I just came back from a 1 week trip to the Okanagan, which is located in the Interior of BC. I would say the terrain is hilly with several mountain passes. I noticed I was short on power on the hills and 1/2 ton trucks with 18' trailers in rolling terrain didn't seem to be having as much trouble as me.
I weighed my truck on the way back and it was 11,540 lbs, which is about 140 lbs over my GVWR. Camper was loaded with clothing, food and toys. Fuel tank was about 3/4 full and the other tanks in the camper were about 1/4 full each. My average mileage for this trip was about 10.6 mpg over a distance of about 645 miles.
The question is, is there a noticeable difference in vehicle power when carrying a camper verses towing a trailer? I have never towed anything and this is the first real trip with the camper.
Harvey, Helen + 2 kids
2001 Silverado K3500, CC, 6.0L, Auto, DRW, Torklifts, Fastguns, Firestone Air Bags, ScanGauge II
2006 Bigfoot 25C10.6E, 4-6V Costco Batteries (22 nights to date)
Towing equal weight of my boat and my TC, I find my boat gets better MPG. I guess my tall TC pushed more wind. Also, some light TTs are pretty light like 3,000 lbs. That wwould weigh 2500 less than my current TC. Also, maybe there is some drafting effect on a TT vs none on a TC.
The 6.0 is a good engine, but it doesn't have the torque for keeping up with the heavier loads. My previous 2500 w/ 6.0 gas tended to struggle on long grades and downshift or go in and out of converter lock to manage. The TC I had at the time was a Lance 835, something a lot lighter and smaller than what you have.
Your gear ratios have a lot to do with how effective the 6.0 will be, since it really has to rev up in order to put out torque. Most of the duallys with 6.0's generally had steeper gear ratios to pull with, but yours may not.
Make sure you are using tow haul mode on your tranny when you are loaded up.
It will force the engine to delay upshifts and maintain higher rpm. If it is pulling that hard, it won't matter on mileage so it's better to give both the transmission and engine help. In fact your mileage may go up some just because your not making it labor so much.(depending upon intended speed)
My best mileage with that rig was about 14 loaded, driving under 50 mph in mountains, and I believe that the slow speed was the main reason.
The other was the altitude effecting the tire pressure. It never got into overdrive at that time, but ran probably in 3rd a lot.
My dissatisfaction got me into a different truck and now I get to pay for diesel. It pulls so much better and gets better overall economy, but I hate paying so much extra for the fuel.
Dave & Sue,
DINKS and dedicated to having fun as much as possible.
05 GMC LT crewcab dually
07 Northern Lite 10.2 CD SE, highly optioned version...
A lot comes on a SE.
Those are some high altitude passes.When I pull the grade to the toll booth you really have to find the sweet spot for your motor. My 5.4 with 4:10 needs to be at about 3500 rpm to maintain speed on that grade.When it hits the final steep part you can really feel it sucking wind. The turbo diesels have no problem with the high altitude. I have realized that with my rig I am not going to win any races so I sit back and enjoy the ride and save fuel.
I feel your pain. You have a 4.1 rear end. No choice with a 6.0 and 3500. You are also dragging 4wd hardware along in the drive train. You also have only a 4 speed auto; same as mine. If yours is like mine, and I bet it is, there is no sweet spot for the engine with the trans ratios. I need something between 2nd and third gear. Otherwise, I am sometimes running 4 grand in 2nd gear to keep up with traffic on a nice hill, such as found on the W. Va Turnpike. Tow haul mode won't make any difference, as you have probably found out. You need a blower, or the 8.1 with the allison, or perhaps a newer 6.0 with the 6 speed auto and more hp. Fortunately, it hasn't seemed to have hurt mine running at 4000 or more rpm.
Kurt
2001 Silverado 3500 DRW CC LB 6.0
1993 Lance Squire Lite 150 (8'6")
2001 Fleetwood Caribou 11J (11'6")
You hit the nail on the head. You've described exactly what mine feels like. Since max hp and torque comes at 4400 and 4000 rpm, I guess I'll have to run the engine at those speeds. I just don't like running the engine at those rpms (sucks gas and is noisy).
Hey there wrote: Hi Harv,
I feel your pain. You have a 4.1 rear end. No choice with a 6.0 and 3500. You are also dragging 4wd hardware along in the drive train. You also have only a 4 speed auto; same as mine. If yours is like mine, and I bet it is, there is no sweet spot for the engine with the trans ratios. I need something between 2nd and third gear. Otherwise, I am sometimes running 4 grand in 2nd gear to keep up with traffic on a nice hill, such as found on the W. Va Turnpike. Tow haul mode won't make any difference, as you have probably found out. You need a blower, or the 8.1 with the allison, or perhaps a newer 6.0 with the 6 speed auto and more hp. Fortunately, it hasn't seemed to have hurt mine running at 4000 or more rpm.
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