Ford 6.2, Dodge 6.4, GM 6.0 - Any experience?

untchabl

untchabl

I like rocks
Joined
Mar 30, 2009
Location
Bear Creek, NC 27207
Looking at a newer tow rig and wondering if anybody has any experience with the newer gas v8 3/4-ton trucks. I've got an 8.1 Suburban now and I really like it but I'm wanting to move into a truck so I can pull a 30-ft 5th wheel camper. Not too worried about MPG, my 8.1 gets 8-10mpg so I'm used to poor mileage. I don't pull often enough or heavy enough to "need" a diesel plus I'll put less than 10k miles a year on it. Looking at 2010-newer trucks. I've driven older 6.0 GM trucks and wasn't impressed. And I test drove a 6.4 Dodge but hard to get a feel for towing ability on a test drive. Haven't driven the Ford yet.
 
The GM 6.0 with the newer 6 speed pulls much better than my 8.1 with 4L85. Huge improvement over the older 6.0 with 4 speed.

I’d consider the dodge though for what you can get for the $$.

I really liked the idea of a power wagon to get lower gears.

I’ve heard the newer ford tows great with the auto downshifting when you tap the brake.

Pretty much same boat as you, and it seemed the dodges were priced a bit better, but hard for me not to buy another Chevy after having multiple that make it to 200k+ miles with little repairs other than regular maintenance
 
The newer GM stuff is likely to feel much different with the added gears in their automatic transmissions. 4 speed automatics just bring the suck. The 6.4 Dodges seem to be strong from everything I've seen and read. I don't know anyone who has a 6.2 Ford other than in a Raptor, so I'm no help there.

Edit: Ha! He beat me to it!
 
All three good trucks. Dodge is the cheapest.
You need to check out the Ford, I recently used one ( '17 model) in the mountains with a load and was very impressed with the torque and transmission.
Nice ride and great turning radius also.
Of course, I favor the Ford, since I've been selling them for 35 years!
Need any help, want to hook one up and pull, let me know.
 
Mac5005 said:
I really liked the idea of a power wagon to get lower gears.
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When the Power Wagons upgraded to the 6.4 and 6spd trans the axles only came with 4.10s, which is an option for non PW trucks. The PW price tag is a hard pill to take just to get 4.10 gears IMO, but the other features are nice. Overpriced, but nice.

My dads work truck is a Chevy 2500 with the 6.0. It's got close to 300k miles with no issues. The bed stays loaded with tools and a fuel tank and it still pulls anything he needs it to. He's been anti-chevy his whole life, but his last two work trucks have converted him I do believe.

Duane
 
Mac5005 said:
The GM 6.0 with the newer 6 speed pulls much better than my 8.1 with 4L85. Huge improvement over the older 6.0 with 4 speed.

I’d consider the dodge though for what you can get for the $$.

I really liked the idea of a power wagon to get lower gears.

I’ve heard the newer ford tows great with the auto downshifting when you tap the brake.

Pretty much same boat as you, and it seemed the dodges were priced a bit better, but hard for me not to buy another Chevy after having multiple that make it to 200k+ miles with little repairs other than regular maintenance
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Seems that the 6.4 Dodges are harder to find in the used market, found a few but don't think they have been great deals price wise. Gonna go drive @Infamous1 Chevy and see how I like it.

Infamous1 said:
John you know where a 2012 6.0 chevy truck is sitting, come drive it. It stays hooked to my enclosed, pulls and stops it with no issues.
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I'll definitely take you up on that offer. Nothing better than a towing test drive.

CLRracer said:
When the Power Wagons upgraded to the 6.4 and 6spd trans the axles only came with 4.10s, which is an option for non PW trucks. The PW price tag is a hard pill to take just to get 4.10 gears IMO, but the other features are nice. Overpriced, but nice.

My dads work truck is a Chevy 2500 with the 6.0. It's got close to 300k miles with no issues. The bed stays loaded with tools and a fuel tank and it still pulls anything he needs it to. He's been anti-chevy his whole life, but his last two work trucks have converted him I do believe.

Duane
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The Power Wagon isn't worth the extra $$ to me. I'll get a Tradesman or SLT and if it needs a regear I'll take it to @Jody Treadway or ECGS and still be thousands of dollars ahead.

