Chuck FB

Don't take any of my comments as negative in regards to your comment, its only my experiences as well as other engine failures of those I know personally that steered me in the direction I chose for my current truck. You may be right as far as the two speed, however the GM website does not show the two can be mated up with anything other than the 6.2 if both max tow and two speed are desired. Also when I talked to the salesman who has been in the business for years and is the commercial sales manager, he was saying the same thing but he may have been wrong as well. The button on the dash, yes that one that always has to be remembered every time one starts the engine at every store and business, I have heard my brother curse his Jeep Rubicon so many times because of that stop/start and I knew I would have had to find a way to defeat it. But speaking of the DFM, I have heard of them piling up even with a module being used, I really didn't want that potential issue being in the engine at all and yes that left me with the 3.0 choice and I certainly thought about it but with our winters the emissions issues of diesels really rear their head then as far as DEF for sure and a diesel engine period for starting when forced to without the ability to plug in a block heater, -40 weather and colder ( and does not have to even be that cold ) and its a real struggle with diesels. I would have bought a 6.6 Duramax as that was actually my first choice in a truck but again the cold weather we struggle with and the emissions issues that are very real, I just felt it would make life easier to go gas and not deal with gelled fuel issues, and emissions failures. I've had past experiences with older technology diesel vehicles ( and plenty of equipment ) and granted they never were made to start as well as the newer ones but I did not like how the block heater was literally my umbilical cord life line to using the vehicle and add in two diesel vehicle engine failures or one on its way out and the other a true engine failure and both vehicles in question were basically sold at give away prices, that is hard to erase out of ones mind. There is one other factor around here that gets the check mark for a larger/taller truck and that is the very real fact of life of hitting wild life, not that driving an HD truck means survival either but being bigger helps

Some of the items you list off are also reasons why I debated between a half ton and an HD, I did not want stop/start ( yes with some gimmick it could be turned off ) and I certainly was not wanting the the cylinder deactivation due to its potential of failing and they certainly can fail. I also wanted a reasonably low ( numerically higher ) diff gearing and the two speed transfer case and GM has cluster fd up that so bad with most models not being able to have a two speed transfer case AND the max tow package with the lower diff ratio. The half tons are rather sad at carrying a load which of course also means they ride better because of it, can't have it both ways unfortunately. Console shifter I would not have minded but the electronics is just one more potential problem I saw it as. Also the half tons theme unless its a trail boss etc is low to the ground and I like being able to fit under the truck to service it without having to jack it up for every little thing. My insurance rate is actually somewhat lower on a one ton than either a half or 3/4. Will I use the one ton in the future for what it was designed, perhaps as in towing a trailer, maybe even some farm equipment, and possibly a slide in camper although the short box is a limitation there ( by rights a long box dually for the campers I prefer is the correct truck for that theme ). I like sitting up decently in traffic and the newer HD trucks certainly check that box vs feeling like driving a car. The downside is my truck is a bit longer than its half ton twin but I have slightly more box length. The ride certainly isn't there but with my running low pressures I am finding it an acceptable compromise. The fuel mileage, well that certainly isn't of any benefit with the gas engine HD anyway. Never the less so far I am not regretting my decision to have gone with an HD truck and it opens up options of things the truck is capable of that a half ton just was never made for and yet I see some trying to do with a half ton because that is what they own.

Are you able to access the fill/check plug ok with the new skid plate in place ?. Draining would require removing the plate I assume although with probem vehicles ( read, all skidplate bolts rusted in place ) I've resorted to draining a transfer case onto the skid plate if it had water drain holes, makes a nice mess but better than not changing the oil. That factory skid plate is something else, its little more than a gravel road stone defection plate and the only plus is that its not in the way of servicing the transfer case for an oil change.

I don't happen to be aware of anyone I know that has a 3D printer but that is quite the slick funnel you designed !

No sure why I wasn't thinking of this the other day but if one felt the need to keep the firewall portion of the coolant bottle from moving up and down, either a thin walled rubber or vinyl hose could be slipped over the bolt threads so that rubber grommet was able to slide over or wraps of electrical tape on the bolt to a diameter that snugged it up.

That's good to hear as I had no personal experience with it since I had gone another route and hate to give out bad advice in case an item was a dud. GM sure could have done better by designing a neck that fastened on that faced straight up with the cap on it so a variety of funnels would just drop in ... but that would be too easy !. I imagine that if one packed that adapter with and that is all you had, you could add oil with a quart container and not create a mess like I imagine is almost impossible to avoid if one was trying to pour the oil straight into the hole.

