Might have to move up to older Duramax. Advice?

Well, absolutely kills me to say it but I may have to part ways with my 2013 DC. Truck has been absolutely solid and never ever let me down, let alone had one problem ever. I wanted to keep it forever But I’m trying to start a new business this spring ( and I would like a true 4 door for the fam) and there’s no way around it- I need a bigger truck.And i don’t really want a loan.

I’ve been looking at 3/4 ton diesels.( or 1 ton) I would like at least a 2011. Don’t think a gasser is gonna cut it for what I need. Wanting to spend 20k or so. Anyone have any experience with these years or advice in general about Duramaxes? What about High mileage ones? I know they can run a long time but still feels wrong. What to look for? What to expect reliability wise? I would have a mechanic go through any truck prior to purchase but. I see lots of HD gassers for sale but not many diesels in those years.

I’ll add mostly for towing dump trailer and equipment bumper pull.

Thanks for any advice.

 

Are you towing daily 50+ miles each way?

That’s the absolute only way I’d consider a diesel.

 

I mean Pretty much. Concrete work. Heavy dump trailers and equipment. Bumper pull too

 

That counts.

I’d look pre-DEF years obviously. Classic duromax- Allison combos are pretty solid. 2004-10 is really all I used to know about.

 

Right on. I kind of figured lots would be deleted already around 2011 but who knows. I say that year because it looks like capabilities jumped up a lot around that year? At least on paper.

I would definitely be open to those years though

 

If memory serves, 02-04 had injector issues but were solid - if relatively underpowered by todays standards. 05-07 had overheating issues, but I think 07-10 were GTG and had the 6 speed allison instead of 5 speed (literally same transmission with different valve body). 11-16 LMM is supposed to be the sweet spot for power, reliability, and cost. However, my buddy just got is '11 back from the shop with blown head gaskets at less than 100k.

If payload is the issue, a gas motor dually is the ticket even though a diesel will pull it way better. I think the reason you don't see many used diesels for sale is because new diesel trucks are insanely expensive, include a crazy amount of treatments (DEF fluid, DPF, regeneration, etc) which adds to complexity and cost - especially if there's an issue, and they aren't as proven. The new duramax allison isn't built by allison anymore - just approved - for example.

However, you can get in to a work truck package 2500 duramax for less than a new limited tundra.

 

Yeah I’ve seeing some decent trucks around 30k. It is absolutely nuts what they go for that old. Insanity

 

A buddy of mine has an 09 GMC LMM Duramax he bought new. He says you’ll have to pry it out of his cold, dead hands. He’s at 190k miles now. It’s his daily driver and jack-of-all-trades truck. He hasn’t had any real issues except the good ol’ GM interior and its incessant rattling. The original brakes lasted 160k miles (he only drives in T/H mode). If I remember correctly, his truck is fully deleted with a mild towing tune.

The downside is, it’s a 2500, and the door jamb payload number is 18xx lbs (I don’t remember exactly). The thing is a tank, though, and apparently underrated (sound familiar?).

The real bummer for me going the route my buddy went with a pre-CP4 truck is that there are no crew cab regular bed 3500s before. The crew cabs are all long beds. So I’d be stuck with a 2500 with sub-2k payload unless I wanted to drive one with an 8-ft bed.

 

You guys are awesome. Appreciate all the info. It’s intimidating stuff. Whole different beast. Just trying to get my foot in the door here and have a truck that’s capable and get me started with out taking on a bunch of debt right away.

 

Those new gassers are out of my budget. But I have been seeing some 2015-16 2500’s gassers that have about same miles as my tundra does now, few years newer, for a reasonable price. Bumper pull around 13k. That would definately help me. I could be way off but I think that’s what the older deisels were rated for anyways on pulling conventionaly. Duramax would do it better no doubt. But most of my Heavy loads would be generally short ( like to the pit and back) most of my fairly long rides would be with an empty trailer or small skid loaders.

 

I was in your shoes and it sucks because the tundras are awesome. But I’ve had a pretty solid experience with my 6.6l gasser. I have not been the easiest on it. Towing things I probably shouldn’t

for a while every weekend I helped a buddy with his tree work and I hauled stumps and logs for about 20k of the 76k I have on the truck. I have probably max towed with it for 45% of its life. Truck is solid. It’s a GMC 2021 1 ton. I did have a few items that needed fixing but nothing really mechanical. Just annoying rattles. And wouldn’t look at 3/4 just jump right to 1 ton. Payload will thank you later.

The price is daunting, but if you own a business the tax advantages might offset the higher costs. I wouldn’t shy away from gassers today. Unless you are hooked up with a heavy trailer everyday the payback period on a diesel is hard to justify.

 

I appreciate the advice. Gives me more to think about. Ya know things would be much simpler if tundras could just tow more. Ha!

 

If Toyota made a HD I would trade in tomorrow. No question wouldnt even consult with the wife lol. A lot of us went through and understand your struggle. I talked to 2 tundra members for about 2-3 weeks to figure out what was best.

And I am partial to GM but if you got he gas route the Ford 7.3 Godzilla with 4.30 axles is an absolute monster towing.

 

I have heard from multiple people that they are awesome. Can’t believe I’m saying this but I test drove a 2014 ram 2500 with the 6.4 Hemi on accident today because of an over excited young salesman. I gotta say that truck was actually pretty sweet, it had lots of pep. And with the right gear ratio can tow a lot. Have I lost my damn mind?

 

Yes. But that’s because of my pre-existing biases against dodge trucks

 

Hemi is almost bullet proof, its all of the other things that go wrong. Check out DirtyMonkey on Youtube. He had a Ram 2500 gasser that he beat the heck out of it. Engine and Transmission held up fine....it was all the electrical and sensor issues. But, you will find issues with all the Big 3. That is why Toyota needs to build a HD truck

 

I hear ya. I’m terrified to do it, but sometimes things need to be done.

I’ll check out that video, I wasn’t even remotely considering a ram before. Thing felt heavy duty and had lots of go. It felt way more badass to me than any gasser gm 2500 I’ve driven around the same year.

I don’t even recognise myself in the mirror anymore!

 

The 6.0 GM gassers suck....I would buy anything other than that engine. Ram makes a solid truck. Brand loyalty should be thrown out the window when you are talking $30K+ investment. If you like the truck that is all that matters. And when you buy a HD truck we will throw you into our group chat with the other HD owners.

 

Go spend some time on the Ram trucks forum to confirm that yes indeed, you have lost your mind.

 

Trust me I know, but what’s a guy to do? Tundra is not gonna cut it for me anymore. No other option but big three.

 

Is a new/newer Big3 HD out of the question?

GM 6.6 gasser 2500/3500 is a great truck and absolutely what I would purchase if I needed more than 1600lb payload / towing more than 10k even a couple of times a week. There's no such thing as an HD Tundra obviously, but from my research and anecdotally having some friends that own these, it's the next best thing.

 

Hemis suffer from lifter failure too, much like the GM gassers.

 

Yeah, newer one is out of the question right now. I understand all the benefits and a used older one will end up costing you more and all that but I’m in a real world scenario here. I have a young family, I’m trying to start my own construction business, I have other equipment I need to invest in, other things that need to be paid. I’m trying to get my foot in the door here and get something rolling.. if I’m making money and if it seems smart I would totally go for a newer one in a year or two. Would I love to scrape by with my tundra? Hell yes. But tundra cannot do what I need it to do. It would be unsafe and not enjoyable for me at all.

 

Wasn't that a 6.0 problem that was resolved with the 6.6?