Looking at tow rigs... what would you buy?

[IW 401]

Towed my 35lightning back from Mich. with a 2500 Chev. diesel, not problems whatsoever. Thats from Mich. to South Jersey.

[Wobble]

Thank you everyone who made suggestions. I ended up buying the 2006 GMC 3500 dually, 6.6 Duramax, leather, XLT, bose, onstar, brake controller, 95,000 miles.

It's in my driveway now. Just drove it 2.5 hours and boy, did people get the phuck out of my way.

Congrats on a smart choice

The cool and confusing thing about the 06 LLY is that it is identical to the LBZ motor except for programming. It is not the same motor as the 05 LLY.

I have an 06 with 100k miles of hard use and all it has seen is fluids and filters. There was an egr check engine light that came on a couple of times then cured itself.

I intend to put at least another 100k miles on it, best vehicle I have ever owned.

[Bill]

So nobody guessed the water pump to block gasket?

Just got a call from my new mechanic who lifted the truck up, took the skid plate off and diagnosed the water pump gasket leak.

And then said "And it's out of my league."

So he knows a good duramax tech that he is referring me to, and I only owe him a case of Mich light.
So Monday, I meet my new, new mechanic.
So far... they all love the truck... and none of them will touch it.

Wow, that sucks....never would have guessed that!!!! Sorry to hear!

[fund razor]

Ok, it wasn't quite 400 for the part.
It was the water pump tho. Tranny lines and coolant hoses look good.
Did the fuel filter too.
Anyway... happy to say that it's fixed and now the biggest problem is the salt on it and those little cars in my way.

[fixxxer22]

I would look for a 2005-2007 ford f-350 SRW. the cool thing about the 350 is that it is 3 inches taller in the rear. so for $40.00 you can buy a leveling kit and make it look like it has a 3 inch lift and tuck some bigger tires under it. the srw is still has a 1 ton payload and the 6.0 will not have as many emissions as the 6.4. the 6.4 is good and if you have any trucks you are looking at you can send me their vin# and i can tell what has been done and where. and what build the trucks are. if you get an 06 or 07 with warranty left ( i can tell you if you provide me a vin) i can tell you the few specific things to complain about to get them patched up before the truck has a chance to give you trouble.

As far as the used world goes there is no price difference from a 250 and a 350 srw. when you buy them new they do hit you with a higher price due to their payload. I am also a huge fan of the tow command in the fords and the tow haul mode with engine braking. the trans is also huge as opposed to dodge. I pull a buddys slingshot 38 with mine from time to time and it does well. i also put electric brakes on my trailer (even though everyone said it would not work) and i forget to unplug them 50% of the time when im putting the boat in and have never had a problem. and locally here at midwest wheel it only costs $45 a hub for a electric brake conversion. then i get to use my tow command.

[fund razor]

Thanks very much.

But I bought a truck on page 9.

2006 GMC 3500 xlt 1 ton dually with a duramax and an allison. Vroom.

[fixxxer22]

Good deal! happy towing! Keep up on your fuel filters and anti gel. Also you can add a cetane booster to each tank to gain about 1mpg.

[fund razor]

Hey fixxer, where are you located?

[fixxxer22]

Bettendorf, Iowa. 52722 I am a tech in the dealership Lindquist Ford

[fund razor]

Gotcha. Thanks.

Chris is right, you are about to be the most popular member on this forum.

[fixxxer22]

love to help. These fourums helped me through the build of my big block last year. hi performance chevy was a new thing to me. everyone was eager to help and as should I with the knowlege i have a ford vehicles and what I have available. I also work on a site called just answer and i can make shop manual snapshots and other things and make them pdf files. I can also check oasis on all ford vehicles 1999 and up. I really do like how everyone is so polite on this site. and love the apache. mabye i will be in the big leauges one day.

[38fountainSC]

Hey fixxer whats the highest milage you've seen on a 7.3? A couple of my work trucks are over 300k and still run good. Also you say 6.0 is good but I have read a lot about those engines having problems with less then 100k. One of them was one here.

Oh yea, nice to have someone to help diagnose a problem.

[Big Time]

Then use a oil pumper and run oil into every seam on the truck, bed wells, door lips.... everything...

What exactly do you do? What kind of oil do you use....never heard of this but I am super anal too. I use WD-40 on my truck in all the seems, but if there is something better....

[fixxxer22]

Hey fixxer whats the highest milage you've seen on a 7.3? A couple of my work trucks are over 300k and still run good. Also you say 6.0 is good but I have read a lot about those engines having problems with less then 100k. One of them was one here.

Oh yea, nice to have someone to help diagnose a problem.

I have seen tow truck with hard service run 500k. you can do a simple test on a 7.3 called crankcase pressure testing to determine the condition of the engine. i have had a guy come in and told me to install new bearings. i tore his down and they still looked great. all the cylinders still had a good crosshatch in them and it had 300k. just keep good oil in it. we have a johnstone supply truck come in every 3 weeks it gets 1k put on it a week. it has 430k on it and they change the oil every 3 k with ford oil and filter. that truck runs better than many i have driven with 100k on it. the clean oil keeps the injectors working well. the valve covers have never been off that vehicle.

[Bill]

Bettendorf, Iowa. 52722 I am a tech in the dealership Lindquist Ford

I thought that boat looked familiar, I am in Davenport.

[Bill]

i also put electric brakes on my trailer (even though everyone said it would not work) and i forget to unplug them 50% of the time when im putting the boat in and have never had a problem. and locally here at midwest wheel it only costs $45 a hub for a electric brake conversion. then i get to use my tow command.

I have had electric brakes on my past three boat trailers and love them, never a problem either! I would never have anything but electrics either. Plus, surge is either illegal or becoming illegal for a reason!!!

[fixxxer22]

I have had electric brakes on my past three boat trailers and love them, never a problem either! I would never have anything but electrics either. Plus, surge is either illegal or becoming illegal for a reason!!!

Someone told me that they would fry in water but i am a year deep and i forget all the time to unplug them and there is no change in their operation. i run the same gain and the trailer operates properly.

looks like you took your avatar pic behind princeton beach?

[Bill]

Someone told me that they would fry in water but i am a year deep and i forget all the time to unplug them and there is no change in their operation. i run the same gain and the trailer operates properly.

looks like you took your avatar pic behind princeton beach?

I have never diconnected my trailer when I back in. All three trailer MFG's said there is no reason to. I am going on 5 years and three boat trailers and no problems. Not too mention, my car hauler that has been in the rain and never a brake problem and my 5th wheel camper that is towed in the rain and brake wires get wet, never a problem...


My Avatar pic was taken down in Dodges Cut, just up river from Buffalo and Adalusia, it is between a couple of islands, great place to hang out, plus you can get out and walk around in anything from ankle deep water to chest deep. I saw you caoming through the canalduring Tug Fest weekend this past summer.

[fixxxer22]

I have never diconnected my trailer when I back in. All three trailer MFG's said there is no reason to. I am going on 5 years and three boat trailers and no problems. Not too mention, my car hauler that has been in the rain and never a brake problem and my 5th wheel camper that is towed in the rain and brake wires get wet, never a problem...


My Avatar pic was taken down in Dodges Cut, just up river from Buffalo and Adalusia, it is between a couple of islands, great place to hang out, plus you can get out and walk around in anything from ankle deep water to chest deep. I saw you caoming through the canalduring Tug Fest weekend this past summer.

What are you runnin in your boat and what make is it?

[Bill]

What are you runnin in your boat and what make is it?

08 Formula 292 with twin 377's. Formula will not put BB's in this hull...