Duramax3oh

Yes, I would. Ideally I would love either a Denali 2500HD or F250 King Ranch but my wife says we don't "need" that big a truck, we compromised on a 1/2 ton. I'd really like the F150 King Ranch, I think overall Ford has done a fantastic job with their trucks, the ones I've had seem nicer and ride better. Even giving the edge to Ford for my tastes... I'm just a GM man at heart. Grew up with Suburbans and Tahoes. First truck was a Z71 Silverado and there's something that draws me to the "simple" classic feel. I wasn't a fan of the front end of this new '19/20 when it was first released but the looks of this truck have grown substantially to me. I really love how this truck looks. What pushed me to get the Silverado was the 3.0L Duramax. I wanted something different this go around and it sucked me in. I've been extremely pleased with my truck and have zero buyer's remorse. The baby Duramax is fun, I've enjoyed having a diesel, and the fuel mileage just keeps me giddy. I'm 12,000 miles in with no problems outside the dealer clearing a few software updates/recalls. Good bit city driving, lots of highway driving, and about 20% towing 5800lb trailer. Getting this truck exactly how I wanted for $43.5K (Crew Cab, Z71 4X4, Tinted windows, Leather, front bench, 20" wheels, 3.0L Duramax, Safety package, sliding rear window, etc) vs the F150 King Ranch for $60K+, I just couldn't pass it up.

Sorry for any confusion... LOL yes change the transmission from Drive to Neutral and let the automated track pull the car through.

Agreed to above: 1) Keep it in 2WD for normal day to day driving 2) Drive thru car washes not really a problem, size permitting. Watch antennae and mirrors (I have regular mirrors and oem antennae and don't do anything to them). The brushes can leave scratches on your truck, any truck, any vehicle for that matter. 3) Once on the drive thru track put it in N-neutral. There are usually signs and/or a person reminding you.

Get a 0.5” rear block instead of 1.0”? I think that would be the easiest, cheapest, and less stressful solution.

Something else you might play around with to see if ride gets better. Add some weight in the bed of the truck (like a few bags of sand or something towards the tailgate, secured down). When the rear is so light as in pickup trucks the ride isn't the best but when "under load" some seems to feel better. That isn't necessarily the cleanest or most sophisticated solution but is a very quick easy cheap short-term fix.

Not sure if I've experienced the same thing as you but probably something similar. I have noticed when I'm on the highway in cruise control, if I push the increase speed button up to say increase from 65 mph to 70 mph setting, but I do that too quickly I will get a "jump" from the rear end like it's not shifting smoothly or wanting to do it quickly to catch up with what i'm telling the computer to do. So when increasing cruise control speed I usually just do it slowly and not quickly. Like over 5 seconds instead of a 5 mph increase in less than 1 second. I have never felt anything when just using the accelerator pedal. Congrats on the truck - I have 12K+ miles now on mine and LOVE it!

Improving ride quality is very subject but you're asking good questions. Are you happy with your OEM shocks? I say don't change anything if you don't really notice... but it sounds like you do which is totally acceptable. The Bilstein 4600 may be better suited for your needs than the 5100 b/c it doesn't sound like your truck has any increased height. Supposedly the two shocks are virtually the same anyhow, but 4600 marketed for stock configurations on street. With that said I think the 5100's look 100x better Like you kind of allude to, your WT OEM shocks are different from the Z71 Rancho shocks which are even different than the Trail Boss/AT4 Rancho shocks. The Z71 Rancho's seem to ride the harshest from what I can tell when compared to the shocks you have as well as the TrailBoss/AT4. Most of the complaints that I'm familiar with come from the "Z71 Ranchos" vs. others so they will see the most "improvement". But that doesn't mean the other shocks can't see increased improvement either.... My suspicion is your current shocks probably have a softer more comfortable feel and changing to the Bilsteins will be a 'firmer, tighter' feel. If that's what you are looking for, could be a good solution... if not, then not. All that said, I'm not really sure how your shocks ride and None of this really helps you make a decision so in that sense I apologize ?

Great little “trail ride” last week along the Colorado-New Mexico border.

