Advice on new Silverado 1500 purchase

Jojos · January 15, 2021

Hello forum. First post here! I'm in the market for a new pickup and don't have any owner's experience with full-size pickup trucks. Two trucks ago I had a Tahoe and now drive a midsize pickup. I've been doing my research on these new trucks and have narrowed it down to a Silverado 1500 crew cab with a standard bed and 4x4. I'm not looking for all the bell and whistles so most likely it will be either a custom trail boss or an LT. I also want to point out that this truck will be used as my daily driver to work (60 minutes roundtrip) and also as the family vehicle for road trips mainly transporting bicycles and gear and 5 passengers. Will occasionally be pulling an enclosed 5'x8' trailer, but no campers, etc. so tow capacity is not on the top of my list. My existing pickup has over 200k miles, so I plan to keep this new truck for 10 years, so longevity and reliability are very important.

My first choice, mainly driven by looks, is the custom trail boss. The cons I found so far are lower fuel mileage and no height adjustment on the drivers seat. I read an article that someone said that the manual seats have the driver sitting in a hole. I'm not that short, but prefer to sit up higher than lower. Problem is that no dealers around have this truck in stock, so I'm looking for a WT with the manual seats to compare. The other concern is the engine/tranny. I would most likely go with the 5.3L AFM over the 6.2L, based on not needing the extra power and the extra money spent on premium fuel over 10 years. What are the thoughts on the 5.3L with a 6 speed? What about the 4.3L V6? Any good or skip? A local dealer told me that the 10 speed tranny is a 6 speed and the remaining 4 gears are manual? I didn't get a chance to research that yet...My first choice was to go with the 6.2L based mainly on the tranny choice, but those motors are very hard to find nowadays and again, definitely overkill for minimal towing.

The LT comes with power seats, so that's solved. As far as engines go, it would be between the 5.3L DFM or the 3.0L turbo diesel. Immediately I was all over the duramax because of fuel mileage, but when I found out about the 150k mile oil pump belt inspection/replacement, I starting thinking twice. People online were being quoted around $2500 from the dealer to replace and this is a job above my skill set, so I would have to pay to get it done. If the belt issue didn't exist, then that would make my decision much easier. Any thoughts on the 3.0L vs the 5.3L?

Also in reading Chevy's catalog comparing the engines, besides the 3.0L, the rest all have similar fuel mileage. I can't see how all the rest of these engines get similar gas mileage (give or take a couple of mpg's). Any real world numbers that disagree with theirs? Also living in the Northeast, any real issues in snow/ice between these models?

I'm open to any and all opinions on a model as long as the MSRP is in the $40k's. If I'm spending in the 50s or above, I'll get a Suburban. lol

Thanks!

Steve-2019 · January 15, 2021

Welcome to the forum. This forum is loaded with info on our trucks. Most all of your questions can be found on here with much discussion.

Enjoy reading and inter-actiing here.

slj2008 · January 16, 2021

Welcome

George Moore · January 16, 2021

First of all what size trailer are you pulling ? That’s right there is what we need to know first.
I can honesty tell you that will make a difference on if you want a 1500 or a 2500 and gear ratio will play a big factor also.
I have a 2011 1500 5.3 with 6 inch lift and 35 inch tires . Now that truck will haul the mail down the road empty but as soon as I put my camper behind it , it is a dog. Yes I know tires are part of my problem but 3:42 gears are also problem it mainly for looks and highway driving but I’m going to take it somewhere have 3:73 gears put in which should help me.

They make these new trucks like a car comfortable with all the nice do dads but lack the power to do the work EPA regulations but I truly believe if you buy a 1500 with the 5.3 get something that’s going to do the job ask if you can up grade gears to 3:73

I hope I’m putting the numbers down right if someone wants to correct me that’s fine also I’m not a mechanic of any sort but I have talked with several gm mechanics and this is their advice to me

I know with the 3:42 when I hit a hill I lose all momentum and it kicks down hard and still has trouble making it up hills and with the 3:73 it will help with that I just waiting till after this COVID-19 to spend the money to do so .

The dealership will sell you a 1500 at a blink of an eye and tell you sure it will pull no problems but it it’s a big trailer or camper go with 2500 you will be happier if you don’t you will be disappointed and if you take it back and want something bigger you will lose your butt. I know a lot of people worry about fuel mileage but if I wanted fuel mileage I would buy a Honda

Transient · January 26, 2021

The 3.0 Duramax with the offroad package has 3.73 gears. The torque output is on par with the 6.2 V8, but gets better mpg and the price of fuel is slightly cheaper since the 6.2 uses premium. The 3.0 Duramax is new, so I doubt anybody has hit 150,000 miles on one yet. Whatever price you're finding on the internet for the belt inspection seems very suspicious.

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