re: Any baws had any problems with the 6.6L Duramax?

I think the OP needs to test drive the new 6.6L gas motor to try it out. It’s basically a bored out 6.0L vortec with direct injection.

It’s very powerful and extremely reliable. And it is designed for heavy work, so putting it under occasional strain shouldn’t be a big deal. And the gas motor isn’t a $10,000 option on the truck. And it is less complex, with likely lower maintenance costs.

The Duramax is an excellent motor if you need that extra capacity. But the new gas motor is a very good option for most buyers.

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direct injection.

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Do not like on gas motors. I wish they had just bulked up the 6.0 to about 7 liters or so and kept the architecture the same. Those things are bomb proof.

Ford hit a real home run with the 7.3. Pushrod port injected big arse V8 is what gas motors should be IMO. The 10 speed lets you keep it turned up throughout the speed range. That whole package is a different monster than old school 4 speed geared down HD gas trucks.

Quick glance at the comments looks like Downshift has some good info to pay attention to. If you’re looking at newer trucks don’t worry about the CP4 lift pump.

I put airbags to level out the ride and help with the crappy LA roads. I do a lot of night driving too so leveling out the ride with bags really helps seeing at night and doesn’t blind others. When I’m fully loaded my camper is about 16k pounds. If I recall, the GCWR of my 2500 is 24k and I have been close to that a couple times I went thru the scales. Like I mentioned before, I’m more concerned about the rear axle/pin weight. I am really close to going over the rear axle weight rating.

The duramax is going to pull great, especially if you’re only looking at a 9k lb trailer. But, it’s not the pulling you need to worry about, it’s the stopping. And any close calls I’ve ever had were because other idiots cut in front of me. People don’t realize how hard it is to stop 20k+ pounds. Same idiots cut off big rigs without a worry not realizing they’re going to be dead if they have to lock up the brakes.
I’ve said for years that part of driver's education should be to put kids in a heavy load and have them drive straight up to speed and stop it so they can get a sense of what it takes. I plan to do it with my kids when they get their licenses.

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Gassers have surpassed diesels in reliability and are quickly catching up in longevity.

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This is surprising to me to be honest. I believe it though, as I’ve seen some people I trust recently buy 2500 gassers from Ram.

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If you’re looking at newer trucks don’t worry about the CP4 lift pump.

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What about a 2013 3500 HD?

Is that new enough?

I think that was one of the years that had the CP4 pump and no lift pump. Those are the ones that are most prone to failure. Good filter change habits will mitigate that a whole lot.

We have several on the farm. Solid, but I’ll be honest, we have moved from diesel to gas in all the trucks. Easier to service for us.

Well if youre truck does in fact have a CP4 HPFP and no lift pump (Google machine that) than half-interval filter changes and religious water draining is all you can do without modification. Its not a "definitely gonna fail" type thing but its a 6-9k dollar repair if it does. If it were mine, and it were out of warranty, and I planned to keep it for a very long time, I'd install an aftermarket high-end lift pump and water separator. Otherwise just make sure you change the filters at the recommended intervals with OE filters and drain the water separator regularly. Keep the fuel tank above 1/4 tank so the fuel temps stay cool to help prevent cavitation in the pump suction, which is what fails them. Pulling through a plugged filter causes the same thing. Water doesn't lubricate and that pump doesn't handle poor lubricity well.

Don't lose any sleep over it dude. Its a rare failure that gets blown way out of proportion on the internet. Just do the normal things to protect yourself and if you think you're going to keep it forever and its that specific model than it might be worth doing something if it bothers you.

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I Could sure use the diesel to pull my camper and heavy equipment but I’ve been seeing some things
On the web regarding the problems with DEF systems, sensors and emissions controls. Anyone have any personal experience they can pass on before I pull the trigge

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They had lots of problems 10 years ago dont know if it has changed since then. I had to delete my DEF on my Duramax because of problems. Also had injector problems on the 1st Duramax i had.

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have a vehicle that will tow my camper anywhere I want to go without having white knuckles on the wheel.

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Well you definitely have got that. I'm honestly surprised you found one. What trim? The bad thing about a diesel is that once you have one its really difficult to be without one afterwards. You get spoiled to it.

I recommend getting some type of gizmo that allows you to monitor a few things that the standard dashboard typically doesn't tell you, mainly the DPF operating status. You will want to know when the truck is performing a regen event so that you don't shut down in the middle of it. The builders wanted to make regeneration as transparent to the user as possible and they've done really well. It used to be a noisy stinky process but these days without a monitor you may not even know it's happeneing. The only reason we care is that while the truck is in regen the exhaust Temps get extremely high, and shutting down mid regen is bad for the turbocharger. If you arrive somewhere and the truck is in a regen, you'll want to deactivate it (with my Ram, that happens when I put it in park) and idle it for a few minutes to cool the turbo down. This isn't nearly as important as it used to be, but it still helps extend the life of the turbocharger.