Gas vs diesel? GMC 2500?

[MHammy]

Gas vs diesel? Anyone tow with a Gmc 2500 gas or diesel and how do you like it?

[SteveSueMac]

Hi. Lots of opinions on this. I have a Chevy 2500 diesel and love it as a tow vehicle but it is definitely not my favorite "commuter car". Plenty of power and all the heavy duty stuff you want for towing and braking.

What are you towing and what are you towing with?

Good luck!

[MHammy]

2016 27FB being made and looking to buy a new truck

[SilverGate]

Originally Posted by MHammy

Gas vs diesel? Anyone tow with a Gmc 2500 gas or diesel and how do you like it?

Gas vs. Diesel

(Maybe not the easiest to use, but the Search engine is your friend, especially Advanced Search.)

[Ted S.]

I think you would need to find an older truck to get the diesel,I think they stopped production in early 2000's.

The 2500 stopped altogether in 2013, which was the last 3/4 ton SUV

[Andrew T]

At our store we have a 2015 2500 6.0 Litre Gas 2WD with an extended cab. We chose this truck because it is the only one available with an extended (not crew) cab with 4 individual doors. We want the extended cab and 6.5' box to try and improve the maneuverability as much as possible.

The cab of the truck is nice, it is as quiet as a luxury car. This truck almost never tows an Airstream we use it to tow fifth wheels which have considerably more air drag and weigh 12-14000 pounds. The 3000 pounds of pin weight on these is enough to make the rear suspension ride relatively smooth, however the front suspension is sprung much firmer than it needs to be. Shock control is anemic at best so once the springs soften a little it will be changed to Bilsteins. We did not choose diesel as the overall ownership cost is much higher for our usage, we only put 18,000 miles per year on this truck.

The biggest negative to this truck is how ridiculously tall it sits. It is 7" taller than the same truck from 2000 which did the same job. This tall center of gravity reduces the handling capability makes it a pain to climb in and out of and forget about reaching into the box from the sides. These silly tall trucks seem to sell better from a styling standpoint but there is no engineering basis for their design.

If you want to tow the Airstream with a pickup I would consider the Max tow package in the 1500 Gm. A Ford F150 or Ram with the Air Suspension and the 3.0 Litre diesel. All the rivets in your Airstream will thank you for the smoother ride and you will save many thousands. Also in these trucks you can get a 5.5' box which allows you to get into tighter campsites, the truck is also considerably more comfortable and nicer to drive as a solo vehicle.

What do you drive now?

I hope this helps.

Andrew T

[Ultradog]

My daily driver is a 2500 HD Chevy that has been a good pickup. It is a gasser. I don't pull my AS anywhere but I have pulled my 11K trailer all over the central US.
I have a couple of diesel tractors. They are noisy. Far more noisy than a gasser.
They also stink ! Aside from the stinking exhaust -which will choke you, the fuel Stinks.
Get some diesel on your hands or pants or shoes While fueling and it will stink up your whole day unless you make the effort to clean everything. I would never own a diesel for my daily driver or for a vehicle where I hoped to stay clean/odor free.
JMO

[xrvr]

Wow, ever heard a new diesel run? They've come a long way.

[Ultradog]

Originally Posted by avionstream

Wow, ever heard a new diesel run? They've come a long way.

Yes I have heard them run.
My wife lives in a townhome. There are two long rows of units where the garages face a center driveway. Everyone has a tuck under garage.
Our neighbor has a late model Ford F250 diesel - 2012? 2013?
He leaves for work about 6:00 AM. If you are not awake when he starts his pickup you will be when he leaves.
Diesels are Way more noisy than a gasser.

[tjdonahoe]

That isn't noise you're' hearing, it's horsepower and torque, and the newer diesels do not stink or smoke unless someone removed all the stock emissions , a gasser will not run with a diesel......

