6.6L Gas will be fine, right?

Z71RAD88 · February 25, 2021

The shortage of trucks has made buying even more difficult for me as I was already on the fence of wether or not I needed to bump up to a 2500 for how small/light of a TT I plan to tow, but I feel more comfortable being “over-vehicled” with a 3/4 ton over a half ton and the price difference is so close for how much of a bump you get in overall capability.

$10k is a lot of extra coin for a diesel vs the gas and it’s not even getting into the maintenance side or other added costs with a diesel, so where I think it would be nice to have it’s not necessary for what I’m looking to pull which is a 18-22” TT between 3500-5000 lbs dry weight. The places we plan to go will have full hook ups so I don’t need to worry about maxing our the trailer for travel purposes.

My question for those that tow now with the 6.6 gas and have had diesels, is the exhaust brake going to be missed if I’m towing that size trailer in the mountains? The highest elevation will be 7,000 ft at the summit.

This is will not be a daily driver, only weekend warrior so roughly 8-10k is all I plan to drive the truck, so it will be sitting quite a bit...another reason I’m thinking the gas motor will be better for my needs.

Rozz522 · February 25, 2021

1 hour ago, Z71RAD88 said:

The shortage of trucks has made buying even more difficult for me as I was already on the fence of wether or not I needed to bump up to a 2500 for how small/light of a TT I plan to tow, but I feel more comfortable being “over-vehicled” with a 3/4 ton over a half ton and the price difference is so close for how much of a bump you get in overall capability.

$10k is a lot of extra coin for a diesel vs the gas and it’s not even getting into the maintenance side or other added costs with a diesel, so where I think it would be nice to have it’s not necessary for what I’m looking to pull which is a 18-22” TT between 3500-5000 lbs dry weight. The places we plan to go will have full hook ups so I don’t need to worry about maxing our the trailer for travel purposes.

My question for those that tow now with the 6.6 gas and have had diesels, is the exhaust brake going to be missed if I’m towing that size trailer in the mountains? The highest elevation will be 7,000 ft at the summit.

This is will not be a daily driver, only weekend warrior so roughly 8-10k is all I plan to drive the truck, so it will be sitting quite a bit...another reason I’m thinking the gas motor will be better for my needs.

I can't really provide any insight based on my own experience, but I have been on this forum for a few months now and my needs are very similar to yours. With that said, based on the input of many others around here, I ordered my 2500 gas a couple of weeks ago. My basic needs were hauling a 27" TT loaded to 8-9k, plus a family of 4 and a loaded truck bed. Around here elevations may get to 4-5K in the White Mountains. We camp 10-12 times a year and I put roughly 12k miles a year. I think the gas engine will be more than adequate for my needs, let alone your lighter TT. I would say that the exhaust brake is not necessary for such a light load and if tow/haul mode does not adequately shift and use the engine for downhill braking, I would just put the truck in manual mode and downshift so the engine could help slow me down. Just my 2 cents.

Z71RAD88 · February 25, 2021

16 minutes ago, Rozz522 said:

I can't really provide any insight based on my own experience, but I have been on this forum for a few months now and my needs are very similar to yours. With that said, based on the input of many others around here, I ordered my 2500 gas a couple of weeks ago. My basic needs were hauling a 27" TT loaded to 8-9k, plus a family of 4 and a loaded truck bed. Around here elevations may get to 4-5K in the White Mountains. We camp 10-12 times a year and I put roughly 12k miles a year. I think the gas engine will be more than adequate for my needs, let alone your lighter TT. I would say that the exhaust brake is not necessary for such a light load and if tow/haul mode does not adequately shift and use the engine for downhill braking, I would just put the truck in manual mode and downshift so the engine could help slow me down. Just my 2 cents.

Awesome, this is what was I was thinking too but wanted to hear other opinions. My current truck has the engine to pull this kind of trailer, but like in most 1/2 ton cases, payload is the issue and would be for me and my daily of four. Plus, again, I just feel more comfortable with the weight and capability of a 2500 over a 1/2 ton.

MacLaren · February 25, 2021

I just posted a thread about the same thing.

Just found my answer.

Gas it is!!

I'll be towing a 33ft 8500 pounds me my wife and 11 year old daughter.

Going from a 2019 1500 5.3 to the 2500 6.6 gas, I belive that should be a good difference and plenty enough power, plus the best thing imo, the 2500 alone has enough ass on it to not be shoved around.

Rozz522 · February 25, 2021

32 minutes ago, MacLaren said:

I just posted a thread about the same thing.

Just found my answer.

Gas it is!!

I'll be towing a 33ft 8500 pounds me my wife and 11 year old daughter.

Going from a 2019 1500 5.3 to the 2500 6.6 gas, I belive that should be a good difference and plenty enough power, plus the best thing imo, the 2500 alone has enough ass on it to not be shoved around.

