IDBrett

Shall this be the default camping thread? Just returned from our first trip with our new 23 Custom 2500. The truck performed as expected. Fantastic! I was wishing for better fuel mileage. But…wish in one hand and crap in the other and see which one fills up first… The lie-o-meter said 9.3 mpg for the 244 mile trip. Of which was 150 miles of towing. Hand calculated after filling up once returned from the trip netted 8.4 mpg. I set the cruise on the Interstate at 67-69 mph and just sat back and enjoyed the ride. We went on several small excursions. One being 8 miles off pavement on a nice gravel road to go fishing on a high plateau reservoir. With moderate inclines (for out West). I used the trans shifter in “L” , keeping it in L1 or L2 for descent control instead of riding the brakes. Kind of reminded me of offroading a couple decades ago in my 78 K20 4x4 with the granny low 4 speed. I was impressed. My wife and kids were aboard so I kept the speed down. Unlike my younger days. How ‘bout a pic or two…ok just one. I’m tech challenged and my other pics exceed the size limit. Dangit

Happy Fathers Day! I’m doing it differently this year. In about five hours the wife, kids and I are going camping. First trip with the new truck. Enjoy the day Dad’s! Memories can bring diamonds or they can bring rust. I plan on making diamonds. p.s. Truck has wifi! I hope to update ya’ll

I can contribute with an actual trip on the calendar. Sad to admit, but it’s going to be our first in 2 years! Just 75 miles from home for 5 days starting on Father’s Day. Right by the Snake River. Getting all new tires tomorrow. So I got to do a dry run today. Setting up the WD hitch for this rig. And taking it for a spin to set the gain on the trailer brake controller. Took me a bunch of time. A bit rusty. The mirrors on the new truck are AWESOME! That is comparing them to the add on mirrors we had on the suburban though. Tows the TT nice. A different feel than the 8.1L. Can’t put my finger on it. Seat of the pants feel says the big block pulls better off the line when stomping on the go pedal. Not sure if I was “looking” for it but at 45-50 hitting bumps/dips I think I feel what @Jettech1 was talking about. A bit of a bounce or porposing. If I feel it on the trip I’lll look into those Bilstein 5100’s he mentioned. Cheers alll.

It is. Sorry for the derail @Jettech1 but I'd like to know more about the TPMS you installed. Do tell. Please. I found that for me about 400 miles towing the TT was my limit with our old rig. I wonder if not stressing about a 20+ year old tow rig will change that metric. My wife wasn't volunteering very hard to drive before. I'm reluctant to give up the wheel anyway. But camping hasn't started for us and she's already mentioned wanting to drive the new rig. So I imagine having a pinch hitter may extend the driving day. Topic is relevant to our future plans with the new truck. A one way 1500 mile trip is in the works. Keep it updated. Our TT is just under 8k loaded. A close comparison. I'd like to read first hand experience what towing with the new truck is like...

Did you order them through your dealer? Assuming you did, that's a great idea. I was about to say "why didn't I think of that?" But then again prior to my new truck I haven't owned anything new enough in the last 20 years that I could order something like that from the dealer. Thanks! EDIT: Won't work in my case. I don't have rear seat storage. And that is the only way leather rear seats are made. I would have to replace the rear seat.

And to think I started out looking to save some money by buying a 1-3 year old truck....

Well, at least you got shoes on..

I ended up finding a 23 Silverado 2500 HD Custom.......Standard Bed. A big dealership chain in the PNW had all their 23 HD models discounted by $4k. Plus the $500 GM cash and $500 Military Veteran discount got me $5k off sticker. I bought a one way plane ticket and drove 8 hours back home. It wasn't the one I had a deposit on. Which was also a std bed. It was still in transit to a dealership (8 hour drive in the other direction) when the bigger discounted truck became available. I couldn't pass it up, considering my local dealers were asking $5-$7k over sticker for 1-2 year old used trucks. And every "in transit" 2500/3500 6.6 gas truck had a customer waiting at all my local dealers. I swore I'd never own anything but a long bed (I've owned them all ie. short, long, step side). They were too difficult to find. Closest one was 600+ miles away. We're replacing my wife's daily driver (05 Yukon) and our camper tow rig (01 Suburban) with one vehicle. Parking/driving would've been a pain with a long bed. Happy wife, happy life. My 94 2500 Silverado, 6.5 turbo diesel, long bed, 225k miles, has been reliable for 15 years so I still have a long bed. I'll keep it until it can't be maintained any longer.

I had my wife look at the synthetic leather seat covers on Vertexs' site. She likes the look. But like me....the price. It'll have to wait. In the meantime we "need" to get something on the back seat for the kiddos. We're about a month out from our first camping trip/ road trip. Something for then will have to do. Thanks for the suggestions.

In search of a good quality seat cover. Due to kids my wife wants "waterproof" for the back row. We've had leather for years and the 23 2500HD is our first cloth seat in some time. For me I like it. It gets hot in SW Idaho in the summer and once leather warms up it stays warm. But for practicality I have to agree with my wife. Happy wife, happy life. I've looked at Marathon, Dashdesigns and others. But just a few minutes ago reading in another thread. @Kjduvall mentioned Vertex off road, synthetic leather. I'm liking those a lot. The pics of the fit and finish look great. They are expensive and lead time seems to be a common complaint (worth the wait it is said). As expensive as our truck was for us it will be with us for a lonnngg time. Any other suggestions? Thanks.

The first trip will be like previous years. A close one. Only about 75 miles away. Enough to shake the cobwebs out of our routine. This year we not only have a new truck, but a new dog to break in. If she’s like our last lab, she’ll love it and at 2 years old she’ll test my patience…:) My kids are excited. They know as soon as school’s out, camping season has arrived!

I haven't read a lot on this topic so my knowledge isn't worth much. But I do recall something to the effect of lighter clutch packs and converter. The weight of those components in the diesel 10 speed would rob too much power from the gas engine.

At almost 600 miles and very quiet. One of the many things that have impressed me with the truck. My 2 cents worth.....

Awesome!! That is EXACTLY why we got ours. Looking forward to making memories with my kiddos.

You can find your door lock setting in “settings” on your screen. It was the first thing we changed on our 23. Yesterday.