When it comes to factory RV weights and certainly slide in campers, the accurate scale one can access often trumps what the factory claim is, partly because of fudging numbers or only giving a base model weight. Also its what the owner stuffs into the unit and where front to rear ( part of why various truck frame failures have become somewhat popular online ! ). So I was only curious if you had weighted your unit when packed up and heading off on an adventure and full tank of fresh water and empty gray and black, and all the groceries and so on. I think it often surprises a person as to how all those little things thrown into the RV weigh up and a shocking final number when rolling over a scale. Its good information for not only yourself but others looking at a particular truck and wondering what it will handle a known camper load like ( your older truck is a good example of what was assumed should have worked good but had lackings that this truck seems to overcome by its suspension capacity/design ). That's an interesting point about the shutters I had not really been thinking about, where the trucks shipping destination was. The torsion bars was one I had noted that made a difference but you very well could be right that they may not put them on if sending the trucks to the hotter states. It would be nice if GM actually put it as an option vs this mystery if it will come with them or not. I can guess that your truck probably has no block heater since that is an ordered item for the gas version but is standard equipment for the diesels. As long as the darned things don't fail in the closed position I should benefit from them up here during the winter and may not have to resort to a winter front.

A while back I had added a fuel injector cleaner and in order to get the most out of it, that requires running the tank down low and so for the fun of it I decided to allow the fuel to get low, in fact I could not have hardly had anything left in the tank which I didn't quite mean to go to those lengths for reasons of running out of fuel and always the potential of damaging the in tank fuel pump I would think. However I did not run out of fuel, the fuel low warning came on and said I had 55 miles range and I probably had about 35 to go and it was counting down some and then just said LOW with no range at all and the gauge right to empty. I don't think there was any 55 miles range left, of course I will never know unless it had quit but the final tally according to the computer computed to having used about 36.6 gallons. Because of fuelling up at my gravity tank its possible that it puts a bit more in due to its slower flow as otherwise that should not compute at an accurate service station that forces in the fuel. So going by the computer it figured out to right close to 15 mpg US ( total distance was 549 miles ) and that was 5 different trips to town along with starting and moving the truck around the yard some and so forth and when in town certainly a few stops and driving around town a little bit. Speed was never over 62 mph and varying head winds. I know from other vehicles that if one gets behind the wheel and is driving pounding on the miles all in one go ( but driving easy just like this so everyone is flying by me ) a vehicle can sure show better fuel mileage vs all the cold starts and the drive line having to warm up each time. The computer shows a best 25 mile at 20.6 , perhaps there is a slim chance that if there was no headwind, easy flat road and probably would have to drive at under 60 or maybe even 55 mph, that maybe it could squeak out 20+ as an average on a tank. Definitely not realistic to expect fuel mileage like that out of a heavy aerodynamic as a brick on wheels with a gas engine but all things considered with my test the way I did it, 15 I'd say is a win relative to what some trucks dating back some years ago would have been that were lower and more sleek. Oh and yes I was carrying a couple of jerry cans of fuel with when doing a low fuel test like this !.

Here are a couple of idea's, they may not be exactly what your referring to but I know for sure the first one works very well because I had ended up buying one out of frustration in finding a cheap alternative. I am not sure if what your referring to is a funnel kit that comes with many types of engine adapters to fit various engines along with an elbow adapter when needed. There are various brands out there and some would be cheap and more cheaply made or ones that are more pricey but better quality. I had bought this kit from Lisle but don't let the msrp price throw you as some distributors sell for quite a bit less or at least my local industrial supplier did. The adapter twists in just like the cap does and then stick the funnel with its elbow adapter into the hole and its ready to go. https://www.lislecorp.com/lubrication-and-tire-products/19912-multi-application-oil-funnel-set-14-pc I have also seen this talked about on a youtube channel and while it does not turn to lock into place it would key into place is what I gather so it shouldn't flop over to the side, then you buy the specific funnel model that various stores sell that just drops into that adapter. I would have bought one of those to try first but being in Canada its so stupid to order anything direct out of the states that it would have cost many times the price so did not go down that road. It says on this link as to the exact Flo tool model of funnel to get and ironically I own one ... all I needed was that yellow adapter. https://www.ebay.com/itm/176824365224

Out of curiosity I took a look at the bolts on my truck and they had very little tension on them to the plastic but they were actually just tight enough not to allow the plastic feet to move much. After I checked the tightness I backed them off and then pushed on the tank some towards the firewall and then snugged them both up. Indeed it does seem rather goofy that they use a grommet that just slides loosely over threads of a bolt that sticks out the firewall but would allow for easy installation of the container at the factory. I guess if one still had issues with that vibrating I think a nut could be spun onto the threads to put a little pressure on the grommet and therefore the plastic so it held it onto the firewall.

