Silverado 2500 w/ 6.0L

[406MtnFire]

This is probably not mustachian but I wanted to get a 6000# camper to use for road tripping the west and enjoying life.  My half ton silverado is not handling the weight very well and so I'm leaning towards getting a used 2018 2500HD Silverado with the 6.0L gas engine. It seems more economical for occasional towing use than getting a duramax.  So far I've read pretty good reviews on the long term reliability of the 6.0L.  Any other thoughts?

[ghsebldr]

I have a 2019 2500 with the 6.0. Bought and used it as business equipment for fairly heavy hauling with trailer on the freeway. Nice to drive and maintain for long distances with a 450-mile range. Unfortunately, the best highway MPG is 13. City driving is about 12.5.

[GilesMM]

Silverados don't have great reliability or build quality reputations.  I would get a Tundra 5.7L.  Plenty of towing capacity for a 6K# trailer. 

[FINate]

The Silverado 1500 has a towing capacity of around 10,000 lbs. It should have no issue whatsoever towing a 6000 lbs trailer. You're not even at 80% of towing capacity, well within the most conservative recommendations. What do you mean it's not handling the weight well? Are you using a weight distribution hitch? Is the trailer property loaded and balanced with around 10-15% of the total trailer weight on the tongue? Many people overload their RVs exceeding GVWR, which is dangerous and bad for the trailer. Have you weighed the fully loaded trailer?

[neo von retorch]

https://www.dashboard-light.com/reports/Full-size_Truck.html

This is an opt-in survey, so it's not indicative of true distributions. That being said, only the Toyota is "perfectly" reliably. The GM trucks are near the top of the pack though, so it's probably inaccurate to make claims that it does not have good reliability. (The "reputation" could be a whole other thing, but we care more about facts than gossip here.)

https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2020/07/is-the-2014-2018-chevy-silverado-1500-reliable-one-year-to-avoid/

The charts on here have no y-axis which greatly diminishes their utility, but it does indicate that 2017 was a particularly bad year for transmissions. The 2018 tops the charts on initial (build) quality. Consumer Reports does not rate the 2014-2018 very well.

Except for 2014, Silverado consistently ranks 8 out of 12 in reliability among pickup trucks.

I suspect this resource is text generated by Machine Learning tools, which aggregate information that is publicly available across the internet: https://www.vehiclehistory.com/articles/chevrolet-silverado-1500-pickup-truck-reliability-how-long-will-it-last

My Take

The GM full-sized pickup trucks combine to represent the single best selling vehicle in the U.S. (e.g. the Silverado + Sierra sales > F-150 sales.) As such, their popularity tells you two things. One is that they can't be completely horrible. Yes, brand loyalty is very strong (for some reason) but if they were complete SHIT they wouldn't keep selling so well. Two is that there are A LOT OF THEM on the road, and ultimately the most popular of anything is going to have bad apples, which means you'll have heard of someone that had a bad experience with one. Can you infer from those anecdotes that the vehicles are bad? Probably not. The one person I knew that had a Tundra had major electrical and braking issues by the time the truck hit 30,000 miles. But from what I gather online, most Tundras are very reliable. I'm going to stick to the statistics on this one.

My uncle and cousins drive nothing but Fords. Some good, some bad. My dad has owned quite a few GM pickup trucks. The worst issue I've seen was his engine losing power around 150,000 miles. This was a 1986 with a 6-cylinder engine. Apparently they have a reputation for the "lobes wearing down." His 2017 (I believe) didn't have any transmission issues, but the wiring in his driver side door has had issues making it hard to use the power windows. (This was my dad's FIRST vehicle with power windows, and boy does he not like them!) Of course, given my dad's brand loyalty, I can't ignore my own biases. Otherwise I probably wouldn't research and comment on GM vehicles at all! But I do think you have to try to find a balanced approach to these things.

[uniwelder]

The Silverado 1500 has a towing capacity of around 10,000 lbs.

