7.4 vs 8.1

etex211 · July 29, 2015

I currently own a 1996 C3500 crew cab dually with a vortec 7.4. This truck is used only for pulling my 38.5 foot fifth wheel camper. I've owned this truck since the spring of 2000. It currently has 156,000 miles, and is mechanically sound. I know that it needs to have several A/C components replaced because of leaks. For the past few years, I've just been putting a couple of cans of freon in it before each trip. The paint on the roof, hood, and the tops of the fenders is bad, and I will need to eventually address this if I continue to keep the truck.

I've always got my eyes open for a better, newer truck that I could get into without spending a lot of money. What I've watched for the most are clean Dodge Cummins 5.9 trucks or GM Duramax trucks. Most of the diesels I see around here have been rode pretty hard

Something caught my eye today. A guy that I know (but don't necessarily trust) put up an ad for a 2002 GMC 2500 4x4 crew cab with a vortec 8100. This truck has 207,000 miles on it. In the pictures he posted, it looks pretty clean. He stated that it's been a daily driver, and the miles are mostly highway miles. (They always say that, right?) His asking price is $8,000. This truck is on a used car lot that he runs with his dad.

Here are my questions:

Would I notice much of a chassis difference between the '96 dually and the '02 2500? My camper is about 13,000 pounds, and is about 2500 pounds on the pin.

The 7.4 is fairly sluggish accelerating on the highway. I always try to baby it and not turn a lot of RPM's. Would I notice much of a difference with the 8100?

I've resigned myself to the fact that the gas mileage with my 454 pulling the trailer will never be better than 6. Would the 8100 be any better or worse?

Is there anything else I need to know about the differences between the '96 and the '02?

Thanks.

servantsalesmen · July 30, 2015

The biggest difference you will note is probably less stability actually. A dually will be more sure footed than a SRW truck every time. Your camper is pretty big and personally I'd rather have a dually for that rig. Just my two cents!