My work/tow rig... (constant changes)

[Greg]

Oh, my 300 mile drive to Telluride and back netted me 15 MPG, which is pretty good for a 3/4 ton 6.0 truck! My '02 averaged 12 MPG. I think much of that mileage was due to the roads down & back, 55 - 65 MPH and no freeway driving. I'm hoping the 6 speed trans is part of that too, keeping the engine from revving too high and consuming much fuel. We will see this upcoming week, I'll be putting 400-500 miles on it with half of that being freeway driving.

 

[Greg]

Been driving the 2011 GMC for work and it's been great, I feel safer driving a bigger truck on the bad roads up in the mountains. I've been getting 13-14 MPG and just over 400 miles per tankful with my driving to work. I'd still like to replace the tires with KO2's, eventually. I really like how the 6L90E transmission works, even with over 250k miles it seems to be very well built.

I did get rid of the Flowmaster muffler, it was a 40 Series (pretty small) and just way too loud. I replaced it with a large 3.5" Magnaflow muffler (part # 12909) and it's much better, no ear-piercing resonation in the cab and much quieter, but still louder than stock.

I was able to tow with the truck over the weekend, taking the Willys out to Green River. The truck managed 11 MPG towing, which isn't bad IMO! The truck tows very well, plenty of power and very stable. The 6 speed trans seems to have a much better time towing than the previous trucks 4L80E, it'll drop a gear or 2 on big hills and get back up to speed, then settle down on the flats to low RPM's.

 

[Greg]

Winter prep is on, the 'work truck' got new tires over the weekend... BFG KO2's in 285/75/17, E load range. The bigger size looks much better, compared to the 265's, especially as the truck has been leveled.

 

[Bart]

I'll bet the deer run when they see that bumper.

 

[Greg]

I'll bet the deer run when they see that bumper.

Yeah, run right into it!

No deer or elk strikes yet, but a few close calls.

 

[Greg]

Well, I sold the '11 GMC last week.... it had high miles to begin with when I bought it and I was getting worried about reliability. Bought it with 250k miles and it was running great, but had 305k almost 3 yrs later. I paid $7750, put some money into it (bumper, tires, muffler, brakes, etc) and listed for for sale pretty high.... and was surprised when a guy wanted it for $9500. So off it went with it's new owner!

I had mostly been using it as a work truck, driving to & from Wyoming once a week. I liked having a 3/4 ton for that drive, just in case something happens (snowy roads, lots of animals, narrow highway). I had to take the Gladiator up for work last week and really don't like putting miles on it for work.

Now I'm trying to decide on a replacement... was considering another diesel Dodge, but the one I was interested in sold and I'm not sure I want to deal with high mile Dodge issues. My budget is pretty low, since it's a work truck... but I want a real 4 door this time, something that can tow a 25' camper in the future. There is a good chance I'll end up in another '10-12 GM 3/4 ton gas truck, if I can find one with the right combination of miles and price. I missed out on a perfect truck a few days ago, because I was stuck in WY and it sold quickly.

We will see what I end up with....

 

[Greg]

The new truck has been found! Its 2 yrs older than the previous one, but has 115,000 miles less!

Its a 2009 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD 4 door with the 6.0 and 6 speed auto. It looks like it was close to the ocean at some point, has some surface rust on the frame, etc. But the rest of the truck seems solid. Its had some good maintenance, brakes, ball joints, oil change and a couple new tires all recently.

 

[I Lean]

The new truck has been found! Its 2 yrs older than the previous one, but has 115,000 miles less!

Its a 2009 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD 4 door with the 6.0 and 6 speed auto. It looks like it was close to the ocean at some point, has some surface rust on the frame, etc. But the rest of the truck seems solid. Its had some good maintenance, brakes, ball joints, oil change and a couple new tires all recently.View attachment 133520View attachment 133521

Sounds like a good donor drivetrain too. Keep me in mind when you accidentally wreck it with a train, or track equipment or something.

 

[Greg]

Sounds like a good donor drivetrain too. Keep me in mind when you accidentally wreck it with a train, or track equipment or something.

Nah, if something ever happens to the truck, I'll keep the drivetrain for myself.

 

[mbryson]

Nah, if something ever happens to the truck, I'll keep the drivetrain for myself.

Sorry to continue to derail your thread but for a powertrain donor, All Truck and Car @ 3380 s 500 w has takeout "LS" GM truck engines for about $2k-2400. (I stopped there looking for a tailgate the other day and there was a 4.8 on the floor with a 2WD trans for $1900)

 

[Greg]

Drove the 'new' truck to work today, which is currently in Rock Springs, Wyoming. Stopped at the Flaming Gorge dam for a quick pic.



