Finally pulled somewhat long distance over the weekend. I've pulled local mostly small stuff, 16ft hauling cars and what not, but finally loaded it down for a camping trip. I usually pull the 4wheeler trailer while my buddy pulls our camper, so I had 4 large 4wheelers and a bed full of gear. Guessing around 5K which is still light but I'm so happy how the truck handled it!! Compared to my old 1/2ton 2wd s/b reg cab that truck weighed in around 4200lbs so the trailer would push and pull me around especially when passing a rig! But the SD didn't even budge when passing by cars, kept the cruise on and laid back the whole trip. Went a few hours into Mississippi and the hills get a bit steep so I had to cycle OD a few times but overall was able to run OD problem free! Only downside I noted was fuel compared to my 1/2ton. I averaged 9mpg where as I used to do 15mph but its not a bad trade off for peace of mind while pulling!!

One other pluss, I needed 4X4 because the 4wheeler park was muddy!!! Rained for several days. I would have just been up a creek with my old 2wd hauler... Thought I was going to need 4X4 on the trip home because it rained all the way back but the truck so much heavier than my old one I didn't need it!

 

good to hear! What gears do you have?

 

That's by biggest problem rite now, still have the stock 3.73:1 and with running the 20's on stock 34" rubber it is strugling a bit. I plan to drop to 4.88s eventually but for now I think I'm OK as long as I don't pull over 8k. My camper is a older 5th wheel 33ft around 9k dry. Full of gear prob close to 11 or 12k so I can't pull that until I do gears.

On a side note my transmission shifts so nice! I was scared when I got the truck @ 180,000mi but either the trans has been replaced/rebuilt or someone put a shift kit or something in it because it shifts very solid and quick!! Much better than my old GMC 4L60e @ 106,000mi!