I saw your other post and I was in the exact same position. My 2013 1500 with 5.3 was rated to tow my 27' (32' total) Starcraft trailer (made by Jayco) and while there were plenty of times that I needed more power, the biggest complaint against the 1500 was how it handled due to maxing out the payload and wind/trucks pushing/pulling me all around. That feeling that you aren't in control of your load even if only for a split second, is troubling. I think the added weight of this truck and the extra payload/suspension capabilities will make a huge difference plus the extra power and torque will be nice.

MacLaren · February 25, 2021

1 hour ago, Rozz522 said:

I saw your other post and I was in the exact same position. My 2013 1500 with 5.3 was rated to tow my 27' (32' total) Starcraft trailer (made by Jayco) and while there were plenty of times that I needed more power, the biggest complaint against the 1500 was how it handled due to maxing out the payload and wind/trucks pushing/pulling me all around. That feeling that you aren't in control of your load even if only for a split second, is troubling. I think the added weight of this truck and the extra payload/suspension capabilities will make a huge difference plus the extra power and torque will be nice.

Yup. It really should. And, like I said, that 2500 is just built stronger. She won't be shoved around like a 1500

Z71RAD88 · February 25, 2021

1 hour ago, MacLaren said:

I just posted a thread about the same thing.

Just found my answer.

Gas it is!!

I'll be towing a 33ft 8500 pounds me my wife and 11 year old daughter.

Going from a 2019 1500 5.3 to the 2500 6.6 gas, I belive that should be a good difference and plenty enough power, plus the best thing imo, the 2500 alone has enough ass on it to not be shoved around.

Your comment about having enough ass came at the right time, I was dying laughing. Rough morning when you’re late to work because your 2.5 year old had a fit because her spoon didn’t match the color of her bowl.

Z71RAD88 · February 25, 2021

1 hour ago, MacLaren said:

I just posted a thread about the same thing.

Just found my answer.

Gas it is!!

I'll be towing a 33ft 8500 pounds me my wife and 11 year old daughter.

Going from a 2019 1500 5.3 to the 2500 6.6 gas, I belive that should be a good difference and plenty enough power, plus the best thing imo, the 2500 alone has enough ass on it to not be shoved around.

Your comment about having enough ass came at the right time, I was dying laughing. Rough morning when you’re late to work because your 2.5 year old had a fit because her spoon didn’t match the color of her bowl.

C/K Man · February 25, 2021

Exhaust brakes are not really needed with gasoline engines, they provide engine braking with a closed throttle on downshift unlike a diesel. I think the 6.6L L8T will be fine it this application.

Z71RAD88 · February 25, 2021

3 minutes ago, C/K Man said:

Exhaust brakes are not really needed with gasoline engines, they provide engine braking with a closed throttle on downshift unlike a diesel. I think the 6.6L L8T will be fine it this application.

Thank you for that explanation.

MacLaren · February 25, 2021

20 minutes ago, Z71RAD88 said:

Your comment about having enough ass came at the right time, I was dying laughing. Rough morning when you’re late to work because your 2.5 year old had a fit because her spoon didn’t match the color of her bowl.

Lol, awesome

& been there and done that bro.

Those fits are just a cute part of it

Z71RAD88 · February 25, 2021

1 minute ago, MacLaren said:

Lol, awesome

& been there and done that bro.

Those fits are just a cute part of it

I can laugh about it now. I keep telling myself my saving grace is she’s half mine in hopes that’ll balance out “her mother” in her.

MacLaren · February 25, 2021

Can anyone tell me about how much it will cost to replace the halogen headlights with led's?

L8T · February 26, 2021

I just did 550 miles through the mountains into a 40 mph headwind and crosswinds with a 30’ flat deck gooseneck that weighed 4600 lbs empty and was loaded to 7700 for 1/2 the trip with a car.

My average while maintaining 70 mph for the whole trip pretty much was 9 mpg. My lml I probably would have gotten 11 so I thought that wasn’t terrible. Considering towing the same load flat ground no wind my 6.0 got less than 7 mpg lol.

For reference rolling empty no trailer same drive holding 80 mph I usually get 17 mpg.

I found the turbo brake in my lml to be helpful, but it was weak compared to my lbz so I didn’t really miss it in this gas truck. I feel the 6.6 gas is up to do what I need it to do.

Z71RAD88 · February 26, 2021

5 hours ago, L8T said:

I just did 550 miles through the mountains into a 40 mph headwind and crosswinds with a 30’ flat deck gooseneck that weighed 4600 lbs empty and was loaded to 7700 for 1/2 the trip with a car.

My average while maintaining 70 mph for the whole trip pretty much was 9 mpg. My lml I probably would have gotten 11 so I thought that wasn’t terrible. Considering towing the same load flat ground no wind my 6.0 got less than 7 mpg lol.

For reference rolling empty no trailer same drive holding 80 mph I usually get 17 mpg.

I found the turbo brake in my lml to be helpful, but it was weak compared to my lbz so I didn’t really miss it in this gas truck. I feel the 6.6 gas is up to do what I need it to do.

Good intel. Thanks for sharing. Another reason I’m heavily considering the gas over the diesel is the truck will only be used for towing on weekends for family trips so 90% of its life will most likely be empty and I’m good with 17 mpg on the highway, it’s what I get now in my current truck.