I am looking at a used 07 Chevy truck with a duramax diesel engine. I am going to use it to pull a fith wheel travel trailer and 17 ft ranger. Not at the same time. I have never owned a deisel and would appreciate any info or experiences with duramax's before I spend the $. Thanks

I currently have an '09 and previously had an '02 (had 275,000 miles on it when I traded it in). I have used both to pull a 25' gooseneck travel trailer with a 20' Champion behind it. No problems and always got me there and back.

The Duramax engine with Allison transmission makes 'em a pulling machine. I have an '08 and love it. Not one problem in 20,000 miles. Just getting broke in.

When you say '07 are you referring to the old body style or the new one? GM did a mid-year change. If you can get the integrated trailer brake controller. It's far superior to any aftermarket controller available. It works off of brake line pressure to brake is proportional from the truck to the trailer. Hence, no jerking when the trailer brakes come on. Not even in slow, stop & go traffic.

+1 on the integral brake controller....it is far superior to the previous one I had on my '02 truck (wasn't available back then to my knowledge)

I have an 07 Classic with DMax and it is a pulling machine. I've pulled a bumper pull travel trailer, a 22' bass boat and a flatbed with a tractor on it (no, not at the same time). When pulling any of these, there is no problem. I do have a PPE programmer, so I'm sure that helps. I might be in the market for a Tundra if you wanna buy mine. It just turned 60000 miles and is in great shape. Day to day driving, I'm getting 20 MPG and when I pulled the boat to Choke Canyon, I averaged 18 MPG. You will not be disappointed with a Duramax.

I have an 07 Classic and wouldn't trade for it. I like it much better than the newer body styles. I have 45k on her and it's a pulling machine from a heavy 20' gooseneck stock trailer loaded down to my 20' Skeeter. Running 70mph I am getting 17mpg pulling the "Bug".
Just cleaned the K&N air filter so I may get a bit better,,,it was nasty. I also have a Super Chip reprogrammer. It makes a big difference.

+ there is TOO much emission crud on the 08 and up models. I know some that are lucky to get 12mpg on the the newer models.
I just wanna try a 5.7 Tundra, but the wife won't let me have 2 trucks!

I bought an '07 new body style Duramax this spring and love it. Great engine, took it to Colorado on some serious mountain passes and it barely would downshift if at all. My ONLY complaint is the mileage is a little low because of all of the required emissions stuff. I get 16-17 MPG very consistantly. Doesn't matter if I change the driving styles, drive in rush hour traffic, highway, boat behind it, mountains, etc. Always 16-17 MPG. Load it up in stop and go traffic, 16. Put the boat behind it, 16. Empty load on the interstate, 16.

My buddy has an 09 dmax and loves it. Gets 21-22mpg on highway. But he also has no emissions and a custom tune on it.

I switched from gasoline to diesel 4 years ago. There is no comparison. My duramax has 47,000 miles on it and pulls my 30' 5th wheel like a breeze.

I have a 2005 with 75,000 miles. Still gets between 19 to 21 on hiway and 16 to 18 in town.

Don't bother with the air inductions or air cleaners. If you ever go to the dieselplace.com they have proved many times over that air filters give you no gains.

If you can get that mileage out of your duramax you are not in the norm. I had several mods to improve mileage on my Duramax and tried the top 3 programmers, and no matter what you will not see an increase in mileage with them when hand calculated. The programmers do however throw off the DIC mileage if you are going by that.

Great trucks... I have owned an 06 4x4 that would get 15 to 17 all day long towing my 21' bassboat. My 08 that now has 40,000 miles on it has never got better than 14 towing my boat and in most cases around 13. The 08 rides and drives much better, has plenty of power and even with a tune and aftermarket exhaust cannot match the LBZ power and mileage. Just my 02 !

have an '08 with just over 20,000 miles in 9 months. It's my first diesel. not sure if i will ever go back.

wouldn't own one.
with that said, I have a buddy who is a GM mechanic and he thinks they are the best on the market. My cousin has an 07 and loves his, so to each his own.
I know my dodge gets better mileage than most Duramax, tweaked or stock.
Be warned though, if you buy a diesel (whichever manufacturer) and start pulling with it, you'll never go back to a gas truck!
Only reason I'd get rid of my Dodge is if Toyota starts producing one stateside.

I have an 05 Duramax. Love it. They are pulling machines and are fun to play with. Just be careful not to throw too much power to it or you will destroy your tranny. Definitely check out dieselplace.com. There is tons of information in there. Anything you could ask about these trucks is in there. I get about 16 or 17 mixed driving since I put a Ranchhand Bumper on it. Before I got around 18 or 19. And straight highway had around 22 mpg. Haven't made a long trip since I got the bumper.

DO IT!!!!!!!!!!! if you go the programmer route (why not??) go for quadzilla. If you can find and older one that maybe someone has used, go to quads shop and they wil reprogram it with a new version for free. dirty max all the way man.

the egr valve that leaks antifreeze was not covered under "drivetrain warranty ..(70 K on unit 07.5 model)
$1600.00 later it may be fixed..

also cannot get the vibration out of drivetrain when pulling a heavy load ( 12K 5thwheel) ..have tried the "factory shims " in carrier bearing )
do love the allison tranny

CUMMINS IS STRONGER AND MORE RELIABLE ONLY THING I OWN IS DODGE

Great motor in your truck. The cummins is a great engine. Wish the same could be said for the rest of the truck. My brother in law has had multiple problems with his 07 2500 Dodge Cummins. No problems with the motor but many problems with everything else.

their all good. as far as real diesel engines go, cummins is the real deal.

any of you cummins guys wanna go for a 1/4 mile?

C'mon guys....one of ya wants to get beat by a diesel that DOESN'T SMOKE!!!

Cummins makes a good motor. The Dodge tranny can't hold up to the test of time when pulling those heavy loads though. The guys that own the ranch that I hunt on Love their Dodge Diesel engines but wish the rest of the truck would hold up. Door Panels, Dashes, Front Fenders. They just fall apart.

I love my '03 GMC Duramax. I pull a 37' 13k 5th wheel and I get 11mpg on the hwy with it. To each his own. The Duramax is the best thing Isuzu ever made.