have a chevy 2500hd with the 6.0 engine and i'm thinking about upgrading to the diesel version. my question is can i really tow that much more with a diesel? i think i overload my truck on some hills, we tow a 26ft toy hauler with 2 quads and usually have to tow it full of water/gas for 20 miles before reaching camp, also the 4 people in the truck and all the supply, i think we are over the suggested max, will the diesel raise how much i could tow by a lot?

 

Yes, you can increase the GCWR by buying a diesel engine, and they do a better job towing heavier loads. A great resource is over atTrailerlife Towing Guide Due to the incredible amount of torque a diesel puts out from idle right up to cruising rpm, they tend to be better pullers. If your 6.0 is truly overmatched, then this might be a solution for you.

 

You'd be amazed at how much more you can haul - especially in high load, uphill conditions. I've had my trailer hooked up to almost identical 2500HD's - one with the 6.0 and mine with the 8.1 (both gas). The difference between the 6.0L and the 8.1L is night and day. On top of that, a diesel will be just as much difference as compared to the 8.1. It's all about the torque. It's never a good idea to haul at or beyond your rated capacity, even if it is possible to do it. far better in the long run to shoot for a tow vehicle that tows up to 80% of what it's rated at.

Jaybee

 

ah I don't think you have to worry about it we tow so much with our half tonne that is gas its not even funny I wouldn't worry about it to much we tow a 16 foot trailer loaded to the ears with wet maple which weighs about 7 tonne and it doesn't give us a problem and it is alot heavier then the truck

 

YEA...until we hear you crying on here about how your chevy broke! What do you plan on doing when a minivan filled with kids pulls out in front of you while pulling that 14,000#'s??????? USE YOUR HEAD! your not the only one on the road!!!!!!

 

Diesels are incredible. All of the major truck companies deliver around 600 ft. pounds of torque near 3,000 rpms....thats amazing. We have a chip, intake, and exhaust on our 7.3 PS and I gurantee it has at least 700 ft. pounds of torque. We haul a massive swamp buggy that has a military truck drivetrain and 66 inch tall tires on a tripple axle trailer and you can't even tell its back there.

 

electric brakes all around the trailer and discs all around the truck it actually stops really good and where we drive you don't have to worry about seeing anyone at all its not like we are in the city or anything and we had our truck for about 8 years and she never let us down

 

Like I said. Basically, you've been lucky so far. If you are correct in estimating the weight of a wet maple loaded trailer, then you are hauling right about twice the rated weight for your half ton truck. Sure, good brakes on the trailer will really help but will still not be enough in an emergency stopping situation. Your frame can't handle the tongue weight - I know, it's been doing it seemingly OK, but that light duty frame is flexing under that trailer load. Even though it could never happen, if you ever get in a situation where you have to do some quick interstate speed manuvering, your 1/2 ton is going to twist all over the place.

I'm not even going to bother talking about the wear and tear on your drivetrain.

One really important thing to consider: Say you are minding your own business tooling down the road in a half-ton truck pulling 7 tons of trailer. You are doing the speed limit and basically doing everything right. Some idiot swerves in front of you, causing his car, your truck and your trailer to occupy the same place on the highway at the same time. Want to guess just who is going to be up on manslaughter charges?

That's just the facts. The only reason to haul that kind of weight is a once-in-while thing for a very short distance.

Jaybee

 

allwell lol my ol' mans be towing for all of his life and he used to own a garage and stuff and he knows what hes doing, double clutching on hills and taking it easy on going fast and where we tow theres not one on the roads so it doesn't really matter also the frame in our truck is modded for towing so I don't think the its gunna mess up and if it does allwell **** happens eh we'll just take another frame and put it on also our truck is a 4 speed manual with bull gear and is 4 wheel drive with a front locking diff so i think we are fine on our drivetrain

 

one word TORQUE. hp doesnt matter as much as the diesel cant rev like a gas motor. its math. hp is base on torque , time based at the two crossing at 5252 rpm . if the diesel could rev like that it would make around 500-600 hp stock!! torque moves weight.. period go diesel and mod it slightly . by the way ......DID THAT HAVE A HEMI IN IT ??? LOL