Silverado 3500 HD capabilities

[MikePA]

Now we heard that 335HP and 380lb ft of torque in a pickup hauling a cattle trailer or some bales of hay isn't enough power .

More torque and hp mean safer towing, the ability to keep up with traffic and not become a rolling roadblock. If everyone else on the road were driving 1957 model vehicles, a 318 would make sense.

 

[buickanddeere]

More torque and hp mean safer towing, the ability to keep up with traffic and not become a rolling roadblock. If everyone else on the road were driving 1957 model vehicles, a 318 would make sense.

Spare me that excuse. How do semi trucks accelerate and keep up with cars? You will trip cattle off thier feet accelerating like a mad man. How did farmers haul a gooseneck trailer full of cattle just a few years ago with a 165HP 350 four barrel and a three speed automatic?
Just come out and admit that you want a diesel with a tuner for snorting around town Saturday night rolling coal and doing burnouts.

 

[MikePA]

I don't own a diesel car or truck nor do I judge and insult people who do, with or without a tuner.

 

[Florida Cracker]

I just went through this similar thing. I had a 2012 Power Wagon and the engine was just junk. 3 rear ends and 2 left rear spring replacements because the truck leaned to the left. I traded it in on a 2013 GMC HD2500 with 6.0 gas motor in LTZ trim, 3.73 gears. I loved the truck no doubt and had zero issues with it. It rode great and the seats were comfy. But the mpg was terrible even unloaded. The best I could get highway was 15mpg and 11mpg city. But I could live with that. The suspension will hold a heavy load no problem. But when pulling with the 6.0 gas motor, man it loved the gas! Best I ever got pulling was 8mpg. That I could not live with. I haul but don't haul heavy. With a light trailer, 6,000 lbs, it pulled ok. But loaded heavy it hunted gears a bit and wouldn't hold overdrive (My Power Wagon wouldn't either with 4.56 gears!). So I started looking at diesel power again. I looked at the Duramax and really liked them. BUT I wanted a manual trans and the Duramax doesn't come with one anymore. So I went with a RAM 2500 diesel with manual trans. After the wife and I visited Silverton, CO and the surrounding area, I am glad I bought the manual. Truck has rear coil springs and it handled the 10,000 camper no problem. We took a trip from our home in Round Rock TX to visit family in Georgia and Florida. I average hand calc 20.3mpg running speed limit and sometimes plus 5. Guess what I trying to say is, get the diesel. If you look at RAM don't stress about coils. I think all train cars have coil springs and they hold up just fine. Good luck with your purchase.

 

[HK45]

I had a 2013 chevy 2500HD 6.0 short bed ext cab 4:10. I had is registered at Gross combined weight rating 20,500 lbs. Pulled My tractor and gooseneck pretty well.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Ok, my truck curb wt. is 6680 lbs and max trailer conventional wt. is 13000 lbs. max gooseneck trailer wt. 13900 lbs. It's close to 20,500 lbs GCWR. However..conventional wt. is under GCWR by 820 lbs and gooseneck is over by 80lbs. and that's not including passengers, fuel, and cargo in truck.

I know the definitions. It's the madness wt. number methods the manufactures come up with that seems odd.

They always list best case scenario for tow ratings, 2 wheel drive, standard cab, best gears, lowest trim package, ect.

As for the conventional tow being less than the sum it's due to the manufacturer limiting the rating for the weakest link. Might be the hitch itself, chassis, tires, loss of steering and brake effectiveness due to high tongue weight, ect.

Chris

 

[timswi]

It wasn't that long ago a 318 in an 18 wheeler was considered lots to haul a 40 ton load coast to coast over two mountain ranges. Now we heard that 335HP and 380lb ft of torque in a pickup hauling a cattle trailer or some bales of hay isn't enough power .
Oh give it a rest. What next 1/4 mile drag races with a load of steers ?

Give what a rest?. What I said is a fact. The 6.0 GM gas motor is a torque maker. The 6.2, while very powerful is a high RPM motor. What part isn't clear?.

 

[buickanddeere]

My GMC used to hunt gears when towing and downshift way too soon. We adjusted the shift point rpm and mph.
Given the price of diesel at the pumps, the price of a diesel truck vs a gas truck and the cost of Tier IV diesel service costs. The gas even with the lower mpg is still the cheaper ride per mile.
The DI gas are even better alternative to diesel than a port injected gas.
I remember the days when a 400 Chev 4x4 with an automatic made 5mpg on a good day .

 

[timswi]

My GMC used to hunt gears when towing and downshift way too soon. We adjusted the shift point rpm and mph.
Given the price of diesel at the pumps, the price of a diesel truck vs a gas truck and the cost of Tier IV diesel service costs. The gas even with the lower mpg is still the cheaper ride per mile.
The DI gas are even better alternative to diesel than a port injected gas.
I remember the days when a 400 Chev 4x4 with an automatic made 5mpg on a good day .

Well, my 6.2 GMC does not hunt gears even with 3:42's towing a 9,000# give or take TT and my car trailer with whatever is loaded...Sounds like -- Never mind.

