I'm so confused....I don't want to let my beloved gasser go....

[Another JR]

6 hours ago, dal1980 said:

You can second guess until your blue in the face...at the end of the day you already own the truck.  Hook up and go, see what you find out.  It's not like you bought the trailer without a truck and have to make a decision on gas vs diesel.  You have the perfect situation on your hands.  Your current truck is safely capable, is it comfortable?  That's the question...only you can answer that, not us knuckleheads on the internet.

These are wise words. 

[Ben Jardine]

I have a 24 2500 hd 6.6 gas and 10 speed allison . I haul more then 15000 with it . Handles 10 000 to 15 000 nice on the highway . I over loaded it few times towing 20 000 and 22 000 pounds . These trucks are built well . I have no experience with the 6l90e that your truck has hopefully someone else can chime in . I know 10 speed trucks handle weight at highway speeds very well 

[Jettech1]

3 hours ago, 64BAwagon said:

Whats the cargo capacity listed on the door sticker on your current truck ? 

 

The pin weight on my trailer is somewhere in the area of 2750 #. I figure the unladen weight of my trailer with my wife and I and a full tank (36 gal) of fuel, whereas the cargo capacity takes those numbers and adds them to the cargo weight. All in figuring pin weight, cargo, my fat ass, my wifes delicate self and a FULL tank of gas we are at least 3400#

 

Edit, plus a 55# insane Boxer 

3500lbs.  We are within all specs, my biggest concern towing that much weight is will I have my foot to the floor most of the time or will it do just fine.  I'm not a speeder when towing either 60 to 65max is good enough for me.

[Another JR]

2 hours ago, Jettech1 said:

3500lbs.  We are within all specs, my biggest concern towing that much weight is will I have my foot to the floor most of the time or will it do just fine.  I'm not a speeder when towing either 60 to 65max is good enough for me.

Another reason to hold off a while before any truck upgrade is to make sure you really are going to stick with towing that giant trailer. You might decide it’s bigger than you want to deal with for one reason or another. 

[Jettech1]

53 minutes ago, Another JR said:

Another reason to hold off a while before any truck upgrade is to make sure you really are going to stick with towing that giant trailer. You might decide it’s bigger than you want to deal with for one reason or another. 

Let me add another factor to my equation here.  I'm pulling the rip cord and retiring in a few years.  I don't want a truck payment when I do that.  So if my current truck that I absolutely love, will not do the job I need it to do.  I need to make a decision fairly quickly....see where I'm coming from now?  And on ramps to the interstates.  For whatever reason if you stop at a rest area most on ramps are uphill here in GA.  So my foot is to the floor trying to get up to 60 to merge safely with traffic.  That is a struggle with my truck only towing 8k.  I'm thinking towing 15k trying to merge will be a disaster...

 

Edited April 25 by Jettech1

[Dunn]

15 hours ago, dal1980 said:

You can second guess until your blue in the face...at the end of the day you already own the truck.  Hook up and go, see what you find out.  It's not like you bought the trailer without a truck and have to make a decision on gas vs diesel.  You have the perfect situation on your hands.  Your current truck is safely capable, is it comfortable?  That's the question...only you can answer that, not us knuckleheads on the internet.

bingo, there is logic and then there are humans.........we can complicate the crap out of anything and justify why we do it

 

it is only after the final decision that the truth reveals itself (to the individual)......and then we do it all over again, lol

 

most have already made up their mind before asking the question

[KARNUT]

6 hours ago, Jettech1 said:

Let me add another factor to my equation here.  I'm pulling the rip cord and retiring in a few years.  I don't want a truck payment when I do that.  So if my current truck that I absolutely love, will not do the job I need it to do.  I need to make a decision fairly quickly....see where I'm coming from now?  And on ramps to the interstates.  For whatever reason if you stop at a rest area most on ramps are uphill here in GA.  So my foot is to the floor trying to get up to 60 to merge safely with traffic.  That is a struggle with my truck only towing 8k.  I'm thinking towing 15k trying to merge will be a disaster...

 

Retirement is a whole different ballgame. If your finances can handle it go for it. I budget everything even going to the casino. I don’t worry about saving for retirement anymore because I’m there. I don’t do the traveling by camper anymore because for 20 years it was part of my work. But if I did I’d definitely be using a diesel dually. I want the extra tires and stability. I’ve done both. Retired is supposed to be total enjoyment. So just do it.

[KARNUT]

8 minutes ago, KARNUT said:

Retirement is a whole different ballgame. If your finances can handle it go for it. I budget everything even going to the casino. I don’t worry about saving for retirement anymore because I’m there. I don’t do the traveling by camper anymore because for 20 years it was part of my work. But if I did I’d definitely be using a diesel dually. I want the extra tires and stability. I’ve done both. Retired is supposed to be total enjoyment. So just do it.

