3.0 Baby Duramax

[old abe]

I just got back from Denver driving a 21 GMC with a 3.0 baby max. Was pulling a 29ft trailer with 3 sleds in it. My first time driving a 1/2 ton diesel. I gotta say I was very impressed. Excellent power and IMO very respectable mpg. To be honest, I was very impressed with the truck overall. Didn’t have any weight distribution or sway hitch and the truck handled it way above expectations. The OEM trailer sway programming is spot on. Was very windy on way back staying just ahead of this latest storm.

Normally wouldn’t drive that far with a 1/2 ton without proper hitch, but we usually use a 2500 to tow. But some POS stole the truck in Denver and my buds brother had to drive out from WI to rescue us.

What was your MPG while towing?

 

[euphoric1]

one nice thing about diesel's they don't care much whether you have trailer behind you or not

 

[heckler56]

one nice thing about diesel's they don't care much whether you have trailer behind you or not

I miss my Super Duty…

 

[srt20]

What was your MPG while towing?

Overall the trip from Denver to my house, near Madison, was 12.6mpg.
The first 100 or so miles were in snowstorm so 45-55mph and EVIC said 13.7mpg. The rest was on dry roads, I-80, and cruise was set at 75mph most of the way.
It did use IMO, a lot of DEF fluid. Apparently it’s a 5 gallon DEF tank and we used about 1.5 tanks. That’s for the whole round trip, WI to Denver unloaded, the Denver back to WI with trailer.

The 2500 we used to use was a 6.6 Duramax and would usually be in the 11-12mpg range towing the same trailer. It didnt use any DEF though, that stuff must have rusted and fell off somewhere on the highway….haha

 

[srt20]

heavy duty doesn't matter I have a 27' enclosed steel frame trailer and a 1 ton diesel truck, wind was blowing over highway and at one point could see entire side of trailer in side view mirror, was pooping bricks, so even having heavy duty or plenty enough weight wasn't enough. I was curious if it did something with steering or brakes, that's a nice feature, something like traction control you can turn on and off I would assume? makes sense to utilize brakes as any steering intervention may result in panic.

The 2500 didnt get blown around as easy as the 1500 did. But the 2500 didnt correct for it either. We go out west 3-5 trips a winter and have been in some 60+mph crosswinds multiple times. There is no way that 1500 would have been safe in that. The 2500 was scary in that.

I didnt notice anyway of turning it off, but it wasn’t my truck so I dont know everything about it either.

 

[old abe]

Overall the trip from Denver to my house, near Madison, was 12.6mpg.
The first 100 or so miles were in snowstorm so 45-55mph and EVIC said 13.7mpg. The rest was on dry roads, I-80, and cruise was set at 75mph most of the way.
It did use IMO, a lot of DEF fluid. Apparently it’s a 5 gallon DEF tank and we used about 1.5 tanks. That’s for the whole round trip, WI to Denver unloaded, the Denver back to WI with trailer.

The 2500 we used to use was a 6.6 Duramax and would usually be in the 11-12mpg range towing the same trailer. It didnt use any DEF though, that stuff must have rusted and fell off somewhere on the highway….haha

Okay, I hear all that. Sounds a lot like my sons experience, what little they have had it to use. He's been using up my F 150 in mean time, says it's a much better at towing. However it's setup for max towing, and longer wheelbase.

 

[dfattack]

heavy duty doesn't matter I have a 27' enclosed steel frame trailer and a 1 ton diesel truck, wind was blowing over highway and at one point could see entire side of trailer in side view mirror, was pooping bricks, so even having heavy duty or plenty enough weight wasn't enough. I was curious if it did something with steering or brakes, that's a nice feature, something like traction control you can turn on and off I would assume? makes sense to utilize brakes as any steering intervention may result in panic.

Yes it does move steering wheel too. I have it on my truck. Im
In the passenger seat as I type this and that feature is working. Windy section of highway just east of Bozeman montana.

Also, if you had a 1/2 ton on your last trip it may have been even worse. More weight is always better in situations like the one you went through.

 

[whitedust]

Yes it does move steering wheel too. I have it on my truck. Im
In the passenger seat as I type this and that feature is working. Windy section of highway just east of Bozeman montana.

Also, if you had a 1/2 ton on your last trip it may have been even worse. More weight is always better in situations like the one you went through.

Yikes I thought you would be a lot further east by now!

 

[racerx]

I miss my Super Duty…

Can say I miss my Cummins 2500, never really called it Ram as we bought it for the Cummins but now have the EcoDiesel and believe it may be a bit overrated on the towing capacity, not saying it can't, but I do not tow heavy anymore and would not feel safe towing at the high end. I can say this that I was always pro diesel but with plastic intake and EGR being dumped in the motor they are slowly killing the diesel and all the problematic EGR coolers. And here i was trying to hold out on the DEF even though that has issues of it own but nothing like what EGR is doing. I did not have to carry a code reader 24/7 for the older diesels. I do enjoy my Eco but sometimes think it is a ticking time bomb.