[Serious One]

Sorry for the Chev/GM related question, but I wanted to ask those that I know first.

My dad's ready to buy a brand new truck to tow their 5th wheel camper trailer.

He's trying to decide between Chev/GMC (he's got his mind set on it, so no good talking him out of it....) It'll be a crew-cab extended bed, non-dualie. Also, what the heck is the main difference between Chevy and GMC? Is there a general preference?

But the main thing I was wondering about the pros/cons of the quadrasteer.

He does do a lot of towing, horse trailers, hay trailers, 5th wheel, etc.

Just wondering if the additional cost and mechanical complexity is worth it relatively speaking.

Also looking for opinions on the Duramax engine. I had heard the early ones were having warping problems, but that they had been worked out.

Thanks guys. I'll probably post this in the General section as well.

 

[Fear Factory]

I would not want the full power of the engine going through steering joints in the rear axle. Can you even get a big engine such as the 8.1L or Duramaxipad with the quadrasteer? I really don't see that it's worth it the $2500 or whatever extra.

 

[fcfred]

quadrasteer is bad ass
but I don't know if it comes in the 3/4 or 1 ton
I wouldn't be worried about the rear steering joints, don't turn that far, and they can take some abuse
the rear tie rods are not very large though, about the thickness of your finger.
I do know that if you are doing doughnuts on the top level of a parking garage, and your wheelspeed reaches 30 mph the rear steer will take you out of the turn and towards the wall
don't ask me how I know

 

[UPOVR]

I think you get a Dana 60 also with quadra steer which is cool in a 1/2 ton. Anybody know for sure? I guess they upped the axle size to get the bigger u-joints to handle the duty of towing. I've read that while towing with quadra steer that emergency lane changes don't upset the load as much when you change lanes, i.e cause the backend to pitch in the opposite direction you want to go as the load shifts; since w/ quadra steer, at highway speeds, all the wheels are turning the same direction and the truck and trailer kind of just drift over into the lane your steering for.

 

[Modifried]

Slade,
The GMC is better looking and generaly more expensive. Its similar to Ford & Mercury, the GMC has slightly better appointments and more quality control.
As for the 5K for the Quadra- steer? If I had the money, I'd drop for it. Try a turning radius of a Toyota, but in a fullsize, very nice. ( it also may help with you tendency to back into things )

Also there is NO competition for the Duramax. it plain rocks And has an Allison auto trans. to boot.

 

[Fear Factory]

Also there is NO competition for the Duramax. it plain rocks And has an Allison auto trans. to boot.

Looking at the blue lines we see the ISBe Cummins has the Duramax beat in real world power to the ground as they come stock. Notice that both trucks had automatics :barf: so there's no auto vs. manual trans dyno difference. I could go on about aluminum head failures and that allison hardly being worth the name but most people just care about the power. I will admit that it's better than the 6.2 and 6.5.