That is a nice looking rig, I bet you get a lot of complements over it. A nice sized trailer without being an over the top insanely large unit but your right that it can't help but be a big sail with that frontage, the nature of fifth wheels and the downside in general of towing vs ravelling lighter and able to go to places off the beaten path with your truck camper.

It actually does not surprise me that your combination of gearing with the 3.73 and a more work truck oriented engine with lower rpm torque vs a real screamer half ton engine with insanely high diff gearing can do better even though your truck has the weight and beef to it from a much stronger frame and drive line.

This current generation crew cab gives that room which the prior cc did not have, never mind the double cab. The seating/leg room for taller adults just isn't there in a double cab and the doors are narrow as well, I looked at one and it just felt awkward and not what I was after. Even though I probably will rarely have passengers in the rear seat, I wanted that true crew cab space for items such as grocery bags sitting on the floor ahead of the seat or luggage, camping items etc. I was spending way too much money anyway as per the theme these days to buy a truck so wasn't about to short myself on cab room. I've used a Chev extended cab for many years that has no access doors at all and I swore next time it would be a crew cab. However if total over all length is a persons major hangup and are not that concerned with maximum room in the rear seat, I can see going down that road but I sure get the feeling that the resale is more touchy as there are fewer buyers out there looking for double cabs has been my take on it.

That's ok, I was just pointing out how each RV setup or just the truck on its own has different fuel mileage due to weight being carried in it or for example those that lift their truck and put on larger tires and wonder why their fuel mileage is so horrendous, just not realizing how much of an effect wind drag has on a unit. The fact that you are running a standard cab truck would shave off some weight so that would be to your benefit when looking at the weight of my truck for having the same driveline, options ( and some of them have a practical use ... some are just frivolous ) is just a good demonstration for someone shopping for a truck and worried about being too heavy and cutting their payload down.

Its hard to say what reasoning they came up with for my configuration to void it of a camper capacity, now had I opted for the camper or the snow plow prep torsion bars then it would have had a rating but what that rating would have been I don't know. The only difference with the truck would have literally been the capacity of the torsion bars but that to them seems to be enough to void the use of a camper and I suspected I would see that in the glove box given videos I have seen of this wheel base with the standard torsion bars. I speculate that your cab and box length and the torsion bar they chose to go with it allowed just enough for the extra front end weight that it met their criteria where as mine with 5 passengers would put it over and for all I know they may have taken the extra alternator and battery into consideration as well, who knows. I gather you have not gone across the scale and weighed each axle individually yet with your new outfit when you were completely packed for the road, fueled up, full of fresh water and whatever you typically pack with. It would be interesting for you to see what you actually weigh as I've never heard one person yet be surprised by how light they were with a certain camper that had a claimed weight on a tag which often is a dry weight which means no propane and in some cases no batteries in the camper either. Camper companies seem famous for lying or that they don't include all the extras from a bare bones camper as they know if the customer knew how darned heavy it was they wouldn't buy it !. Something else GM doesn't seem to talk about or that I have seen is what truck configurations they do put grill shutters on and which ones they don't as my truck has grill shutters but trucks that at least come with the plow prep torsion bars do not come with it. Do you know if your truck has the grill shutters ?

When Jake was talking about his camper and using 10th or should say in drive mode and it used whatever gear it could pull it in, it donned on me that a truck like his even with the optional larger 17 inch tire option is geared down some compared to the size a truck like mine came with. Which brings me to your truck, what size tires did your truck come with ?. Also your camper isn't as high as some although its certainly pushing more wind than a pop up by a fair margin and I think your camper is slightly narrower than the bemoth sized ones. Do you know what your total weight is of your rig when typically loaded up ready for the road and in your case that means the possibility of all that extra fuel although not sure if your always carrying a full load of fuel or fill it when the price or situation calls for it but don't always carry around a full spare tank. Weight and wind resistance, two things that are a killer for fuel mileage and being able to putter along down the highway easy in top gear. Speaking of final gearing at the ground, lately I was figuring out on paper as to what the difference was in top gear at a certain speed between the neighbours duramax dually with the 3.42 vs my truck with the 3.73. Because my tires are quite a bit larger in diameter vs a smaller diameter dually tire, my engine runs hardly any faster in a given gear than his does even though there is a certain amount of a gap in the diff ratios. Also the smaller the tire the lower the overall height and less air flowing under the vehicle, it all makes a difference.

