2.7 EcoBoost for towing? Anybody have one and can comment?

[Martinjmpr]

There is no replacement for displacement.

Sweating fuel mileage while towing is an exercise in futility.

With regards to your first point, I don't think that's true anymore. At least in the sense that both turbo boost and hybrid technology can add the benefits of more displacement without the weight penalties of additional displacement.

With regards to the second, sweating fuel mileage while towing is indeed an exercise in futility.

But many tow vehicles (including mine) don't tow 100% of the time - more like 50% or even less. So wanting to maximize MPG for the times when I'm NOT towing makes good sense, as long as doing so doesn't compromise the towing aspect.

That, again, is the benefit of the turbo: It provides power when you need it (and the high fuel consumption required to get that power) but when you don't need it, it goes back to being a mild V6.

Of course, even "improved MPG" isn't the whole story, is it? After all, when we talk about "saving fuel" what we REALLY want to do is save MONEY.

So then I would have to factor whether a boosted V6 that gets better MPG - but requires more expensive premium fuel - is a better deal than an NA V8 that doesn't do quite as well in terms of fuel economy - but that will burn cheap, rot-gun 85 octane.

[colorider]

First, I would fin for out your total cargo weight and the trailer total weight when being towed. Add for water, batteries, coolers, beer, propane tanks etc for the trailer. Then add up truck cargo such as your motorcycle. Let us know your total weight and that would really help in deciding if the 2.7 eco is a good choice. Just because they say it can tow 7000# doesn’t mean it’s a good idea or it’s going to be a comfortable ride while doing it. 3 of us tow campers and toy haulers every other weekend and we always compare mileage, engine temps etc. I have the 2017 3.5 eco, my buddy has a 2018 GMC Sierra, other has a 2017 dodge hemi. So far the Sierra gets the best gas mileage while towing. The dodge hemi and my eco are equal on mileage and the performance even though I’m towing about 2000# more than him.

[BushMasterBoy]

This is just my opinion. I Lived out of a camper for 13 years. 454 Suburban and a 19 foot travel trailer. Got pretty much the same MPG, no matter what I did with it. There is nothing like a big motor for towing. Also no comparison to having big tires, brakes, etc. The safety factor can't be ignored.
The feeling when driving, that you have all that power when you need it, is reassuring. And yes it can save your ass. I have a Chevy Colorado 2.8L and it hauled my inboard Chevy powered boat from Florida OK. I was extra cautious though. I'm guessing it was just under a ton. I have a 07 Chevy 2500HD and a 1984 454 dually too. I maintain all these vehicles myself. I also have a project 1984 SRW 1 ton Chevy 454 project truck.
So I have a little experience in towing and maintaining light trucks. Now I live in a house, and the camper just sits.
So after reading your situation and requirements, I would get a full size truck. 3/4 ton minimum. A low mileage older well maintained truck highly discounted due to age. Heavy emphasis on well maintained, fluid changes etc. They can be found and it is a pain looking at all the offerings. I personally feel all these claims of a small high performance engine doing all these heavy towing in extreme conditions are a disservice to buyers. Is a two piece engine block really necessary? Twin turbos that get insanely hot? All this shit sound like a Formula 1 racing engine. Get a big engine and a big truck. The little truck is for towing your motorcycle. Below is an example of a truck I would consider...

https://pueblo.craigslist.org/cto/d/...939368518.html

[SouthPaw]

Excellent questions and I will do my best to answer them. I have researched this for a few years now so a I fairly versed on this topic. The LS series engine is known to hot-rodders all around as they are one tough engine and can hold gobs of power just as they are. You know that saying "well my friend has one?" Well a child hood friend of my builds these things all day. His personal truck held 800hp on a stock engine (stock from intake to oil pan with only supporting fuel mods and trans) that he beat daily before it let go over a previous condition (160K on the clock when he busted it). They also built a early 90's Ford Ranger they swapped with an LS that runs 10 seconds that really didn't cost them that much money. Just a swap, boost and fuel.

OK, so assuming arguendo (<---- fancy word that means "for the sake of argument" and I like to use fancy words like that because it makes me feel better about still having student loan payments at the age of 57) that I wanted to go this route, some follow up questions:

1. Where would I find a shop that would/could put a turbo or blower on a 15 year old truck with 186 grand on the clock?
There is plenty of kits online or you can have a shop custom build your own. I prefer to have the shop put one together for you or you can source the parts yourself. You will definitely get more bang for your buck by building your own vs a boxed kit. On3 is a company that makes a 'bolt on' twin turbo kit that. Their test vehicle was their shop truck (2000-ish GMC 2500HD 6.0L) that had over 200K on the clock before it saw any boost. It is still being used for parts deliveries etc and make over 600hp, closer to 700hp. Any performance shop knows these engines through and through. If you are serious, I can point you a few different directions for you to get quotes on.

2. What kind of warranty can I expect it to have?
Warranty is whatever you decide to do. If you have a shop put it on, I am sure there is some warranty on parts/labor but considering it is a performance mod, I wouldn't expect too much. Magnuson superchargers I believe offer some pretty decent warranty stuff but their kits run about $6500-$7000. They are the original "Magnuson Warranty Act."

3. How much "out the door" are we looking at, cost wise?
I have a 2003 Tahoe 5.3L that I bought with the intentions of putting a turbo on it (may happen one day if I ever get the extra coin). When I had my buddy quote a 'out the door, pick it up and drive away price' it was $5300+/- for a system that would support up to 800hp. If you wanted to shave some of that cost off, you could go with a smaller turbo, cheaper BOV/wastegate and knock off about $1000. That system would be good for around 500hp. These two prices included tuning and all supporting fuel mods needed but no transmission upgrade. 4L80's are a dime a dozen ($500-$1000), couple hundred for a shift kit, $600 for a circle D converter.

