Great Lakes 4x4. The largest offroad forum in the Midwest banner

5.3L vs 6.0L vs 8.1L for towing and working

21K views 22 replies 10 participants last post by  liftedandgifted 
#1 ·
Im looking to pick up a truck ($5k-$8k range) to tow the boat, and use for hunting and what not. Not looking for a DD. Im trying to get feedback on towing a 6k lb boat setup. I would like to get a diesel but dont want to spend the money on one. How do the 5.3Ls do for towing? I hear unloaded the 5.3ls do pretty good on fuel, but how would it do for hauling? My in laws have a 04 Denaili yukon and we pulled the boat last year and it pulled awesome, I was pretty impressed with it. Fuel mileage wasnt bad with it either. Should I expect the same performance out of a 2500HD with a 6.0L?
 
#2 ·
I have got an 05 crew cab 2500HD with the 6.0l and with a 8500 lb camper behind it I would see about 8 to 9 mile per gallons and with a 26 ft v nose steel snowmobile trailer with little cargo I got about 9 miles and with a 24 ft enclosed car hauler weighing in at about 3500 lbs doing 75 i got about 9 miles per gallon.

With all these at light to heavy I got about 8 to 9 miles per gallon. But with all these I could easiler do 75 and when I wanted to go just put the pedel down and off you went. I have used an Avalanche with the 5.3 on the same camper and it would only get about 8 miles per gallons but the 6.0l made for a better towing engine with the power it had. You were not reving out to 5,000rpms and it did not take miles to get up to speed like with the 5.3.

So if you are looking to tow I would say the 6.0l over the 5.3. I have not experience with an 8.1 so I will not coment on that.

Also with my 6.0l i get between 12.5 to 14 mpg unloaded highway depending on time of year. Also my truck has 4.10 gearing.
 
#3 ·
I've had 3 5.3 liter trucks. two were the 07 newer style and one was an 01.

My 01 (extended cab Z71) I "think" had 3.42's it towed my 24 foot boat just fine in 3rd gear. I used OD from time to time but it just hunted too much. My boat was around 2500lbs rigged out with a motor my trailer another 1,000, then fuel gear and misc. I always figured I was around 4500 lbs. I never weighed it. towing I usually got 10-13 mpg or so. I also towed a few jeeps with this truck which were heavier than my boat and less aerodynamic and they were fine. Unloaded day to day driving this truck got 17 mpg but I did a lot of highway. Sold this truck with 185k on it, only troubles I ever had were an o2 sensor.

My 07 was 4 speed 3.73 gears towed a bit better, was a crew cab and had active fuel management. It got the same mileage towing my boat 8 towing a jeep (yj on 36's with an 8.8 and cage not overly heavy on a 16 ft hauler 6k pounds total or so?), 18 mpg day to day driving and I pulled just over 20 mpg highway a time or two.

Only towed the with the newer truck once. I now have an 09 crew cab, 3.42 gears, 6 speed trans. It tows a lot better than the 07, still gets 8 mpg towing. I towed a one ton handicapped van on a pretty burly car hauler. Thinking fairly close to 8k pounds? Not sure to be honest just making a guess. Other than the van catching a lot of wind and swaying a lot on the trailer it was fine.

I wouldn't be concerned with towing a 6k boat. Yes it would be a lot nicer behind a diesel, but for the occasional tow the half ton with a 5.3 should be fine.

I've driven hosejockey's 6.0 and 8.1 trucks to tow with and they have a lot more power/torque than the 5.3, they are also 3/4 ton trucks so its almost like comapring the 5.3 to a diesel again. The 6.0 and 8.1 both have plenty of power.

Really the 1/2 ton chassis is the bigger limiting factor to the 5.3 than power is in my opinion.
 
#9 ·
overkill unless you are towing hundreds of miles at a time every weekend. I don't tow like my grandpa, I towed my yj and my boat at 80 mph.

That said that big old handicap van I felt a lot better at about 65. And in my older age I am not in such a rush to get places....either way a half ton will do what you want just fine.
 
#10 ·
I got both 2000 5.3 gmc but I got a 2002 hd crew cab with a 8.1 and I've pulled my ranger with both and my 30 ft 5th wheel with my 8.1 and love the power of the big cubes and get 8-9 miles to the gallon I won't have a 6.0, go big same gas millage have extra power
 
#14 ·
if it's not a daily driver and if you don't need the "truck" aspect, keep an eye on bidcorp.com

they have Chevy 2500 series former prison transport vans with the 6.0L up for auction with ~100,000 miles on average and they rarely go over $6,000 for 2007/8 models.

*shrug* most still have the dividers in so if the kids get too unruly...
 
#16 ·
Ok I went and test drove an 02 1500HD with 6.0 and an 02 1500 with the 5.3L. I was not impressed with the get up and go of the 6.0, and I forgot how terrible the turning radius is on the GM HD trucks. I was impressed with the power of the 5.3L, they seem to get up and go much better then similar year F150s with 5.4L. Now I have to drive a 8.1L truck to see if its worth me getting a 2500 series truck.

Sounds like 1500s and 2500s have simiar issues

Front wheel bearing issues on both
transfer case issues on both
junk bodies on both (rust)
Same interior
 
#20 ·
I think my brother's 8.1 had damn near 200k on it last I drove that truck (It's a dump truck/work truck, very few grandpa miles).

Who cares if it uses a little oil anyway? Is oil expensive?

The 8.1 can shit and get, I bet that truck is faster with a boat in tow than a 5.3 is empty.
 
#21 ·
ya im thats probably true....I like the idea of the 3/4 ton much more then the 1/2 ton. I think I would be happy with the 1500 but the one thing Im trying to find out is how the turning radius is with a 1500 vs a 2500hd. With my driveway setup I need the most steering I can get maneuvering the boat.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top