Chevy 2500HD 6.0L reliabilty

[Seann45]

A lot of people have talked about a 1/2 ton being more comfortable to drive.. while this is a consideration I hope you feel your family's SAFETY to be more important.. if you feel the 1/2 ton is marginal then by all means go with the 2500. Chev makes a great product and you will be happy with the 6.0.... with the price of diesel I wish I had kept my 6.0.

[jtownstumpjumper]

Started with a 30 ft Whitehawk pulling with a 2011 Avalanche....close to being limited out on weight....traded up in May to a 2014 Chev 250HD with 6.0 and 3.73 rear end, didn't want to put $8000 more in a diesel...definitely pulled the 30 footer with more eaze...felt like I had been put back in control......BUT, some of you guessed it.....found a 5th wheel we wanted to move up to in October...6.0 would not do the job.....traded for a 2012 GMC 3/4 ton Duramax/Allison to get the job done...gave up 2 yrs on age to get me the diesel......just be sure if you do the 6.0L gasser, then stay away from RV lots because either you or the DW will catch that trading fever.....and, like us, it has to be all done over again

[drk98]

Originally Posted by jtownstumpjumper

Started with a 30 ft Whitehawk pulling with a 2011 Avalanche....close to being limited out on weight....traded up in May to a 2014 Chev 250HD with 6.0 and 3.73 rear end, didn't want to put $8000 more in a diesel...definitely pulled the 30 footer with more eaze...felt like I had been put back in control......BUT, some of you guessed it.....found a 5th wheel we wanted to move up to in October...6.0 would not do the job.....traded for a 2012 GMC 3/4 ton Duramax/Allison to get the job done...gave up 2 yrs on age to get me the diesel......just be sure if you do the 6.0L gasser, then stay away from RV lots because either you or the DW will catch that trading fever.....and, like us, it has to be all done over again

We sold our F-250 diesel and 5th wheel a couple of years ago but are ready to get back into camping.... Back in February we bought a '14 Silverado 1500 thinking we'd get a basic bunkhouse trailer... Here we are in November with a 36' 3 slide 32ibts on order which necessitated a 3/4 ton... I know a gasser would have been fine but I didn't want to have to rebuy later if we decided to swap to a 5th wheel again so I went ahead and bought a diesel.

[amabee]

Originally Posted by Seann45

A lot of people have talked about a 1/2 ton being more comfortable to drive.. while this is a consideration I hope you feel your family's SAFETY to be more important.. if you feel the 1/2 ton is marginal then by all means go with the 2500. Chev makes a great product and you will be happy with the 6.0.... with the price of diesel I wish I had kept my 6.0.

I do agree with the added safety margin. It really did surprise both myself and my wife how it drove, after a couple miles over some rougher roads, we both came to the same conclusion, it really wasn't much rougher than our current truck. While gas mileage is something to think about, it sounds like our towing mileage will be about the same. We don't drive the truck all that much unloaded, other than my wife driving to work and back, so even if it uses a little more gas doing that, the added stability/safety when towing more than makes up for it.

just be sure if you do the 6.0L gasser, then stay away from RV lots because either you or the DW will catch that trading fever....

Good point, I can tell you we are VERY happy with our hybrid. When we traded up from the 17Z, we started looking the 19H and the Starcraft 207RB which are sort of the mid size hybrids. Ultimately we decided to go with one of the larger units and just be done with it.

[Adk Camper]

Originally Posted by ctbailey

I do notice a previous owner used a red gasket manifold repair goop on the exhaust.

