How does the 8.1 tow????

[coloradoblazers]

Yeah, I know. Just you never know who will find these old threads and start reading them (I know I have when doing research). That's the only reason why I posted

@Larry has been such a positive advocate for the 8.1, and has shared an enormous amount on knowledge.
If there is interest, I can do a comparison between the 8.1 Avy and the 6.0 2500HD, maybe do a mini gauntlet (similar to the TFL Ike Gauntlet, only up some WY mountains). Wouldn't be a true apples to apples comparison (different platforms) but would provide some info for those looking for a tow rig.

This is what I think will eventually make it in my K5 to replace the 5.0:

Three of a kind:

 

[Kay86K5]

I really like your write up @coloradoblazers and how truthful you are about the mileage. Good info. I see you still have that 8.1 pickup I inquired with you about . Trucks look good dude. So did you say that your Avy has 3.73 or 4.10 gears?

I'm dropping an 8.1/NV4500 combo in my V3500 crew cab right now and am excited to get it rocking. For my situation, I don't really care about gas mileage because this truck will never be a daily driver. It will sit in front of my house and only get used if I need it or want to use it. So I want as much power for towing with as little maintenance as I can get. And I think the 8.1 is a great motor for that. Now, if I towed stuff for a living and was doing it everyday, sure I would get a diesel, but for us guys who tow a couple times a month and use our trucks on the weekends, motors like the 8.1 are awesome.

Just trying to give my plug for the 8.1 cause I think it's a great motor that truly has a place in the 3/4 ton and up markets.

 

[Highpsi]

Wow, we're really reviving the dead here aren't we!? Completely agree about some of the comments here about gas milage and diesel vs. gasser wars. Who buys the 8.1 looking for good fuel milage in the first place!?

I picked up my 2004 Chevy 2500HD with the 8.1 and Allison tranny last year, and I love this truck. Only hauled with it a few times but what I've noticed is it doesn't seem to change mileage much regardless if you're towing or not. Most of the time I'm right around 9 to 10 mpg with the large 285 tires I run too.

I made the choice NOT to go with a diesel based on the fact that my truck sits a lot and the cost to maintain a diesel is sooooo much higher if you really pay attention to the way it should be kept up. You guys are totally right in the notion that there's just something to be said for the simplicity of the 8.1 while combined with modern EFI technology. Uh, did I say I love this truck?

The tow rig

• Highpsi
• Mar 31, 2016

2004 Chevy 2500HD Silverado LT with 8.1 Vortec and Allison Transmission.

 

[Kay86K5]

my 6.0 didn't get anything better than 9mpg towing

8.1 FTW

Hey Skunked, I didn't see this post for some reason. My brother has a 2000 burb with a 6.0 and he experiences the same thing. Empty he is about 13 (maybe 14 on a good day) and towing he usually always gets 9mpg. He even pulled his 6.0 and rebuilt it (cam, tune, heads gone through, and a couple other misc goodies) along with swapping the 14bsf out of the rear for a AAM 11.5 (so his burb is probably the definition of HD Burban) so he now has 4.11's in it too. He said now it tows pretty well, pretty much what a stock 8.1 tows like. He went with the 6.0 cause the cost of the burb was good, but now that I'm going the 8.1 he wishes he spent more time and looked for an 8.1 rig...probably would have saved him some money in the long run. His burb is really cool now though!

 

[Kay86K5]

Wow, we're really reviving the dead here aren't we!? Completely agree about some of the comments here about gas milage and diesel vs. gasser wars. Who buys the 8.1 looking for good fuel milage in the first place!?

I picked up my 2004 Chevy 2500HD with the 8.1 and Allison tranny last year, and I love this truck. Only hauled with it a few times but what I've noticed is it doesn't seem to change mileage much regardless if you're towing or not. Most of the time I'm right around 9 to 10 mpg with the large 285 tires I run too.

I made the choice NOT to go with a diesel based on the fact that my truck sits a lot and the cost to maintain a diesel is sooooo much higher if you really pay attention to the way it should be kept up. You guys are totally right in the notion that there's just something to be said for the simplicity of the 8.1 while combined with modern EFI technology. Uh, did I say I love this truck?

The tow rig

• Highpsi
• Mar 31, 2016

2004 Chevy 2500HD Silverado LT with 8.1 Vortec and Allison Transmission.

That's a good looking truck right there. That is exactly what I was looking for when trying to get a different truck, but they seem to be unicorns around here in CO (the crew cab short bed 8.1 version), and if I did find one it was a little rough and had really high miles. That's why I said screw it and decided to build my crew cab with an 8.1 instead.

Have you done anything to the motor like a tune or anything? It's amazing what just a tune does for an 8.1. Usually more gains from a tune on an 8.1 then doing a simple tune on a 5.3/6.0

 

[Highpsi]

That's a good looking truck right there. That is exactly what I was looking for when trying to get a different truck, but they seem to be unicorns around here in CO (the crew cab short bed 8.1 version), and if I did find one it was a little rough and had really high miles. That's why I said screw it and decided to build my crew cab with an 8.1 instead.

Have you done anything to the motor like a tune or anything? It's amazing what just a tune does for an 8.1. Usually more gains from a tune on an 8.1 then doing a simple tune on a 5.3/6.0

Thanks K! I completely agree about the rarity of such a rig. I waited a long time to find this one and especially in the region I found it. I live in the Midwest, so buying a used truck here is out of the question to me. My parents still live in Georgia, so I scoured Craigslist for quite a while looking for a shortbed crew with the 8.1. And to my luck, it was even in the color I wanted and the guy took VERY good care of it. He really loved the truck so it was my luck finding it. It had 120k miles on it at the time, and needed tires. I paid 14.5k for it and I know everyone will roast me for overpaying but this truck is so clean and everything works perfect. I've driven it for a year now and just love the torque and power in that 8.1.

No tuning yet, but I definitely plan to! Right now I am absorbed in finishing my K10 project and finding a trailer to haul it with. What sort of programmer do you recommend?

 

[Kay86K5]

Thanks K! I completely agree about the rarity of such a rig. I waited a long time to find this one and especially in the region I found it. I live in the Midwest, so buying a used truck here is out of the question to me. My parents still live in Georgia, so I scoured Craigslist for quite a while looking for a shortbed crew with the 8.1. And to my luck, it was even in the color I wanted and the guy took VERY good care of it. He really loved the truck so it was my luck finding it. It had 120k miles on it at the time, and needed tires. I paid 14.5k for it and I know everyone will roast me for overpaying but this truck is so clean and everything works perfect. I've driven it for a year now and just love the torque and power in that 8.1.

No tuning yet, but I definitely plan to! Right now I am absorbed in finishing my K10 project and finding a trailer to haul it with. What sort of programmer do you recommend?

That's awesome dude. It's a sweet truck for sure. Howell is a pretty good tuner, and also @Team208Motorsports on here out of Idaho is very familiar with 8.1 tuning and he has pretty good prices. He does a bunch of tuning on the KOH guys rigs. Really, really good dude. I'm thinking that is who I'm going to have do the tune on my 8.1 here in a couple months

 

[Smokinthehippies]

@80' 427 John tows his crawler with an 8.1. Granted Nebraska is fairly flat compared to some of the places you guys are towing but I know it works for him.

 

[80' 427]

I like mine. Kansas has long steep hills. No real elevation. Rolling hills of Kansas can be a hard tow.