LOL, I'm old or at least feel old so I don't pay any attention to KG unless I am forced to such as weight tickets for grain or the highway tractor axle weights since the scales are only in KG up here and so forth and then I am taking my metric conversion calculator and converting various figures to Imperial if needed to better relate to the numbers. I was part way through school when they started forcing the metric system on us and my dad was not impressed with having metric forced on him. All it did was force us to buy tools to work on standard and metric fasteners and pay to have all speed signs changed in Canada etc. I know, lots of the world is on the metric system but we didn't live there, we lived here and beside the United States and also its political as per eastern Canada dictating the rest of the country. Dad was born in Oregon by the way, his mom in Nebraska and dad moved to Arizona ( spent summers in Oregon or Washington state ) after he retired from the farm and was back in a land he could understand. 2025 3500HD 6.6L Gas HC crew cab 4x4 short bed LBS. GVWR: 11550 GCWR: 26000 CURB WT: 7687 MAX PAYLD: 3863 GAWR FRT: 4800 GAWR RR: 7250 The standard tires and wheels that come on the High Country are the 275/65R20 all terrain. The fact that its a 1 ton would have very little to do with the added weight, it would be the upper leaf springs and the pads on the side of the frame as the rest of the truck is almost identical from what I understand, perhaps a slight difference in some cross member but all other components are the same that I am aware of. Its the options that add the weight, two alternator with two battery option, the larger tires over a WT, so called leather seats ( I did not get nor want the sunroof and it adds weight to a truck as well ), the spray in bed liner with the fifth wheel prep, the running boards that came standard from the factory on a HC, oh and a block heater as its Canada after all "EH" So my truck being shorter in wheel base and yet packing an added 500 pounds, that goes to show how much would be taken off of payload for a truck like yours that was an optioned out HC in a 3/4 ton although with the larger tires I think they add a few pounds onto the GVW. Automatic brake activation ( if the driver activated it ) we both shake our head at that and indeed it could be activated at a slower highway speed and what a bad or maybe ones last mistake one would make as it would not be smart enough to know that the brakes are heating up, but its a sales gimmick for those that don't grasp the concept. I only wish brakes would last like you had on your prior truck and its hard to say what the condition was of the rear pads. What happens here when a vehicle is driven during the winter is major rust if it sits for any period of time not being used on the brake rotors and rust getting into the rotor material and literally rust jacking and flaking off the side of the rotor rendering it trash. The sand spread pouring off the front tires flying to the rear brakes drowning the pads/rotors in a constant supply of abrasive sand wearing out the brakes even when not being applied, never mind that I live on a gravel road so dust/sand flying into the brakes during the summer. Oh and good luck turning out the bleed screws to bleed the brakes as they will be siezed and have to toss the calipers along with the rotors when doing a brake job, doing brake jobs is very expensive when all components have to be replaced as you can well imagine. If a vehicle is only driven in the summer on paved roads up here and never ever sees salt or gravel roads, its an entirely different deal and the vehicle isn't rusting away either. That is why my dad never wanted to see a winter road ever in his life again after he retired as he knew the unreal costly damage it does to anything put on these roads. So with all you did with the old truck with sway bars, you find the new truck is actually better as it sits stock ?. But if you ever felt you wanted to do some upgrading, Hellwig does make a few rear sway bar options as well as a front one and roadmaster makes the huge 1 1/2 size for the rear of the GM but I'd first start with the rear since there is nothing back there and the factory front one is pretty beefy, or the timbren idea in the rear. Maybe your wife won't scream as much in cross winds and as such your drive will be less stressful LOL. I've never driven my brothers camper truck since he put those sway bars on it, I've only driven it once and I wasn't dealing with too much wind so it seemed fine but certainly I could tell it was one heavy/top heavy unit and had to take things cool. As I was writing down the info off my truck I got thinking about your truck as it has the slightly heavier front torsion bars although it would not have the camper torsion bars either. I wonder in your glove box if it has a sticker like mine that says not suitable for a slide in camper or some such wording. Think of all the trucks made through the years, not as capable as these trucks and there was no such thing as can't haul a camper theme with a 3/4 or 1 ton.