The GM trucks from around 2000 thru 2009 or 2010 had a known issue of the exhaust manifold bolts breaking. This is a well known problem but GM never and still won't issue a recall. The reason is they didn't use a strong enough bolt to handle the heating and expanding thus the heads of the bolt eventualy break off and in some cases break off flush with the head. There isn't a particular sequence in which they break.Just last month I had 4 broken bolts replaced on my truck after it developed a exhaust leak (ticking sound). To replace the gasket and extract the broken bolts on the one side cost me just under $500 dollars 4 weeks ago. The problem is plastered all over the web so do a search you'll find tons of info on the problem. Here's just one link. http://www.google.com/url?url=http:/...dowiCVzoLMKnig

[Nick Haas]

I had a 2002 Yukon all wheel drive with the 6.0 gasser, had just over 300k and ran good and strong. I even towed my 25 foot TT with no problems.

I now have a 2012 2500HD Crew Cab Z71 with the 6.0 gas. I get 14 open road and 9 towing my 32bhds. You cant go wrong with a Vortec, IMO.

[carey965]

Originally Posted by Adk Camper

The GM trucks from around 2000 thru 2009 or 2010 had a known issue of the exhaust manifold bolts breaking. This is a well known problem but GM never and still won't issue a recall. The reason is they didn't use a strong enough bolt to handle the heating and expanding thus the heads of the bolt eventualy break off and in some cases break off flush with the head. There isn't a particular sequence in which they break.Just last month I had 4 broken bolts replaced on my truck after it developed a exhaust leak (ticking sound). To replace the gasket and extract the broken bolts on the one side cost me just under $500 dollars 4 weeks ago. The problem is plastered all over the web so do a search you'll find tons of info on the problem. Here's just one link. http://www.google.com/url?url=http:/...dowiCVzoLMKnig

i think all brands have that issue, the 5.4 in my ford was horrible for that, but now its my brother in laws problem (he still got a smoking deal in the end) and i think they are about 1200-1500 to fix

but yeah buy bigger then you need, i always thought a half ton would be more then enough then we started camping and looking at 5th wheels, needless to say we suffered through a summer with with the 150 till i found my 3500 cummins, once you go diesel you never go back

[RVer-Bill]

Originally Posted by carey965

once you go diesel you never go back

That's what I thought until I spent $230 last fall getting glow plug #1 replaced and then $240 to get glow plug #7 replaced 2 months ago. And that's just peanuts if an injector needs replaced. I loved the way that the Duramax towed my 8500# Eagle, but I'll stick with gas unless I get something heavy enough to warrant a diesel. Towing a 6000# loaded trailer doesn't require a diesel for me any more. If I get even a 9000# trailer then I would go back to diesel.

Another thing that I like about my gas 2500HD is how fast the heater starts working in the winter. I had to drive at least 10 miles with the Duramax, but my 6.0 is throwing heat in 2 miles. My wife is especially happy with that. The only thing that I miss is the Duramax fuel economy.

[Imnaha.Mansion]

I'm in the same scenario as jtownstumpjumper. Used to have Dodge Durango and we got our first trailer, a Baja. The Durango was getting old so got a Nissan Titan, DW suggested (required) we get a 30' TT. Titan was getting cranky so now I drive a one ton and you guessed it we got a fifth wheel. What next? I need to get a CDL...

[carey965]

Originally Posted by RVer-Bill

That's what I thought until I spent $230 last fall getting glow plug #1 replaced and then $240 to get glow plug #7 replaced 2 months ago. And that's just peanuts if an injector needs replaced. I loved the way that the Duramax towed my 8500# Eagle, but I'll stick with gas unless I get something heavy enough to warrant a diesel. Towing a 6000# loaded trailer doesn't require a diesel for me any more. If I get even a 9000# trailer then I would go back to diesel.

