2011 Silverado/Sierra

[brain55]

Well, I'm going to bite the bullet in the next week or so and buy a new truck. I have been fighting my 2001 GMC Sierra K3500 with the 8.1L and Allison for the last 2 years. It was a great truck and was nearly flawless for the first 165K miles.

I decided to have the engine and transmission gone through even though they hadn't shown signs of failure because I was going to start towing heavily everyday again and wanted to avoid buying a new truck for a few years.

I had both done at reputable shops, that I had done plenty of business with over the years. Unfortunately, my plan backfired. The engine almost immediately doubled its oil consumption and eventually had to come out and be rebuilt again. I think the transmission has been out 6 times now in the last 45K miles. I think it actually went 25-30K one stint but is acting up again right now. My workhorse has become unreliable and is costing me business. It is hard to go out and sell work when I am not sure if I will be able to make it to the job.

I avoided buying the Duramax the last time because it was the first year and I wasn't sure how they would hold up. Now that they have proven themselves I wouldn't have anything else. I'm pretty gun shy about looking at a Ford after their 6.0 fiasco. I have never been a Dodge/Cummins fan and I still don't think they have a transmission that will hold up. When I bought my GMC the transmission was the deciding factor. I was confident that the Allison would hold up to daily towing and I was right (at least until I "fixed" it).

The salesman is thinking I will need to order a truck. I am hoping to find one with most of the options I would like, mostly because I need a truck sooner than later. It has to be a dually with the Duramax/Allison, 4wd and cloth interior. The rest is negotiable. There is about a $10K price swing between what I have to have, and what I would like to have. I would prefer power windows and door locks, bluetooth and navigation would be nice. The factory navigation requires an extended cab which sucks, I only need a regular cab. Power seats would be a plus also.

He is telling me that I can order one with the 4.10:1 gears, but everything I have seen shows only the 3.73:1 ratio being available with the diesel. If I can actually order one with the 4.10's that might be nice with all of the towing I do.

Brian

 

[Topkicker]

The lowest ratio with the D-Max is 3:73. Plenty low enough ratio w the 6 speed Allison. The exhaust brake is nice also. It's great to have the extra stopping power along with all that towing power. You can get optional locking rear diff.:thumbsup: I work for GM at Ft. Wayne assembly where these trucks are built. If you have any questions PM me.

 

[TheGoose]

Good Choice.

 

[tcartwri]

It's always nice to have pwr locks and windows in a crew cab.

 

[Diamondpilot]

While I am not a GM fan they have a good combo finally and I will admit that. The Dmax has been a good motor since 2006 and like you said the Allison is a good tranny. The chassis was always the weak point but now that new one on the 2011's is on par.

I would get the factory brake controller. You will love it and wonder how you ever did without it towing as much as you have.

As for the gear ratio's I though the 3.73 was the only option on the SRW trucks but on the dually you could get 4.10's?

I know you are a GM guy but I would really take a look at the Ford and Dodge also. I know I would if I were getting ready to drop nearly 60K I would try the others out also. It may change my mind or cement what I already know.

Chris

 

[brain55]

I've been using a buddy's F350 SRW King Ranch with the integrated brake controller and it is nice. But, I'm still not confident about the engine. He just had the engine out with 55K miles to replace the high pressure oil pump and all of the roller lifters.

Brian

 

[TheGoose]

I would say that the Dmax has been the king of the diesels since ford shelved their 7.3 in 2003. My family has been using Dmax engines to do heavy duty hauling and we've owned all of the Big 3. We had to get rid of the 6.0 and now we have to ditch the 6.4. Very, very poor reliability. I personally own a 6.0 for work purposes and I'm scared to death that the thing is gonna crap out on me any day until I can get the EGR and associated coolers either deleted or upgraded.

Our Dmax trucks have proven to be the most reliable over the course of time and we haul very heavy equipment like Case 580 backhoes and water tanks with 2,000+ gallons. As for Ford I would stay away until the new engine has been proven. I would think that the Dmax has been proven enough in 10+ years of service. BTW, our original 2001 (or is it '02) Dmax is still running strong hauling equipment to and from the drill site with well over 200,000 miles and it has NOT been treated well in any manner. If anything it's been treated harshly. My dad just had to spend $4K + to replace the injectors in his '03....at 245,000 miles. I asked him how often he changed his oil and he said every 15K miles. WOW.....

 

[sksmsllc]

2002 f350 7.3 L Turbo Diesel with 150k miles or less will save you at least $20k and last at least at least 500k more miles.

 

[General Lee]

I do think Ford got it right with their new 6.7L Powerstroke. I have one but its to new to report on reliability. Their 6.0L was junk. I don't think you can go wrong with your GMC choice.

