11/23/2009 5:31a

Hey gang, i am looking at getting a duramax chevy truck between 05-06. I dont know too much about them. Is there anything i should look out for? ALso what kind of mileage are you guys getting out of them and what kind of power adders do you have?

Thanks

Chris

11/23/2009 5:50a

Have you been on dieselplace.com to post that question?

11/23/2009 6:09a

I believe the 05 had cooling system problems that were hit and miss. I feel your pain. I want one so bad. But the 6.0L is going to be heavily modified to make up for the gasoline. It is going to have to do me for at least 8 more years. I want to wait until I retire from the Navy and get another job and have the cash on hand to get a new truck and I would like to give my son my truck for his first one but if he follows my path as a teen I don`t think he needs more than a 2.3L Ranger. I don`t think a teen with a (planned) 400 to 500 HP is a good idea.

11/23/2009 12:50p

Steven, i didnt even know that existed! I am on there now, i will do some searching around and Carl, i didnt know their were cooling problems with the 05s. I am just looking for something i can take everywhere that is not lifted.... too high haha and will also yank around my mowing trailer with power to spare.

Chris

11/23/2009 2:26p

If you are only pulling a mowing trailer you will probably never notice any cooling problems. They were only noticed mostly by people pulling campers. There was a video clip on youtube of an idiot nearly ruining his engine trying to keep up with a Ram/cummins pulling a camper. He was overheating and still trying to keep up. He was talking about how he had a superior truck and that they should fix it so the cooling would let it run to its potential. Anyhow that problem is out there and it isn`t a whole lot of them from what I gather.

11/23/2009 2:42p

Here is the video I found it. It wasn`t a camper he was pulling it is a Uhaul truck on a trailer.

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/LLY-Overheating-Lawsuit_92219.htm

11/23/2009 5:46p

They are nice! My boss has one and our work truck has one and they have been flawless.

11/23/2009 6:20p

If I had the dough I would do it and hope I got one that didn`t have the problem. I have plenty of friends who have the D`max in the year range and none I know have the problem. I have only heard about a few rare cases on the rv.net forum. Every manufacturer will have its lemons and maybe that was a problem on only a few trucks. My father has the old 6.5L Detroit and I was interested in one of those until I used his to pull his tractor. My gas 6.0L does better than his 6.5L and even gets better mileage.

11/23/2009 8:09p

I do agree on that. The 6.5, which I own one, does an okay job for pullin heavy loads. I once pulled a skid steer, and a preporator attachment on a deck over trailer with the stakebody full of sod pallets up the hill going East bound on Rt 78 towards the 309 exit. Carl, i know you know what i am talking about.. big freaking hill. Well the truck did it, screaming 3 grand on the rpm. I was doing 75 at the bottom and 40 up top. I was heavy!! But it is what it is on the 6.5. I drove an 04 6.6 a few weeks ago. It was nice, very powerful. But the mileage was only 13.2. I wasent very impressed there. We will see what happen on sat. Either i am coming home with one or not! Either way modification will happen to one of my trucks to better suit the business.

Chris

11/23/2009 8:34p

A friend of mine has a 2002 K2500 D`max crew cab short bed and he is running 285/75/16`s on it with an exhaust kit and air intake and no other mods. He consistently gets 20 mpg. When he pulls his 5th wheel he gets about 13 mpg and his is about 4 ft shorter than mine and about 2,000 lbs lighter. I get worse 7 mpg and best 10 mpg pulling. We did a camping trip together out to Lancaster and where he set the cruise in OD and went right up the hills without downshifting on the Turnpike I would be in 3rd gear considering 2nd gear. The D`max is a huge advantage over the gas engine with the exception of the 8.1L. He retired this summer and moved out to Fort Worth and pulled his camper all the way out there in the Summer heat. I asked him how he did through the mountains and in the heat. He never got hot on the tranny or coolant he also said he only had to get into 3rd gear on two occasions and I have drove that route he took several times and made it to 2nd gear. He averaged just a little over 13 mpg all the way.

I drove his truck once and was thoroughly surprised at the 0 to 60 mph. It may have been quicker than mine.

My father`s 6.5L only get 14 mpg hwy with a 5 speed manual. Add the tractor and it gets worse than 9 mpg. We made a quick day trip to Atlanta and back to the Nashville area and I was driving and had to come from 5th gear on the Moneagle mountain pass on I-24 down to 3rd gear. It shouldn`t have needed to come out of 5th at all. He has had the vacuum pump and fuel injection pump and fuel injectors all replaced prior to the trip. His is a 3500 dually flatbed. It is in my pics. I would rather have the vortec 5.7L again to that 6.5L. It had better mileage and the same tow capacity. Especially after I built the engine. I think the 6.5L was a decent engine in the 1500 and Tahoe and Suburban but when it is paired with a HD it just doesn`t do well.

Oh well sorry for the rant. Good luck I hope you find a good truck.

I have pulled that hill with the camper. I was running 55 mph in 2nd gear at 4,000 RPM`s.

11/23/2009 8:39p

Get an 06-07 classic with the LBZ motor. I`ve heard that is the best year Duramax.

11/23/2009 8:45p

Hey Carl, get on Your Aim haha.. I need to talk to you.

Chris