OP didn't give any specifics about the setup of their pickup.  I drive a 1500 Silverado that has a manual transmission and 4.3 liter v6 engine.  No way would I want to to tow a 6,000 trailer/camper.  It does a great job for the things I need--- 8 foot bed, handles a 1 ton load of grave/dirt/mulch when driving slow, etc, but I don't really use it for towing.  From what I see listed, towing capacity starts at around 3,800 lbs and goes up from there.

[sonofsven]

I don't have any personal experience with an '18 Chevy 2500 gasser, but from what I've heard they are dependable rigs. My friend has a little newer top trim duramax, and that thing is amazing (and $70k!)
As you've discovered, half tons are not always great at towing, even if they are "under capacity".
I  never want to be anywhere close to max towing capacity; it's hard on your  brakes, suspension, and transmission.
Of course, most serious haulers move up to a diesel, but in my experience you need to put on a lot of miles before it makes financial sense to pay more for a diesel.
I'm fairly active on a hunting/fishing forum and so read a lot of posts regarding towing, and the Tundra, while being dependable as taxes, gets horrible mileage and is a poor choice for serious towing

[FINate]

The Silverado 1500 has a towing capacity of around 10,000 lbs.

OP didn't give any specifics about the setup of their pickup.  I drive a 1500 Silverado that has a manual transmission and 4.3 liter v6 engine.  No way would I want to to tow a 6,000 trailer/camper.  It does a great job for the things I need--- 8 foot bed, handles a 1 ton load of grave/dirt/mulch when driving slow, etc, but I don't really use it for towing.  From what I see listed, towing capacity starts at around 3,800 lbs and goes up from there.

Yes, these things are infinitely configurable. If OP's vehicle is spec'd for very low towing they don't need to trade up to a 2500, which is extreme overkill. Get another 1500 with tow package and specs for their use case.

[Reynolds531]

I'm a service manager for a Japanese brand. The most cost effective vehicle is usually the one in your driveway. The 1500 would probably do fine with an improved hitch, the 2500 would arguably be better. A Tundra would be expensive but effective. A first generation Titan would also be a good choice, and they don't sell for a premium.
I would strongly recommend staying away from diesel. In my dealer group there are many, many stories of owners paying a 5-10 thousand dollar bill for DEF issues etc.

[Morning Glory]

How many weeks of the year can you use the camper? Have you run the costs of renting vs buying a similar vehicle?

[Scandium]

How many weeks of the year can you use the camper? Have you run the costs of renting vs buying a similar vehicle?

My question as well. Getting groceries for 50 weeks of the year in a 12 mpg monstertruck, because you spend 2 weeks towing a camper seems decidedly inefficient. There must be a better way to do this.

[406MtnFire]

I'm planning to do a year or two of cross country with from camper. Driving all across the mtn west. My half ton can tow the camper okay, I have a load distribution hitch. I can go 60mph down the highway and 40 mph up mtn passes.  I'm a little hesitant to drive cross country with it at 215k miles. Again, no issues, owned it since new and kept up on maintenance. Probably could've changed tranny and different more often when under 100k miles.

Could the 5.3L half ton it last another 50k miles doing cross country pulling this camper? Probably. Would a 3/4 ton do better, of course. The trucks value seems to drop from ~$15k at 200k miles to $6k at 275k miles. I'm just leaving towards getting a new or slightly used 3/4 ton to have more towing capability and get a new truck to last a decade. Had my current truck for 10.5 years.

I have a 2005 camry for buzzing around town and do 70% of my driving in that. So the fuel mileage is kinda not a concern. And I plan to do a major remodel or new build in the coming years, so I'd get a 3/4 ton for that depending on size of project.

[Brystheguy]

I would solve this by getting a smaller camper instead.

[FINate]

I totally get not wanting to travel long distances with a high millage tow vehicle.

