Thread:

My tow rig gets a lot of looks....

Originally Posted by vw-nut

Been lurking on here for a while now just reading and trying to decide on my next toy. I am selling the big sea ray on the hook this weekend and buying a boat here on the forums from a guy in so cal.
So my first post will be my cool dually pulling my old boat and hopefully my next post will be my dually pulling my new daytona....
time will tell...
for the haters yes it tows... warmed up 6.5L turbo diesel backed with a built 4l80e and all new driveline, fully bagged and drives like a dream daily...
link to my little info sheet on duallyscene....
DuallyScene.com • Garage
thanks for looking....

Well, you can tell by any of my pics that I am with you one-hundred-and-fifty-percent with the truck. IMO, not many vehicles pull the average boat (or any other trailer) better than a (properly) dropped dually. Anyone who says differently simply has not ever ridden-in or driven one. Not that there isn't BETTER things to pull anything with, but the list of benefits is quite long.

That being said....my '98 (previous truck) is still lurking here. I sold it to a guy here (SchiadaTime), who then sold it to a guy with a flatbottom in / near Sacramento. Now it has sold again to another guy with a flat in/near Sac. So, I am lucky that I get to keep in touch with where the truck went and how it's doing.

There are several threads here with it, but here is my old truck when I had it:



Then I ordered up my current one, which is still serving me very well. Took awhile to get the ride dialed-in, since there wasn't a kit to fully go as low as I did, so we used a bunch of different parts to make it right. All of the angles came out right, so my dealership has no warranty issues with it. It's about out of warranty anyway, so it's all good.

Getting to boats, I already HAD the truck and just needed to find the boat to go with it. I had an agreed-to (wife) cap of $60K. So, I was either looking at 21-23 foot NEW boats....or larger used. The used part only scared me because of gel scheme. I was afraid of ending up with some weird colored boat and a red dually to pull it with. I lucked out and found my 30' Sleek for $54,500 - was four years old / 140 hours - and looked new. That's half of what it was new, and it was just how I would have picked it out....right down to the red trailer with chrome fenders and wheels.

So, if you look LONG and hard enough....you will find what you are looking for. Just set your price-cap and make a list of PROS and CONS. I knew I wanted Mercruiser running gear (not Volvo), EFI (no carbs), open-bow-mid-cuddy, and the wife absolutely insisted on molded swim-step. I also insisted on a stepped bottom. The color is where we had to consider being flexible as I looked at two purple boats, one blue, but had found three red ones. This one was the best deal of the three (red) and by far the cleanest. Just wait, it will turn up. UNLESS you are buying NEW.

Well now, I cannot back your play for the Cummins swap. More cylinders always wins in the "all-around" game. I know the Cummins is a great motor and people swap them into everything because they are "easy" - which equals antiquated. Also, having a fleet of muscle and classic cars, I have always been one of those that keeps make of vehicle with make of drivetrain. For instance, I wouldn't put a (Chevy) 454 into a Mustang, even though it would be easier and more efficient.

After driving all of the "big three" diesels, I can tell you what I tell people when they ask me at work - "which truck should I get"? I tell them to just go DRIVE them. Drive them like they own it and really get a feel for what the truck will do FOR THEM. All three are doing a great job on their trucks and all three have their faults.

In MY opinion, frankensteining trucks for the best of all worlds would be this:

Ford always over-builds their frames/suspension. So, FORD chassis with DuraMax/Allison drivetrain with Dodge interior (and probably outer sheet-metal, since it's made for that interior). A Dodge body on a Ford chassis with GM drivetrain would have no choice but to win hands-down anything it came up against. Smoothness, creature comforts, quiet, strong, productive. The GM drivetrain just handles so many areas so well. Quiet for drive-throughs or otherwise talking while in operation. Almost zero vibration due to mounting and eight cylinders. Really nice power delivery and even better starting with heated intake grid to supplement the plugs. But, most of them have that now anyway.

I have my tires at 65psi right now, since I have been towing a lot. When unloaded, I am cussing at the wheelspin. I went to pass a line of cars the other day on I-5, and almost didn't make my gap due to wheelspin. Tuner set at +90hp (best mileage setting), full MBRP turbo-back exhaust, and Banks intake.

