Njmurvin

Mine tugs a little to the right. I'm sure the crown is part of it as it's less noticeable in the fast lane or carpool lane. FWIW, my 04 Dodge Ram pulled right all its life. Maybe it's just the nature of the beast.

I don't think this is really anything new for a differential or even a transfer case. But, a heavy duty truck transmission with no ability check fluid level, color and smell? This is a problem begging for an aftermarket solution.

I'll confirm that it seems to perform better with a load coming down a grade. I tried it yesterday in town driving empty with T/H and EB on. It made a slight difference but nothing compared to my old Dodge RAM with PacBrake. In that truck I didn't have to touch the brake until the PacBrake released at about 1100rpm. That said, this new truck performed admirably coming down 6%+ grades and held pretty much any speed I wanted with 12k lbs in tow.

The free lifetime warranty that dealers offer is worth just about what you pay for it. I have it on my wife's Honda. You have to read the fine print. Compliance with their terms is mandatory. If you miss an oil change by 100 miles, it voids the warranty (even when Honda doesn't use a mileage-based metric to determine when oil changes are recommended). And they require an inspection every 30,000 miles at their dealership. So, you have to remember that, too. I'm pretty meticulous with maintenance and I missed an oil change by a few 100 miles. Bye-bye warranty ... Ram has some interesting options for factory warranties. GM not so much. I was pitched some aftermarket options but I passed. I may reconsider as I approach the end of the factory warranty. I mostly use this truck for towing and put 5-6K miles per year on it. I was looking for a longer term but shorter miles warranty (which Ram offers). Sadly, nothing like that is offered by GM.

OK. Thanks. Good to know.

I apologize if this is dumb question. I'm not new to diesels but I am new to the emissions related features (all my 04.5 Dodge Ram had was a catalytic converter). How do I know when a regen is happening? I have just over 1000 miles on the truck and I am assuming I've gone through at least one regen by now. Is there a simple way to know when it happens?

I've only been on one trip towing so far. I had a PacBrake on my 04.5 Dodge Ram and you could definitely tell when it was engaged simply by the sound. With this truck, coming down the mountain from Big Bear Lake, I put it in T/H and EB on and just drove. When I reached a descent that I thought required a little more braking, I just tapped the brake. Tapping the brake shifted down to a lower gear and the EB would hold in that gear. If I needed to slow down more, tap the brake again ... rinse, repeat. I thought about going into manual shifting to accomplish this without using the brake. But, this method worked so well for me that I just stayed with it. Coming from a 4 speed trans, this Allison is a DREAM!!!

During my break-in period, I drove about a 250 mile round trip to get my 5th wheel hitch. I kept the speed under 60 which is a real challenge for multiple reasons. I was amazed that I was able to achieve close to 30mpg on that trip. I knew driving at lower speeds made a difference in fuel economy. I just didn't realize it made THAT big of a difference. I was brought back to earth when I towed my 5th wheel up to Big Bear Lake where I averaged about 10-11mpg (closer to 9 up the mountain).

For you guys with transmission fluid leaks, what color is the fluid? I noticed a drip or two on my garage floor located at about the center pillar between the doors. I'm used to trans fluid being pink. This looks more greenish/clear. Being so far back, I was thinking maybe the transfer case ... but after reading this thread I'm now wondering if it could be the trans. Regardless, it will be going to the dealer later this week. Performance wise, it has been solid. But I only have 980 miles on it - of which about 300 were fairly severe towing. Shifting and e-braking both up and down Big Bear Mountain was flawless.

You should be good. Any trailer with a heavier pin weight than you can legally carry would be better suited to a DRW anyway. FWIW, my 04.5 Dodge Ram 3500 had a payload of just over 3000lbs which is in line with modern 2500s. Where my old truck struggled at times with my 12k Arctic Fox 5th wheel, this new truck pulls it like a dream.

I have the factory puck system on mine with the Andersen Ultimate hitch like DeadManWalkin described above. Besides the lighter weight of the AUH, it also provides up to about 9" of offset away from the truck cab. So, whatever type hitch you get installed (e.g. standard rails, gooseball, etc.), the AUH can give you up to 9" more clearance to the cab. That said, you also have to be aware of the length of your trailer's pin box. That same offset can create clearance issues to the tailgate and/or bedrails (sides) if your pin box is too long. In that case, you would configure the AUH installation resulting in less offset. With my standard bed truck, I have plenty of clearance to the cab even with an older style fifth wheel that doesn't have the cutouts on the sides.

What is the payload on the sticker of your 3500? Mine is just under 3900lbs? There seems to be quite a lot of variance in payload among models based on the weight of various features and options. I was surprised that my actual payload was less than the published "generic" payload ratings.

I have had the carplay2air for a while. I used it with my aftermarket Kenwood/Excelon unit on my previous truck and it connected fine but would experience occasional drops while listening to music. When I got my 2020 Silverado, I tried using it and couldn't get it to connect for more than a second before it would drop. I finally deleted my bluetooth connection to the truck's radio and that seemed to solve the connection problem. It doesn't always connect on startup (maybe 80% of the time). I haven't nailed down the conditions. But, cycling power to the radio seems to get it going. I haven't used it enough to see if I still have the problem of occasional drops listening to music. It's nice when working but far from ready for prime time.