So I see the point of getting a new truck, but I still don't understand going 3/4 ton for such a small trailer. The 2020 1500 Silverado with 6.2L V8 can be configure for 13,400 lb tow capacity. Towing over passes won't be an issue with this vehicle. If you have other reasons for wanting a 3/4 ton, or it's just what you really want, you don't need my permission :)

[406MtnFire]

Yes the 6.2 1500 would tow it. I have a topper, so the payload is close to maxed with a cooler, gear, water, topper. I can optimize it to not overload the half ton. But the 3/4 tons aren't much more expensive than a half ton. And as an engineer, I don't love the idea of "close to maxed" towing which means more wear and risk of failure of drivetrain and brakes (which equal very bad when towing).

And part of the point of saving is living a life more unlined with what you want. So I'll probably just get a 3/4 ton, load everything to the gills and not think about it

[Scandium]

I would solve this by getting a smaller camper instead.

I just looked up what a 6,000 lb camper is. Holy shit, that's massive! As big as my house. Don't look like fun backing up with that's for sure :D Must have room for 8+ people
Yes something smaller that's easier to travel around with seems preferable, but that's just me. But I'm sure OP has a reason for it.

[406MtnFire]

Yeah they're not small. Pushing the limits on the little truck to big camper just seems not smart at 60 mph down a mountain pass.

Ability to work remote from camper for a month. Bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, room for family without everyone sitting on your lap.

30%+ Cheaper used than a smaller one new. Much better build quality than the cheaper small ones.

[EchoStache]

Since you will be traveling long distance cross country full time for 2 years, I wonder if a diesel wouldn't be worth considering?

I do think switching to a more capable vehicle for towing sounds like a good idea.  If you can only maintain 40 mph up a long mountain pass, you are exceeding its long term safe capabilities IMO, and doing so in an old, high mileage vehicle.

You always have the option to sell the big expensive truck when done traveling and get a normal vehicle.

[Just Joe]

I've seen my share of over loaded 1/2 ton trucks. Almost witnessed a rollover on the highway one time b/c the truck was overloaded. I do alot of towing for my employer.

My own rig amounts to a V6 crossover and a popup.

Definitely go for a 2500 if you are pulling something that large.

[FINate]

Yes the 6.2 1500 would tow it. I have a topper, so the payload is close to maxed with a cooler, gear, water, topper. I can optimize it to not overload the half ton. But the 3/4 tons aren't much more expensive than a half ton. And as an engineer, I don't love the idea of "close to maxed" towing which means more wear and risk of failure of drivetrain and brakes (which equal very bad when towing).

And part of the point of saving is living a life more unlined with what you want. So I'll probably just get a 3/4 ton, load everything to the gills and not think about it

Yeah, so that's what I was asking about. It's not just the trailer, but also all the other stuff you're hauling.

I'm also an engineer, and when we had an RV trailer I was meticulous about staying within GVWR, and having the weight property distributed. Things like using a tongue scale and weighing the fully loaded trailer at a scale. And I made a point to stay under about 80% of tow capacity.

A 6000 lb trailer should have about 700 lbs on the hitch (e.g. part of the payload) and a 7500 lbs tow capacity should mean staying under 80%.

But this all assumes you're not exceeding capacities. Many people overload their trailers - seriously, load it up and go to some scales, don't over stress the trailer's suspension. And if you're loading a bunch of stuff in the truck (topper + gear) and exceeding the payload capacity then, yes, get the 2500.

Honestly though, once you start getting up to these kinds of weights, I would much rather get a fifth wheel setup. Tows way better (puts the weight over the wheels of the truck), easier to maneuver, less sway, just an all around better experience for lots of weight over long distances. Since you don't use the truck for daily driving losing the topper shouldn't be an issue.   

[Highbeam]

First, the OP is about a trailer with a WD hitch so a tow behind bumper pull trailer. 6000# is not large. Just a normal 20' trailer can be that heavy. Totally towable with a half ton truck in good shape. You can easily get a 10,000# RV trailer.

A "camper" is usually what folks call a slide in truck bed camper that sits inside and on the truck with no axles of its own. A 6000# slide in camper is very heavy.

Modern half tons can have very high tow ratings. Easily over 10,000#. My 2000 F350 diesel has a 10,000# tow rating. So either trucks are much more capable these days or the ratings have been diluted.