Ultimate Truck for towing

[AWJ Services]

Like the thread says.

Base it on performance(both pulling power and comfort), fuel mileage, ease of Maint and durability.No little trucks.

KSSS's truck is a good example.He gets great mileage and performance.
I know 1 ton trucks as well as anybody but the med duty and up stuff I am ignorant to.

Things are good business wise for me and I really need to get in a bigger truck and trailer.

[tnmtn]

partially based on KSSS's recomendation i have ended up with a duramax/allison chevy 4500. so far so good . it is an awesome truck, great towing and great with a load. it is much better truck with a load ior towing than empty. fuel milage is a comprimise between a one ton andthe larger trucks. it is working out very well for me. when saying medium duty i am assuming you single axle. i am not a fan of cat medium duty diesels but have nothing but good about the international medium duty engines (DT466). had i not gone chevy this is the route i would have taken and may still in the future for another apllication. good luck on the search,

[ksss]

Like the thread says.

Base it on performance(both pulling power and comfort), fuel mileage, ease of Maint and durability.No little trucks.

KSSS's truck is a good example.He gets great mileage and performance.
I know 1 ton trucks as well as anybody but the med duty and up stuff I am ignorant to.

Things are good business wise for me and I really need to get in a bigger truck and trailer.


There is not much more I can add to my opinion of the 5500. It does somethings very well, others not so much, overall in the areas that are most important to me, the truck is very successful.

[turfquip]

Are the 5500's and the 6500's available in 4WD?

[ksss]

Are the 5500's and the 6500's available in 4WD?


Up to 5500 they are, mine is 4x4. I am not sure about the 6500.

[Kepple Services]

I have an older (02) GMC C7500 with a cat 3126 and allison auto in it. I can not complain one bit about it. The issues I have had with is are few and far berween. One was an oil leak on the motor, but CAT had a retrofit kit to go from a rubber to a metal line so I installed that myself in about 2 hours. another was a gasket leaking on the other side. Thats all the issues I have had other than wear items (damn tires and brakes wear out, how dare they!) I wish it was a 8500 or had tandems under it but thats not a fault of the truck that me. I am actually looking at putting tandems under it now to add capacity. Depending on what size you are looking for I would recomend this truck all day long.

Oh yeah another nice thing is that the cab is set up like a pickup, so parts are a whole lot cheaper and easier to get. I had someone break my drivers side window out with a piece of pipe (dont ask) and they wanted something like $300 for a C7500 window, so I called the local junkyard and found a 88 chevy PU window for $40. EXACT same window. Amazing isnt it....

[AWJ Services]

Is the towing capacity any different between the 5500,6500,7500?

[ksss]

I have an older (02) GMC C7500 with a cat 3126 and allison auto in it. I can not complain one bit about it. The issues I have had with is are few and far berween. One was an oil leak on the motor, but CAT had a retrofit kit to go from a rubber to a metal line so I installed that myself in about 2 hours. another was a gasket leaking on the other side. Thats all the issues I have had other than wear items (damn tires and brakes wear out, how dare they!) I wish it was a 8500 or had tandems under it but thats not a fault of the truck that me. I am actually looking at putting tandems under it now to add capacity. Depending on what size you are looking for I would recomend this truck all day long.

Oh yeah another nice thing is that the cab is set up like a pickup, so parts are a whole lot cheaper and easier to get. I had someone break my drivers side window out with a piece of pipe (dont ask) and they wanted something like $300 for a C7500 window, so I called the local junkyard and found a 88 chevy PU window for $40. EXACT same window. Amazing isnt it....


You could add a tandem drop axle to your truck. It would not be a drive axle of course but it would give you more capacity on the road. Depending on how much off roading you do it might be a cost effective option. I have seen it done on several trucks. It allows you utilize the added capacity when you need it and retract the axle (lowering costs somewhat) when you don't need it.

[ksss]

I don't have the specs, but I am sure the larger models would have a better tow ratings than would the 5500.

[tnmtn]

http://www.gallogmc.com/VehicleSearchResults?search=new&make=GMC&model=C6500
the 6500 up can be had in 4wd but i believe it is an upbuild by an aftermaket vendor. definitly an option. we see them on utility trucks most often in my area.

