Tow vehicle...
My wife has the following setup for her 32' 4 horse gooseneck all steel
trailer with living space.
1) GMC 4500 with the Duramax diesel crew cab ( not innexpensive)
2) Banks turbo upgrade ( I bought this for her birthday)
The Class two or class three trucks (2500 / 3500) have the same engines and
transmissions but, the 4500 chassis is in an entirely different class. In
fact if the trailer brakes failed you would not have a problem stopping with
the 4500 -and that is why she opted for this truck. We have been in
situations where braking was not adequate and it was not fun.
This unit has the chassis for most any trailer you will ever have to pull.
The brakes are massive disks front and back. Radiator is just adequate and
Allison transmission with engine retarder is the way to go. Once the Banks
system ($1,700.00 installed) is up the power gain is just amazing. The rear
wheel torque is so far superior to Ford or Dodge it is not funny. Just keep
the power level to "4" and it will be ok as the EGT gauge will feedback
limit the fuel flow when at 1300d. If you set the power level to 6 .... you
can lite up the tires.
In fact Banks although known for Cummins performance uses the Duramax and to
pull their trailers... ( I went to their storage lot and looked at the new
pickup trucks....).
However, if the trailer is too light (less than 6000 lbs) this truck will be
very bouncy and uncomfortable even with the air ride seats. This p/u truck
is not intended to drive without a load.
My tow vehicle has a Cummins ISX with excellent stopping power.
Mordy
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