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Older Diesel trucks

Discussion in 'General' started by vosnick52, Jun 29, 2020.

  1. Ducti89

    Ducti89 Ticketing Melka’s dirtbike.....

    Unknown. I know i dont have any helper springs on mine. A 3500 will.
     
  2. RRP

    RRP Kinda Superbikey

    Just went and confirmed - ours is 8500lbs plus with bike and gear I’m sure it’s ~10000lbs loaded.

    That said our 2500HD doesn’t need air bags.
     
  3. buzz-06

    buzz-06 Well-Known Member

    the 2500 rams run a coil spring in the rear vs traditional leaf. They tend to sit a good bit higher than other 3/4 trucks (loading my dirtbike sucks!). With that being said I don’t get much squat hauling a 7500lb skid loader.... so I would say airbags are not required..... also my vote is for a cummins, I’ve had 2 now and they are both leaps and bounds better than the 2016 Ford I had.
     
    vosnick52 likes this.
  4. shakazulu12

    shakazulu12 Well-Known Member

    He's a legend and not wrong. But if you are talking 2014-2016, he doesn't actually offer "deletes" of the other junk which is much more problematic. DPF, DEF etc.
     
  5. MELK-MAN

    MELK-MAN The Dude abides...

    may be selling my 05 Excursion 6.0L 210,000 miles. Original owner, never saw snow, never in any accident, always garage kept unless on the road racing. never smoked in, "bullet proof" done about 40,000 miles ago (didn't have to, but was removing EGR so went further), lots of regular service, leather is perfect (i mean perfect), rear wheel drive so that may be a limiting factor for some. I'll be at Barber this weekend.Towed this 7k toy hauler like it wasn't there. Tows my 10k lb trailer well, but not like the new trucks.
    likely asking $20k

    [​IMG]
     
    vosnick52 likes this.
  6. vosnick52

    vosnick52 Well-Known Member

    That toy hauler is like the one we have.
     
  7. vosnick52

    vosnick52 Well-Known Member

    Did you have to put air bags in the back end to help with sag?
     
  8. aftriathlete

    aftriathlete Well-Known Member

    I can’t stay away from a good diesel truck thread.

    Are you familiar with Timbren suspension? Check it out if not. It’s basically a rubber-urethane bump stop that supports your rear coil suspension when under heavy load. Maintenance-free and cheaper than airbags. This is my intended future rear suspension upgrade for my Ram 2500 next summer for heavier hauling, though I don’t intend to push the max tow ratings of the truck (I’ll be looking for a 10,000 lb loaded kind of trailer.)

    Also, like someone already mentioned, tuning/deleting is getting hard to find in the last year or two since the EPA has really cracked down on the tuners. I intend to do emissions equipment-intact tuning for the fact that I’m still on active duty for the next 5+ years and I’m moving constantly, so high likelihood I’ll be in emissions testing required areas. Calibrated Power is my top pick currently for emissions intact tuning.
     
  9. jeremy dunn

    jeremy dunn Well-Known Member

    Get something pre-DEF, my 2017 is currently in the shop for a $20,000 engine replacement. They told me that the new diesels aren’t made for excessive idling due to the emissions systems & the factories consider anything more than hooking up a trailer excessive idle. Just an FYI
     
