Best 2wd towing vehicle

[radke22]

What gets the best gas mileage and can tow a heavier boat? i like the dakota, and the 2wd suburban.

[Valv]

Why are you stuck on 4x2 ?
I find them worthless in MN especially pulling a load.

[iffwalleyes]

2 WD is worthless in MN. As far as fuel mileage it doesn't matter if you hook up to something with any size and you have a gas engine if you get 12 be happy. Get a 4X4 and get a V8 and you'll be set.

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Grip it and Rip it

IFFWALLEYES

[radke22]

I travel a lot and have found 2wd to be a lot smoother ride. Also, on my current 4wd truck i only used 4wd twice this past 2 years. why get 11 mpg to have 4wd when 2wd gets 16+ and is smoother? I even drove around in muddy corn fields goose hunting and never needed 4wd

[waterwolff]

Tough to beat a burb. Me myself wouldn't consider anything but 4wd but than I don't have to use my tow vehicle for my primary means of transpotation either

[Grabs]

I invite you to go drive a Chev Z71. You'll be hard pressed to find many 2wd vehicles that have a smoother ride! Plus I can easiily get 16-18 mpg on long trips, more like 13mpg in town. On my last truck I was closer to 20mpg after having broke the truck in a bit, I only have 2500 miles on this new one.

Plus 4wd trucks aren't any cheaper now anyhow, infact you'll be hard pressed to find many 2wd vehicles on many dealers lots and I think you might even have to order a Subruban if you want it in 2wd.

I really can't think of any reason to buy a 2wd vehicle over a 4wd, at least when you own the best truck on the road, a Chev Z71!

Just ask Mykal how well she rides for 5-8 miles across LOW through the snow at 40 mph!
What fun that is!

[This message has been edited by Grabs (edited 03-20-2003).]

[radke22]

Is it a newer Z71? does it have a 5.7 vortec?

[Mueske]

Check with those with 1/2 ton Suburbans. For the past several years the Vortec engines have been getting as high as 20 mpg on the highway and that's with 4WD. Some claim even higher but I suspect their pride is allowing them to exagerate just a mite. I'd hate to get to that one ramp with the loose sand or ice (duck hunting?)and need the extra traction to pull the boat out. Just my .02 worth. In Wyoming the only times I've needed 4WD is for just this reason or to get up my steep driveway. BTW My 2500 GMC Ext. Cab with the 6.0 liter only gets 12-14 at best when not towing.

Kevin

[Valv]

Hey Mueske, how's Casper this days ? I used to live south of it many years ago. Did you guys get the nasty storm ?

[This message has been edited by Valv (edited 03-21-2003).]

[MNice]

Radke, the new silverado's (1500 series) have either the 4.8 or 5.3 vortec's. I have a 01 x-cab 4x4 with the 4.8 (270 HP) and I do drive easy, but I get 18 - 19 MPG all the time on my 32 mile commute, and on trips I have seen 23 mpg as the absoute top. Very happy with the performance, but if you have a big boat you would be wise to go up to the 5.3. More horse and torque.

[iffwalleyes]

I have a new z-71 Chevy with a 5.3 and I get about 13-15 mpg. So I am not terribly impressed but I do drive hard so that might be some of it. I also work out of my truck so it sits and idles alot of the time. I have a friend that bought the identical truck to mine and he gets 15-18 regularly. If you want a real smooth rider get a normal chevy 4X4 the suspension is a little softer than the z-71 off road package. I have watch plenty of 2 wd drive get stuck on lakes and hit the dicth off a patch of ice that I would never want one. I had a oportunity to drive a New Dodge Ram with the 5.9 (360) this winter for a couple days while some boday work was done to mine (darn semi driver backed right into my truck) and I must say that I was not impressed. My Chevy has a lot more snap to it when you take off. Now dodge always says that they have more torque and that might have been true but I also didn't like that fact that it got about 12 for highway fuel mileage. Good luck with what ever you get.

