For us flatlanders, the 5.3L does a great job with no real need to have more on the east coast when towing the 2600RB. Unladen fuel economy on this truck is excellent where I have achieve up to 27mpg when driving for fuel economy on a trip to Toledo on a flat section of back road at 55mph.

Turbocharged engines and the 6.2L GM will have a premium recommendation for towing or even for non-towing.

Folks need to pay attention to the verbiage when purchasing gas powered trucks. Premium recommended means peak performance will be had on premium but you can run regular for less power, torque and fuel economy. Premium required is to be taken literally where regular fuel should never be used. Last I looked, mid grade 89 octane is recommended for the Hemi.

Its always good to read the manual on towing and what fuels are recommended or required. Two key words that are easily overlooked.

Figured I would throw that out there where i wish ALL manufacturers would be more transparent on this topic.

Jim

Ford's F150 HDPP trucks are fantastic - if you can get one. Heavier/thicker frame, additional leaf springs, stiffer front coils, bigger shocks, 3.73 locker, 36 gallon tank, transmission cooler. While it is not a 3/4 ton by name it does what it is built to do very well. My 2018 HDPP has a payload of 2610lbs. You don't get all the bells and whistles but it hauls and tows great. There is a reason they are called unicorns - if you see one snap a picture for proof.

Tom

We have the 3.5EB in our work vans. They are a torquey motor for sure. My wife loves driving it because the power comes on so quick. Her daily is a 5.7 V8 Durango for comparison.

I think the 2600RB is a 1/2 ton towable. I think if you add another 3' and 1-2K lbs to the dry weight you are looking for 3/4 ton truck.

The V8 gassers are fine on flat ground. Once you hit hills or higher elevations the turbo (or diesels) are the way to go. My 5.7 really downshifted a lot when I had a TT. And that was on mild flatlander hills. 3-5% grades I imagine I would had been pretty upset on.

My Ram 2500 Cummins pulled my current camper (16K lb ) trailer up the Smokies on some 5-7% grades effortlessly. That truck could had used more rear gear on the hills, but the power made up for it. My current 3500 with 3.73s and better trans would likely pull even better.

Gearing and engine choice makes a huge difference pulling weight up hills and higher elevations.

Todays direct injected gas engines have excellent torque where my 5.3L rarely downshifts on grades in the eastern mountains. In tow haul it will stay in 5th gear almost exclusively with my 6 speed where on steep grades it will go into open converter at 2800RPM. Still 5th gear where some may think this is a downshift. If I were out west and wanted a half ton, I would opt for the 6.2L (premium recommended like the EB) or my future preference the light duty diesel. Since they are not available right now in a double cab, maybe I'll call that one lockness.

Jim

Guest Jim any experience with the new 6.6L gas?

Joseph,

I know the folks who are responsible for it, and how the engine was developed. Had one to drive a year before it launched and was impressed with its performance and especially the fuel economy it's capable of delivering. familytruckster4 could probably tell you more with the hands on experience of towing and ownership.

Jim

I opted for the 6.6 in our Isuzu box truck. Unfortunately it's de-tuned a little compared to the pickups. It's works well for the application (11K lbs unloaded) and it is basically a parachute when driving down the road. We are avg. 10.5 mpg in it which I think is pretty impressive for a heavy brick wall.

How much time do you have ? LOL

My truck is almost 2 yrs old and has almost 11000 miles on it, probably 80% of the miles are with our 337 attached to the back of it.
I came from an 05 Duramax which was a complete nightmare (long long story) I tapped out on light truck diesels after that. The 6.6 is hands down better than the previous 6.0l. We had a couple of trucks at work with the 6.0 and I always felt it was low on power especially when you factor in how thirsty it was.
The 6.6 has decent torque for a gas engine and is a good match for our trailer but I wouldnt want to pull anything heavier with it. The cooling system is vastly superior to any other GM truck I have owned. I have never heard the fan clutch engage or seen the temp gauge go above the normal 200-205 range. My Duramax used to howl with anything behind it. My first hint at the inadequacy was when I was towing our 6k travel trailer right after we got it. On flat ground at 65 MPH that truck couldnt pull that trailer,which was less than half its rated capacity, without the fan engaged and my MPG dropping like a stone, in retrospect I should have forced a buyback and gotten the next gen LBZ engine, live and learn.
The 6.6 mileage varies around wind conditions, I have gotten as bad as 7.5 and as high as 10.5 with a favorable wind on I-75 in GA. Considering the cost for diesel vs gas my cost per mile is lower in the 6.6 gasser vs a L5P Duramax and I dont have to deal with DEF. I would love the torque of the L5P but all the other issues dont balance it in its favor. I think the moving target of emissions standards have not given the OEM's enough time between generations to work out the bad engineering problems and reliability and cost of repair remain too high for me.
I typically tow at 62-64 MPH and the truck will usually stay in 4th gear at around 2050 RPM which I think is a sweet spot for this motor when towing. If I run faster than 65 it tries to go into 5th gear (1st overdrive) and then it tends to shift too often. Keeping it at the lower speed and staying in 4th gear limits the shifting. Personally I think the 6 speed is well suited to this motor. The addition of the 10 speed (faux) Allison in the 2024 HD's doesnt interest me. If they put a REAL Allison like the 1000 series from previous trucks in it then I would be interested.


Scott

Well I think that was a positive. LOL. All manufacturers have had their hiccups for sure but the 05 should have handled 6K even though it cannot compare to todays engines with its 520 lb-ft compared to 910 today. And to your point, emissions standards have steadily become more stringent as they should. There are also so many ways to we can reduce carbon such as to stop leaf burning but I will not get into that where the leaf burners will mob me. I'm still supporting internal combustion engines until something realistic comes along for towing and that time has not come so far. The 5.3L DI makes the same torque and power of the old 6.0L HD gas as a reference in progress due to its direct injection fuel system. Allison was directly involved in the 10 speed and didn't just make the hood badge so you know.

Jim