How Has 2500 "05" Trannies Held Up?

flash_e · May 22, 2005

I am trying to decided if I should get a duraMAX with the Allison or if the 2500HD, 6.0, 4.10 gears will be fine. I will be using the truck as a daily driver and I will only be towing a boat (about 10,000lbs Loaded) a few times a year to different lakes. I am planning on a lift kit and wheels for the truck and I was just wondering if anyone foresees any problems. Thanks

mmmikkke · May 22, 2005

I am trying to decided if I should get a duraMAX with the Allison or if the 2500HD, 6.0, 4.10 gears will be fine. I will be using the truck as a daily driver and I will only be towing a boat (about 10,000lbs Loaded) a few times a year to different lakes. I am planning on a lift kit and wheels for the truck and I was just wondering if anyone foresees any problems. Thanks

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I have no issues with my 6.0/4L80E yet. But my truck only has 5500 miles on the odometer. There is another current post about 1st gear whine in 4L80E's, but mine doesn't have it.

builderpaul · May 22, 2005

You are pushing your towing limits with the 6.0 and 4.10s. The gcwr is 16000lbs. (Total weight of loaded truck/trailer/passengers). If you lift I assume you will be putting on larger tires. This will reduce your towing ability and put additional stress on the tranny. If you tow though the mountains, or long distances, I would recomend the d-max.

Reineke · May 28, 2005

Another recommendation for the Dmax, especially since you are going to lift it. Performace upgrades are easy, however somewhat pricey. I have almost 25000 miles on my 05 Dmax Ali and you will absolutley love the way the Allison transmission works in Tow/Haul mode. You won't regret it!

Mighty HD · May 28, 2005

I have a 6.0/4l80 with 4.10's. I put 285's on it and it slowed it down a bit---not much.

I have towed a few heavy things, including a small 4wd truck/trailer that weighed around 4000lbs. It did fine but you coudl realllly tell it was behind it. Once up to speed it was fine after that.

sirhuntalot1 · May 29, 2005

sirhuntalot1 · May 29, 2005

I have a 6.0/4l80 with 4.10's. I put 285's on it and it slowed it down a bit---not much.

I have towed a few heavy things, including a small 4wd truck/trailer that weighed around 4000lbs. It did fine but you coudl realllly tell it was behind it. Once up to speed it was fine after that.

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I hear this time and time again. Your too close to your limit, Your pushing the truck to hard Only the Duramax can handle that load

I have 6.0 / 4l80e with 4.10's pulling 6500 lb trlr

No problem / not winning any Indy races but it gets the job done / and I have pulled thru hills in Ark going thru Branson into Springfield Missouri. If you hit a hill and start dropping in mph then crank up those rpms these trucks are made to run at the higher rpms if needed for that xtra oomph.

Dont let someone talk you into buying something u dont need

With what your pulling and as many times as your going to pull it, you dont have to have a duramax. You get what u pay for but if you dont need it why pay for it.

Whats going to help you will be the aerodynamics of the boat unlike others pulling a trailer with a 10-12 foot wall catching all the wind coming over the top of your truck.

I myself would like to have a dura/ally setup but I only pull trlr maybe 10-15 x a year. Its not feasible to put out that type of money when its not going to be used on a regular basis. If you need a little more pep drop in a couple of add-ons, You wont be sorry. Recently put pcmforless tune on trk and it really has p/up the pace more. I also have the 285's and Flowmaster true duals out the back.

MightyHD is correct in saying you might notice the boat back there but once up to speed you can roll with it

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Mighty HD · May 29, 2005

So why do they say the 6.0/auto can tow up to 12k?

It's a bit misleading.

I don't have anything that heavy, so its not a big deal. The most I'll ever tow is a lifted jeep/truck and a tandem axle trailer on the ball.

builderpaul · May 29, 2005

I have a 6.0/4l80 with 4.10's. I put 285's on it and it slowed it down a bit---not much.

I have towed a few heavy things, including a small 4wd truck/trailer that weighed around 4000lbs. It did fine but you coudl realllly tell it was behind it. Once up to speed it was fine after that.

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I hear this time and time again. Your too close to your limit, Your pushing the truck to hard Only the Duramax can handle that load

I have 6.0 / 4l80e with 4.10's pulling 6500 lb trlr

No problem / not winning any Indy races but it gets the job done / and I have pulled thru hills in Ark going thru Branson into Springfield Missouri. If you hit a hill and start dropping in mph then crank up those rpms these trucks are made to run at the higher rpms if needed for that xtra oomph.

Dont let someone talk you into buying something u dont need

With what your pulling and as many times as your going to pull it, you dont have to have a duramax. You get what u pay for but if you dont need it why pay for it.

Whats going to help you will be the aerodynamics of the boat unlike others pulling a trailer with a 10-12 foot wall catching all the wind coming over the top of your truck.

I myself would like to have a dura/ally setup but I only pull trlr maybe 10-15 x a year. Its not feasible to put out that type of money when its not going to be used on a regular basis. If you need a little more pep drop in a couple of add-ons, You wont be sorry. Recently put pcmforless tune on trk and it really has p/up the pace more. I also have the 285's and Flowmaster true duals out the back.

MightyHD is correct in saying you might notice the boat back there but once up to speed you can roll with it

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Flashe was talking about pulling 10000 lbs. Not your wimmpy 6500 :-) And lifting with bigger tires. The GCWR for a 6.0 with 4.10 gears is 16000. (this is directly from the sales broucher)

To refresh anyones memory the GCWR (gross combined wiehgt rating) is the maximum total weight the truck is disigned for. That means the weight of the truck, cargo, passangers, trailer etc.

He is pushing the limits pulling a 10K trailer because just the truck weights close to 6K. This puts him right at the 16K design limit. With larger tires he will be working it even harder.

Towing once a year or all the time makes no dif. It only takes one good hill to overheat an overloaded tranny.

I'm sure you can do it, life is a gamble.