 

[WM75Guy]

Go with the dual alternator option available on the 1 tons. I have it on my 2003 3/4 ton. At idle with the AC running and a trailer with lights on the batteries are still charging. Mine has dual 105 amp alternators, puts out 100 amps at idle. The 2011 comes standard with a single 125 amp or the option of dual 125 amp alternators. The single will put out about 60 amps at idle, so double that for the duals.

 

[pilot-werx]

My new ford on a bad day is better than my duramax ever dreamed of being on it's best day. I can say I will never miss that engine or that truck.....

 

[brain55]

While I am not a GM fan they have a good combo finally and I will admit that. The Dmax has been a good motor since 2006 and like you said the Allison is a good tranny. The chassis was always the weak point but now that new one on the 2011's is on par.

I would get the factory brake controller. You will love it and wonder how you ever did without it towing as much as you have.

As for the gear ratio's I though the 3.73 was the only option on the SRW trucks but on the dually you could get 4.10's?

I know you are a GM guy but I would really take a look at the Ford and Dodge also. I know I would if I were getting ready to drop nearly 60K I would try the others out also. It may change my mind or cement what I already know.

Chris

Well Chris I took your advice and went by a few different dealers today. I went down to the semi-local auto row. The Chevy dealer had a 2005 crew-cab 4x4 Duramax on the lot that caught my eye so I stopped. The salesman started spewing numbers out of his behind when I told him I was more interested in a new truck. He started with a loaded LTZ at $62K. When I told him I didn't need an LTZ that an LT would be plenty, he told me they were $57K. I told him he was about $5K off on his price and that I wasn't going to pay MSRP, he basically walked away from me.

So I went next door to the Ford dealer. I told him what I was looking for and that I was planning on buying in the 2 weeks. Even though he didn't have what I was looking for on the lot he was uninterested in helping anymore if I wasn't going to drive home with something.

Then I went across the street to the Dodge dealer. He was the only one on auto row that was helpful. I explained to him what I was looking for and my time frame, along with my concerns about whether Dodge had a tranny yet that would hold up like the Allison. He shared his experience and what he thought, showed me a truck with the interior package similar to what I was looking for. He didn't have any 4x4 duallies either but was very helpful and his pricing was inline with what I expected.

When I got home I decided to drive past our little small town Ford dealer. They have a 2008 Ford F450 4x4 extended cab with 41K miles on it. The salesman got me the keys and let me take it for a drive. It is a nice truck, charcoal gray with cloth interior, power locks & windows, tilt, cruise, sunroof, and CD player. The F450 is a much more suitable platform for all of the towing I will be doing. I am leery of the 6.4L engine though and wish it had an Allison, but at this point I am seriously considering it because it is a 450.

Brian

 

[Diamondpilot]

Well Chris I took your advice and went by a few different dealers today. I went down to the semi-local auto row. The Chevy dealer had a 2005 crew-cab 4x4 Duramax on the lot that caught my eye so I stopped. The salesman started spewing numbers out of his behind when I told him I was more interested in a new truck. He started with a loaded LTZ at $62K. When I told him I didn't need an LTZ that an LT would be plenty, he told me they were $57K. I told him he was about $5K off on his price and that I wasn't going to pay MSRP, he basically walked away from me.

So I went next door to the Ford dealer. I told him what I was looking for and that I was planning on buying in the 2 weeks. Even though he didn't have what I was looking for on the lot he was uninterested in helping anymore if I wasn't going to drive home with something.

Then I went across the street to the Dodge dealer. He was the only one on auto row that was helpful. I explained to him what I was looking for and my time frame, along with my concerns about whether Dodge had a tranny yet that would hold up like the Allison. He shared his experience and what he thought, showed me a truck with the interior package similar to what I was looking for. He didn't have any 4x4 duallies either but was very helpful and his pricing was inline with what I expected.

When I got home I decided to drive past our little small town Ford dealer. They have a 2008 Ford F450 4x4 extended cab with 41K miles on it. The salesman got me the keys and let me take it for a drive. It is a nice truck, charcoal gray with cloth interior, power locks & windows, tilt, cruise, sunroof, and CD player. The F450 is a much more suitable platform for all of the towing I will be doing. I am leery of the 6.4L engine though and wish it had an Allison, but at this point I am seriously considering it because it is a 450.

Brian

I hate dealers that will not take the time to talk. I would walk also. I mean 60K for a truck is a major investment.

I know you are a GM guy and that is fine. Not my cup of tea but if you are going to get a GM get a 06 or later. I had a 05 and they had major issues. The biggest is overheating while towing. I think the issue is the air intake. Its way undersized. It also has 1 less gear than the 06 and later Allison.