I am also jealous of your front end - as I always wanted to do an Escalade front clip on my '98.

Thats one bad ass truck! Ive always loved the look of a slammed dually. Nothing screams " come-in through, get the F- outta my way" like a dropped 1 ton. Mine is a 95 1-ton crew with the older cady front end. Ill try to get some pics up later. Beer 30s old dually is owned by a close friend of mine it is also a very nice truck. Good luck with your new buy.

Originally Posted by NiceGuyEddie

VW nut, that is a really nice ride! Good luck on your new boat purchase!

Beer:30 I may sound redundant (as I've said this probably 30 times), both your trucks are beautiful! Above you mentioned the pros of towing with a lowered truck. Would you mind sharing some? I have always wanted a lowered and bagged dually, however I have wondered what it would be like towing a boat or loaded down toy hauler behind it.

Thanks for the kind words.

Benefits:
Less "wetted area" while traveling. The lower to the road you are minimizes any headwind. Stock or raised allows headwinds, or wind in general, to hit all of the suspension underneath. Wind speed is zero at the roadway surface.

Lower center of gravity. Obviously this helps with handling, but also towing. The taller a vehicle is, the more leverage the hitch has. If you bring the frame down to the same level as your trailer rails. If you see some of these lifted truck with fifth-wheel trailer-houses LEANING backwards EVEN WITH REAR AIR BAGS, it's the leverage of the trailer trying to pull the back of the truck down. Not good for steering. Front axle gets REAL light.

Loading materials/equipment: Would you rather LIFT your ice chests, tools, luggage and such up into the bed? Or just turn around and SET these items down.

Passengers tend to like to sit down into a seat, rather than JUMP up into a rig. My wife rode in my truck ONCE while stock. She said "I'm not riding in this thing again until you drop it!" This is also very helpful to door hinges. People tend to grab the armrest of the door panel and PULL themselves up into a lifted vehicle. Door hinges tend to wear pre-maturely.

Driveline angles: Have you seen the ridiculous angles of drivelines in lifted rigs? All we did on mine was flip the carrier-bearing up towards the cab floor. All of the u-joint angles came out the same as stock, just up-side-down. The driveline doesn't even know the difference.

With rear airbags, the load-carrying capacity is the same or MORE than OEM. My rear leaf springs are still in play - just augmented with the bags. I put a self-leveling compressor on this time. No more gauges or buttons. Load the truck or hook on a trailer - compressor comes on and makes the truck level again. Unload it or, let's say, put the boat in the water - the truck levels itself again. This way, anyone can drive it and they don't have to worry about how much air to have.

Maintenance: I would rather just lean into the engine bay for maintenance than climb up on a box. Much easier on the back and shoulders.

I'm sure I'm leaving a few things out.

Originally Posted by NiceGuyEddie

Thanks for the info. Makes a lot of sense!

My current Duramax is lifted and I definatly hear you on lifting cargo into the bed. It is a pain sometimes! As far as leaning into the engine bay your right. Only benefit I guess I have is I don't need to pull out jack stands when changing oil and trans fluid....One other thing you forgot to mention is how much easier it must be to wash your truck, one other thing that requires a step ladder.

Do you have the Banks intake with the air scoop under the bumper?

Didn't add the scoop. I don't run any more than a +90 tune, so I don't see it making use of any more air than it's getting now.

Originally Posted by NiceGuyEddie

I had been running the 90hp tune for about 3 years (except while towing, I'll run 50hp). I backed down to the 70hp tune a few weeks ago after getting pulled over by CHP (was given a warning). A few years ago I also received a letter in the mail from the Clean Air Society for "excessive black smoke". I'm kinda tired of getting hassled. The 70hp tune doesn't dump nearly as much soot. I have the Quadzilla Stealth II and I've heard that it one of the dirtiest tuners.

I don't doubt that the Quad is the dirtiest. Same as I run. I like the +90 for around town and the mileage, but it does smoke a BUNCH if you flash the throttle before the turbo spools. That's the only thing that bugs me about the +90 is the amount of smoke. I also run the +50 for towing. I sometimes run the +70 around town for less smoke.