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Grip it and Rip it

IFFWALLEYES

[hanson]

Interesting topic guys. Hope it doesn't turn into Chevy/Ford battle.

I bought a '99 GMC Sierra 4x4 (5.3L Vortec)about a year ago. Here are my thoughts...

1)I'm up to 70,000 miles now with absolutely no problems. Hoping to drive this thing to 200,000 +

2) Mileage is excellent but remember how fast you guys drive when talking about mileage. 80 on the interstate doesn't equal good mileage. 65-70 on the slower 4 lanes is much better mileage. With that said, running 75 down from Fargo last weekend got me a tad above 19 mpg. I have seen better mileage on say HWY 10 or HWY 2 with a little slower speed. I have seen a lot worse mileage in the middle of winter when it is cold out.

My old pickup was a Ford Ranger 4x4 (4.0L V6), the Sierra gets pretty comparable mileage to my Ranger, plus its a bigger truck with a bigger engine.

3) This truck doesn't ride like a truck. That might be a bad thing but it is real smooth on the highway.

4) I love the back seat on this pickup. The Chevy's definitely have a lot of room in the back of the extended cabs.

Just my 2cents, Good Luck with your decision

[Grabs]

My truck is a 2003 Silverado Z71 with the 5.3L Vortec.

I will challenge the ride of the Standard 4X4 suspension to the Z71 any day. It may be different and in my opinion it is a smoother ride, much smoother.

[Guest]

if you want power and mileage go deisel (spelling?) lol

[Guest]

mueske i was born in riverton and grew up in dubois go back huntin and fishin once in a while.

[Ole1855]

I have a 2001 3/4 ton GMC Yukon XL with the 6.0L, as for the ride I don't think you can find a much better ride, especially if you are towing a boat. As far as the mileage goes, I'd like to get better but I do get 16-17 on the highway with a drop of 1-2 miles/gal. when I'm towing my boat and the truck is loaded with gear. My friend has the 1/2 ton Yukon XL with the the smaller V8, I think it's the 5.3, and he's getting 19-20 on the highway.

Ole

[setterguy]

If you are truley looking for a towing vehicle you have to get a diesel. I am running about 16-18 mpg with my 7.5 power stroke, it is a little loud outside but on the road you can hardly tell that its not a gas engine. A couple of my buddies have the Chevy duramax, that is a sweet machine, just a little out of my price range.

[Mueske]

Radke,
Are you convinced that 4WD is worth having?

Valv, GrandRapids:
We didn't get much snow this week but the state was paralyzed for days. Evanston was full of trucks until early this morning. Several feet in the lower Front Range cities that you no doubt heard about. The emergency routes only were open until late yesterday. I spoke with folks in Casper and Cheyenne who gave up trying to find their cars and walked to work yesterday. SW WY is still in a drought. BTW my wife was born in Rapids and we both graduated from there. I'm headed to Willow Lake by Pinedale for macs in the a.m. until Tuesday. Wish me luck as we need to ride sleds in but they have had no snow either. Tight lines,
Kevin

[Northlander]

No way I could get up some of the Northland boat ramps with a 2 wheel drive. 97 f-150 and I get about 17 mpg in city and over 20 on the road. Only a 14' boat but truck loaded to the max to go to Canada.
My friends have Dodges and yes they ride higher, have bigger tires and bigger motor but their milage sucks. You may have to decide if you need a larger motor for towing or smaller for mpg.

[Guest]

I agree, you need the 4WD for the "every-once-in-a-while" pesky boat launch! I've seen some nasty ones!

[Bob Thompson]

Like some others I opted for gas powered GMC in two wheel drive, I have gotten 20+ MPG with 5.3L engine but added one very important option. Posi-traction differential at about $80.00. Here in Utah winters are as bad as Minn. and winter traction is excellant and the bad boat ramps are a cinch. Also make sure to have good traction all terrain tires.