New GM work truck

[brthomas]

I apologize in advance if this is not exactly the right forum to post even though I am a finish contractor. Continuing onward...

It has become time to start shopping for a new truck. I've been swayed more toward the 2012 Chevy/GMC line and leaning to the GMC SiGMerra with the new more efficient 5.3, locking rear, 4x4 and a few add-ons for towing my 6x10 work trailer.

Has anyone purchased this yet? Have you been pleased and what is your mileage with/without your work trailer might I ask?

I have also been thinking of possibly even looking further into the 6.0 diesel's as well. I would like some sound opinions here.

Thank you.

[brthomas]

I was wrong, it would be the 6.6 turbo diesel that GM offers.

[Kent Brobeck]

I have a 2010 GMC Serria 4 x 4 extended cab 8 ' box with a fiberglass cap. I get about 14 - 15 mpg average and around 20 highway. It has the active fuel management which works really well. It also has the towing package with a 6 speed auto but I don't tow at this point. I really like the truck. The 5.3 has some serious balls it really runs. Go drive it!

The 6.6 Duramax is an awesome engine but is big cash. I think it's around $8 or $9 grand to upgrade. You can buy a bunch of gas plus diesel is more expensive. My other truck is a diesel but it's a 97 I'd stay away from the new diesels except for the Cummings.

[Kent Brobeck]

Ford and GM diesels have to have some kind of fluid added to help it pass emissions. PITA

[BeachBoy]

For the last couple of years Chevy has offered a $4000 discount/rebate at the end of the model year, plus an additional $750 or so if you are a USAA member. Try to find a family member who works for a company that qualifies for the 'supplier employee' discount, plus the above.

The best 'deal' is to buy the absolutely stripped base work truck with this discount. Ends up around $17k. Most people will want the long bed, the V8, and the towing package which adds another thousand or two. This truck is still a 'steal' if you can live with the configuration.

Of course, what everyone wants is the 3/4 or 1 ton with the Allison and the Duramax and 4x4, and all of the options. But you're going to pay for it!

If you can't wait 'til the end of the model year, or don't want to buy 'last year's model', you'll pay even more!

[brthomas]

Kent,

That is 5.3 with the new fuel management system is very enticing to say the least. It seems that it alone would provide the same mileage as the 6.6 but at $7.5k less or so. This will be my first new truck and I wanted to have it built to my needs. So I've been looking long and hard into this big investment.

I have been curious though about the gas vs. diesel as the diesel seems like it would be a better investment in the long run as they are an engine that lasts a lot longer than most gas engines (friend is also a diesel mechanic and he has been giving me a lot of great insight.

I would like to just have it right and how I want it for my needs. I do A LOT of highway driving and normally have the trailer hooked up most of the week and occasionally on the weekends if it comes to being to lazy to unhook.

Thanks for the response.

[brthomas]

I am willing to wait to the end of the model year, shoot that just means I can save more for the down payment anyway. I have had Ford products all my life and it is just time to have something different and GM just seems to be building better and better every year. Plus the GMC Sierra has never looked better!

[Kent Brobeck]

Well the diesel is boss but do you need it? At $7500 I think your a little low. It's only available in a 3/4 ton truck and there $10000 grand more than the half ton. These half ton trucks are pretty heavy duty. More so than in the past. I tried to buy what I needed not more than I needed. A 3/4 ton with a diesel will be way over $50,000 and the insurance will be higher too.

[Kent Brobeck]

I am willing to wait to the end of the model year, shoot that just means I can save more for the down payment anyway. I have had Ford products all my life and it is just time to have something different and GM just seems to be building better and better every year. Plus the GMC Sierra has never looked better!

That's how I bought mine. Big rebate plus if you belong to a credit union you get another rebate.

[BeachBoy]

... and the insurance will be higher too.

Registration fees can be higher for the 3/4 and 1 ton too....

[Zak S.]

I think most of the gas engines these days will last for as long as you'd want to keep the truck. . . . the days of 100,000 mile engines are gone. That said, diesel engines can bring a much better resale value, so the extra purchase price isn't necessarily gone. I happen to have a diesel (ford, 7.3), but I bought it used for a great price, and I admit that I bought a diesel not entirely out of need, but partly because I've always liked diesels, and partly because I like running biodiesel in it.

I drove a work truck around a little bit back east, and I remember it was a big hassle to even find diesel- is that going to be a problem? Out west most gas stations have diesel.

The other question is whether a pickup truck is really the best work vehicle- personal preference I guess. I like my service body truck, if I was thinking new I'd be looking hard at the sprinter van or the soon to come ford transit. I don't think I could go back to a regular bed truck.

Edit: then again, I don't have a work trailer: probably makes all the difference.
zak

[oneeyesquare]

The two main advantages to diesel.
A) It will outpull the gas engine by a wide margin. I could yank my #6500 work trailer with my 07 Chevy. My current 01 Ford pulls like a freight train, but at slightly more "leisurely" pace.
B) you will get much better fuel economy when towing. When I switched to diesel in 2001 my mileage went from 6-7 mpg to 11-12 mpg.
All that being said, initial investment, maintenance and unfortunately now fuel costs will be higher. Diesel is not viable on a cost based rationale, but the obvious choice if you are towing heavier trailers. The added bonus is that you now have a truck that is capable of towing large RV's (or boats, if you want a money pit that floats). I'm on my 4th diesel truck. Have had all three brands. Favorite motor was the 5.9 Cummins, best ride/pull was the '07 Chevy (rocketship!). The Ford is a tank, crew cab and dually,; but we needed dually for our new 40' fifth wheel.
Off topic. One of the supers I worked with at my local Habitat this past summer ran fryer grease in his 7.3 Ford. Was kinda hilarious to smell and identify wether it came from the fish place or fast food French fry place.

[SteveC]

Do you really need 4x4 ? A framer or foundation guy, but a finish carpenter ? Lot of extra rolling hardware for a once in a while snow. Me, if the weather makes the roads are so bad you need 4x4 to get to a job, I stay home.
It's the drivers who think that can "go anywhere, any time" who will probably hit me or wreck.
Ask any tow truck driver whats the most towed vehicle in a snow, 4x4.
JMHO

[joseph]

wow =i remember buying my small box truck 3 yrs back and had the same questions . Alot of good points made here .I ended up getting what would work best for me . I bailed on the diesel idea and turns out it was best for me . I do tow a trailer at times and up and down the little hills in my area it can seriously burn gas .but on the highway it really doesn't make much difference . So tell us what is the driving like where you live . As for 4x4 in snow country ,you can always stay home but it is nice to have a choice . most of all with a trailer behind at 6:30 in the evening , damn cold and freezing nice to have the 4x4 and posi to pull your self out of that parking spot up close to the house . But just imagined what that trailer would do on the ice when the brake grabs . I do not envy trailers owners with that thought.

[BeachBoy]

I think most of the gas engines these days will last for as long as you'd want to keep the truck. . . . the days of 100,000 mile engines are gone.

I like to think that, but my experience is a little different. Suburban 3/4 ton: transfer case at 3,000 miles because the factory forgot to put lube in it; transmission at 4,000 on a recall; fuel pump at 38,000 (the one in the tank that is $1000 to have the dealer change out); water pump at 98,000 on a cross country trip (another $1000). I'm not betting on the engine, but so far so good...

If I had a 3/4 or 1 ton with the Allison and the Duramax I'd plan on keeping it for 200,000 miles or more.