I would have a fuel tank and took box in the truck too. Keep tools for the truck away from the camper. The fuel tank had a filter to add to fuel security. 

[64BAwagon]

The perception of the gasser needing to be at the rev limiter isnt very accurate. I just came through AL, GA and TN in late March. I dont think I ever had the throttle to the floor. I typically run around 65 which seems to be the sweet spot for RPM and pulling power (around 2050 RPM) 

If your familiar with the short  grade on NB I-75 between Chattanooga and Cleveland TN where it climbs back onto the mountain,  I will use that as an example. I hit the hill doing 65, slowed going up to around 60 and maneuvered around a couple of trucks that had slowed. I ended up in 5th gear IIRC while climbing with the RPM somewhere around 3500. Not exactly screaming up the hill and still leaving throttle available. 

In a perfect world I would love a L5P for the torque. We all know the world is imperfect. I ran the numbers several times on this 3000 miles of towing. With the price difference between gas and diesel and the mileage difference I always came out cheaper and thats without factoring DEF. My cost per mile is always less, I saved 10k on the truck, I save on maintenance costs (I always do my own so the costs are minimal) AND I could likely buy a new long block L8T for what a set of diesel injectors cost. 

It all comes down to your driving habits and your experience with heavily laden trucks. Only you can decide whats comfortable and what isnt. 

If your looking for comparison watch the TFL truck videos of the Ike gauntlet. They have towed heavy with an L5P and an L8T in this truck. Compare the 2. 

 

Scott

[64BAwagon]

54 minutes ago, KARNUT said:

I would have a fuel tank and took box in the truck too. Keep tools for the truck away from the camper. The fuel tank had a filter to add to fuel security. 

That is one of the big advantages of diesel. I had a 52 gallon Titan in my 2005 LLY Dmax. It was an entirely different experience towing with that much extra fuel. 

I travel now with a 6 gal portable fastened inside the bed. It has a small battery powered pump on it that gives me some range and security. Its the most I can carry safely and legally. 

[diyer2]

Diesel dually if you can afford it.

[KARNUT]

38 minutes ago, 64BAwagon said:

That is one of the big advantages of diesel. I had a 52 gallon Titan in my 2005 LLY Dmax. It was an entirely different experience towing with that much extra fuel. 

I travel now with a 6 gal portable fastened inside the bed. It has a small battery powered pump on it that gives me some range and security. Its the most I can carry safely and legally. 

In my pulling days I had a 100 gallon fuel tank. It was an L shaped with a tool box on top. My mother’s daily driver has that setup. She drives it to the shop to refuel. At 84 years old she drives to town daily to swim with friends. It’s the same 60 mile round trip she’s been doing for years. On some of my trucks I used to tie into the tank return and have a manual switch in the cab. Gravity feed the truck tank when it got low. It’s not easy refueling on trips sometimes so that cuts that back. 

Edited April 25 by KARNUT

[customboss]

9 hours ago, Jettech1 said:

Let me add another factor to my equation here.  I'm pulling the rip cord and retiring in a few years.  I don't want a truck payment when I do that.  So if my current truck that I absolutely love, will not do the job I need it to do.  I need to make a decision fairly quickly....see where I'm coming from now?  And on ramps to the interstates.  For whatever reason if you stop at a rest area most on ramps are uphill here in GA.  So my foot is to the floor trying to get up to 60 to merge safely with traffic.  That is a struggle with my truck only towing 8k.  I'm thinking towing 15k trying to merge will be a disaster...

 

I had to retire at 52 from flying. Pissed me off. Cost me $ millions in retirement. Think through that as your seniority should allow a near retired lifestyle at Delta while bringing the $$. 

[KARNUT]

11 minutes ago, customboss said:

I had to retire at 52 from flying. Pissed me off. Cost me $ millions in retirement. Think through that as your seniority should allow a near retired lifestyle at Delta while bringing the $$. 

I have two brothers. One went with our clearing business when we sold it in 1999. He and his son run many crews clearing and making new ROWs mostly for oil companies. My brother has been easing his son into more responsibility so he can slow down. He  says he’ll never retire completely. He doesn’t need to. My other brother is doing the same with the remaining equipment business. I went with that business. I chose a clean break at 58. I still go to the shop to stay up on the latest with equipment and my favorite subject trucks. I’m too OCD to be just partly involved. I didn’t even want to consult or train. I’m not very politically correct or woke. I call it as I see it. I can just hang out and amuse myself. Perfectly happy to do nothing. There’s so much to take in and enjoy. I’m a firm believer in retirement as soon as you can and pursue your hobbies. I worked so much building our business I still have catching up to do. You only have so much time before the body makes you slow down. That’s a fact.

[customboss]

Here’s my retirement maintenance volunteering. Operators drive me nuts. Decided to take 140m2 grader via a short cut on wet mountain road spring thaw. Hung up 644K and D6 being an unsupervised idiot. 

 

Edited April 25 by customboss