  10. xrated

    xrated Well-Known Member

    All this talk of older/newer, deleted, blah, blah, blah. Let's get to the basics first. It looks like it is a tow behind trailer vs. a 5th wheel, so let's take it from there. First and foremost, you need a truck that will handle the tongue weight (tow behind) or the pin weight (5th wheel trailer terminology). A tow behind trailer has a sweet spot for the tongue weight which is usually around 13% of the weight of the trailer. So for example, if a trailer weighs 10,000 lbs, it will ideally produce a tongue weight in the 1300 lb range. A little more won't hurt, but when you get down around 10% of the trailer weight (1000 lbs), you are going to start having issues with trailer sway......even with a decent weight distribution hitch with sway control. So having said that, Toy Haulers are a different animal than a normal camping trailer, as far as tongue weight goes. Many of them are "tongue heavy" when unloaded, and then with toys in the garage they will lighten the tongue weight a bit. I previously had a 34 1/2' Toy Hauler (tow behind) and the GVWR on it was 13,000 lbs. It produced a tongue weight of almost 1400 lbs when empty. When I loaded two bikes in the back, spare tires, extra fuel, a toolbox, paddock stands, etc, that amount of weight took enough weight off of the tongue that it got down to right at 10%.....and I had sway issues. I ended up adding weight to the front of the trailer (2 six volt batteries instead of one 12V) two 60 lb sand tubes, a 35 lb barbell weight plate, and I always carried 40 to 50 gallons of water in my fresh water tank. Doing all that got me up to right at 12% of the trailer weigh being on the tongue....and it towed perfectly.

    So that took care of the trailer part. The next thing to consider is the payload capacity of the truck you are looking at. Almost every single 3/4T truck that has a diesel engine, will have a HORRIBLE payload capacity. My 2011 F250, 6.7 diesel, CrewCab, 4x4, XLT (not a fancy version like King Ranch or Lariat), had a measly 2148 lbs of payload. Between the trailer tongue weight, and the fact that I put an aux. diesel tank in the bed of the truck, and the weight of the W.D. hitch, I was right at or slightly over the payload capacity of the truck. My point being is this. If you are going with a diesel truck for sure, don't buy a 3/4 Ton, and especially if it is a high trim level.....King Ranch, Platinum, etc. Keep looking until you can find a decent 1 Ton, single rear wheel and those will be in the 3300 to 3500 lbs for the payload capacity. I've actually seen a few F150 trucks with the HDPP (Heavy Duty Payload Package) that had more payload than many of the 3/4 Ton diesel trucks have.
     
  11. aftriathlete

    aftriathlete Well-Known Member

    100% agree that if someone is in the market for a truck that they intend to use for large toy hauler towing they should be looking for a 1-ton/3500 and not a 3/4 ton/2500. My 2016 Ram 2500 Laramie is 8120 lbs empty, so 8300 lbs with just me sitting in it. That means it has a 1700 lb payload capacity straight out of the gate. I also agree with the fact that these modern diesel trucks don’t like to idle — I let mine idle once for 15 min or so on an 80-90 deg day and it required a trip To the dealership to do something as the truck just started acting strange. I don’t know what the issue was, the dealer just said it was due for a software update which they completed and the issue I was experiencing went away, but the issue started with the extended idling on a warm day.

    I’ve linked to it before, but check out fifthwheelst.com, it’s a great towing resource to help sort through all the legal capacities of your specific truck.
     
  12. xrated

    xrated Well-Known Member

    I use fifthwheelst.com also. It's the most detailed of any of the online calculators that I've found.
     
  13. GixxerJohn011

    GixxerJohn011 Well-Known Member

    Sheesh! Don’t you know If you really want solid diesel advice here you need to ask about towing a Harbor Freight trailer with one bike behind your Civic.

    if you can find one with an interior that makes your wife happy Id sure try to to go pre DEF. Things like air conditioned seats and a better than factory infotainment system are not hard or even that expensive to upgrade.

    Newer diesels do not like to idle and they don’t like to be grocery getters. If you tow nearly every day they are great or if you plan to take the chance on a delete they are even better.

    Oh, get a one ton. If you’re used to a Titan then theyll all ride like shit when empty anyway, you might as well have the towing capacity.
     
  14. RRP

    RRP Kinda Superbikey

    EDIT. deleted link.
     
