I am looking for a crew cab dually 95 + but is there any pros and cons with a c3500? I am going to be towing with it and haul anything I can with it. What motor should I go with 5.7, 6.5 or 7.4 I am not to worried about mpg. Also if i lowered it what would i still be able to tow without helper bags or is it recomended? I am trying to find one some what cheap. Thanks

 

Maybe not everyone will agree, hell they never do, but if I were looking for an older dually, I would probably look for a ’96 to ’98 model. I don’t believe a small-block has any place in a dually, much less a crew cab and expect it to tow much. It won’t save you anything in gas, beings it will always be working so hard. A diesel that old, unless you knew its entire history may be asking for trouble as well. Yes a diesel will go for might near ever, but unless you’re into changing injector pumps and so on, I would pass unless you were looking at getting into something newer. Of course the early model Duramax’s had their injector problems to deal with as well, but a good majority of them got fixed under warranty. That leaves us with the trusty old big-block, while it won’t get good fuel mileage by any standard, it is reliable and will still be able to tow quite a bit. The Vortec 7.4L is way better than the older TBI versions in both power and fuel economy. They still tend to either leak or use oil, but they are also as tuff as a coffin nail.

 

Totally agree with 1Bear. Until just recently at work we had a '96 3500 crew single rear wheel with the 350/auto/4.10 to tow a 30' gooseneck enclosed trailer loaded with mail every week. Talk about a joke. I'm glad we only had to drive it about 5 miles a week on 35 mph city streets. It drove OK when not towing, but hook that trailer up and it had no *****. It took everything it had to run 65 out on the highway, empty. The only thing crappier is the truck we got to replace it, a 2010 F350 crew SRW with 5.4, god it is a pile of ****. It tows worse than the '96 did and it supposedly has like 75 more hp/tq. Why he didn't get at least a V10 is beyond comprehension to me.

Can't help you with the lowering/airbag question, never messed with doing either.

 

Good info, Def get 96 -up for the Vortec motor,

Stay away from the 350, its a great daily driver motor, but not for towing in a dually.

I vote for the 454, its the best choice outta the 3.

But hands down, if your serious about towing, get a duramax, no gas engine holds a candle to a Duramax.

 

I wish I could get the duramax but thats out of the price range right now. What kind of MPG does the 7.4L get compared to the 6.5L I am not to worried about changing some stuff I do have access to a mechanic shop so labor is free. What are the most comon things to go wrong with the 6.5L?