. I just got my '98 Suburban K2500 6.5 TD (towing package). Here's a pic of the hitch - I can't tell who makes it or what the capacity is. Any guesses? Thanks!


http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/uploads/638_Dscn1123.jpg


http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/uploads/AE3_Dscn1122.jpg

That is a class 4 hitch the GM supplied. 10,000lbs is not a problem with that one. I have towed 12,000 with mine on occaision. As far as the 6.5 towing it, If it has 4.10 gears, you should not have any real problems. I know I guy that towed a skid loader with one for years that had a all up weight of around 9000lbs for trailer and load and never had a engine or tranny problem. Make sure it has a aux tranny cooler. If one is not present, install one.