MaverickZ71

So the US Government's NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) wants back-up cameras on all vehicles. The manufacturers don't want to do it. So NHTSA mandates it. So in return, most of the manufacturers say screw-you-Feds and put in the crappiest backup cameras they can rig on anything less than the $1200-extra-HD-360 camera system only available as part of the ultra-luxury package on their the top models. Sounds like GM spent all of 15 minutes and 50 cents rigging their cheap ones on the 'lower' models. Can't say I'm really surprised. There's a small article in the current issue of Car & Driver magazine about the discrepancy between the quality/usefulness of these 'cheaper' systems.

Also, the oils in the rubber in the tires starts to dry out more when they get towards 3 years old, so they tend not to be as soft and squishy and quiet as new anymore.

Last: 2009 Silverado 24 Nov 2018 75,709 miles 6 quarts Quaker State Ultimate Durability 5W-30 full-synthetic motor oil Last AC Delco PF48 (NOT PF48E e-core!) oil filter from my cache. 9% remaining on Oil Life Monitor. Also greased 2 tie rod end zerks with Valvoline full synthetic grease. Tapped out AC Delco A3181C air filter. (replace every 33k miles) And did last rotation on worn out factory OEM Bridgestone Dueler A/T RH-S tires before replacing with Dueler H/L Alenza Plus in same size. Uses less oil with Quaker State Ultimate Durability than it did with Pennzoil Platinum. Next up: 2009 Silverado 25 May 2019 estimated ~80,000 miles 6 quarts new Shell Gas Truck all-mileage full-synthetic 5W-30 motor oil Wix 57060 oil filter estimated 0% left on OLM Always grease 2 tie rod end zerks at every oil change and tap out air filter. Will use Mobil1 full synthetic grease for next manual grease gun cartridge replacement. Used approx. 2 quarts in between oil changes (infamous AFM oil usage problem; TSB performed, AFM turned off at 36,000 miles). Hoping it will use even less oil with Shell Gas Truck (similar additive pack as to their diesel oil, to clean fouled piston oil control rings) than it did with Quaker State UD.

Then make a purchase at your Ram dealer.

Cool! (No pun intended.) I remember one year we were on Pikes Peak in August and it started snowing pretty good--my grandparents were freaking out.

Yet another IGMO screams "Ditch the OEM tires and shocks!!" from the hilltops. Or not . . . Whoops, Michelin makes factory OEM tires for Silverados and Sierras, just like Goodyear and Bridgestone. With the TPC code stamped right on the sidewall. Guess you'll have to only drive Coopers then, using your logic, as they are the only manufacturer that doesn't have their tires factory installed anywhere. Go ahead and rip off those GM struts and shocks. And probably replace them with Monroe (made by Tenneco) or Rancho brand. [Because that's who made the factory ones in the first place.]

I drove my Dueler RH-S's for 76k miles. Had these type of small cracks starting about 30K miles, first in the tread and later around the bead. At the end of their life, the cracks were much more significant than the ones shown here. Drove it in 110F heat and -15F cold, over ice and snow and bad potholes, etc., with several trips up to the ~97mph speed governor. Never got any worse or had any blowouts or flats. So in my experience, this type of small crack shown here is a non-issue.

With the placement and size of those cracks, I'd call that a safety issue aka pending tire failure with the clock ticking.

Understood. I'd feel the same way. But there is no way GM corporate is going to give you a new engine, unless you've got friends high up in the food chain there. A lot of people trade right after a situation like this. If you've got some warranty left, you might drive out the rest of the warranty to see how it goes. And do an oil and filter change soon after you get it back, to help remove any oil shavings that still might be in the system.

NHTSA must be seriously sniffing around them, or history has shown that they wouldn't even do this. PS Where is the recall for the rest of the GM Takata airbags????

