2500HD with 6.0 or Duramax Diesel?? Your thoughts.

silver03ado · August 10, 2006

Reading some big debates over gas mileage and value.

Just some info. Looking to buy a new 2500HD for work. Not sure if I'll be using it with factory bed or a Utility Body which weighs a good 1500 lbs. to accomadate HVAC work here in FLORIDA.

We do service, repair, installation, etc and curious if you guys would reccomend the 6.0 gas or Duramax as far as overall value in my case. Once I buy this truck, I'll most likely be keeping it for work for the next 15-20 years at least.

Looking to get good gas mileage and hear great things about the duramax. I don't do a lot of hauling or trailering either. Currently, I hear there are great rebates or the 0% Financing, so curious what you would do in my case..

thanks. Just out of curiousity- are there any packages I should know about that the dealer wont disclose up front about LT's, etc for similar pricing to W/T.....Guess I just dont trust the Stealerships and all their tactics....

dogzapper · August 10, 2006

The "Can Handle It All Factor" is definitely there with the Duramax. That is precisely why I bought mine; it has amazing power, the finest possible transmission and there is almost no condition that I cannot handle with the DMax.

Apparently, you are planning to own your truck for a long time. Who knows what you will be using your truck for during that time? The Duramax will handle it all, andyou will not end up trading off your rig because you don't have enough truck.

The LBZ DMax mileage is amazing. I get (hand calculated) a cool 20-22 mpg during long freeway trips, fully 15 mpg around the city (Portland, Oregon) and my two vacations towing our 8,000 pound trailer house have yeilded 13.6 and 13.7 mpg.

This pretty much agrees with my DIC, which I've left unzeroed for the last several months of driving freeway, city and towing....and it shows an average of 18.5 mpg.

If you asked the question: Would you buy a 2006+ Duramax again, given the chance to start over? My answer would be a totally solid YES, YES, YES.

Personally, I'm leaving mine stock. The 650 ft/lbs of torque is more than enough to handle any of my needs...ever. Nor am I going to change the tires; the Load Range-Es are strong and the 245s are small enough to give great mileage and I can put chains on them for our snow-country big game hunts. Hey, this baby is perfect the way she leaves the lot.

Not to be negative; I have driven the 6.0 and it will get the heavy HD truck around, but it is very much lacking in power when under load and, compared to the Duramax, it is downright pedestrian. I also owned a truck with the 8.1 liter engine; the gas consumption was amazing (in a bad way), the power was not equal to the Duramax and the engine burned more than one-quart of oil every 1000 miles.

To me, the decision to go for the Duramax was a no-brainer. The truck, engine and transmission are even better than I had even dreamed.

Hope this helps.

Steve

Freyguy · August 10, 2006

I have a 6.0L gas now, and my next truck will be the Dmax. No big complaints about the 6.0, but there are many more benefits to the diesel.

silver03ado · August 10, 2006

Thank you both for your replies...Really appreciate the details you included in the first post-

great info, and ill take it into consideration

KEEP THE OPINIONS COMING PLEASE

I have a 6.0L gas now, and my next truck will be the Dmax. No big complaints about the 6.0, but there are many more benefits to the diesel.

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linda · August 10, 2006

If those are the choices your down to, then yes, the Dmax is your best bet. If you need work done (not under warranty) it will be more expensive with the Dmax, as will periodic preventative maintenance. Keep that in mind. Do you do your own oil and lubes? Will you be changing your own fuel filter and such?

