Donstar

Good to hear. My wife and I are also exercising an elevated state of cleanliness and preparedness. We are also fans of gloves. This thread can be useful for members when we share experiences but all of the pollical jabs are counterproductive, imo. I was about to add a recipe for hand sanitizer but this thread often digresses to be more of a political venting opportunity. I speak regularly to family in other parts of the world and their concerns are all centred around the health of themselves and their neighbours. We spoke yesterday to family in Norway and the focus on eliminating this threat was razor sharp. Absolutely no hint about politics or conspiracy, just talk about dealing with the issue. This is a far larger problem than the impact on the vulnerable. The impact on the health care system puts the healthy at great risk. This hit home for me on Friday when my wife needed to see a doctor for a totally unrelated, single issue, concern. The fact that she disclosed she was nursing mild cold symptoms when making an appointment has her at home waiting to see if her concern gets better on its own. Of course, she can still receive attention but the accessibility of health care as we once enjoyed has tightened and will get worse before it gets better.

I appreciate the array of information out there to dismiss or minimize the significance of this outbreak. I had dinner with a man last night who just got off the phone with his quarantined daughter in Spain. It is serious and we just need to look at countries that got a head start.

I am fortunate to be in good health and wouldn't want to quarantine myself on an annual basis because of my birth certificate.

That's fake news. https://www.foxnews.com/us/stanford-disowns-breathing-test-claim-for-coronavirus-as-misinformation Thanks, hence my caution in my comment. I was skeptical.

It is one of those situations where some won't realize the severity until it hits closer to home. The longer it takes people to get with the program, the longer it will play havoc on our economy and daily lives. It is selfish to deny the severity of this crisis and not comply and with current precautions and procedures from our respective health authorities. You may be the healthy individual able to withstand any of the symptoms but this doesn't prevent you from being a mule for the virus. I suspect all of us have loved ones not as healthy as ourselves. If you don't really care about infecting others then do it for yourself. You don't want the medical system tied up with pandemic issues should you ever need emergency help. The hoarding is a calamity, imo. It does serve to illustrate that people are taking this threat seriously but flies in the face of social distancing! I am seeing more respectful behavior than selfish behavior during these hard times and am doing what I can to avoid the virus. I am a senior and so are all of my friends. Strive to be part of the solution, not the problem is my current mantra.

A heard a guy in Costco yesterday announce he's having fried toilet paper for supper...

Hopefully our grandchildren can look back at this Covid 19 event and see it as an example of when the world worked together to eradicate a global problem. I'm glad Karnut started this thread and hopefully all of us will shake any conspiracy theories and get on board to help beat this pandemic.

It's good to hear from members outside of North America. This truly is a global issue (pandemic) and it is causing tremendous hardship worldwide. It is good that it is being treated as a world wide issue and there is some unification in how we approach this problem.. I have three grandchildren in the US who I can't see in the foreseeable future but I'm happy that they are protected. the same applies to my other grandchild and nieces/nephews who are citizens abroad.

The fact that one cause of death is more common than another doesn't lessen the concern Yes, other diseases/viruses have done more damage than Covid 19 has done up until now. It has hit other countries very hard and is now in my "neighbourhood." It was a problem before infected cases were found in North America and has nothing to do with who is the current US President or CDN Prime Minister.

My theory is that people are worried about the high mortality rate. Of course, I may not be smart. ?

We also don't want to be too casual about the potential. This virus is significantly deadlier than the flu and is particularly concerning for us seniors. it isn't an election issue. I have family in the United States, New Zealand, Scandinavia and Canada. All are paying close attention to this pandemic. This situation has created an awareness how these viruses can spread around the world and hopefully we'll be the wiser as a result. Yesterday a federal plan was introduced (Canada) to allow workers to stay home if they are sick. I have wanted this for decades! How many of us have faced that worker hacking and snorting all over the work place. Suggestions for them to go home are met with, "I can't afford to be sick." or "I'm too indispensable". I don't argue that there is hysteria out there like panic buying toilet paper at Costco (Guilty ? ). The real problem is those that go too extreme in the opposite direction and choose to ignore the threat.