You are right about a F-450 being more what you need. If I remember right you are the guy with the awesome mobile shop that weighs in at something like 14K. I pull 15K all the time with my 06 F-350 and not a single tranny issue. I have heard of some diesel engine issues with Ford, I think its blown way out of proportion, but the Torque Shift tranny has been a solid piece.

With Dodge I would have the same concern about the tranny unless you got a cab and chassis model and got the better tranny.

Chris

 

[CompactTractorFan]

Well Chris I took your advice and went by a few different dealers today. I went down to the semi-local auto row. The Chevy dealer had a 2005 crew-cab 4x4 Duramax on the lot that caught my eye so I stopped. The salesman started spewing numbers out of his behind when I told him I was more interested in a new truck. He started with a loaded LTZ at $62K. When I told him I didn't need an LTZ that an LT would be plenty, he told me they were $57K. I told him he was about $5K off on his price and that I wasn't going to pay MSRP, he basically walked away from me.

So I went next door to the Ford dealer. I told him what I was looking for and that I was planning on buying in the 2 weeks. Even though he didn't have what I was looking for on the lot he was uninterested in helping anymore if I wasn't going to drive home with something.

Then I went across the street to the Dodge dealer. He was the only one on auto row that was helpful. I explained to him what I was looking for and my time frame, along with my concerns about whether Dodge had a tranny yet that would hold up like the Allison. He shared his experience and what he thought, showed me a truck with the interior package similar to what I was looking for. He didn't have any 4x4 duallies either but was very helpful and his pricing was inline with what I expected.

When I got home I decided to drive past our little small town Ford dealer. They have a 2008 Ford F450 4x4 extended cab with 41K miles on it. The salesman got me the keys and let me take it for a drive. It is a nice truck, charcoal gray with cloth interior, power locks & windows, tilt, cruise, sunroof, and CD player. The F450 is a much more suitable platform for all of the towing I will be doing. I am leery of the 6.4L engine though and wish it had an Allison, but at this point I am seriously considering it because it is a 450.

Brian

It's unbelievable the level of service you get today...

 

[brain55]

Here is a picture of the F450.

 

[timswi]

Here is a picture of the F450.

That's got your name all over it...Very nice.

I'm a hard core GM guy, but that's really pathetic the way you were treated by those dealers...I ran into the same attitidue when I was shopping for my '11 Sierra. Some of these clowns act like they are too busy to talk to anyone not taking the truck home that day. I was the only customer on the lot most days. Hope those kind of dealers like eating cat food.

The dealer I eventually bought from did everything my way, including handling everything except the paperwork and test drive through e-mail.

 

[brain55]

That's got your name all over it...Very nice.

I'm a hard core GM guy, but that's really pathetic the way you were treated by those dealers...I ran into the same attitidue when I was shopping for my '11 Sierra. Some of these clowns act like they are too busy to talk to anyone not taking the truck home that day. I was the only customer on the lot most days. Hope those kind of dealers like eating cat food.

The dealer I eventually bought from did everything my way, including handling everything except the paperwork and test drive through e-mail.

The Chevy dealer I will buy from, if I do, has been great. I was in there about 6 months ago and he remembered me, of course it is hard to forget the guy with the complete mobile shop behind his truck. He understood from the beginning that I wasn't looking to buy that minute and has quoted me nothing but invoice price. I think the trick is to deal with the fleet managers, not the lot salesmen.

Brian

 

[Dmace]

You couldn't give me a 6.0l, 6.4l, 6.7l Powerstroke diesel. It's funny how the "Ford Faithful" haven't heard of many problems with the Powerstroke diesel engines yet everyone and their brother who's gone on the internet has read the hundreds of thousands of problems and breakdowns costing owners thousands of dollars and weeks of downtime.

Read around the diesel and truck forums and you'll find the Ford Torqueshift is having more problems than either the GM or Dodge auto transmissions.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Here is a picture of the F450.

Thats a good looking truck. What gear set does it have? I know they mainly had 4.30's and some had something like 4.56 gears.

Chris

 

[Diamondpilot]

The Chevy dealer I will buy from, if I do, has been great. I was in there about 6 months ago and he remembered me, of course it is hard to forget the guy with the complete mobile shop behind his truck. He understood from the beginning that I wasn't looking to buy that minute and has quoted me nothing but invoice price. I think the trick is to deal with the fleet managers, not the lot salesmen.

Brian

I am with you. Finding a good dealer is 50% the battle. I do not know how these guys stay in business?:confused2:

Especially with the internet and the ability to shop globally.

Chris