Quote:
Originally Posted by Popcycle
I owned a 2011 Chevy 1500 with AFM for 4 years and never had a bit of trouble with it. It got great fuel milage on the highway and it pulled hard when asked. Not sure why some owners had complaints but my experience was all good.
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You might have had one after the revisions. I don't know on the 5.3l but on the 6.2l in my Denali they made some changes as the earlier ones had the same issues. The problem mainly has to do with the use of low friction piston rings. They use these to better fuel efficiency. Where the problem came in is when the AFM kicked in and it would drop to 4 cylinder mode they would hold the valves open because if it isn't getting fuel but still going through the compression stroke it would kill MPG. However this reduces cylinder pressure to 0. The piston rings are designed to have that cylinder pressure there to help keep them sealed up. Over time you would start to run into issues where the piston rings would fail and you start consuming oil on those cylinders.
I want to say the revisions to correct these issues came about in 2010 with the 6.2l anyhow.
Back to the the OP. I will say I love the 6.2l in my GMC but they never offered it on the 3/4 ton. 403 HP and 417 torque. At those numbers it is very close to what the Dodge does.
I know you said the diesel isn't in the budget but I would really do what I could to go that route. They hold value better so while it will cost more up front you will get it back in the end. I have read a few comments elsewhere that it takes 100,000 miles to hit break even. That isn't always the case when you consider trade in value. Depending on how much towing you do the improved MPG numbers come a lot quicker. The 6.0 is more than capable to pull your camper, never driven one. I will say that the Duramax does feel really nose heavy (commuting) as I have driven them quite a bit. So maybe the 6.0 being a much lighter engine will not feel the same.