[talus]

Yes you can get any truck with a driving front axle. International is the only one that has an option from the factory. The company I work for has a few Freightliner M2's that were converted by Marmon Herrington.

[RockSet N' Grade]

If you are thinking of adding a drop axle to either a bobtail or tandem, the cost is around $7500 labor/materials.........just a quick fyi.

[Gravel Rat]

If you are going with a medium duty you can have a detroit locker installed and your all set. If a locker in the diff doesn't provide enough traction your in a place you shouldn't be.

The other problem with the 4x4 medium duty trucks is the height.

[ksss]

If you are going with a medium duty you can have a detroit locker installed and your all set. If a locker in the diff doesn't provide enough traction your in a place you shouldn't be.

The other problem with the 4x4 medium duty trucks is the height.


I don't buy into the if a locker cant get you enough traction than your in a place you shouldn't be. A locker is helpful but at least here 4X4 is mandatory. It is very helpful when starting out from a stop on snow/ice with a full load.

The height is certainly higher than a 4X2 but I have not had an issue with it and the 5500 4x4 certainly sits up high. I can look eye to eye on class 8 trucks, but the offroad capability is one this trucks best attributes. Don't have to worry about high centering, it will take you almost anywhere you need to off road. No small issue when you work off the beaten path. If
I hung a PTO winch on the front it would be perfect.

[Gravel Rat]

I'am talking about if he goes with a 6500-7500 sized truck. You start getting into the trucks with the marmon front axle your looking at some dollars.

If this truck is just used for towing etc a detroit locker (selectable air operated) is good enough for most offroad work.

The firedept here also has a Freighliner M2 4x4 fire truck it is a full 35,000lb gvw truck. The truck sits a good 10 inches or more higher than a regular 5 ton truck. The truck supposidly rides like a pogo stick I personally haven't rid in it. Yes the fire dept has gotten the truck stuck got into a area where 4wheeldrive wasn't going to help.

[AWJ Services]

I guess I deserve this with the way I Hijack everyone elses threads.:laugh:

[stuvecorp]

I have a Kodiak single axle(33,000 gvw) with the 3116 Cat and aside from the extreme cost to fix the motor it is a great truck. Never lacking in power, has a high output 250 horse. It seemed to be real good on fuel, almost better than my old 450. I haven't really used it to much for towing but it would handle the skid no problem. It has a contractors box so the sides fold down and it can be loaded with the Polaris or mini-excavator I wanted to put the drop axle to carry more but figured it would be better to just buy a big dump truck.

[Kepple Services]

I have looked at adding the drop axle on my 7500 but it cost about the same as adding a set of cutoffs out of a 8500 that are here locally... So I was just going to go with the cutoffs. I dont do to much offroading, I do a lot of concrete hauling for tearouts and debris and trash hauling. I have a loader loaded on the truck as well as the 25 yard body on it. Empty I weigh about 25,000lbs so my cargo capacity is kind of crappy... this the wanting a tandem setup.

[Gravel Rat]

You can add a set of tandems to any single axle chassis if it is heavy enough.

The 8500 series trucks usually only have 40,000lb rears. Spring suspension is easier to install. For the cost of a tandem axle truck your better off buying a tandem lots of trucks on the market right now.

[AWJ Services]

I have been looking for trucks some more and I went on Chevy's website and the max GCVR for the 4500/5500 with a Duramax 6.6l is 30K pounds.
It is no more than a F450/F550 truck.

http://eogld.ecomm.gm.com/images/mediumduty/techspecs/GCWR.pdf

Mark that off of my list.

[SiteSolutions]

If you're moving up, do you need to move one or two machines at once? A local guy has a converted day cab tractor with dump on it, I think maybe like a Ford 8000 size, moves his Kubota KX-161 and a New Holland skid with it. Mileage probably sucks but i bet it's cheaper than making two trips with a one ton. Maybe get one big enough to pull both machines when you need it, and use the one ton when you only need one machine and either you don't have need a dump truck on site or you're going to have to hire a big dump truck anyway.