Dogzapper, you really should be a spokesman for the Dmax trucks...i cant count how many times you have come in vouching for the Dmax and telling how much torque it has..LOL. Im not flaming, its just funny, no big deal. I agree though, im not a big fan of the 6.0L, nothing personal, i just prefer the stronger end of chevys line up. Its tough to compare the two engines though, one has a freakin turbocharger on it for Gods sake...LOL....of course its gonna get the job done better. I also have to take up for my 8.1L, its never burned oil at all....ever. MPG isnt that great though i agree, but you show me a guy buying an HD truck for fuel economy and i will confuse him with simple addition.

dogzapper · August 10, 2006

If those are the choices your down to, then yes, the Dmax is your best bet. If you need work done (not under warranty) it will be more expensive with the Dmax, as will periodic preventative maintenance. Keep that in mind. Do you do your own oil and lubes? Will you be changing your own fuel filter and such?

Dogzapper, you really should be a spokesman for the Dmax trucks...i cant count how many times you have come in vouching for the Dmax and telling how much torque it has..LOL. Im not flaming, its just funny, no big deal. I agree though, im not a big fan of the 6.0L, nothing personal, i just prefer the stronger end of chevys line up. Its tough to compare the two engines though, one has a freakin turbocharger on it for Gods sake...LOL....of course its gonna get the job done better. I also have to take up for my 8.1L, its never burned oil at all....ever. MPG isnt that great though i agree, but you show me a guy buying an HD truck for fuel economy and i will confuse him with simple addition.

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Friend linda,

Absolutely, if a guy wanted fuel economy, he would drive a freakin' Toyota

Greenie-Weenie car. If you're going to play, you're gonna pay...and that is as it should be.

My 8.1 liter was in a 2500 Avalanche and I really loved the engine. It surely pulled our trailer house just fine and, actually, I really liked the heavy-duty Chevy tranny. If the rear vision wasn't so intolerable in the Avalanche, I'd prolly still be driving it.

Yeah, I really, really LOVE my new Duramax and I truly apologize like sounding like a walking-talking billboard. I'm an old fart, sixty-three years old, and I am sooooo delighted to have finally found truck that combines almost freightening power, incredible smoothness and excellent fuel economy.

Some say that the diesel will cost more to maintain. That's fine with me. I totally agree with you, we don't drive HD trucks for the economy, we drive them because they will do everything we could possibly want....plus forty percent.

By the way, i look forward to your posts and see much wisdom there.

Steve

Shawn T · August 10, 2006

That's OK Steve. I find it hard to wipe the sh*&t-eating grin off of my face everytime I step on the pedal or tow a trailer. I used to drive an LB7, and I thought it was the cat's meow. This is the "Barry Bonds" of truck motors. All juiced up.

Boondox · August 10, 2006

Thank you both for your replies...Really appreciate the details you included in the first post-

great info, and ill take it into consideration

KEEP THE OPINIONS COMING PLEASE

I have a 6.0L gas now, and my next truck will be the Dmax. No big complaints about the 6.0, but there are many more benefits to the diesel.

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I just had the same decision and opted for the 6.0L for a couple of valid reasons. First, mine is a farm truck that will probably see less than 5k miles per year on the odo. By my calculations, the breakeven point between the DMax and the 6 liter is about 65,000 miles. If I drove the truck more than I do, the DMax would have been a no brainer.

Secondly, while I tow infrequently, the 6 liter can easily handle everything I need to pull: hay, firewood, my Kubota, my mini-excavator...especially since the equipment will be moved at most once a year.

I was really lusting after the DMax, but the numbers just didn't work for me.

Pete

GetMore · August 10, 2006

Boondox has a good point. In his case it just wasn't worth the extra money.

I would say that in your situation you would be best served by the Duramax. It seems that you probably won't be able to make up the price of the engine when you sell the truck, since you are going to be keeping it so long, but it should pay for itself in fuel savings.

Plus, you can run biodiesel and use a renewable fuel, and reduce the amount of money being sent out of the country, if you care about that kind of thing.

dogzapper · August 10, 2006

Boondox has a good point. In his case it just wasn't worth the extra money.

I would say that in your situation you would be best served by the Duramax. It seems that you probably won't be able to make up the price of the engine when you sell the truck, since you are going to be keeping it so long, but it should pay for itself in fuel savings.