Good to hear all the positive feedback on the newer 6.0 GM trucks, the 4-speed trucks were disappointing to me. Which is why I spent almost 2 years looking for my 8.1 Burban.
 
@Jason W. said he loves his GM 6.0/6 speed auto. High teens MPG empty and tows well.

All the later model gas trucks (12+) in a 3/4 or high all seem to have really figured things out. I have a lot of clients with Chevy fleet trucks with gas engines and 97% of them are all very happy.
 
I kinda wish GM would punch out the 6.0 though...a little bit bigger engine would probably help sales when compared to a 6.2 and 6.4. Maybe something a tad bigger around 400 cubic inches. I can dream, right?
 
I geared a 2017 F-250 a few months back. Had the 6.2 and he tows a huge camper with it. I swapped the OEM 3.73 gears for 4.30s.
Made a huge difference and he says it tows way, way better.

If I was in the market for a tow rig, I'd think hard about a Super Duty with the 6.2. By the time you spend $xxxx to regear (with OEM gears BTW) you're money ahead compared to a diesel with minimal maintenance costs.

But I like a manual transmission, so I'm a Cummins guy...
 
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I looked at little last night, can get 14 and newer dodge and Chevy with 50-75k miles for under 30k. There were multiple options to look through. Several with 50k miles and 27kish.

The newer Chevy 6.0 with the 6 speed is as much better towing than the 8.1/4spd was an upgrade from the older 6.0/4spd.

I just don’t know if the ford/dodge trans are as good as the chevys to make it to 200k with little to no issues.

I was only looking into power wagons a while back as the prices were similar to 2500s with similar mileage’s but had better options. The lower gears/lockers/winch were just a bonus. But if the prices aren’t similar it’s apples to oranges.
 
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Mac5005 said:
I looked at little last night, can get 14 and newer dodge and Chevy with 50-75k miles for under 30k. There were multiple options to look through. Several with 50k miles and 27kish.

The newer Chevy 6.0 with the 6 speed is as much better towing than the 8.1/4spd was an upgrade from the older 6.0/4spd.

I just don’t know if the ford/dodge trans are as good as the chevys to make it to 200k with little to no issues.

I was only looking into power wagons a while back as the prices were similar to 2500s with similar mileage’s but had better options. The lower gears/lockers/winch were just a bonus. But if the prices aren’t similar it’s apples to oranges.
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I was initially looking in the $20k or less range (including diesels) but I'm worried that with trucks in that price range, someone else has got the "good" out of those trucks as far as maintenance and wear & tear. Just have a hard time wanting to pay $15-20k for a diesel truck with 150-200k miles, especially when I don't need a diesel. Spend $20k on a nice diesel truck then 6 months later it might need $3-5k in repairs.

I'd rather pay the extra up front and get a newer, low mileage gas truck that will suit my needs just as well but not have the added maintenance costs. Any truck can have unexpected costs/repairs but seems the newer gas truck would be a safer bet.

I've found new 2017 Ford F250 XL crew cab 4x4 trucks with the 6.2 for $30k. That's a cloth interior, vinyl floor, power windows & locks work truck though. Also found a couple used 2016 Ram 2500 Tradesmans for around $28-32k. These are a bit better optioned and better yet, in my preferred gray color rather than fleet surplus white. Luckily I'm in no rush to buy anything so I can wait for a great deal.

Keep all the info and suggestions coming. I'll add the newer GM 6.0's to my searches and I'm gonna try to get over to @Infamous1 house this week/weekend to drive his truck and see what I think.
 
Don’t overlook the GM 6.2. Ours runs and drives great and pulls really well. I’m actually impressed and would say it pulls the boat just as well as my 6.7 ford diesel. Granted the boat and trailer are not overly heavy (about 7500lbs), it towed just as good as the diesel. I hadn’t pulled anything heavier but would suspect the towability of the 6.2 to fade out after 9-10k lbs as compared to a diesel.

I have no comparisons of the GM 6.2 to the ford or dodge gassers.
 
rockcity said:
Don’t overlook the GM 6.2. Ours runs and drives great and pulls really well. I’m actually impressed and would say it pulls the boat just as well as my 6.7 ford diesel. Granted the boat and trailer are not overly heavy (about 7500lbs), it towed just as good as the diesel. I hadn’t pulled anything heavier but would suspect the towability of the 6.2 to fade out after 9-10k lbs as compared to a diesel.