The truck seems to run and drive quite well, pulled down 16-17 MPG on the 240 mile trip, not bad for a 6.0 gas 3/4 ton. My old truck had a 36 gallon tank and I assumed this one did too... nope! Looks like its only 24-25 gallons. I'm going to see if I can fit a 36 gallon tank from a newer truck, but I'm sure it won't just bolt in.

I need to get 2 new tires for the rear sooner rather than later, probably next week when I'm back in town. The 2 rear tires are about 30% tread and Winter roads on my drive get ugly.

 

[Hickey]

I still have those studded snow tires if you want them. 18" wheel.

 

[Greg]

I still have those studded snow tires if you want them. 18" wheel.

If I had 18" wheels! Seems like 18" GM metric wheels aren't common at all.

The two new Falkens that are on the front are pretty good in the snow, so I'll buy 2 more and run them. I'd prefer BFG's, but I'll run what's already on it.

 

[Hickey]

If I had 18" wheels! Seems like 18" GM metric wheels aren't common at all.

The two new Falkens that are on the front are pretty good in the snow, so I'll buy 2 more and run them. I'd prefer BFG's, but I'll run what's already on it.

Later models have 18's. Cory has them in his 2016 and it's not a high trim level.

 

[RockChucker]

My friend runs falken at3w’s. On a 1 ton ram pulling a heavy trailer 90% of the time he just passed 40k miles and expects to get 5-10k more out of them. I like my bfgs too, but doubt they’d get anywhere near that kind of mileage

 

[Greg]

My friend runs falken at3w’s. On a 1 ton ram pulling a heavy trailer 90% of the time he just passed 40k miles and expects to get 5-10k more out of them. I like my bfgs too, but doubt they’d get anywhere near that kind of mileage

Thats good to hear! The 2 new ones are also A/T3W's and the reviews on them are fantastic, so I'll get a matching set of 4. I'd love to get 50k miles out of a set of tires.

Discount Tire shows a 55k mileage warranty, from the manufacturer.

https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/falken-wildpeak-a-t3w/p/26515?forceSetStore=true&storeName=2110&gclid=Cj0KCQiA_qD_BRDiARIsANjZ2LB69R-j_dvxNfFnOEztWcQPOkjKXMnfWMIzmR_zLujpQKGYj50ZFdgaAmmJEALw_wcB#/read-reviews

 

[DAA]

I ran Falkens on my 100 series till I was finally just tired of looking at them and put KO2s on it. I don't think they were ever going to wear out. They were really good on slick roads too.

- DAA

 

[Greg]

I ran Falkens on my 100 series till I was finally just tired of looking at them and put KO2s on it. I don't think they were ever going to wear out. They were really good on slick roads too.

- DAA

That's funny! I'll be seeing plenty of slick roads.

 

[dutchman]

I've had the Wildpeaks on my Tundra for the past 40,000 miles. They've held up great and should get to 55k with no problems.

 

[Greg]

Nothing too exciting, but I did put 2 more Falken Wildpeak A/T3W's on the truck. Good to have full tread tires on this thing!

The headlights were pretty disappointing, the low beams were adjusted so they were super low and didn't help putting much light down the road. I adjusted the beams so they were back to a normal position, but still wanted more light. The headlight lenses have started to fog up, so that's not helping at all. I upgraded the bulbs with Sylvania Xtravision in both the high beam and low beam lights, then some super bright LED bulbs in the fog lights. The LED fog lights really help light up the area around the front and sides of the truck and fill in where the headlights take over.

I wanted more light for the early morning drives and late night mountain roads I take getting into work. I was getting pretty serious about a pair of Rigid Dually XL's, but found a similar light at Tractor Supply. They're Traveller 5" square work lights, rated at 2220 lumens, spot pattern and cost $39/ea! I decided to use their wiring harness, relay, switch and harness splitter. Total cost for the wiring & 2 lights was $150. After unwrapping the products, I was pretty impressed with the weight & feel of the lights, they're made in China but still great quality. The wiring harness, relay and switch is good quality too, has a thick protective loom.

I mounted up the lights and wired them in and took a drive tonight.... and I couldn't be more impressed. These are STUPID BRIGHT LIGHTS! Seriously, for $40/each the amount of light they put out is ridiculous.


Here's a comparison, I don't think the pics do the Tractor Supply lights justice! The combo of the high beams and the Tractor Supply lights is great, massive distance and the trucks headlights really fill in and even out the bright White of the LED's. Hopefully these last for a long time!

Low Beam-

High Beam-

High Beam w/ Tractor Supply lights.-

More specs-