I opened a "ticket" directly with Rhino Liner. They called the dealer who basically told me "it's not ready for a respray" and they offered to patch it with urethane again. I'm really irritated with this thing. When we removed the F250 springs it tore more holes in the Rhino Liner. I'm going to see if another dealer will just spray it again and see what they will charge me to do it. Or maybe I can strip it and have Line X redo it. I'm really cranky at this point.

I sent Rhino Liner another email regarding my liner. I'm waiting to see if I hear back from them at all this time. I'm really getting tired of dealing with this issue and so far Rhino Liner hasn't been much help at all. I'll keep you posted.

I received word yesterday that the Corp office told the local dealer to "make him happy...whatever it takes...and respray the truck". So it's scheduled to go back next week. I guess we'll see how that goes. (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

The Rhino Liner was resprayed. It's about 3-4 times as thick as it was. It looks much better and I think it should hold up this time.

Unfortunately, I was out on my friends farm two weeks ago and I noticed I seemed to have a slow leak in a tire. I took it to the tire shop and naturally the hole was in the sidewall and couldn't be patched. Apparently, I ran over a thorn from a locust tree. Awesome.

At 16k miles I have about half the tread left on my tires. Truck tires wear fast at first and more slowly as they get to the end. Since the truck has an AWD transfer case I shouldn't run mismatched tires. It's unfortunate, but I wound up putting 4 new tires on it today (being an adult sucks). It now has a shiny set of Goodyear Adventure A/T tires with Kevlar reinforcement. I hope I like them. I didn't hear any unusual noises on the trip home so they don't seem to be too loud (which is good) and they should be even better off road than the factory Wrangler SR-A tires. So much for buying more Camaro parts this month...(IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

These are the tires:

https://www.goodyear.com/en-US/tires/wrangl...rrain-adventure

Other than the bedliner issues, is the truck treating you well in the first year of ownership? I'm going to be looking for some leftover '16s in the spring. I can't get myself to like the Ford trucks (disliked every ecoboost I've driven, 5.0 is a torqueless wonder, interior is too big for a person my size and I can't get comfortable), and the Ram is cool but I would NEVER buy a FCA product (my mom is on her second '16 grand Cherokee, giant POS lemon).

Overall I like it. I don't love the transmission calibration, but it's decent. The fuel mileage is quite good for a brick. It towed the Camaro from Michigan quite well (with the exception of shocks that suck from the factory).

Honestly, buy one and just expect to put a set of Bilstiens on it. I was looking at doing just that soon, but my recent tire purchase put a dent in the fun money budget and it got cold finally so I'm not driving the camaro (not that I have it fixed yet) and I'm not working on the truck outside. It will get shocks this spring.

The bedliner was installed aftermarket for me, it wasn't a factory spray in. I had the original drop in removed and scrapped so I could have the Rhino Liner done. The issue was my local dealer and not the product. I think that's all behind me now.

If I couldn't fix the bedliner issues through Rhino Liner, I was actually going to trade this one on a 2016 or 2017. So I guess I'm admitting that "I'd buy another one". (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

That's good to hear. I would definitely get the factory sprayed liner, they do an excellent job. There is a small chance I might lease, but if I buy, small things like shocks and calibration don't bother me, I don't mind a little fine-tuning to make things exactly how I want them. Glad to hear it handles towing the Camaro well. I towed mine with a 14 F150 with the 5.0 and it did a miserable job.

What Kevin says. Our '02 GMC 2500HD has been about the best new vehicle we've bought. We got the D/A version, but it's been a beast. All we've done is tires, which, as Kevin has experienced last way fewer miles than they should, and Bielstiens, which we ordered from Sam before the break-in period was up.

I just recently replaced the light lenses, because what we had we're showing their age, and because factory OEM pieces were still available, and stupid-cheap. Now, the truck looks brand new. That, and replacing the lights with LED, and they should last a while. Speaking of which, if you get one, immediately replace the DRL lights with LED. The reduced heat of LED bulbs will help keep the sockets from burning up.