Yesterday, I got my permit to carry a concealed weapon. So, today I went over to Bass Pro Shop to get a 9mm handgun for home/personal protection. When I was ready to pay for the pistol and ammo, the cashier said, -"Strip down, facing me." Making a mental note to complain to the NRA about the gun control wackos running amok, I did just as she had instructed. When the hysterical shrieking and alarms finally subsided, I found out she was referring to how I should place my credit card in the card reader! As a senior citizen, I do not get flustered often, but this time it took me a while to get my pants back on. I’ve been asked to shop elsewhere in the future. They need to make their instructions to seniors a little clearer. I still don’t think I looked that bad! Just need to wear underwear more often!

Welcome to this forum! As already suggested, there is no shortage of information and examples of this modification. A full centre console looks good and provides a lot of storage space. The setup like you currently have also offers ample storage for personal items and refreshments. My setup is like yours and I had often thought of doing the swap. This was until my son and his wife had their third child. Without a full console, you can carry five passengers along with the driver. You won't have as much room for handy "stuff" but you'll have room for an extra passenger. You can always find space for "stuff" but if you make the switch you reduce the passenger capacity of your truck. I know this seems obvious but sometime we look at trucks without the centre console as somewhat less desirable. The jump seat actually serves a purpose and can be an advantage over a full centre console.

I am sure you were happy with the powertrain when new. Now that you've become comfortable with the truck, you want more. If you purchased the 5.3, you would now be wishing the 6.2. ? This is normal. I do this with motorcycles, but not cars or trucks. What is your 2.7 not able to do for you? This is a light, highly efficient work horse. I appreciate that bragging rights (by mouth or exhaust) varies in importance from circle to circle. Personally, I would find a more captive audience wanting to hear about my new state of the art engine than the standard issue 5.3. Enjoy your truck!. Your 2.7 will do all of the tasks your truck is specified to do and can earn you all of the speeding tickets you want. If you need to haul heavier than specified or now planning to race, then you need to upgrade your truck!

I agree that our suggestions are for information only and it is entirely up to the Op. I will add that financial decisions when married best be treated as joint decisions. I will say with the utmost confidence to Op that it will not be "best for you" if you do this without your wife being on board. She doesn't have to love the idea but she can't be opposed.

Good points as usual, Grumpy. I own many items of refurbished memorabilia from past generations of family. Unfortunately, none of my children share my level of attachment to "things" and I am facing some tough decisions as I downsize. I also inherited my father's vehicles. I realized after a couple of years of funding these that my father would have already sold and moved on from these vehicles if he was alive. The money going to my sentimental attachment was not going to my family's current need and wants. Op's Dad gave up on the S10 and his Papaw subsequently left it to the elements. They had moved on to other vehicles. BTW I found keeping a name badge off my father's vehicles kept the sentimental side of me at peace. ?

Good story and many us of have faced similar dilemmas. You are making new memories and your wife is right. I suspect your Papaw and Dad would also side with your wife against taking on a money pit at this stage in life.

While riding my Harley, I swerved to avoid hitting a deer, lost control and landed in a ditch, severely banging my head. Dazed and confused I crawled out of the ditch to the edge of the road when a shiny new convertible pulled up with a very beautiful woman who asked, "Are you okay? As I looked up, I noticed she was wearing a low-cut blouse with cleavage to die for... "I'm okay I think," I replied as I pulled myself up to the side of the car to get a closer look. She said, "Get in and I'll take you home, so I can clean and bandage that nasty scrape on your head." "That's nice of you," I answered, "but I don't think my wife will like me doing that!" "Oh, come now, I'm a nurse," she insisted "I need to see if you have any more scrapes and then treat them properly." Well, she was really pretty and very persuasive. Being sort of shaken and weak, I agreed, but repeated, "I'm sure my wife won't like this." We arrived at her place which was just few miles away and, after a couple of cold beers and the bandaging, I thanked her and said, "I feel a lot better, but I know my wife is going to be really upset so I'd better go now." "Don't be silly!" she said with a smile. "Stay for a while. She won't know anything. By the way, where is she?" "Still in the ditch, I guess."