Oh, and one more thing: Given that I've blown up 2 transmissions already, what are the chances that the new 4L60 in my 'Burb is going to last attached to a turbo or supercharged engine?
Probably last a lifetime without being abused and driven under regular conditions if you don't have some crazy setup. If your Suburban is a 1500 series, you will want to remove the original 4L60 and replace with a 4L80 (out of the 2500+ series vehicles). With a good shift kit and torque convertor, the 4L80 has been known to hold 600hp with no issues. If/when I do mine, I will be driving with the 4L60 till it let's go. They generally only hold about 400hp before they are start losing gears and what not.

I thought about buying an older truck and swapping in a LS but then thought to myself; why give up all the updated features like AC, power steering, power windows, locks, etc when you could buy a tahoe, suburban, 1500 truck etc for about the same price and it has an LS already in it.

[Wulf202]

Of course, even "improved MPG" isn't the whole story, is it? After all, when we talk about "saving fuel" what we REALLY want to do is save MONEY.

So you're planning on saving money by buying a $30,000 used truck?

[MED]

This is just my opinion. I Lived out of a camper for 13 years. 454 Suburban and a 19 foot travel trailer. Got pretty much the same MPG, no matter what I did with it. There is nothing like a big motor for towing. Also no comparison to having big tires, brakes, etc. The safety factor can't be ignored.
The feeling when driving, that you have all that power when you need it, is reassuring. And yes it can save your ass. I have a Chevy Colorado 2.8L and it hauled my inboard Chevy powered boat from Florida OK. I was extra cautious though. I'm guessing it was just under a ton. I have a 07 Chevy 2500HD and a 1984 454 dually too. I maintain all these vehicles myself. I also have a project 1984 SRW 1 ton Chevy 454 project truck.
So I have a little experience in towing and maintaining light trucks. Now I live in a house, and the camper just sits.
So after reading your situation and requirements, I would get a full size truck. 3/4 ton minimum. A low mileage older well maintained truck highly discounted due to age. Heavy emphasis on well maintained, fluid changes etc. They can be found and it is a pain looking at all the offerings. I personally feel all these claims of a small high performance engine doing all these heavy towing in extreme conditions are a disservice to buyers. Is a two piece engine block really necessary? Twin turbos that get insanely hot? All this shit sound like a Formula 1 racing engine. Get a big engine and a big truck. The little truck is for towing your motorcycle. Below is an example of a truck I would consider...

https://pueblo.craigslist.org/cto/d/...939368518.html

I really don't understand the need for people to push the limits of 1/2 ton pickups. I like my 6.0 Yukon XL; it does OK on some things, but the experience of pulling anything is vastly superior with my cummins dually. Given the requirements in this thread, I would personally want a minimum of a 250/2500 with a full floater, but people are really into these luxury heavy halfs now so they can use it as a daily driver. I have a flatbed truck that does everything I need a truck to do, and a commuter that gets good fuel economy and is easy to drive....each to their own I guess.

[ray1970]

I had the option to buy pretty much whatever I wanted when I bought my last truck. I actually started out looking at diesels. I tow maybe two times a year on average and my trailer fully loaded weighs maybe 2000 lbs. While having power to spare is nice, it didn?t take long for common sense to prevail. The lower initial cost of a gas truck and the lower overall cost of maintenance throughout its life coupled with the fact that 400 or so HP and TQ was probably more than I really needed anyway just made sense for my situation.

I did ask my wife to make sure she wasn?t going to get some crazy idea and buy a huge travel trailer in the foreseeable future before I fully committed to purchasing a gas engine half ton. I?d have been upset if a year or two later she decided to buy something I couldn?t tow with the darn thing.

[MED]

I had the option to buy pretty much whatever I wanted when I bought my last truck. I actually started out looking at diesels. I tow maybe two times a year on average and my trailer fully loaded weighs maybe 2000 lbs. While having power to spare is nice, it didn?t take long for common sense to prevail. The lower initial cost of a gas truck and the lower overall cost of maintenance throughout its life coupled with the fact that 400 or so HP and TQ was probably more than I really needed anyway just made sense for my situation.

I did ask my wife to make sure she wasn?t going to get some crazy idea and buy a huge travel trailer in the foreseeable future before I fully committed to purchasing a gas engine half ton. I?d have been upset if a year or two later she decided to buy something I couldn?t tow with the darn thing.

I definitely agree that the new diesels with all the new emissions garbage and associated issues makes them only buy if you really need it....definitely not like my old 5.9 Cummins that will last forever.

[ray1970]

Even your old Cummins probably costs double to maintain compared to a gasser. What?s that thing hold? Fifteen quarts of oil? Also, I?m coming up on 125K miles and haven?t touched my fuel filter yet. Can any diesel go that long without a fuel filter?

And like you mentioned the newer ones require you to buy special bottled urine to dump in the exhaust. What does that stuff cost?

[Martinjmpr]

So you're planning on saving money by buying a $30,000 used truck?

Fuel economy is a factor. It's not the most important factor, but it's not unimportant either.

Just by way of reference, I put about 13,000 miles on the truck last year. For a little over half of those miles there was a trailer behind it.

I'd be driving those miles whether I have a new truck or an old beater, so yes, MPG and fuel costs are a consideration.

And you might be tempted to say "just keep what you've got and save the money for gas" - I've said that myself.

Right up to the point where I was stranded by the side of the road, 300 miles from home with a blown transmission.



Contrary to the message on my shirt. I was certainly NOT a "happy camper" at this point.