Plus, you can run biodiesel and use a renewable fuel, and reduce the amount of money being sent out of the country, if you care about that kind of thing.

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Kinda off-topic: When I hunted in the Northern Transvaal (RSA), we spent a lot of time on a ranch that grew its own fuel. The ranch had an on-site "sunflower oil press" and they grew sunflowers. Literally all of the farm rigs burned the stuff.

Frankly, I believe that we could do that here, in our American Midwest.

Another aspect to look at, of course, is mileage and what the used truck will be worth used. I have a friend who puts 100-125K on a Duramax and sells it to buy a new one. Obviously, he puts a lot more miles on a rig than most of us would, but he always gets top dollar for his used diesels, even though they have mucho-miles.

Personally, I wouldn't even consider buying a used gas truck with over 100K miles, but this doesn't seem to bother the diesel guys. Prolly because it actually burns a lubricant and the engines last a long, long time.

I have CRS and cannot remember if I mentioned a recent experience at our local Chevy dealership. I was in having the wife's Tahoe serviced (LOF) and happened to notice a service slip that belonged to the rig ahead of me.

It was a 2004.5 Duramax. When I looked at the mileage, it read something like 297,000 miles. Holy Crap. When I asked my service writer if it was a mistake, he said, "NO, the guy bought the truck new from us late in 2004. He delivers travel trailers all over the USA and the truck is running close to six days a week. He does the GM recommended service and changes dino oil regularly at 5K. His truck, every bit of it, has been flawless."

WOW.

Steve

linda · August 11, 2006

Personally, I wouldn't even consider buying a used gas truck with over 100K miles, but this doesn't seem to bother the diesel guys. Prolly because it actually burns a lubricant and the engines last a long, long time.

Well, i dont know about "never", that all depends on the truck and the price. With todays trucks and drivetrains, the engines (if properly maintained) will outlast the rest of the truck 10 fold. Its not uncommon to see gassers go 200K+ if kept up with properly. Still, i dont think the longevity is a match for the Dmax any way you slice it. I always say to people with questions like this....."which would you rather have?" If i had to guess i would say your mind was made up before you even posted this thread, but you wanted to hear some guys come in and say..."awww just get the 6.0L." Am i right? You know just like anything else in life....bigger and more powerful is better. If the Dmax's had been as stout as they are now back when i bought mine, i may have entertained the idea a little more. Its just that the 496 was sooooooo sweet.... I hope the 6.0L guys dont take that as offensive, but im just a sucker for power!

silver03ado · August 11, 2006

happy to see all those responses...definitely very informative and gained some insight to say the least...

Gonna keep reading on this forum and will surely learn a lot more..

thanks again guys!

JRKRACE · August 11, 2006

Ok...my .02...As everyone has said, pretty much get what makes you happy.

I have a 6.0 crew and the reason I got it was that between the rebates and the price of

the diesel, it came out to like 10G difference. Also, GM has a quirk where they don't offer a plow package with a diesel or 8.1 crew cab. Those are the reasons I went with the 6.0. I really can't complain as I has done everything I've asked it to do and it gets a solid 11 in town where a diesel can get a solid 15. When you work it out, it made no sense.

But in fairness, I do want to buy a diesel the next time around just because I've never owned one. I want to see what it's like. The brand is questionable, as I need a crew cab and a plow package. I hope GM is listening...

Jim

dewfpo · August 11, 2006

I was under the impression that you could get the plow package with 8.1L (as long as you don't order a sunroof).

DEWFPO

Machine · August 11, 2006

God, how I love pro-diesel threads, especially when the scenario described above fits a diesel perfectly: long term ownership, hard working applications, great mpg, incredible power, the smell of low sulfur diesel in the morning, etc. I think I'm going to cry.

Seriously, though, this is the year to get a diesel. The EPA's clamp on emissions may have these engines costing an even bigger fortune in 2008. Where's the fun in that?