So the truck that has been all over YouTube is a specially-prepared manufacturer's ringer then? Not one that TFL selected from a Chevy dealer in Denver? Even more interesting. It's worth noting that Car and Driver magazine tested a 2.7L 4-banger Silverado and got worse gas mileage then their 5.3L, and pointed asked what's the point of a $45K+ truck that can't tow or haul as much as a V8, but gets worse fuel economy? If GM has the DIC gas mileage dialed in, they must've just now figured out how to do it. Maybe EPA is finally breathing down their neck. Over the last 10+ years, many of us have noticed a 10-20 percent discrepancy, always overly-optimistic. My GM dealer agreed with my findings and said that was not unusual, and GM corporate classified it as 'normal operation' and the dealer could not recalibrate it nor would GM corporate let them replace it under warranty. Just this afternoon on this website there are new posts about new AT4 6.2L's not getting as good as fuel economy as advertised, and a mpg drop after a dealer reprogramming. So I'll stand by the old sayings of buyer beware, and your mileage may vary.

Doesn't matter what the fuel economy reading is in the Driver Info Center display. (Especially the instant reading--oh look, we're getting 99mpg coasting down this steep hill!) Most of the time the average fuel economy reading is factory set to be overoptimistic, making the driver think they are getting better mpg than they really are. And/or it is calibrated for the 2WD, high fuel economy model with a high rear gear and hard highway tires. So like they say, your mileage may vary, especially if you're driving the off-road 4WD model with all-terrain tires and lower trailer-towing rear gear. Only way to know for sure is to use a calculator to divide the miles driven by the gallons used after you refuel.

Nothing new here. GM and Ford both have been putting Goodyear Fortitude HT tires on half-ton Z71's and FX4's and calling them 'all-terrain' tires, for many years now. Before that, GM used Goodyear Wranger SR-A's. This is due to consumer complaints about noise/vibration/harshness and the manufacturers trying to meet the EPA's draconian fleet fuel economy standards. They know that most people never even drive their "off-road" vehicles on a dirt road, and those that do will probably switch out to 33-37 inch mud terrain tires asap, anyway. They key is to notice what wheels and tires are on a vehicle before you purchase it. If you don't like them, negotiate what you want into the purchase. Otherwise, a change to your tire of choice is on your dime--an online forum can't change that for you.

Wow, that's a bummer. Try a different dealer and/or stay on them. If they can't fix it, get GM to take it back for another truck. They seem to have a lot of problems, especially on the first year of a new model--for example, the 2014 1500s had a sh1t ton of recalls and TSBs.

That’s a shame, especially on a brand new truck. So GM still can’t build a cooler line worth a damn. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Y'all bought the expensive Trail Boss and then proceed to remove all references to Trail Boss? Why not just buy an LT and install a lift kit and tires/wheels for less $? Or if $ is no object, get a High Country to get the 6.2L and then lift it??

Deadpool and Nathan on TFL Trucks would both say that "Power Wagon don't care!"

Unless you go rock crawling, drive on gravel roads a lot, or haul or tow heavy, you want the LT Load Range C tires. They have less plies than the LT load range E tires, which translates into a better ride, less weight per tire, and maybe a little better fuel mileage due to a little lower rolling resistance. If you are going to another on/off road all-terrain tire, you can go with "P" (passenger) rated tire for an even better, quieter ride. But make sure the load capacity is the same (the pounds the tire can carry are stamped on the sidewall), unless you know you are never going to haul or tow anything. And your TPMS alarm may go off, as the "P" rated tires are inflated to a lower PSI (say like 44 psi max) than the "LT" rated tires (say like 80 psi max).

Just think about all of this crap today. Back in the day, a simple valve cover breather used to take care of everything. But that's against the law now. The more mankind 'progresses', the more we move backwards. Really torques me off that my truck doesn't run as well as it could because of oil in the intake, supposedly for air quality, when meanwhile over in India/Pakistan/China, etc., they're doing whatever the he11 they want and polluting more than we ever did. And the liberals driving our environmental laws have no problem flying everybody they know to the islands for vacations on the taxpayer dime.

Depends on how you define 'better'. Filtering out smaller particles usually means more restrictive flow, which on my truck, means the Mobil1 filter causes much worse AFM lifter noise and piston slap at startup, than the AC Delco factory filter.

I foresee some divorces caused by this feature.

NO. Ram-style shifter knob for the win!

If I didn't check the oil on my Chevy at least once a week, the engine would've seized due to lack of oil a long time ago.