A friend recently traded his Chevy 1500 for a new GMC 1500HD, and says the 5.3 with the new automatic is a great tow vehicle for his BSP Vette on an open trailer.

Call Sam, and have the shocks waiting for the truck to come home. Other than that, enjoy!

This post has been edited by CrashTestDummy: Nov 21 2016, 04:12 PM

The shop that did my liner says they do the liners for the dealer up the street. I am not completely sure, but I got the feeling the spray in bedliner trucks are done locally after they arrive at the dealer. The problem isn't the job they do spraying it in, it's how thick they spray it. If it's thin, it just tears.

I had the Camaro on a 1750 lb open trailer (that car is likely 3,800 lbs, or close to it) and with the cruise set on 80 mph I was seeing 14.7-15.2 mpg. My 2007 single rear wheel 3500 didn't get that mileage unloaded and totally empty (6 liter, 4L80e/4.10 gears). I turned up a ramp (one of those where you cross under the freeway so the ramp is a fairly steep uphill) and hit the throttle, I merged into traffic (pulling the trailer) at 70+ mph. A weight distributing hitch might help it settle down a bit too (I'm used to having springs for a 3500 so that truck didn't care what I hung on the back of it).

My best 50 mile "rolling average" MPG is showing as 22.1. That was running 75, then 77 and finally 80 mph on cruise control in some traffic. That's absolutely unreal out of a 5600 lb brick.

I don't know if any vehicle is perfect...or maybe I'm just an extra picky pain in the ass but I'd buy another one of these. I think it's the best option in its class (if you don't want/need a 2500 or a diesel, etc). And it's been awesome in mud/mushy grass 6" deep, truly amazingly good.

Also, the Weathertech floor mats are amazing. Order those the day you pick it up. While you're at it, get the "no drill" mud flaps from them too. The mud flaps have kept most of the gunk off the paint and all the mud and crap I've thrown all over them has never done anything to even remotely damage or bend them. They are a great product and they use a very solid mounting design that doesn't require you to drill holes in the truck. And the mats cover the floor extremely well and protect the carpet. The rear mat goes from the front seat to the rear wall and side to side. The niece and nephews can track all the mud in there that they want, it's all covered (just keep the feet off the seats....lol).

14 towing/ 22 average is impressive for sure. The '16 Grand Cherokee with the v6 barely manages to average 21mpg. Weight distributing hitch is a good idea, especially since I will need to purchase a new one with the truck. While a 2500 would be cool, I can't justify having one. I would choose better gas mileage and more comfortable ride over towing, since I would most likely only tow my car to track days a couple times a year. I live so close to a few tracks that it's not worth throwing the car on a trailer.

Re: factory bed liner. While I don't doubt your place does trucks off the lot for a local dealer, Chevy offers a factory sprayed liner that is incredibly high quality. It's very thick, and it's done by robot so the thickness is even, and the tape lines are perfect. I was at the CT auto show yesterday talking to a Chevy rep about it. At a $335 option, I think it's an absolute steal. I'm hoping there are plenty of leftover '16's next year, I would love to find a 1500 with the "custom" package (body colored bumpers and aluminum wheels). Time to start saving for that deposit.

+1 to the weathertech stuff. I won't let family members buy new cars without it.

My V6 Jeep liberty got 17 highway and 13-14 MPG in town. The truck gets much better mileage. I was a little shocked. And that "14 towing" was mostly "hauling butt". It wasn't just 65 mph. It was 75-80 on cruise (literally). I can't argue with that one bit.

I like the 18" wheels (and I prefer the non-Z71 wheels with the split spoke design). I've been in pretty deep mud/goo and never scratched the face of the wheel. The 20" wheels don't have the wider tire sidewall to "open up" the channel in the mud and it looks like you can scratch the face of the wheel if you get in the deep stuff (and there's less sidewall before the wheel is below ground level). If you don't plan to go off road, it really won't matter.