My personal rule of thumb: Tow/Haul Mode when the trailer is hooked up, Normal driving mode when it's not. Whether it's okay w/o tow-haul or not, I'm just trying to think less and worry less and get in good habits so that's what I'm doing. I took the trailer from my house to it's storage yesterday and forgot to switch to tow/haul mode. I got around the corner to the stop light and was thinking "man this just seems kind of different" and realized I had not switched tow/haul mode on. Granted that's very slow stop-to-slow speeds in the city and not flat highway speeds, and doesn't really answer your question. But I could definitely feel a difference at slow transmission shift points and will be sticking with my rule of thumb just to avoid "potential" transmission strain even if I'm overthinking it. The 3.0 gets good enough gas fuel mileage in tow/haul mode as it is ?

Congrats - that looks fantastic!

First off, congrats! What engine did you end up choosing? This is a thread I enjoy scrolling through to see what other owners have done to their trucks. It can give you good ideas you've never thought of. Or you can see what people have done that you're thinking of and how it looks. One of my favorite additions has been the Autostop Eliminator! https://www.autostopeliminator.com/collections/gm/products/2019-silverado-sierra-autostop-eliminator

Great experience towing so far. Felt plenty of power, smooth transmission, and I always felt in control. Although not necessarily "needed" (stock worked just fine) I will be upgrading my shocks and tires for street, highway, towing, and looks. 12,000 total driving miles (roughly 3,700 city, 6,000 highway, 2,300 highway towing). Per DIC, life of vehicle has just over 22 MPG average (this lowered from mid-24 pre towing trip). Just got back from a 2,400 mile trip (2,100 towing and 300 highway/city) Houston -> Colorado -> Houston. Total trip hand-calculated 15.17 Mpg and I used roughly 10 gallons of DEF. Highway towing speeds mostly ranged from Mid 60's to High 70's. Pure towing mileage seemed to narrow in the 13.8-14.5 Mpg range over the trip. Cruising without the trailer attached I was in the low-mid 30's going nice and easy through the mountains/valleys. Tow vehicle: 2020 Silverado 1500 Z71 3.0L Duramax (GVWR: 7200; Curb: 5478; Payload: 1722; Max TWR 9300; Max Tongue: 930; GCWR: 15,000) + AMP powersteps, spray-in bedliner, Bakflip Fibermax bed cover (Weight = 5,740 lbs; loaded with Wife, 2 full size dogs, and gear = ~6,200 lbs) Trailer: 2021 Airstream International 23' CB loaded (Base wt: 4,761; Carrying capacity: 1,239; CAT scale measured weight: ~5,800 lbs Hitch: Equalizer 4-point Weight Distributing Hitch: Worked extremely well, highly recommend it or any comparable weight distributing hitch.

Just got back from a long towing trip and have 12,014 miles now! 2400 total mile trip, 2100 miles of that towing a 5.8-6.0k trailer. Sucked about 10 gallons of DEF during that timeframe. Word of caution for those going on long drives, particularly towing. I’m going to start packing a 2.5 gal or 5.0 gal jug of DEF to have for safety PLUS a funnel!! Everything worked out fine for me but I noticed some places in the middle of nowhere don’t carry DEF, or it could be hard to find, or in this case one spot had some bottles of DEF but no funnels in the box or sold at the store. Always better to be prepared and not need it!

Fantastic read but sorry for your troubles!! Man what an eventful drive. I can also attest to your DEF findings. I just returned from a 2,400 mi trip pulling just shy of 6000 lb trailer. The DEF monitor is not a good/linear gauge to trust. I used right at 10 gallons of DEF for the trip I believe.

If I’m trading the truck in I honestly would probably skip the the shocks and new tires and “rough it” with stock. For me, tinted windows and spray in bedliner are important. Next would be bedcover. Then when trading in for Tahoe, take the bed cover off and sell it separately to recoup some easy cash. Or if you end up with new pickup you can transfer it on that. you won’t get any (or little) value with the shocks/tires trading in

