Re: 04 vs 06
The Alpha is much quieter, and maybe a little better gas mileage -- but is there really a difference between 12 to 14 and 15 to 17? Bad is bad. The '06 gained almost 700 lbs with the new engine/tranny combo (not necesarily a bad thing, just info). Maybe less rocking due to the beefier halfshafts, but I think the geared hubs are basically the same, except for the helical cut on the gears which cuts the noise when braking.
Servicability would make me nervous. The 6.5 has been around forever. It's in thousands of hummers and tens of thousands of other trucks and vans and the dealers still manage to screw it up. With the d-max being even more rare...especially in a hummer? Things are a little different with both engines in the hummer. Maybe I'm wrong.
The tranny is an obvious plus. We all know the allison is really nice. Other than the shifter, I think the interior is the same (the shifter and the t-case levers were switched for the first time -- it was military rules that had the t-case lever on the left).
both are nice trucks -- I think the only noticable differences would be on the road -- less noise, better acceleration, and less money left in your bank account. Offroad they are virtually identical.
rb
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