[trackbird]

After 7 glorious years, I finally retired my faithful 2015 SIlverado 1500. It was a 5.3 with crew cab and the electronic transfer case with the AWD option. We have been using it to tow our camper for about the last year and it did an admirable job overall. Sadly, the brakes were not up to the task and on more than one occasion I ran completely out of truck brakes and the trailer stopped the truck. That finally convinced me that it was time for an upgrade.

Last Monday, I drug home a new Silverado 3500 HD (Crew cab, short bed, 4x4/AWD, diesel with the 10 speed allison, 5th wheel/gooseneck prep, Z71 protection package, etc). I'm trying to put break in mileage on it before the next time I have to tow the camper, but so far I'm really impressed. It feels a lot larger than my last 3500, but it feels remarkably light on its feet with all that torque. GM was supposed to do a facelift and a power upgrade for the diesel in 2023, but they held it until 2024. I picked the truck up Monday, Tuesday I went to the chevrolet.com site and they are now "Introducing the 2024 Silverado HD". Awesome....

Despite that, I really like the truck and the facelift isn't really an improvement (I really think these trucks are rather ugly, but the chrome front end on mine is "less bad") and the diesel seems to have plenty of power so I'm not sure if I'll really care about the upgrade. Maybe I'll trade it in a few years....maybe I won't.

I've been trying to verify that the shocks didn't change between 2022 and 2023 so I can order Fox shocks for it. The OEM ranchos provide almost zero damping.

Also, I ordered the Advanced Trailering Package with the multiple camera views. However, you have to buy the "technology package" to get all of the camera views. So, I don't have the front bumper view (could be nice for parking) or the trailer side view cameras (that would be great for pulling around tight corners, etc). I'm a little irritated that the "Advanced Trailering Package" isn't the complete package unless you take lane departure warnings, parking assist, etc....all stuff I specifically didn't want.

So, be aware if you order one, check that stuff out. I ordered this one June 19th, give or take and got it last Monday. I hope I'm not sorry I bought a diesel.

[trackbird]

A few updates.

I have 8500 miles on the truck now. a bit over 3,000 of them are towing my camper (9-10k total weight). We reset the best 50 mile fuel mileage at 23.8 mpg and the best 25 mile at 24.2 mpg. That's insane for 65-69 mph freeway cruising in a giant brick.

In interesting news, the rear tires are down to about 2/32" of tread and the fronts are about 4/32". So, I rotated the tires. But I don't think I'm going to get anywhere near the 50k mileage warranty. I don't know exactly who I'll argue with about it, but I'll figure that out as I get the rest of the way down to the wear bars. It came with Goodyear Wrangler Trailrunner AT tires. That's what the manufacturer installed. They aren't holding up at all. I don't know if it's the weight or the locking rear or both? I'm guessing when towing up mountains, the large amounts of torque are being used to lock up the locking diff and scrubbing the rears. But I'm not totally sure about that. I figure I can get Goodyear to prorate one set, and then I'm going to have to upgrade to something else. Goodyear Duratrac tires say they are a commercial A/T tire and they claim they are good for towing and high torque. I need to start checking to see if there are other options that are recommended.

I just changed the fuel filter (it was down to 39%), that job wasn't as bad as I expected. Only took me 15 minutes. I rotated the tires and found that I'm getting old. I was fighting to get them back onto the studs. The wheel and tire combo is something over 100 lbs each. My old 3500 was around 110 lbs per tire, these feel much heavier.

I need to swing by the dealer. I see a little ATF on the torque converter access plug and the flange between the engine and the transmission. Just a few drips, but I'm not expecting to see any there.

Beyond all of that, I absolutely love the truck. But it might get expensive if I have to buy new tires every 9-12 months. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)