My new 2020 Chevy 2500HD thoughts/comparisons to Dodge 2500

dirtfarmer_jeff · September 3, 2022

So as the title says here is my new to me 2020 Chevy 2500 with the 6.6 gas engine and 14,000 miles! I came from a 2017 Dodge 2500 with a 6.4 Hemi and prior to that a 2008 Ford F350 with the 6.4 diesel. So in the last 10 years I have had a good mixture of heavy duty pickups.

I have a farm so the larger pickup comes in handy but for half the year or better I really don't need a heavy duty pickup. I do have a 39 foot 5th wheel that I use as a hose on my farm and I tow it 250 miles one way from my house to the farm and back at the end of the season. I need a 3/4 ton to pull the camper and some stuff on the farm but like I said a lot of the year I simply do not need it.

So with that lets dive into this and my thoughts and comparisons now.

I have to admit based on some past experiences 20 years ago I have not been a big fan of GM pickups which is why I have been driving Ford's and Dodges. I had great luck with my 2017 Dodge with zero break downs, my only compliant was the ride was terrible. It was a crew cab short box with Laramie trim package. On a smooth ride it was fine but any bump, crack, un-even road and there was almost zero suspension. Everyone in my family and friends hated the ride. So that pushed me to try the Chevy pickup. I also have to admit im not crazy on the look of the grill on the current pickup so I was looking for 2015-2019 Chevy's. They all had more miles than the Dodge I was getting rid of and I either had to go diesel which I was not a fan of dealing with emissions or 6.0 gas which I was not cray about either. So here we are, I found a 2020 in almost new condition with 14,000 miles. I have only had this for a week now and I will not tow anything until October when I bring my camper back. Let me outline the things I love about this pickup in no particular order.

The ride! This thing is freaking amazing on the road and no comparison to my 2017 Dodge 2500.

The quiet cab! There is hardly any road/wind noise in the cab and there are no rattles or squeaks either!

The huge cab. There is so much room for both front and rear passengers.

The seats are very comfy. I have the LT allstar package with cloth seats. No one in my family likes leather so I both cloth this time. I don't find myself adjusting myself in the seat while driving like I did in my Dodge.

The engine/fuel mileage. The engine is very smooth and has good power. So far driving down the freeway at 80 and in town mixed driving I'm getting 15-16. My dodge was 13-14 same conditions.

The steps in the bed and rear bumper. I'm 40 now and these pickups keep getting taller and its harder to get into the bed. That is no longer a problem with the Chevy.

I could go on about options like the different cameras this thing has, power dropping tail gate, but in fairness they were not options on my Dodge at the time and could be on there now.

Lets go onto the things I don't like.

I like my seat high so its more like sitting in a chair so my legs are more comfortable. There is not enough adjustment in the steering column that I can't see my top 4 gauges for fuel, water, oil. I have to bend down to see them.

The radio. Dodge by far as the best radio setup for functionality and use of the screens. One thing I really miss was I could save 200 artist and or song titles and it would alert me when they were playing on another channel and I could switch and listen.

center console. The cup holders barely hold a bottle of water let alone a larger drink of any size. It also has very small storage space. This is all from the seat belt built into it. My Dodge did not have the seat belt here and had massive cup holders and much larger storage space.

Storage. My Dodge had compartments in the floor under the floor mats to put stuff plus big spaces under the rear seats. My Chevy does have rear seat storage but half the size of my Dodge.

The look of the grill. I am slowly coming to the conclusion I can't see it when I'm driving so ill get over it.

I have read comments on here before I bought about the poor transmission and how it needs more gear and it clunks. For me and what I tow, my Dodge had a 6 speed and I never felt I needed more gears and it pulled my caper with ease. The 6.4 Hemi was an impressive gas engine to me, with tons of power. So with that I think the GM 6 speed will be just fine for me as well. As for the clunk, I have experienced this but only when rolling to a stop, like at a stop sign or stop light. To me the clunk is like a very aggressive down shift from 2nd to 1st. I only notice when slowly coming to a stop, if I stop quicker I never notice it. I don't think its a problem, I think its how its programmed. Other wise it shifts smoother than my Dodge did and I thought that was a pretty nice shifting transmission.

I also read the steering feels weird and heavy. I didn't notice anything wrong with the steering. I'm also use to driving semi trucks and tractors so maybe it does steer bad to other people but I'm so use to big bulk items I don't notice it.

Same goes for people complaining the hood is too tall and long. Again I have been driving big pickups and semi's for most of my life so I don't find this pickup any harder to drive than any others I have been in.

Blind spots on the mirrors. Yes there are blind spots but there is on Ford and Dodge too. If you want big mirrors to see what is behind you then this should be expected. I suppose based on seat position and what you are use to driving this could be a bigger deal.

I know this is not a Dodge site but I had very good luck with mine. I had zero failures or warranty work. I did have a couple of recalls done, I did not experience the fault but took it in to get fixed. I really liked the look and the power was amazing in it. There were some cheap things about it. It stays parked outside so my toys and wife's car can be inside. The sun destroyed the plastic coverings on the window trim pieces. They were faded in cracked in only a few years. The plastic bed caps, either would warp and look funny and the one on the tail gate would break easily when things slid across the tailgate. I do buy my pickups to work so they get used. The bed dented real easy by hauling heavy gear boxes and I never had that problem in my Ford. I noticed under the bed and cab there was a lot of things that were not painted and simply primed. The steering wheel leather was faded and pealing. Little things that I never experienced on my past Ford. Time will tell how the Chevy holds up to these same things.

This post is not intended to bash anyone or brand, just my experience with them. I'm looking forward to how this Chevy treats me. Not to start a war of gas verses diesel, I don't tow enough to justify a diesel. I don't want the added expense of maintenance or failed parts. Everything on a diesel is 10 times as much to buy. I don't care about the resale argument. You paid 12K more up front to buy it I hope you have more resale on the back side. Plus 12K buys a ton of gasoline. I also don't want the headaches of emissions. My day job with a major farm equipment company, over half my time is dealing with emissions. I don't want that headache at home too. So with that the gas engine is a perfect choice in my operation, it may not be a good choice in yours.

I look forward to anyone's questions or comments!

Jeff

Edited September 3, 2022 by dirtfarmer_jeff

Pryme · September 3, 2022

Nice review. I agree with all of that stuff pretty much. I just got my 2500 on Monday. For me I have no issues seeing all the gauges and over hood but I’m 6’1” but the cup holders are small. These trucks are very solid feeling. No rattles on mine either.

this forum seems very slow compared to other brands I’ve been in though