I was actually referring to the park brake engaging without the drivers knowledge when shifting into park when on a grade, I honestly don't know if the HD trucks also do that or not but a friend that has a 2023 half ton with the 6.2 ( his transmission valve body is now claimed to be crap and his trucks resting at the dealership ) his truck will apply the park brake even in a sloped parking lot and sometimes randomly in his driveway pad. The first time it happened he didn't know what to do and had no idea the park brake was on and the truck would not let him move out of park position until he disengaged the park brake by pressing the button was my understanding. His would have the true center console electronic shift controller. What you had happen and I've not experienced that yet ... is the hill start assist and from reading GM generic info they talk about it coming into play on a 5 percent grade or steeper in both uphill or downhill. I don't know if that means reversing up a hill and stopping and then going again, I didn't find a detailed explanation but it made a comment about a 1.5 second hold delay and its only my assumption that it would then release the brakes. On a hill sometime where its safe you could try it and let go of the brake and not touch the accelerator and see if the brakes release on their own and then start rolling backwards. Stuff like this was made for standard transmissions, now apparently they think we need it on an automatic. I haven't found the wipe your butt feature yet but its got to be in there somewhere LOL. My truck because of the Z71 package has what they call hill decent control and it would operate at slower speeds and is driver engaged and of course it would be dragging the brakes down a hill when engaged, its more of an off road function idea but says it could be used up to 40 mph and can see someone mis using that on the highway and smoke their brakes down a long mountain grade ... gimmicks gimmicks. Yes so your truck has the spring setup I thought it would have. I had falsely thought that my 1 ton would have the very same main spring pack as the 3/4 but with the added upper overload but no its slightly different. From what I can tell and it was someone on this forum who mentioned that , the 1 ton single wheel trucks lower overload spring is shorter than in the pack of the 3/4 truck, why is a good question but for some reason they did that. I think the 1 ton version may cause the overload to engage a little sooner but then being shorter would have a different reaction to the whole spring packs movement/flex after that, I'm sure some engineer figured out a reason why they needed to create the parts differences. It still blows me away that your truck isn't rocking around to the side, from highway curves to side winds ... and maybe you haven't been in as harsh a side wind yet to know how it handles the extreme conditions. With 10 gears the feel of a shift from one gear to the next just flows and your right that I have no idea either when or if the torque converter is unlocking, its all so seamless. Keep in mind as well that as one is more aggressive on the throttle which you would be with a load or accelerating empty for that matter, the computer of these trucks is pulling the power out as it shifts and that is really noticeable if one starts out from a dead stop and floors it and keeps it to the floor ( like doing a quarter mile drag run ) as there are those dead spot delays as it pulls power just before the shift as the computers talk to each other. That makes for way less stress and wear on transmission clutch packs but crappy quarter mile times with so many shifts. As to using the manual mode to lock out certain top gears, that has been mentioned on this forum when pulling a heavier trailer due to the amount of shifting as it can only use those top gears when going down a hill. Your camper setup may be different though and it can make enough use of the upper gears but for the fun of it sometime you could do a leg of a trip using the manual mode to see what you think of driving it that way instead. Let me guess, your hearing in your right ear is not as good as your left but as well it has more selective hearing LOL ( the wife comment ). At least you know to shift down on hills and are not afraid to use 1st gear as per that very steep highway grade in California. There are a lot of flat landers out there that have never in their life shifted their vehicle down to descend a grade, they drag their brakes down the whole way and then wonder why they just about died or are still oblivious to the fact that their rotors are glowing red hot and that they were trailing smoke. Do you happen to know what your front axle maximum weight happens to be on your sticker as well as payload weight and weight of the truck out of the factory. Being that yours is a work truck it would have some different ratings on it, would depend on which tires it came with also for its max gvw. I just know my truck for what it is and being a 1 ton isn't as impressive as one might think for payload capacity due to options that weigh it down, its not a light truck for what is there and only being a gas.