I have no comparisons of the GM 6.2 to the ford or dodge gassers.
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Isn't the GM 6.2 only available in the 1500? I need a 3/4-ton truck that can pull a 30-ft 5th wheel camper and a 24ft gooseneck trailer.
 
untchabl said:
Isn't the GM 6.2 only available in the 1500? I need a 3/4-ton truck that can pull a 30-ft 5th wheel camper and a 24ft gooseneck trailer.
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Dunno. We have one in our Yukon XL and it’s rated for like 12,000lb towing. Even comes with factory trailer brake controller and some sort of engine braking system that seems to work well so far.

I wouldn’t discount it even if it was a 1500 truck. The 6.2 is rated to tow more than the 5.3 and 6.0. Check the brakes and transmission between a 1500 with the 6.2 versus the 5.3/6.0 to verify if it would handle your towing and stopping needs. The suspension would need some air bags though.
 
Ford 6.2 Has been dang reliable since it’s introduction, Fil has one that has over 180k miles right at 9000 hours and it’s been flawless the whole time. I picked an 18 up a few months ago and so far I’m really happy with it.
 
I started with a 2015 Chevy 6.2 1500 4x4. Traded back & ordered my 2016 Chevy 1500 4x4 6.2. Both come with a 8 sp. auto. I think the 6.2 still only comes in 1500 & with a highway gear, like my 3.23 gear. 3.42 is optional, if you like camping mirrors! But the 8 sp. Does have a granny low to launch it, & 2 overdrives for mileage. 6.2 is a Hell of a Hot Rod! Tows similar to a diesel! But the 3/4 & 1 tons, get the 6.0, 6 sp. & choice of gears!
 
rodney eppes said:
I started with a 2015 Chevy 6.2 1500 4x4. Traded back & ordered my 2016 Chevy 1500 4x4 6.2. Both come with a 8 sp. auto. I think the 6.2 still only comes in 1500 & with a highway gear, like my 3.23 gear. 3.42 is optional, if you like camping mirrors! But the 8 sp. Does have a granny low to launch it, & 2 overdrives for mileage. 6.2 is a Hell of a Hot Rod! Tows similar to a diesel! But the 3/4 & 1 tons, get the 6.0, 6 sp. & choice of gears!
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I think you can order the 1500 with the max trailering package to get the 6.2 with 3.73. I’ll check my research stuff in the morning. You can also get the max trailering package on Tahoe’s and suburbans, and caddys.
 
Mac5005 said:
I think you can order the 1500 with the max trailering package to get the 6.2 with 3.73. I’ll check my research stuff in the morning. You can also get the max trailering package on Tahoe’s and suburbans, and caddys.
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We have the max trailering option on our Yukon XL with the 6.2. Not sure on the gears though. It tows great if you can stomach a 1/2 ton.
 
The 2017 and newer 6.2s will make the best power for the engines you listed. And, the dodge 6.4 requires you run 93 octane. You can run E85 in the 6.2 if you want.

IIRC the new 6.2s are something like 400 hp/430 ft lbs or something. They’re good motors - I’ve hauled stuff to Canada, Florida, Rhode Island with my old one.

I sold my 2015 F-250 and bought a Crewmax Tundra though. It’s hard to beat a Toyota.
 
336wheeler said:
And, the dodge 6.4 requires you run 93 octane.
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This is incorrect. Per the owner's manual, 3.6L & 6.4L engines are designed to meet all emissions regulations and provide excellent fuel economy & performance when using high quality unleaded "regular" gasoline having an octane rating of 87. The use of premium gasoline is not recommended, as it will not provide any benefit over regular gasoline in these engines.

I've got 41K miles on a 2014 Ram 2500 with the 6.4L and I've run nothing but 87 through it with no issues.

6.4L Fuel Requirements.JPG
 
When I was looking into the trucks, everything I saw recommended 93.

On a different note, my fiancées VW Passat is supposed to take 91+, but she always puts 87 in it. No problems yet after 160k and driving it way too hard.

Not to mention, it has more displacement than a 6.2 but makes less power
 
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