Allison trans. a must for plowing ?

[mattymax]

Trying to decide on a second truck purchase strictly going to be used for plowing and landscaping.

 

1) 2002 2500HD 8.1lt/Allison trans

2) 2004 2500HD 6.0

 

Both are single cab long bed and will be used during the warm months for my part time landscaping company.

Is the 8.1 ALLISON combo a must for plowing ??

Both are around the same price and mileage.

Thanks

Matt

[elcamino]

 

Is the 8.1 ALLISON combo a must for plowing ??

 

No, the 6.0L and the 4L90 trans are very good. 99.9 % of all the GM plow trucks out there don't have a 8.1L.

[8.1HD/ALLISON]

Where i work we have a fleet of 3500 duallys. All are two wheel drive, 6.0L and 4l80e. They hold up just fine. That being said, if you dont mind losing 1-2 mpg get the 8.1. It will work and pull much better than the 6.0.

 

Sent from my LGL86C using Tapatalk

[KMGZ400]

For the same price and miles I would go with the 8.1 and Allison... A better trans is always good. Not to mention resale value will be way better on the 8.1

[gmtech4]

the 8.1/allison is in the 28' uhaul trucks ,,,,,i filled one of those trucks to the door and it pulled like it was empty ,,,

 

as a Gm tranny guy (retired from GM ) i can tell you the Allison is an amazing tranny

 

the instructor on our ally course said "wait till these are outa warranty boys ,you'll make a fortune rebuilding these simple trannys"

 

joke is on us ,,,,i never had one to rebuild outside of warranty or during warranty ,

 

they have awesome programming as well,,,,if its to cold outside ,it will simply wait untill its good and ready to move at all or give ya a 2nd or 3rd gear start to warm itself up lol

[mattymax]

Okay thanks guys.

They are both listed at $12,500. I think I would rather have the 8.1/Allison. When I drove it, it felt a bit sloppy in the front so Ill have to get it looked at if I do buy it. Brakes and tires as well.

The 8.1/Allison is actually listed a few thousand over KBB and the 2004 is listed below.

Matt

[Cowpie]

I have always been more fond of the big blocks. They were built for work and they do a great job of it. As far as resale value, not sure that having the big block will make much of a difference. It is only desired by a limited number of folks which weren't that many and is one of the reasons GM dropped it. And you are not going to get quite the resale you think if someone finds out you used it to do any kind of serious plowing. But on the flip side, Allison is the king of automatics, bar none. They have been at it a LONG time and make them from pickup size all the way up to serious, and I do mean SERIOUS heavy haul. See if this Allison doesn't perform some mighty impressive feats... yanking gross weight of almost 800,000 lb.....

 

 

 

 

So, if you want something for some serious work, then the 8.1 with the Allison is the ticket. It may not be needed, but you sure won't regret it. Better to have it and not need it than not have it and wish you had.

[bert55441]

I know this is a few months old but just wondering what truck you decided to go with? I have the 8.1/Ally Crew cab short box. I use it to haul and plow also. Haven't had much problems with mine.