For sure try the so called run position and yes to me its all idiotic as I am so used to a key and mechanical systems that don't have a mind of their own. There are so many modules/computers on new vehicles and its no wonder they need a larger alternator than ever before just to power all that crap, its not like the truck even has an electric engine fan like most small cars and suv's have these days. Just park on level ground or chock the tires to avoid mishaps. I never tried turning the steering wheel but I would like to hope that it takes the steering wheel out of lock mode. Sadly I know so little about my own truck and never will be able to grasp it all as its not like I have a shop manual and lots of hands on instruction on all the unique quirks about it. I am not even sure if the HD trucks automatically apply the parking brake if parking on a sloped surface, the half tons certainly will apply it if the driveway is fairly sloped as an every day on road example of what self thinking they will do. Being that I am 6'4" I can check the oil but even at my height I am almost touching the fender to do as I reach over to get the dipstick, who would think a factory non lifted truck would be this high. There is no way I can reach the oil filler cap from the front without standing on something and then there is that goofy slant that the filler is on and there are elbow adapters out there to slide in and then use a specific funnel but sold in the states so instead I bought a specialty funnel kit with adapters and that screws into the cap hole and has an elbow on it that the made for it funnel fits into like a glove. I know some will think its ridiculous to buy a contraption like that but since I do my own oil changes I figured I may as well have one and make life easier. I have to stand on something but then can install the funnel and pour jugs in with no issue at all. I was nodding my head as you went through the list of items you had done with your older truck to get the handling and carry ability to what you wanted, to have a unit that would handle decent on the road with the camper. I had mentioned older campers when I was a kid but back in 2006 my brother had bought a F350 crew cab dually 4x4 with the 6 litre diesel and then drove to BC to the factory to pick up a camper he had bought. Its not a brand that is made any longer but its a large unit but with no slides as he didn't want to deal with all that crap and even more weight. Well he soon discovered that this "big" dually could not carry that weight with its factory springs as he came home dragging his rear bumper ( not literally but figuratively ). He had a shop install two more leaf springs per side in the main pack and air bags. Well as the years went by and dealing with side winds and uneven roads, he found that unit to be quite unpredictable and a lot of stress to drive in the wrong conditions as it would have a mind of its own as to what direction it was going to go as it leaned over in gusty winds. He was almost ready to sell it and buy a different camper but I think most of the camper manufactures lie through their teeth and play games when it comes to what their campers actually weigh. Anyway he got onto the stableload idea and installed both the lower ones and the upper ones although the upper ones didn't do a lot since the upper spring on the Ford is pretty pathetic. The lower stableloads, we jacked the truck up and hung the axle down to the end of the shock stroke to cram in what we could manage to fit in and using prybars to gain all we could with widening the bottom overload spring gap. That definitely helped carry better as well as helped the stability. The fact is that airbags he came to realize and others have as well, they actually detract from the stability rather than enhance it, start pumping the air bags up and that takes weight off the leaf springs and instead puts it onto the somewhat mushy airbags that are prone to allowing lean. So like I said with the stableloads it was better and he also reduced the pressure in the airbags some and that certainly was an improvement. However it still could use more stability from side to side so I was diving into what was out there for aftermarket anti sway bars as his truck came with factory front and rear ( they always come with front ) units but they were just not up to the task, definitely that rear one was way under sized. I talked him into getting new bars for both ends ( another words throw the kitchen sink at the truck ) and I found the largest ones made for his truck at the time as this is a few years ago now, was from Roadmaster ( Hellwig for his truck were not as large ) . Bought them both and helped him install them and that just transformed the trucks handling along with the help of the stableloads. Who would have thought, the factory putting on anti sway bars for that very purpose and yet just not enough for a top heavy load. The rear bar is now 1 1/2 inches in diameter, its a chunk of iron. The neighbour that bought his used 2023 crew cab dually duramax for his Northern Lite 10-2, his was not handling well and needed more carry ability as well as sway control and he threw in timbren's and from his claim so far he was happy with the ride and the stability. I was just shocked that GM is not putting an anti sway bar on the rear of the dually but they are available through the aftermarket. What surprised me is that his truck has what would be called a 3+1 lower main pack spring which is 3 main leaves plus the bottom tapered overload spring and then the upper three light overload springs that contact the frame pads. My truck has a 4+1 lower pack with 2 upper overloads. I presume your truck has the 4+1 lower pack and its not like I measured the neighbours leaf thickness but I almost get the idea that the more current 3/4 ton truck has a more beefy main spring pack than the slightly older one ton dually ( I've not looked at a new one ton dually on a lot to see what setup they have now ). There's a reason why your truck is not only carrying the load but that its not swaying ... that blows me away that its as stable as it is. But for some reason if you decided to do something extra, it might make sense to install timbren's and get a little more carry plus side to side stability at a low cost ( those stabilizer bars are very pricey up here ). and yet when your driving empty and there is a gap between the timben's and the axle you don't loose your empty ride like you would tend to a little with lower stabileloads. I typed a lot there but thought you might find my brothers experience interesting with what was done to his truck to make it handle and also carry the load, and he flat tows a Jeep behind, that is where an engine brake would be very nice to have but his truck doesn't have that and one if the items that gas trucks never have vs any of the newer diesels. I forgot to ask, do you go into manual mode and lock out the top gears with your L8T when hauling the camper as I find even empty that my truck doesn't have very much ability to hold 10t or even 9th for that matter up any sort of typical highway grade. I have only guessed that 8th or even 7th would have to be used to keep the transmission from constantly shifting up and down wearing itself out.