I haven't seen any defects yet. But I have noticed how easy it chips. In under a 1000 miles, there's already a chip on the hood where I would expect one. But there's another on the fender near the doorline under the driver's side mirror. That's an odd location for a rock chip.

I came from a Pullrite Superglide in my Dodge Ram to this new truck. After considering all my options, I settled on the Andersen Ultimate hitch. Depending on how it's installed (there are options for positioning), you can get as much as 9" more clearance from the cab. The length of the trailer's pinbox can be an issue with clearance to the tailgate and sides if it's too long. With mine, I was able to get the full 9" and have a mile of clearance between cab and trailer. And it's a whopping 38lbs which makes it a cinch to get in and out.

I can't comment on whether $700/mo makes sense for you or not. Only you can answer that. I CAN, however, comment on how a new 2020 Duramax pulls a 12K trailer because that's what I have. I too came from a Ram only mine was a stock 3500 diesel (2004.5). It pulled my trailer fine but I always felt like it was on the outer limits of what it could handle. My exhaust brake and trailer brake controller were both aftermarket because they didn't offer factory options at that time. I find that those features of my new truck are far better integrated - as expected. For towing, the upgrade to the new Duramax reminds me of the upgrade from my old Ford gasser to my first diesel truck (Ford 7.3). It is another world. I believe the credit goes equally between the more potent engine and the 10 speed transmission. I just can't say enough how I love this transmission after coming from a 4 speed 48RE. I have to agree with the others regarding payload. The price difference between a 2500 and 3500 is minimal and it future-proofs you should you decide you want a bigger/heavier trailer down the road.

There was a lot of chatter on rv.net about this hitch and bed deflection (fore and aft pressure on the bed from starts and especially stops). I looked carefully at my bed after a trip to Big Bear. There was no evidence of any bed damage. Andersen sells a rubber non slip mat to go under the hitch. I bought a simple rubber mat from Home Depot and cut a hole for the gooseneck. Even though I have the sprayed in bedliner, I wanted to protect from any rubbing, scratches, etc. My trailer is around 12k and the hitch never budged.

I have a carplay2air unit that I used on my old truck with a Kenwood aftermarket head unit. It worked fine. I have tried to get it to work on my 2020 3500HD and it gets to the point where it switches from bluetooth to wifi and quickly drops the connection. I turned off the wifi hotspot in the truck but that doesn't seem to help. Did you have to do anything special to get it to stay connected?

I am also interested in this. I tow a fifth wheel and need a view of the bed - not the bumper hitch. I would be happy if there were a way to somehow redirect the hitch view camera to view the bed instead.

I had that feature on my Dodge Ram. In 16 years, I never used it.

I have a Silverado 3500 with the standard bed and OEM puck system. For my fifth wheel, I bought the Andersen Ultimate hitch. It mounts to the gooseball in the bed of my truck. It also moves the hitch mount point back another 5" if installed in the standard configuration. There is an adapter that you connect to the trailer's kin pin which can (and does for me) move the trailer back another 4". With this configuration, I have plenty of clearance between the trailer and truck cab even on severe turns. The beauty of the Andersen hitch is that it weighs 38 lbs and can be easily removed.

As a former Cummins owner, I installed extra fuel filtration to help preserve my fuel system. The stock filtration was around 7 micron which was insufficient. I installed a supplemental filter kit which included a CAT filter plus Baldwin water separator. What is the micron rating of our GM OEM fuel filters? Does anyone know what the specs from Denso are? In the case of my Cummins, Bosch supposedly required 4 micron filtering and Dodge provided a 7 micron filter. I have seen aftermarket filter kits for our trucks. Is this something we need? I'm reluctant to do anything like this for fear of jeopardizing my warranty.

Well, sunlight shouldn't be an issue. And 99% of the time the temp will be under 90 deg. There will be a few days during the year where it will exceed that. It will never be under 10 deg. Based on my DEF usage for the first 1000 miles, it looks like I will need a tank every 2500 miles or so which equates to twice per year. So, I guess I'll be OK. Thanks.

I'm new to GM and DEF but not new to diesels. I owned a Dodge 3500 5.9 Cummins for 16 years before getting this 3500 LT. I bought the truck primarily for towing my fifth wheel (and occasional Home Depot runs) and I can say it is a beast at that task. It has so much more power than my Ram and the 10 speed transmission (as compared to the 4 speed 48RE) is simply a dream. So, I now live in the world of DEF, DPF and regens and it is all new to me. Here is my concern. I drive very few miles with the truck ... probably in the neighborhood of 5K/yr. Is the DEF fluid in the tank of the truck going to remain stable with this light usage? I store the truck in the garage which helps. But, I live in Southern California and it can get pretty hot in the summer.

Mine had 165 miles. Dealer said it came from another dealership and was driven there. Warranty is good for the extra miles but I'll hit the 3/5 years first anyway.