You bring up a good point about powertrain configurations. It was mentioned earlier where in some situations the 4.3 is rated to pull (and carry) more than certain configurations with a 5.3. I was kicking tires yesterday and came across a 2020 SLE with a 5.3 - 10 speed -3.42 gears. It was a max tow, of course, and had the tow mirrors. (Very nice truck!) GM changed the gear ratio of the max tow when they changed the transmission. I already have the 3.42 but wonder what my six's tow rating would be with a 10 spd? or 3.73 gears? GM offers a variety of combinations that will maximize sales while still meeting efficiency targets. A lot of talk about engine size is really about powertrain. I chuckle when I think of my '85 SuperCab with a longer wheelbase than my current crewcab. It was a lighter truck but it had 122 hp L6 mated to a 4spd manual with 3.08 gears. That truck was great on the job or on the highway! The belief that bigger is better has manufacturers competing to a achieve the higher numbers. . Comments on this thread often reflect a person buying into this type marketing. We sometimes like to muddy the waters by justifying a want as a need.

Yes, no argument that the 5.3 has more power than the 4.3. Your comment about one shifting more than the other made me smile. My father used this rational for buying the most powerful engines offered in the early 60's. Once he switched from manual to automatic transmissions he didn't care so much! Your build thread says that you added 255/75r20 tires to your '15 which are 4" taller than stock. This would have caused some confused shifting. When I went with larger (1") and heavier tires on my '09 Sierra with the 5.3 the shifting became less predictable. (This was remedied later by returning to factory sizes.) My current '15 6spd. shifts smoothly and predictably. If it needs to shift down while climbing a hill, or under load it does so while maintaining cruising speed. The 5.3 and the 6.2 are unquestionably more powerful than the powerful 4.3!

Actually, GM offered the significantly less powerful 4.3 in its previous generations of Sierras and Silverados. The 4.8 V8 in my '00 Slverado even had less hp and tq. than my Ecotec V6. The current version 4.3 can't be the bare minimum. ? It is the base engine with ample power for the specified loads. If you need/want extra power GM offers more powerful engines. The fact that GM offers larger optional engines doesn't lessen the capabilities of their "base" engine.

Both engines will comfortably and safely pull and/or carry to their specified limits. The more you drive under the maximum, the more the power you have to spare. My truck is rated to pull to a maximum of 7K lbs. I frequently get close to the max and feel perfectly comfortable and safe. I don't pull out to pass vehicles doing the speed limit going up a steep incline but I wouldn't do this with a nitro powered 6.2 when pulling a heavy travel trailer! If my towing needs someday exceed the limits of my current truck then I'll buy an appropriately equipped truck. Your perception of "barely enough" would probably be different if you had experience working with earlier trucks. Many of us on this forum were hauling heavy trailers/loads with our 1/2 tons in the 70's and 80's. Today's 6's double the power of most of these earlier 8's and I've never not made it up a hill! ? Your truck will behave differently while towing/working. You may have to give it more gas but be assured you'll have more than ample power!

I'm glad there are still believers out there!! ?

Hopefully your truck will get fully repaired and give you many years of good service. Having a bad experience with a Chevy should make you upset with that particular vehicle but don't give up on the brand. Many of us would have to look beyond the big 3 if we based our opinion on a single bad apple. Looking for others to complain about the brand will not help or comfort you with your frustration. Look for people with good things to say so you'll know what to expect!