So who has any predictions with regards to the "Rumble in the rockies" tow challenge pitting similarly configured F-350 Vs chevy 3500 HD pulling 18500 lb loads to the eisenhower tunnel. I would have to say that since Chevy is sponsoring it they must be confident of a victory. The question in my mind is why? We have already seen the 3500HD kicked the stuffing out of an F-450 (was that truck sick??). Has GM purposely under rated the Duramax? BTW I am cheering for the Ford (new F-450 supposed to show up this week!!).

 

Chevy provided both trucks and the funding for the extravaganza...who do you think will win...I did not care about the first shootout and care even less about this one.

 

Ford already turned them down before so whoever is driving the Ford works for GM.
Maybe the driver of the Ford will apply slightly less throttle and braking for the tests because, well, the GM has to win because GM is hosting.
Who knows...who cares (to GM).

 

Craziness. Any one of us would pull that much weight up that hill and down at a safe and comfortable speed, probably 4th gear and 45-50 mph, and keep an eye on the temps and fuel economy. Then, it's back to 65-70 for comfortable cruise. Heck, maybe 3rd gear and 40mph. I don't know. It's a random circumstance that few will ever do and I hope nobody actually races to see how fast they can go up that hill.

I got one for the chevy and dodge boys, hook up to your 28' trailer, put thumb and forefinger on the wheel at 72mph, sit back and cruise for 150,000 miles without getting sway, replacing ball joints/control arms/brakes and getting 55K out of a set of tires, no alignments needed, and no need for onstar.

 

Craziness. Any one of us would pull that much weight up that hill and down at a safe and comfortable speed, probably 4th gear and 45-50 mph, and keep an eye on the temps and fuel economy. Then, it's back to 65-70 for comfortable cruise. Heck, maybe 3rd gear and 40mph. I don't know. It's a random circumstance that few will ever do and I hope nobody actually races to see how fast they can go up that hill.

I got one for the chevy and dodge boys, hook up to your 28' trailer, put thumb and forefinger on the wheel at 72mph, sit back and cruise for 150,000 miles without getting sway, replacing ball joints/control arms/brakes and getting 55K out of a set of tires, no alignments needed, and no need for onstar.

 

Incorrect, Chevy did not provide the trucks.

Chevy vs. Ford in Heavy-Duty Rumble in the Rockies - PickupTrucks.com News

Read the article and this is what you will find:
1.
We agreed with a few conditions: Chevrolet had to use test trucks purchased off the lot from Chevy and Ford dealers. They couldn't come from GM's captive test fleet. And the trucks had to be as "apples-to-apples" as possible when it came to features and equipment. While Chevrolet originally wanted to test three-quarter-ton HD pickups — the heart of the HD market — we had to use one-ton trucks because that was the only way to match equivalent rear axle ratios of 3.73. We also had to drive and instrument the trucks to measure the results ourselves. Chevy reps would be along for the ride.
Chevrolet met those conditions, and we picked up two brand-new dealer-bought HD pickups in Detroit. The 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 LT four-wheel-drive crew cab came from Mike Savoie Chevrolet in Troy, Mich., with 8 miles on the odometer and 0.9 hours on the engine meter. The 2011 Ford F-350 Super Duty XLT four-wheel-drive crew cab was sold at Harold Zeigler Ford Lincoln in Elkhart, Ind., and driven to Detroit by a third-party fleet service.


2. The Chevy Silverado was significantly faster. It finished more than two minutes ahead of the F-350, in 8 minutes, 38.2 seconds. Average speed cruising up to 11,000 feet was 53.63 mph, 11.22 mph faster on average than the Ford. The Chevy’s top speed was 67.38 mph for a few seconds before the grade changed from 5 percent to 7 percent.
In short, the Chevy Silverado's performance surprised everyone, given Ford's higher stated power figures for the 6.7-liter Power Stroke. Finishing two minutes ahead of the Super Duty over a 7.6-mile grade at more than 90 percent GCWR is nothing short of a dominant showing for Chevy. The exhaust brake performance is perhaps even more telling and welcome news for frequent heavy towers.

3. The Chevy was a superhero on the descent. It was like Superman digging his feet into the pavement to stop a runaway locomotive. In three downhill runs, we averaged one to two manual brake applies. That’s it. It consistently hung in at a steady 58 to 59 mph and stayed at that speed for miles. When we applied the foot brake after the first time, the Chevy downshifted from 4th to 2nd gear near redline at 52 mph and kept shedding speed until we tipped into the throttle to get back into 3rd and started picking up speed again. We never shifted down to 2nd gear in the Super Duty, slowing the truck to 52 mph.
At the turnaround point in Dillon to start each test cycle, the most telling aspect of our exhaust brake test was the strong smell of hard-worked brakes in the Ford and the absence of that smell in the Chevy. That doesn't just save on brake wear. It saves on frayed nerves as well.


4. Regardless of the cause of the performance gap between these two incredibly capable HD pickups, we reaffirm the results of our 2010 HD Shootout in the real world. There’s no question that GM's latest diesel pickups are the performance leaders in the class. Chevy doesn't just run deep. It runs high as well.

 

The Duramax proves itself once again.

 

Window stickers for both trucks and where they were purchased can be found and downloaded from here

 

were they in tow/haul mode? it doesn't sound like it... I've done a VERY similar test (without the "racing" aspect) in my very own 2011, and it did downshift and slow itself... no wear on the brakes, no brake smell. It sounds like they just didnt' know how to drive the truck

 

Diesel Power, our partners in this test, hired a former Ford Motor company engineer to drive both trucks during all of our testing. Our driver’s name is Harry Rawlins, and he was previously Ford’s Trailer Tow Engineer. Holding that job title meant Rawlins was intimately familiar with Ford’s (as well as GM’s and Dodge’s) towing capabilities. Rawlins also holds a Class A commercial driver’s license (CDL), which meant he was the only person in the test legally able to drive the trucks towing this much weight. Plus, in the sense of full disclosure, Rawlins is also a Super Duty owner.

 

I actually just went and read the article... I normally don't read comparison tests because they're always so biased one way of the other. This one seems to be a good comparison (even if the comments at the bottom detract from the credibility of the article itself). I wonder if the turbo design is part of the reason for the decrease in performance at altitude, as mentioned in the article. I also wonder how much of a role the somewhat drastic differences in gear ratios played. It sounds like the combination of those two prevented the engine brake from working as intended.

I would like to see a test like this at a more "normal" altitude. Here in TX, I pull some pretty steep grades (though not as long) anywhere from 150' to 700' in elevation - nowhere near as close to the sun as what you guys tested. In my personal experience pulling a bit less load, I've had zero complaints about the towing performance of my 2011 6.7L.

honestly I think either truck is going to meet or exceed the towing needs of 100% of the the primary diesel pickup market - the 3/4 ton market. Personally, I tow on the weekends and commute during the week. I need capability but also creature comfort. This is the biggest reason I didn't even consider the Chevy... The Ford serves me just fine

 

Thanks for reading the full story.

In no way are we saying the 2011 Super Duty has problems towing. It doesn't. It's an amazing towing machine that (so far) is better than any SD that has come before it. I'd gladly drive one. Congrats on your choice because you have made an excellent one.

But I'm also willing to bet that Ford continues to improve the 6.7's performance because of tests like this one. Competition is good for everyone in the long-term.

 

GM has had 10 years to build the and refine this motor just wait 10 years to see were this engine is.

 

Agree. The 6.7 is only going to get better.

 

...I see 430/900 on the horizon...