  15. Trainwreck

    Trainwreck I could give a heck

    I have a 15 Ram 2500 Tradesman Crew Cab Long Bed 6.7 Auto and I am extremely happy with it. gets 17-19mpg throughout the week, and I got 24mpg from Kalamazoo MI to Road America this weekend (no trailer just a Grom in the bed)

    Truck has 107K on it. all stock with emissions intact. no issues. Only gripes I have are that the Trans is a bit of a slush box, (its really smooth though) Truck rides really nice, even unloaded. (they changed some suspension stuff for 13+ models) It also has an incredibly suprising turning radius. Even my wife can park this oil freighter.

    My only plans for it are to delete the emissions when they start to fail, and do a small tune with matching trans tune. Then drive it for 15 years. By then I should hopefully be able to afford whatever space ship Elon Musk is selling.

    Everyone is making good HD trucks these last 10 years though. Going with either of the domestic 3 in a 2500 or larger should be able to do your work just fine.
     
    vosnick52 likes this.
  16. roy826ex

    roy826ex Been around here a while

    My 2016 GMC Duramax was deleted in February. I’ve had a few pulls with it and most recently an empty haul for 1070 miles. Truck knocks it out of the park now 21-23 mpg empty on the highway and with a bike in the bed 21 mpg steady. Towing our toy hauler which is basically identical to Melkmans I get 11-12 mpg depending on the heavy foot or headwinds. I can let it idle all day long if I want to now won’t hurt a thing.

    My delete was a discrete one, left the DEF tank on, still visible under the hood and below passenger step board. No point in removing it it’s all turned off and disconnected. CAT and DPF filters were simply removed and tuned out of the loop. Nothing cut off and a simple 4” dia straight pipe replaced all that garbage. I retained the GM bell mouth stick tailpipe mostly for a stock look. My EGR system is turned off in the tune. No point in removing it as it doesn’t work now anyway. My motor oil after 4K miles is finally starting to clear up of all the soot which is recirculated through the engine with an active EGR. My tune is just the +40 hp tow tune nothing with heavy smoke or anything like that. It will puff if you mash on it from time to time. The turbo sound is just wonderful to listen to. I did a resonator delete on it as well to get rid of the problematic plastic stock resonator cover. Everything else on the truck is stock. Ride height stock and just on stock size KO2 tires. I don’t run any air bags or any helper springs as it doesn’t need it either with my current toy hauler.

    I voided my factory warranty by a year but up until that point the only troubles I had were emissions related. Truck I not loud at all with the straight pipe. No drone at 65-70 mph. It is the Denali trim so the cab may be better at isolating noise I dunno. I just know it sounds like a nice big V8 engine. Turbo is a little bossy at times but not terrible. I’ve heard louder pos mustangs then my truck.

    My 2016 truck would probably sell for $40k+ right now used with the low mileage and A+ condition. I’ve had dealers offer that to me recently but I ain’t selling.
     
    AC1108 and vosnick52 like this.
  17. MELK-MAN

    MELK-MAN The Dude abides...

    yep. best money spent on it. Huge difference on this vehicle.
     
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2020
  18. xrated

    xrated Well-Known Member

    Just remember this....If you NEED airbags, there is a good chance that the truck or tow vehicle simply doesn't have enough payload capacity to do the job correctly. Having said that, I've seen folks add airbags to help with ride smoothness, but they had enough payload capacity to start with. Adding airbags do absolutely ZERO to increase payload numbers....and neither do Timbrens, or any other type of aux. springs/shocks/etc. In fact, air bags and a compressor for them actually reduce payload capacity, as they are just added weight on the truck and count against the payload sticker number.
     
    NemesisR6 likes this.
  19. vosnick52

    vosnick52 Well-Known Member

    I heard bump stops really suck because of the harsh ride. I sent mine back and ordered air bags for the titan.
    Heard they were much better when not loaded down.
     
  20. TurboBlew

    TurboBlew Registers Abusers

    4 posts and the legendary 7.3 is mentioned...lol

    Maybe the motor is great but the chassis is not so much.
     
    Kyle Brosius likes this.

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