best engine route

[Bentbolt]

Im going to drop a ls in my 65 c10. its gonna be daily driver but haul a camper on the weekends. trips with the camper pry no more then 1 hour away. my dilemma is power and gas mileage. I want to have descent fuel mileage daily but I want enough power and torque to pull this camper. I don't have curb weight but its a 1972 16-18 foot and not on the light side. I been looking at 5.3 and 6.0. I plan on cam and tune for sure to get most out of it. I pulled the camper home with a 2006 gmc 5.3 (all stock) with a 10-15mph head wind and up larger hills it wasn't happy but it did the job fine.

[mongocanfly]

the differences between a 5.3 and a 6.0 are not huge....roughly 295-300/315 to 322-344/360 on hp and tq....gearing is a big thing....these new trucks have higher gears in them than they need for towing...
my 81 has a lq9 with nv4500 and 4.10 gears....I regularly pull a 9500# loaded trailer with it..its almost like it isn't back there....mpg is not great with the trailer (around 10)...unloaded it gets around 16......5.3s can get over 20mpgs
mine dynoed at 344/399 on hp/t
I think a 5.3 that's setup good would be fine.....the asking price for 6.0 engines is more than twice that of a 5.3 which also makes the 5.3 a better choice...

but if you've never pulled a camper before its like pulling a house...they don't like wind and hills....

[B. W.]

If my math is correct, the difference between a 5.3 and a 6.0 is exactly 0.7! (just messing with you Greg)

I agree with Greg, If I had my choice I'd go 6.0 but the 5.3 is a great motor & more cost effective.

[Alex V.]

Your '65 is substantially lighter than the vehicle you towed the camper home with - the same engine, geared and tuned properly, shouldn't have a problem with it.

[Bentbolt]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

the differences between a 5.3 and a 6.0 are not huge....roughly 295-300/315 to 322-344/360 on hp and tq....gearing is a big thing....these new trucks have higher gears in them than they need for towing...
my 81 has a lq9 with nv4500 and 4.10 gears....I regularly pull a 9500# loaded trailer with it..its almost like it isn't back there....mpg is not great with the trailer (around 10)...unloaded it gets around 16......5.3s can get over 20mpgs
mine dynoed at 344/399 on hp/t
I think a 5.3 that's setup good would be fine.....the asking price for 6.0 engines is more than twice that of a 5.3 which also makes the 5.3 a better choice...

but if you've never pulled a camper before its like pulling a house...they don't like wind and hills....

thanks guys
10mpg isn't too bad. my 2004 Nissan titan and 2009 chevy 3/4 6.0l both got around 11 unloaded. Im going to back the motor with a 4l80e. I can find a low mile 5.3 for $500 complete but I seen a early 2000 2500hd 6.0/4l80e 4wd for 1000obo. which is cheap because you cant find a 6.0l under $1200 alone around here.

[mongocanfly]

1000 obo sounds like a steal on the 6.0 combo....buy it..keep the engine..sell the trans/t-case...
even 1200 for the 6.0 isn't bad...they're usually higher than that....the higher the mileage the cheaper they get though. ..

[Bentbolt]

I just emailed the guy. the truck has after market wheels so I can get more out of the truck.