Originally Posted by Pugga

I finally got a trailer behind this thing for a decent distance and got a feel for how the 6.8 tows. Generally, I'm pretty happy with the results. It certainly doesn't out-pull the diesel, but I knew that was to be expected. It still has plenty of grunt to drag around my camper. I was surprised that the engine / transmission strategy seems to keep the RPM's in a good range. Towing through upstate VT, it would only kick down to 6th gear at highway speed which put the RPMs around 3,500. I was expecting more of how the old 6.2 towed, that thing liked to scream at you the whole time, forcing you to use manual mode to keep it in a higher gear. With the 6.8, I kept it in auto with cruise control on for most of the drive. There's a stretch where the highway is constantly climbing a mountain or going down the other side, no reprieve, so I used manual mode for that stretch to limit the constant gear hopping. Engine and transmission temps stayed relatively low, fuel economy worked out to about 8.5 for the trip (which isn't bad for upstate VT towing at highway speed, in my opinion). I was pushing 10 MPG before I got into the mountains.

End result, I miss the absurd amount of power I had with the diesel, but this truck will do just fine. I just need to keep reminding myself, no more DEF, fuel is $1/gallon cheaper, oil changes are half the cost, no fuel filter changes and no regen cycles, all the reasons I got away from the diesel.