Interesting, I didn't know for sure if GM was doing them or taking them to the local guys to spray in the "factory liners". Some of the trucks on the lot looked very well done. The guys that did my 3500 were awesome. It was amazingly uniform and the cut lines were perfect. I was amazed they could do such a nice job. It looked like a robot did it (it was hand sprayed). My friend had one done by some guys in Zanesville, OH and it looks like my old one. The lines are perfect and the thickness is just like my old one. I was thinking about taking my truck to them to respray it. The new job they did on mine is much, much thicker, but they have tape under one little corner behind the cab and it's going to do the trick, it's not up to the standards set by these other shops that make "artwork".


My current work truck is a 2015 Silverado "WT" package with 5.3 liter/3.42 gears. It's a 2wd, regular cab long bed. I don't think the fuel economy gauge has ever been reset and it's showing an average of 19.8 mpg since it was new (it has 16k miles on it). It's a lot quicker than my 4x4 crew cab since it's likely 1,000 lbs lighter. I just wish the seat went back a bit. I'm only 5'11" and I could use another inch of seat travel in the standard cab.

Wow these tire wear stories are a bummer. My Colorado is a 2wd regular cab and is nearing 70k miles with at least 10k to go on the original tires.

That's pretty impressive. I put 60k mile tires on this time (it had 50k tires). Unfortunately it appears that my "in town" mileage has dropped 1-3 mpg. It also got cold at the same time so I can't nail down how much of it is the weather (cold weather tends to cause poor mileage too). I'll likely get some freeway miles on it over the holiday weekend and then I can see what my highway mileage looks like.

I almost put the stock tires back on it, but I wanted something a little better suited for mud at the farm and decided to try these. I hope I'm not sorry.

I replaced the factory tires with the next size up on our GMC, and saw an immediate 1.5 MPG drop. I figured it was because I'm actually going faster than indicated, but when passing those stupid radar trailers, it seems we're pretty close. I guess it could be because there's more rotating mass to have to overcome, but still not certain.

The Tahoe was doing pretty good at around 17-18 MPG when we first got it, then it almost overnight dropped to the low-15s. I never have figured out why, in spite of cleaning the MAF and TB, replacing the plugs and wires, which I probably didn't need to do. I also dropped a K&N into the stock air filter box, so the filter was at least new, too.

I recently filled the tires to the cold pressure (they were about 2-4 psi low), and now the mileage is in the low-to-mid 16's. There's a bit more road noise, but I can live with that for more mileage. We also replaced the Tahoe tires with the next size up, but it didn't affect the mileage like it did on the diesel.

I went from the stock Duelers to equivalent size Mud Terrains on my '97 Ram back in the early 2000s and immediately lost 3 MPG.

Kevin, could be winter blend fuel since you are in the northern part of the country. I know my jeep drops around 2 mpg on that crap.

I don't know how you guys get that many miles out of tires. I guess I really live by the motto kill all tires.

The temp was in the mid 20's today and I've been using the remote start. That's why it's really hard to tell exactly what the mileage is like and when it's cold the mileage seems to tank in all my vehicles. So, tires and cold weather got here together. I'll know more after I run around this weekend and I can report back.

I don't know how they do it either. I'm glad I am not the only tire killer here lol

So how is your mileage doing?
I'm looking at a '14 1LT and a '15 LTZ, but I'd really like to see as close to 20 as I can.

Did you ever change the rear shocks?

Thanks

My '16 LTZ averages high 18mpg (18.5 to 18.8) when I plug in the numbers after a full tank of gas. Most of that is rather hilly mileage, I have a higher mpg displayed on the way to work and a lower on the way home. After a long highway stint it showed 21+ (up to the hills). My truck has 5,300 miles, the worst tank was 16 with a few miles towing and the highest 50 mile average (coming down the mountains of eastern PA) shows 24.2 mpg.