[blucloud]

I am on my second 2500HD GMC diesel. Like them very much.
Must consider what you are towing. I have towed our Corvettes, 7500lbs, through the Rockys, yes they are worth the extra. Towed out 5th wheel, again worth the extra. We have towed out 23ft Safari, 20ft Argosy, 25ft Excella and now our 21 ft GT. When towing the 25ft Airstream we were involve with a near miss accident when a semi blew two tires and went sideways on the freeway. Our tow vehicle was next to the semi and we were hit with flying tires. The truck handled the traffic and the Airstream followed. I have always felt that the size or the tow vehicle should be heavier then what it pulls.

Weather Gas or Diesel, GM, Ford or Dodge, a 2500 truck does pull the best.
The newer trucks ride as nice as a sedan.

[Jaxon]

I recently traded in my GMC 2500HD Sierra gasser for a Chevy Silverado 2500HD Duramax having towed our 34’ Classic from Rhode Island to Texas... The gasser towed OK, often up around 5K rpms on steep hills - it could tow the trailer but thinking about traveling out west in northern NM & in Colorado with friends, I figured I’d like to get up a mountain the same day my friends did and be able to get down without burning up my brakes - the diesel has an exhaust brake which is a big help on steep downhill runs...

The diesel is a strong machine and has absolutely no problem with the trailer. The ride is smooth, quiet and comfortable and powerful. The diesel is not smelly or noisy - it is a quiet machine. If you don’t plan on any mountain driving, the 2500 gasser would be great. For long, steep climbs (& descents) - mountain trips/driving, I’d go with the diesel. The extra weight of the diesel, I feel, also gives me a more stable platform towing.
.

[AnnArborBob]

Oh goody, another diesel vs. gas thread!

[Jaxon]

Originally Posted by AnnArborBob

Oh goody, another diesel vs. gas thread!

Or just answering a question posed by MHammy -
"Gas vs diesel? Anyone tow with a Gmc 2500 gas or diesel and how do you like it?”

Now, had he asked “which is better”, there you’d have your fuel wars!

[field & stream]

Originally Posted by AnnArborBob

Oh goody, another diesel vs. gas thread!

Really. To spice things up I will complicate it: I prefer supercharged gasoline motors over both. (Now the turbocharger fans can enter the discussion, too!)

[J. Morgan]

My 08 1/2 ton 5.3 L gas tows my trailer very, very, well.

Opinions may vary.


Brevi tempore!

[tjdonahoe]

We have mountains in Montana, we like the diesel power ,at low rpm's ...

[dkottum]

Everyone loves to tow with their 3/4 ton diesel, but not everyone loves to drive it when not towing. The structure of the Airstream may suffer. And the price and maintenance can strain some wallets.

We use an inexpensive, short wheelbase 1/2 ton truck hooked to our Airstream with a sway elimination hitch. Works very well. You have a truck-based SUV, get a high-quality hitch and you may like it.

[SteveSueMac]

Originally Posted by dkottum

..snip....
The structure of the Airstream may suffer.

I hear this repeated a lot. It's just not my experience. If it's happening to others, I'd like to hear their stories directly (you may have swapped from a Diesel 3/4 ton - I don't recall).

3 seasons under our belts with Chevy 2500 HD Diesel towing a 27FB Flying Cloud. Nothing destroyed, no popping rivets, no open drawers or cabinets...just reporting our experience.

[Ultradog]

Originally Posted by SteveSueMac

I hear this repeated a lot. It's just not my experience. If it's happening to others, I'd like to hear their stories directly (you may have swapped from a Diesel 3/4 ton - I don't recall).

3 seasons under our belts with Chevy 2500 HD Diesel towing a 27FB Flying Cloud. Nothing destroyed, no popping rivets, no open drawers or cabinets...just reporting our experience.

I would say three seasons of towing isn't enough to reveal the effects of towing with such a stiff suspensioned vehicle.
I wonder what the 50s and 60s trailers would be like today if they had been towed with such heavy duty vehicles. Probably far more worn out structurally.
But then again, structural wear from towing probably wont be the killer of the new Airstreams. That dreaded white powder will.