Another thing that I like about my gas 2500HD is how fast the heater starts working in the winter. I had to drive at least 10 miles with the Duramax, but my 6.0 is throwing heat in 2 miles. My wife is especially happy with that. The only thing that I miss is the Duramax fuel economy.

there is always pros and cons with everything, 6.0 being a great motor it is still thirsty and gas will never tow as much or as easily as a diesel (unless you get a 8.1 but that just ups the fuel consumption even more) and to be honest my commins in the cold if i plug it in and start it about 10 min before i leave its blowing warm air when i get into it

now personally for me i like the idea that i can realistically hook anything up to my truck and not worry about it, whenever i would tow at the dealer with the gassers it was always an exercise in patience and could get quite concerning at times, but when i would hook that some trailer up to the same truck only diesel it was a huge difference in towing abilty that you could instantly see and feel

now to the op did you ever think about getting a diesel (just based on the fact that most of your driving with the truck is pulling other then the wife driving it to work) and maybe getting her a cheap commuter? if your going to to alot of towing get the best tool for the job that you can afford

i would just hate to see people buy something and then in 6 months to a year later regret it because the DW wanted a much bigger trailer then expected (mine did that)

[amabee]

We've already been down our "upgrade" road with the camper, we started with a 10ft popup, then a Jayco 1207(which I do kind of miss). We really wanted a hybrid, so we bought an X17Z, which is a nice little camper, just too little for us, which is why we have the Starcraft, we have no desire for anything else. This all happened in about a 3yr span.

We really have no need for a diesel, the 5.3L in our current truck pulls this camper easily, I'm sure a 6.0L will have it even easier. Its not a lack of power, its a lack of payload and the fact that 1/2 ton suspensions don't do well in crosswinds. I know we are over the trucks GVWR quite often and I've had some trips that weren't the most fun driving due to strong crosswinds.

We actually have considered a small car for her, but given she only puts about 30-40 miles a week on the truck, its not really worth it.

[carey965]

like i said it all comes down to what fit your needs, if you think a 6.0 will then get one, awesome motor will tow alot bigger then you have, easily pull some of the lighter 5th wheels and long tt that are out there

just make sure you post pics of the new rig

[arkhillbilly]

I have a 2011 gmc 2500hd w/6.0 ltr 6 sp auto xmission, and hd towing everything. tt is a Eagle 298 rls w/tons of options. I'am sold on the gm vortec motor. Have owned three trucks with it. Live in Arizona, so it knows mountains. Gas/oil and one brake squeak (grit) in three years. Good enough for me!

[amabee]

The trick may be to find one close, that's in our price range. Our local dealer has a 2010 LTZ, nice truck, but it has 89,000 miles on it. From the sounds of it though, that truck still has a lot of life left in it.

[Crabman]

I remain confident you would be happy with the HD/6.0 package. I am......

[carey965]

Originally Posted by amabee

The trick may be to find one close, that's in our price range. Our local dealer has a 2010 LTZ, nice truck, but it has 89,000 miles on it. From the sounds of it though, that truck still has a lot of life left in it.

89,000 thats barely broken in, and having a LTZ would be nice

[Adk Camper]

Originally Posted by carey965

89,000 thats barely broken in, and having a LTZ would be nice

Agree.

[33 RLDS]

Originally Posted by Adk Camper

The GM trucks from around 2000 thru 2009 or 2010 had a known issue of the exhaust manifold bolts breaking. This is a well known problem but GM never and still won't issue a recall. The reason is they didn't use a strong enough bolt to handle the heating and expanding thus the heads of the bolt eventualy break off and in some cases break off flush with the head. There isn't a particular sequence in which they break.Just last month I had 4 broken bolts replaced on my truck after it developed a exhaust leak (ticking sound). To replace the gasket and extract the broken bolts on the one side cost me just under $500 dollars 4 weeks ago. The problem is plastered all over the web so do a search you'll find tons of info on the problem. Here's just one link. http://www.google.com/url?url=http:/...dowiCVzoLMKnig

I have 3 broken ones on my TBSS right now. So far my 8.1 in the Avalanche is ok..

[amabee]

Originally Posted by carey965

89,000 thats barely broken in, and having a LTZ would be nice

It's already been sold. Plenty of time until spring, I'll find one.

[arkhillbilly]

Get a 2500HD gas, but try the 410 rear end. It is listed to tow about 3 or 4 thousand lbs over the 373. Also, to change out a 373 to a 410 is about 900.00 here in AZ. Don't ask how I know all this!