Another JR

Just for a data point, my 2021 GMC 3500HD SLT CC LB SRW Gas with front camper spring option , 18 inch wheels, premium pkg, and second battery has a payload rating of 4054 lbs.

Another thing to consider is whether you want to try to restore the active louver system in front of the radiator that is on trucks without the snow plow package.

The torsion bars can be swapped out. There have been other recent threads where how to do it was covered. It’s a somewhat heavy diy job because of how big the bars are and how tight they may fit in the front lower control arm. If you are not a diy person the dealer or another mechanic can do it. Three hours labor plus parts would be my guess from watching the videos. Torsion bars will be in the ballpark of $250 each. So maybe around $1000 to $1200 have them swapped out. Just guesstimating.

If you are running empty with max tire pressure, especially with 20 inch wheels, that will contribute to a stiff, busy feeling ride quality, especially at low speed, and i don’t think shocks can fix that. You might try adjusting tire pressure if you haven’t already. I’m running my new 3500 empty during break in at 55 front 60 rear and it is noticeably better than the 60/80 max the dealer delivered it with. I have the camper torsion bar option and 18 inch wheels. When the 2500 lb slide in camper goes on in a couple weeks I expect the ride will be pretty nice. I suspect a set of Bilsteins are in my future, though.

Everyone is giving you unloaded hitch heights I suspect, so make sure you consider that.

It allows you to have an isolated battery for accessory loads when the truck is not running without running down your starting battery. It charges when the truck is running. People run various things off of them, such as a winch. I bought the option thinking I may use it to power a refrigerator/freezer in the back seat and an air compressor for adding air to the tires after airing down. It was one of those options that's cheap to order with the truck but more expensive to add later. It cost about $40 more than a battery alone would cost.

My truck (gas) has dual batteries and one 220 amp alternator. It has a 30 amp fuse at the aux battery that supplies pin 4 on the trailer connections, and that pin is always hot.

I took delivery last weekend. It's definitely a spray in liner on my truck. It's similar to LineX in texture and hardness, but is a different chemistry because the smell is different and nowhere near as strong as the smell Linex has for the first couple of months. It seems about twice as thick as the LineX I recently had put in my 93 truck. It is not soft like Rhinoliner.

Mine dims with the lights using the buttons near the headlight switch. Maybe ask the dealer?

Could you describe where the poorly clamped connection was? At the cooler? At the transmission? Somewhere else? Thanks.

I reduced the rear tires to 70 today and get no warnings. I wonder why it’s different.

I took delivery of my new truck yesterday GMC 3500 SLT CC LB SRW gas engine 18 inch wheels with front camper springs (not snow plow package). It’s noticeably stiffer than the ones I test drove without camper springs but not at all harsh when driving empty. What I most notice is increase lateral stiffness turning corners (which is what you want for a camper). I've been driving around so far at the tire pressure the factory or dealer put in it, 60 front 80 rear, which is the door recommendation that supports full load. Sticker payload is 4,053 lbs. Two tons for the price of one! I’ll likely run a bit lower pressure but haven’t messed with it yet.

Mine finally arrived Friday 4/16. Ordered 1/9 and built in first week of March.

My new 3500HD gas truck arriving next week will have the factory dual battery installation. If you would like me to post photos of anything let me know. I'm going to be immediately installing 6awg wire to a slide in camper connector (for a 30 amp DC-DC converter/charger in the camper), so figuring out the battery, isolator, and fuse block arrangement on the truck will be one of the first things I get into.

I would spend some time in the seats of the new SLE before spending the money on leather for them. The SLE base seats are different from the bucket seats. I wanted cloth seats, but for me the SLE base seats were uncomfortable almost immediately.

I’ll let you know what it looks like when it arrives.

Part of the delay in Flint I assume was due to the SLT premium package including a spray-on bed liner. I imagine they have to wait a certain number if days for an adequate paint cure, then they send it to a local vendor for the bed liner to be sprayed.

Hi Ray, I think you may be confusing depreciation percentage with depreciation actual dollars. Let's say you buy a diesel for 80k and sell it 5 years later for 60 k, versus you buy a gas truck for 70k and sell it after 5 years for 56k. While your simple capital cost of ownership was 20k for the diesel and 14k for the gas, the diesel owner did still get 4k more for their used truck. They don't fully lose that extra 10k they paid at initial purchase. That 4k additional money back at resale is what people are talking about when they say you recoup some or most of the cost of purchasing a diesel at resale. However, as you point out, the gas truck actually held its value better in that hypothetical example, and that is what the KBB data you mentioned apparently shows. Jon

There is a truck camper forum called wanderthewest.com that has a subforum dedicated to exactly this subject with lots of active, helpful members, and lots of existing threads that get into the questions you are asking. I would suggest checking that out. I'm prepping to install a new camper on my about-to-be-delivered 3500HD long bed and will immediately be fitting the camper with a 200 amp-hour LiFePO battery, solar panels, and a DC to DC charger. That forum has been very helpful for my decisions on what to buy and how to do the installation.

My new gas 3500HD is supposed to be unloaded from the rail car late next week, and maybe be go the the last 10 miles to the dealer within a couple of days after that. That will be about 14 weeks after I placed the order 1/9. The dealer had estimated 12 to 16 weeks. It was built the first week of March, but stayed in Flint until last week.

Here is a youtube video showing what’s involved for an earlier generation truck. The job on the new ones would be similar I assume.

I'm going to pull similar loads and I ordered gas as well. I could afford diesel if I wanted it. It was an easy decision for me after I drove both and all factors that mattered to me were considered. I don't think you'll regret your decision unless you later decide to get a 12K plus trailer and tow it a lot. My new truck should arrive late next week.

The HD does not have auto start/stop while driving, which I think is what you are referring to. The posters above are talking about the engine automatically shutting down something like 15 or 20 minutes after the truck is parked if it is left idling. It's described in the owner's manual.

I was at 3800 with a VIN on 3/8. My dealer just gave me an ETA of 4/26. I think the fact that they now have an ETA means it finally actually went to the outgoing shipper after a couple of weeks of moving around Flint.

My order was back at 4200 shipped when I checked on 3/25.