What did you choose your gas gm 2500 over and why

Ray Pickle · July 3, 2021

On 6/28/2021 at 1:56 PM, mrjulian416 said:

I saw that episode before I bought. I don't put much stock in it. While I understand why they run that test the way they do, to remove driver variability (put it in tow mode, put your foot to the floor, steer), no one would actually do that in reality. They uncovered a programming flaw with the transmission that for some reason wouldn't down shift when needed. It bogged down to something like 25 mph before it downshifted. Not good, but not representative of what any actual driver would do.

If I ever needed to tow up that hill at max rating, I'd lock out the top 2 gears... or at the very least, pump the gas when it bogs down like that and force a downshift. If they had done either of those two things there would not have been a 3 minute difference.

Ray Pickle · July 3, 2021

1 minute ago, Ray Pickle said:

Agree 100% with mrjulian416, you don't tow off torque/hp peak like they do in their test. They do it for the sake of uniformity in testing and as already stated, it does show a programming issue but does not indicate the true potential of this vehicle. I have pulled over the loveland pass and monarch pass pulling a 12k fiver and it pulls very stong for a gas truck. I believe it will outrun a 355 equipped 7.3 and would be darn close to a 430 equipped truck. I agree 410 in chevrolet should be an option and would've opted for it if available. But fuel efficiency and towing are good with the 373. Better than Ford with either gear ratio.

Dunn · October 24, 2021

I chose it mostly over half ton truck....I dont tow and certainly if I ever did it wouldn't be but I need payload.....diesel was out of the question from start for me.....just not necessary and it's 10k

If you gotta have diesel I totally understand, gas works fine and has plenty for what I do....

sheath · October 29, 2021

Slightly different in that I'm ordering an LT 3500, but the reasons fit 2500 or 3500.

For the same things in the Ford that I feel are necessary, it would have been an increase of $8K over the Chevy. Two of the big things for me is sun roof & leather. That took me out of an XLT and into a Larriet.

I'm not excited about independent front suspension, but I can live with that to get sunroof and leather at what I feel is a "reasonable" price.

Currently driving a loaded '07 Ram 3500 Laramie with the 5.9L Cummins. I absolutely love this truck, but it doesn't have the payload/5th wheel capacities to comfortably pull the 5th wheel, and I need to start daily driving short trips, which will ruin the truck.

I would not do a 6.4L hemi even if it was $10K less. So I didn't even consider the Ram. My last 4 new vehicles have been Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and all have been great. Wish they'd do something about the durability of the 6.4L hemi.

Epsilon Plus · November 30, 2021

I sold a 2020 RAM Cummins CCSB 4x4 and got a L8T CCSB 4x4 LT Silverado a few weeks later. $16,675 less sticker to sticker so saved a bunch of coin for essentially the same capability since I don't pull trailers over 10k.

TFL sold me on a diesel with the Ike tests. Then I realized I don't do 19,000lb pulls up the Rockies...

But really it was the reliability. Modern diesels are timebombs with their shoddy emissions systems. Add to it that the 19-20 RAMs have overdriven (1.5x) CP4 fuel pumps that are also timebombs and you have one big pile of fragile money waiting for a huge repair bill down the road. The 68RFE 6 speed trans in them alone can be a $10k stock rebuild. Diesel anxiety sucks. Plus I was pretty much a GM lifer until that truck. Nothing bad to say about it's build quality apart from the worries of long term drivetrain reliability, but I needed to come back home where the design language is more familiar to me and matches my other GM vehicles.

The Silverado 2500 HD, while still the ugliest thing on the road, drew me back in. I'd have to say the number 1 reason was low risk long term reliability. The L8T/6L90E combo was designed specifically for fleet reliability and jobsite capability. The truck may be ugly, but it's true function over form. Huge cab, huge bed, great capability all around and bulletproof drivetrain with no cylinder deactivation, stop/start, or 500 expensive trans gears...etc. I buy new vehicles WAY more often than I should, but this one is built to keep around and I intend on finally doing it.

SWDoodle · December 9, 2021

On 11/30/2021 at 8:26 AM, Epsilon Plus said:

I sold a 2020 RAM Cummins CCSB 4x4 and got a L8T CCSB 4x4 LT Silverado a few weeks later. $16,675 less sticker to sticker so saved a bunch of coin for essentially the same capability since I don't pull trailers over 10k.

TFL sold me on a diesel with the Ike tests. Then I realized I don't do 19,000lb pulls up the Rockies...

But really it was the reliability. Modern diesels are timebombs with their shoddy emissions systems. Add to it that the 19-20 RAMs have overdriven (1.5x) CP4 fuel pumps that are also timebombs and you have one big pile of fragile money waiting for a huge repair bill down the road. The 68RFE 6 speed trans in them alone can be a $10k stock rebuild. Diesel anxiety sucks. Plus I was pretty much a GM lifer until that truck. Nothing bad to say about it's build quality apart from the worries of long term drivetrain reliability, but I needed to come back home where the design language is more familiar to me and matches my other GM vehicles.

The Silverado 2500 HD, while still the ugliest thing on the road, drew me back in. I'd have to say the number 1 reason was low risk long term reliability. The L8T/6L90E combo was designed specifically for fleet reliability and jobsite capability. The truck may be ugly, but it's true function over form. Huge cab, huge bed, great capability all around and bulletproof drivetrain with no cylinder deactivation, stop/start, or 500 expensive trans gears...etc. I buy new vehicles WAY more often than I should, but this one is built to keep around and I intend on finally doing it.

I'll always have at least one diesel around the place, but I did order a new HD gas for my backup and everyday driver. I was gonna get a half ton and then figured can't really do much with a half ton other than daily drive and tow light stuff so figured I'd get an HD gas. Ride quality will suffer but they are so much more capable. I've had gas HD's in the past and they will do the job, but the diesel is so much nicer to tow with. I've had good luck with all my Duramax's. My current 2015 has 100K on it and has basically been trouble free. If I ever start having issues with it I'll likely get rid of it and trade up, but so far it's honestly been the best pickup I've ever owned. However I am excited to see how this new 6.6 gas does. I bet it will run circles around the old 6.0 4 speed I had years back. I took a hard look at the new 7.3 Ford and I thought about pulling the trigger but figured the mileage would be hideous and the ride quality would be even worse then the GMC. The guys I've talked too with the 6.6's seem to be fairly happy with unloaded mileage. My LML has a lifetime average around 14. If I can get 12 with the gas that will be a win in my opinion. Thats about where the fuel cost difference is breakeven. My old 6.0 got around 10.5-11.0 average. I would think the 7.3 Ford would be single digits (at least for my type of driving).

HP4 · March 23, 2022

After spending over $2000 in less than a year to fix my duramax I decided I just don't pull enough of a load to justify it. Also diesel trucks have limp mode.... gas engine don't. So I sold it and bought a new 2500 gas. I don't consider Dodge products ever (not an American company anymore and their products are junk IMO), so it comes down to Ford or GM. For 1/2 tons it's Ford hands down. My wife drives an F150. It's a great truck. For 3/4 tons the Silverado rides so much better than the F250 it's a no brainer for me. All the engine/towing spec numbers between Ford and Chevy are basically a wash.

So my current ride is a 2022 Silverado 2500 LT 4WD crew cab with the gas engine. I have only had it for two days, but love it so far. It's comfortable and has a nice layout. First tow will be Friday pulling our race trailer down to Alabama.