Man tough decision. The good news is you really can’t go wrong as long as you get what you want, they will both be superb vehicles/engines. Because of your relatively low miles per year I’d give the edge to the 6.2 engine. Whether the 3.0 is ok or not with short trips or sitting... the 6.2 you wouldn’t even really think or worry about it. Or having to worry about DEF refills while towing would be nice. with that said, I love my 3.0 and super pleased with its performance for my needs. City driving, highway driving, towing ~6k lb trailer. I love driving into the diesel only wide lanes and not worrying about the other pumps with cars every which way + cars parked right in front of the store. I too have never had a Diesel engine before and I got it because it was “different” and I’ve really enjoyed it. It is plenty quick for me. my advice is gather all these recommendations, ponder it over, maybe there’s stuff you haven’t considered... then go test drive both of them. I promise you there will be one engine that hits you like “this is it”. Whether it be 3.0 or 6.2 listen to your gut and enjoy your truck! ETA - check the size of fuel tank for both. I’m sure they’re the same but possibly bc the 3.0 has a def tank next to it, the fuel tank could be smaller. Mine is 24 gal and I wish it was larger. At the end of the day between my wife and our dogs we have to stop a lot anyways. But I’d love a larger tank to just drive and not worry. Calculate estimated fuel mileage X gallons the tank holds - buffer you want to refill at (obviously you won’t got to 0).

Yup. If I could change one thing that would probably be it. I miss having the sunglass overhead storage. I also wish there were overhead grab handles above each door. My hand naturally goes up there and I can’t get used to not having them

It’s either (1) The Looks: I think it’s just a simple but fantastic looking truck or (2) the 3.0L Duramax’s power/fuel mileage/towing ability. Just splendid

I always learn a ton from your posts Grumpy. I’m going to be towing a lot more than I originally expected, 6000 lb trailer. You say a digressive shock like Bilstein 5100 would probably be better for this correct? How would the King 2.5’s do with a decent amount of towing in this regard? Solely wanting that on road comfort over street bumps and then Solid stable safe highway towing. Probably get them “tuned” specifically for this need right? How often will they need to be serviced with this use (no off-roading)? Would front King 2.5 coilovers and rear Bilstein 5100’s make sense? Or would mixing the linear and digressive not work well lastly, does anybody know if the 2020 silverados have room in the rear for piggy back reservoir shocks? Like Bilstein 5160 or the King 2.5. Just casually looking doesn’t seem like a ton of room. I might install a Roadmaster active suspension (RAS) on the rear leaf springs and worry if that could impact a remote reservoir if mounted on the frame in the wheel well during a heavy impact

About a 700 mile drive today on the way to CO thought I’d post some figures. Total weight of truck and trailer 11,980 lbs. The good bad and ugly. Higher speeds than last time lot of time in the 70’s. we stopped several times for bathroom breaks for the Mrs and the dogs: 1) 263 miles 13.5 mpg per DIC, 14.03 hand calc 2) 187 miles 13.9 mpg per DIC, 14.88 hand calc 3) 172 miles 12.9 mpg per DIC, 13.72 hand calc DEF started 1 bar from full (aka 1 bar used up). At stop 3 the low DEF alert was on red and I was close to empty. Filled up 4 gallons. Seems like I sucked a ton of DEF for only 622 miles no? Trailers gotta be sub-5500 lbs right now.

I think I had the same as 'yousaveone' did only one software update i think (remote start with the app that I never use) and the DEF recall/update. I had a check engine light on a few days, it went off literally on the way to the dealership. They cleared/updated and everything's been good since. I haven't noticed any difference good or bad

The Safety Package was important to me and I'm really thankful I stuck to my gut and got it. I do not have the heads up display or seat vibrating thing or 360 cameras. The package I have has the front and rear bumper sensors which I enjoy, and the blind spot monitor deal that light up on your side mirrors. That has saved me more than than once and covered the cost of the package!

My 2020 Silverado LT Crew Cab Z71 Short-bed inside door sticker: GVWR: 7200 Curb Wt: 5478 Payload: 1722 GTW: 9300 Max Tongue Wt: 1080 Pulling a 23' travel trailer of roughly 5000 lbs with tongue weight approaching 700lbs is very pleasant. Just get a good weight distributing hitch.

I've spoken to Ben at Filthy Motorsports about the King 2.5's... he's very helpful and puts out excellent informative videos about shocks, UCA's, etc

Definitely won't "win" but I've got about 9,550 right now; purchased Feb 2020. About to pull the trailer on a ~2,000 mi trip over the next week or so