With all the travelling in front of us we opted for a serious towing vehicle – ¾ ton to handle rough roads safely and a diesel to tow 7500 pounds up the big passes. We opted for the Chevrolet because they are quieter, have a more reliable engine in the model year’s we were looking in, and were backed by the infamous Allison transmission. In all honesty we would have been fine with the Ford – the ¾ ton diesel inventory in Ventura is lacking, so we bought what we could find in three days time. Diesels have a 100,000 mile warranty, and most Ford for sale were 99 – 102k, one was even 99,995 miles. Why is everyone dumping the Ford just as the warranty expires? We didn’t want to find out.
Anyway. We bought a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD LT, which has all the nifty amenities like leather, power everything, heated seats, etc. It has 72,000 miles, young for a diesel, and plenty of time left on the warranty to fix any issues that arise from constant towing.
One million “thank youâ€s to my long time friend and mechanic Dylan Wilcox who looked it over before the sale and then worked overtime to flush and replace every drop of liquid in the entire drivetrain and prep it for our journey. I give him my highest recommendation and hope you’ll take your car to him, too.
For the gear heads:
2007 Chevy Suburban
1500 Z71 4×4
2004 Chevy Silverado
1500 LT 4×2
Engine
5.3L Gas
Duramax LLY 6.6L Diesel
Horsepower (hp)
320
310
Torque (ft-lbs)
340
590
GVWR (lbs)
7,400
9,200
GCWR (lbs)
13,000
22,000
Tow Capacity (lbs)
7,000
12,000
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Our New Truck
With all the travelling in front of us we opted for a serious towing vehicle – ¾ ton to handle rough roads safely and a diesel to tow 7500 pounds up the big passes. We opted for the Chevrolet because they are quieter, have a more reliable engine in the model year’s we were looking in, and were backed by the infamous Allison transmission. In all honesty we would have been fine with the Ford – the ¾ ton diesel inventory in Ventura is lacking, so we bought what we could find in three days time. Diesels have a 100,000 mile warranty, and most Ford for sale were 99 – 102k, one was even 99,995 miles. Why is everyone dumping the Ford just as the warranty expires? We didn’t want to find out.
Anyway. We bought a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD LT, which has all the nifty amenities like leather, power everything, heated seats, etc. It has 72,000 miles, young for a diesel, and plenty of time left on the warranty to fix any issues that arise from constant towing.
One million “thank youâ€s to my long time friend and mechanic Dylan Wilcox who looked it over before the sale and then worked overtime to flush and replace every drop of liquid in the entire drivetrain and prep it for our journey. I give him my highest recommendation and hope you’ll take your car to him, too.
For the gear heads:
1500 Z71 4×4
1500 LT 4×2