 

[Copperhead]

I just bought a 2500HD LT Z71 double cab/standard box with the 6.0L, 6L90, and 4.10 diff ratio. Came across this in my research. Sure, the 6.0L does not have all that the Dmax does, but think it is a slouch and can't handle the job quite well? Check this out. A test of the 2500HD with 6.0L loaded to max GVWR and combined with a trailer that brought it also to GCWR ratings taking on the hill to Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70 in Colorado.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ8fn3PvNhQ

 

[rmk700]

Congrats on your new truck. I just got the 2015 3500HD LT Z71, double cab, long bed, 6.0L, dark gray color. As for accessories, spay on bed liner, bug guard, leveling kit, and a Curt Double lock goosneck hitch.

In the vid they keep wanting to compare it to the Diesel and shouldn't be. For the gas engine it did a great job and still think the GCWR should be a little higher. I'm not trailering all the time, if I was, the Duramax would of been my choice.

Edit: Found this Ram 2500 6.2 hemi test https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeWhXy_ciuM

Silverado Gauntlet climb, 10 min 38 sec.
Ram Gauntlet climb, 11 min 51 sec.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Congrats on your new truck. I just got the 2015 3500HD LT Z71, double cab, long bed, 6.0L, dark gray color. As for accessories, spay on bed liner, bug guard, leveling kit, and a Curt Double lock goosneck hitch. In the vid they keep wanting to compare it to the Diesel and shouldn't be. For the gas engine it did a great job and still think the GCWR should be a little higher. I'm not trailering all the time, if I was, the Duramax would of been my choice. Edit: Found this Ram 2500 6.2 hemi test https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeWhXy_ciuM Silverado Gauntlet climb, 10 min 38 sec. Ram Gauntlet climb, 11 min 51 sec.

What did the Ford 6.2 do? GM smoked that Ram.


Chris

 

[rmk700]

What did the Ford 6.2 do? GM smoked that Ram.


Chris

Don't think the test has been done on the Ford yet. I'm sure it's going to be a nail biter though.

 

[aczlan]

What did the Ford 6.2 do? GM smoked that Ram.
Chris

Here is a 2014 F150 Raptor with the 6.2 vs the 2012 F250 with the 6.2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upXsZIoR2VU and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeSFP7gyjnk
Looks like the F250 made it in: 8.28 vs 8.37 for the F150

Aaron Z

 

[HHR]

Here is a 2014 F150 Raptor with the 6.2 vs the 2012 F250 with the 6.2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upXsZIoR2VU and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeSFP7gyjnk Looks like the F250 made it in: 8.28 vs 8.37 for the F150 Aaron Z

They only put 8060 pounds behind the F250 with nothing in the bed, so the time up the hill can't be compared to the Chevy or Dodge.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Here is a 2014 F150 Raptor with the 6.2 vs the 2012 F250 with the 6.2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upXsZIoR2VU and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeSFP7gyjnk Looks like the F250 made it in: 8.28 vs 8.37 for the F150 Aaron Z

Ya, that's not on the same playing field. They need to test as they did the Ram and GM.

Chris

 

[94BULLITT]

Ya, that's not on the same playing field. They need to test as they did the Ram and GM.

Chris

They all neee to be tested on the same day for a good comparison. The Ram and Silverado were tested week apart.

 

[Copperhead]

Yeah, if I was towing a lot, almost daily, and for long periods, I could justify the diesel. I did some general figuring on this....

On average from various forums, I have read that the Dmax version of any 2500/3500 platform is about a $8K premium in price. Now factor that over a 100,000 miles, and you have roughly an 8 cent per mile cost of operation spread just in equipment.

Now factor general mpg numbers and cost per mile. Seems like a lot of the 2500 crowd is getting roughly 12 mpg averages on the 6.0L (I get around 14 mpg average for all miles, but we will stick with the 12 for this discussion). That would equate, at the current $2.10 price for regular in my area, about 17.5 cents a mile in fuel cost. Now just to break even on the purchase and fuel consumption, the cost per mile just for fuel on the diesel would have to be 9.5 cents a mile to bring the cost of purchase and operation between the two engines in balance. At the current average cost in my area for diesel, $2.80, the diesel pickup would have to be AVERAGING 29+ mpg just to break even from the additional cost of the diesel option in the pickup! That is not going to happen.

And we didn't even factor in the higher maintenance costs of the diesel platform over the gas, which is going to be when you consider the larger oil sump capacities, more filters, DEF for the SCR unit (when it works right), and cleaning of the DPF filter, or an out right replacement (OUCH!).

Except for the serious, dedicated hauler, the diesel makes absolutely no economic sense. It is a viable option in the right circumstances, but for the average user, getting a diesel only makes a statement, not a sound decision. That is why I chose a 6.0L in my new 2500HD, same as a vast majority of the business users of 3/4 and 1 ton pickups in my area, including the farmer's coop guys who regularly haul feed, tow anhydrous ammonia trailers to farmers, etc. Most of them are now on 6.0L gas instead of diesel.

 

[tcartwri]

Except for the serious, dedicated hauler, the diesel makes absolutely no economic sense.

Except that ( at least in our area ) you will easily get that up front premium back when and if you sell it.

 

[MikePA]

Except that ( at least in our area ) you will easily get that up front premium back when and if you sell it.

Then the only difference between diesel and gasoline is operating costs, which is still higher for the diesel. Copperhead's conclusion still stands.