Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) said:I see G80, so its got a locking diff. With good tires snow shouldn't be a big issue.
With its limited slip, 4.10 gears, a (relatively) low hp engine, good tires, and a decent driver, that'll go anywhere a mall crawler will! But I doubt you could convince most 
Fueled by Caffeine said:Living in Minnesota a 2wd truck is a tough sell. I really want this though.
How hard is a 4x4 swap? Did Chevy do different frames on these trucks.
In reply to thatsnowinnebago :
Yes
In reply to Patrick :
Booooo
03Panther said:Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) said:I see G80, so its got a locking diff. With good tires snow shouldn't be a big issue.
With its limited slip, 4.10 gears, a (relatively) low hp engine, good tires, and a decent driver, that'll go anywhere a mall crawler will! But I doubt you could convince most
Agreed. 4wd is a bit better at max traction, but LSD + winter tires = good enough that if you get stuck you shouldn't have gone out in the first place
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
I guess we shouldn't tell most in the rust belt that... they'll start buying 2wd and rusting all of them out, too 
In reply to 03Panther :
Truth.
Full disclosure, however, I did get an AWD for winter and light off roading.
I usually drive 2wd vehicles up here, decent tires and it's not an issue. As I said on page 1 if I sold my Escalade this would be mine. I prefer 2 wheel drive, less stuff to break.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
Aproching 60, without my former reflexes and attention to details, I prolly would, also.
But AWD is probably better than 4wd or 2, in the great white north!
In reply to NY Nick :
Yep! But in disclosure, my 350 FX4 has been pressed into my DD and Hwy truck. Not ideal, and gonna cost in tires and front end wear, but less than buying another truck.
I'd love to have the 'burb, but the financial manager does NOT want another diesel in the fleet.
I think this is awesome
I hope someone gets to enjoy it and makes a thread
This is really tempting, but I'm sitting here with no power or water after Ian, not really time time for me to do anything other than fill gallon jugs with water. Kinda though about selling the mini and getting a truck. I like me a diesel.
This is tempting even to me, but i noticed the other day diesel was $1.20/g more than gasoline. Seems hard to justify.
spitfirebill said:This is tempting even to me, but i noticed the other day diesel was $1.20/g more than gasoline. Seems hard to justify.
Till you factor in the mpg difference considering the size / weight of the HD truck like vehicle
If ya need a big heavy truck like 'burb, it's nice to have the milage.
If not, then lots of stuff beats it's fuel costs.
03Panther said:spitfirebill said:This is tempting even to me, but i noticed the other day diesel was $1.20/g more than gasoline. Seems hard to justify.
Till you factor in the mpg difference considering the size / weight of the HD truck like vehicle
If ya need a big heavy truck like 'burb, it's nice to have the milage.
If not, then lots of stuff beats it's fuel costs.
I just looked again today and it was $1.60/g difference. That makes diesel about 50% more expensive than gasoline at that station. That is nuts. Diesels are great when you have to have one, but given the higher cost of maintenance for a diesel it doesn't make sense for me. And the 6.5T isn't exactly a towing engine. It was a mileage engine.
In reply to spitfirebill :
Oh, yea. Preaching to the choir, as they say!
But my F350 FX4 with two fully loaded gang boxes, got 17mpg. A gas in same package? With that load? 11. Maybe 12?
As ya said, unless ya need that a typical American truck diesel, is not a cost effective plan. (There are diesels with a different story, but that's a political story)
The 6.5 will tow about anything ya wanna hook to it, at legal interstate speeds. All day long. Just don't expect it to be quick at it. It's not the 2000hp factory race truck "american's " demand
Tows about like the international / ford diesels, and as tuff. When they were both about 165 hp, or so.
Didn't break like ALL of the "new" diesels do. Mostly cause they didn't have enough power to break stuff!!!
Had a same vintage 2wd Tahoe with the G80. It was damn surefooted. Maybe-better- in the slippery than our other brand 4WD
spitfirebill said:03Panther said:spitfirebill said:This is tempting even to me, but i noticed the other day diesel was $1.20/g more than gasoline. Seems hard to justify.
Till you factor in the mpg difference considering the size / weight of the HD truck like vehicle
If ya need a big heavy truck like 'burb, it's nice to have the milage.
If not, then lots of stuff beats it's fuel costs.
I just looked again today and it was $1.60/g difference. That makes diesel about 50% more expensive than gasoline at that station. That is nuts. Diesels are great when you have to have one, but given the higher cost of maintenance for a diesel it doesn't make sense for me. And the 6.5T isn't exactly a towing engine. It was a mileage engine.
True, but you'll come out ahead at the pump compared to a similar year gasser. Driven lightly, that 6.5TD can get 20-22 pretty easily. The same truck with a TBI 350 would struggle to get 14.
That's a 63% reduction in fuel consumption, so it's actually a win. Of course it can't compare to a modern DoD gasser, but still a win if comparing apples to apples.
Dad has two Duramax trucks - a 3/4 ton and a 1-ton dually. The 3/4 puts less money in the tank right now than my 06 Express van 5.3L, and the dually is about on par, mostly because it's an 08 with DPF.
03Panther said:In reply to spitfirebill :
The 6.5 will tow about anything ya wanna hook to it, at legal interstate speeds. All day long. Just don't expect it to be quick at it. It's not the 2000hp factory race truck "american's " demand
I towed a 10,000 lb travel trailer cross country twice with a 6.5TD. Didn't matter what the mountain was - rockies, appalachians, cascades... I never fell below the speed limit. People look at the peak hp and it's not terribly impressive, and then look at the torque and see it's equally modest. But what they don't realize is that the torque curve is super flat. In a gasser, you're always dancing around the RPM where you make the torque. Once the snail-shaped muffler spools up, the diesel is making at or near peak torque for a much wider range of revs.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:True, but you'll come out ahead at the pump compared to a similar year gasser. Driven lightly, that 6.5TD can get 20-22 pretty easily. The same truck with a TBI 350 would struggle to get 14.
Just for clarity those both have to be empty numbers. I buy those empty, my TBI 350 suburban would do 16 on the highway empty, 6.1 towing the camper.
In reply to NY Nick :
Yes, empty. Towing 6700lb camper got me 6 with the TBI 350, and towing a 10,000lb camper I got 12-13 with the 6.5TD. I never owned both campers while owning both trucks, so I can't make an apples/apples comparison there. Towing 2000 lb trailer empty to the 2020 challenge, (dad's 3/4 duramax) returned 18. Towing it back with a (very light) car I got 16. Towing a 32' 5th wheel (unknown weight, but likely close to 10k) with that same duramax gave me 13-14. In defense of that particular Duramax, it's had a lot of work done. 30-over injectors, 5-position chip, intake, exhaust, and some other fun stuff. The chip progressively adds timing advance as it adds fuel which greatly improves turbo spool-up and gives it time to extract BTUs from the fuel it is given. TL;DR, mods that tend to increase thermal efficiency.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
I knew that's what you were saying. I feel like we have been around so long I know you even though I have never had the chance to meet in person. We seem to have some similar past vehicles and experiences.
I just didn't want someone to read that and think those were towing numbers.
It is a pity that I can't ditch the caddy and get that truck. It is the sweet spot for what I would like right now. Shocked that it's still available.
In reply to NY Nick :
Long distance Hi Five, brother.
I really want that burb but I need it like another hole in my head.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
It would be perfect for me. And I love the diesel, and the RWD. But my wife DOES NOT want the diesel, and I do not have a caddy 500 laying around...
03Panther said:and I do not have a caddy 500 laying around...
I thought we were friends, man.
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