That's all my own fault, I seldom look at the bottom of each post as quite a few members I noticed had put their short vehicle description just under their name and I had done the same when I signed up as a member a few months ago and tend not to look down below ... oops !. That is interesting about the engine compartment design now allowing through flow, the trucks may have been a bit lower on the underside but certainly lower at the top of the grill and underhood area I believe, you know how tall the front of your new truck is as reaching very far into the engine compartment is impossible and the physical engine ( not all the crap on top of the engine with the intake ) is way down there and that would change the airflow all right. I know in later years they talk about the duramax having a new and improved high capacity cooling system, I don't know if they really say much about the gas version but whatever they are doing seems to have promise with your findings and others on here and towing tests I've seen in Colorado on the mountain grades ( not talking about TFL though ) I tried looking up your camper model and did find some specs from back in 2007 but they don't talk about the weight, I see that model number is not made now but manufactures are always changing things anyway so the same model numbers can change drastically over the years. The only reason I was looking for the specs was to compare to older campers I was around as a kid, one my dad had and actually is still sitting in a shed on this farm and then a relates camper and truck they had. Campers back then did not have the false floor and tanks under it as that just jacks the height up all the more but these were full size campers otherwise in that over 10 feet long range from the front of box to the back of camper. If I am correct I believe my dads single cab long box with a standard trans and a 396 ( talking a 1969 GMC as this is a while back ! ) I think maybe he was getting around 10, the uncles crew cab single rear wheel with an automatic and a 454 was around 8, Like I said don't quote me on that but I think that was what was talked about years back and both were two wheel drive trucks. We were never flying down the highway, just going along and I am guessing 60 typically and maybe even a bit slower. Which brings me to a couple of questions, what speed do you typically drive with your camper ?. Also have you added anything to the suspension being that it is not a 1 ton like your diesel was. I've heard of the Senora pass more lately, never knew anything about it the only time I was in that general area as I went from Death Valley up 395 to Lee Vining and over the pass into Yosemite that summer and then angled south west to Paso Robles and out to highway 1 and followed it all the way up until it turns back inland to 101 and hit up the various coastal redwoods as well, fantastic coastal scenery and wish I had been able to do the whole number 1 and spent a lot more time out there along the way vs always on the move to get back home to work, that is 18 year ago and you just got your camper as it donned on me. Your question as to being able to do anything without starting the engine and the answer is yes. I haven't experimented much with it but presume the electronic park brake should operate in this setting as well, I just never tried it. As I see it there is a good side and a negative side to putting it into that mode as boy does it suck battery power like crazy and one doesn't want to put it into that mode for any length of time the way I see it anyway unless one has a decent sized battery charger on the battery that can keep up with that draw ( such as running diagnostics in that mode messing with a diagnostic tool ). So with that warning out of the way, what you do is have your key fob with you as usual and without pressing the brake pedal you push and hold the starter button. I don't know the exact time but it takes maybe 7 seconds for it to get into what they refer to as the run mode as the dash lights up just like the truck has started. WIthin that procedure the dash will tell you "press the brake pedal" because it thinks your wanting to start the engine but ignore that and continue holding the button and then the dash lights up and your in the mode and you let go of the starter button. Now its sucking the power like mad as the truck systems are alive and now without pressing the button you can press the brake pedal and wa la ... the gearshift will go to any position you want it to and would roll away unless the park brake was set or your foot is on the brake pedal. Remember that I don't believe you would have any power brake assist either. I assume that to get the truck set up to be flat towed ( I think they can be but not entirely sure of that ), I suspect the transfer case has to be put into neutral, nothing I have looked into though. So hope that helps but just don't do it on a steep driveway and back into the neighbours Ferrari F40 or something !. To turn it off you simply press the starter button as usual and it partly shuts down and then when you open the door everything should shut down.

I've just not been around the LLY enough to have realized they had that overheating issue and a neighbour that has owned I believe its an LMM and still has that and then had a LML he sold recently and bought a first gen L5P, never happened to hear comments of running hot but then I haven't asked either. I imagine GM did some changes after the LLY and looking up some write up comments about the LLY, number one on that list of issues is overheating because of an undersized cooling system and that the fan clutch was not robust enough and resulted in overheating when under load. His L5P he bought used back in the winter and its a crew cab dually and bought it to haul a Northern Lite 10-2 and unless he put down a weight figure wrong he said he was at 14500 lb loaded for going camping but in any event he said for that load and wind resistance it just goes, very happy with the power it has ( was down to California this winter with it ). Being that we are talking both diesel and gas in the same breath, the fuel mileage you mentioned, was that for the diesel. I'd be curious to know what your getting for mileage with your gas truck hauling the camper. Also unless I missed it, I don't know what your actual gas truck setup is, if its a one ton crew cab long box with single wheels or its a dually ? That's the problem with what I bought when it comes to the idea of a camper, it would have to be a lighter unit and shorter to fit the short box as its the one ton crew cab with short box and single rear wheel. Just what fits a more all around pickup theme but unfortunately not a good base for a decent sized camper but would be fine for a reasonably sized trailer. Overheating and be it pushing a unit that was never designed for the task even though they claim it is, there's no fairy that comes along and waves the magic wand to make the repair bill and being stranded along the road go away. I've heard comments for example of people from Colorado noticing travellers with Ford F150 eco boost trucks sitting on mountain passes with a trailer behind and she is all but done, wiped out the engine. High altitude density air doesn't cool as well but the turbo can ram in the air and make that engine put the power to the ground ... until it doesn't. No one wants to be the person in that mess far away from home so being an overheating wienie as you call it is what saves your bacon by being aware and taking action vs being a steering wheel holder and too busy trying go faster up the mountain then those around you.

While not some large heavy trailer where your slowed right down on a hill and airflow vastly reduced which is the test that really shows the maximum that a vehicle can withstand ( and some literally come to die in that situation, hot day and a long grade ), I gather comparison wise this truck is doing a lot better vs your older duramax for a similar load and weather. I wonder if the fan on the gas truck is less aggressive due to the rpm the gas engine is capable of vs the diesel and may not sound off at a more midling rpm, just speculating. The cabs sound proofing would come into play also as I hate to admit as well that my hearing is not what it once was either, being around and operating equipment years ago with no access to hearing protection catches up. Being that the thermostat is listed as a 187 or 190 range unit I would be surprised if it was the thermostat on its own doing this, what you describe is like the reaction a highway tractor has when the fan clutch engages as the temp just drops back pretty quick if its on a reasonable temp day but with the semi it has a light on the dash that comes on to show that the fan is engaged due to how its being engaged. With a pickup with a mechanical fan with a fluid clutch I doubt there is any way of sensing what the fan is doing and also can't manually control its engagement like one can in a semi. I am curious if you owned the LLY from new and the reason I ask is that bugs plugging up the condenser and in fact damaging the fins as well as whatever accumulates in the fins of the rad over the years takes its toll on cooling performance when the air can't get through even if the fan is howling away. In any event I am glad to hear your gas truck which is the same unit I recently bought is capable of cooling in adverse conditions as my old half ton chev was pretty pathetic and that is just driving the truck not hauling a camper or pulling a trailer. I ended up putting in a thicker core rad and toying with the fluid clutch bimetal spring to get the clutch to activate sooner, I think that's the reason I made it through death valley without having a melt down and I also was real careful with air conditioner use being gun shy after my prior experiences with that truck.

Were you running the air conditioning on the climbs ?. As to the temp ( being that you can actually see the coolant temp the the monitor ) dropping like that, could you detect the sound of the fan howling. I assume if the engine rpm is up a ways that the fan would sound off or at least that has traditionally been the case with fans when they are forced to drive at a much faster speed then they normally do when the clutch is not locked up on it. I am guessing that the engine oil and trans temp dropped some as well when you noted the coolant temp was notably falling ? So now you just have to head to Death Valley this summer the moment you hear they might have a heat wave like I was told happened the week before I drove through there years back and was 118 when I was there but they had hit 129 the week before ... then drive out of the valley on the long climb in the heat of that hot day with the air con running, now that would be one killer of a test !.

I had not looked at the price until after my comments, certainly pricey in USD, never mind what horrific price would be attached to something like that up here as the Dorman pan is stupid expensive up here for no good reason. While more oil is usually better, I do wonder how much of a difference a bit of oil would make to the trans temp.

That's interesting, odd why they only list it for a duramax on the main page if it might have the ability to fit onto the gas version. I know some of these companies that make pans specifically say does not fit the gas truck with the 10L1000 Just now I looked at their application list and they word it rather strangely but you are right that they elude to it fitting on a gas truck that has the 10L1000. Hmm, have them confirm it and send you one and if it does not fit that they take it back on their dime.