new truck purchase.. school me on diesels

in the process of buying a new 2017 gmc sierra 2500 hd with the duramax, and Allison 6 speed. I know nothing about diesel's, except they take different fuel, and more oil at an oil change. can someone help me with pit falls, what to do, what not to do, with fuel, oil, filters. oil, fuel additives, DEF, ect... keeping it stock until the warrantee is out so... no delete stuff just yet (but, Michigan is a no certification testing state so, it "could be done").

I will periodically run this truck in -30 to -40f weather (have a place in northern Ontario for biking, sledding, fishing, hunting outdoor EVERYTHING).

it will be used as a tow vehicle mostly, and rarely come out of the garage unless hooked to an enclosed trailer with bikes, sleds, or a boat. plus the bigger towing capacity, gives us the option, to upgrade to a larger trailer, toy hauler ect...

help is appreciated. Ski

 

Ive got a 2016 cummins. I looked at a gmc but given their history with injectors, and quite frankly their price, i went back to old faithful.

The cummins 68 trans is reported to be pretty solid. Its a six speed.

Anyway, i use stanydyne additive for fuel right now. Every tank gets a treatment. I do my fuel filters every 15k and my oil every 5k or so.

K&n air filter gives slighty better fuel economy and response as does adding Moly oil lubricator every oil change.

The key to not going through the DEF is staying out of the turbo, at least with the cummins. Mine has a turbo guage so ive figured that the least amount of turbo used yeilds less DEF consumed.

Your temperatures are pretty extreme in the winter. GET a block heater.

Mine isnt even a year old yet and ive got almost 25k miles on the odo.

Mixed city/highway yields anywhere from 17-19mpg

Highway only, 23+mpg at 75mph.

 

Bang for the buck=Dodge
Best interior by far=Ford
Best overall reliability and resale=Chevrolet

All 3 make metric tons of power on the new models....that you will likely never maximize. Ive pulled a 34', 24k pound horse trailer with my Chevrolet down the interstate and have the cruise set on 75mph....its the stopping part that can give you fits!

Just my worthless 2 cents tho!

 

gm's come standard with the engine blanket, and block heater, so I am covered there (on window sticker). what is moly oil lubricator, and where does it go? Ski

 

Dont own it once it is out of warranty.

 

Zero facts and 100% opinion unless I miss the part where you have out of warranty issues on your 2017 Duramax?

These diesel threads are just like the oil threads on gixxer.com

 

The only other cold weather item in the must have column is the grill cover- it helps a lot with warming up to normal operating temperature and that also helps with mpgs.

 

Get the 3500

 

This. Extra payload never hurt anyone.

Also definitely get a grill blanket/cover.

If there are emissions standards where you are, do nothing. If there are no emissions standards, def look into an intake (S&B) and a cat back exhaust. Don't f with the DEF yet. Companies need about a year or two to make tuners that maximize programming to get you the best packages for towing and mileage.

 

Don't waste your time with anything other than a 2017 Ford F350. I have one. DEF delete, complete straight pipe no cats, cold air intake, live wire 200 hp power shot. Truck is a f..ing animal. Pulls the 30ft trailer loaded at 90mph. Traction control off it will smoke tires through 1,2,3,4th gears..and thats on a set of 35'' on 20'' rims. ridiculous power...some where in the 700 hp region. Torque is like 1300 ft lbs. All that and the fact that the interior is awesome, the infotainment system (sync 3) is badass, and it handles like a sports car. Truly amazing for a 6500 lb vehicle.

 

oh yea...16-17 mpg around town even being a retard on the gas, over 20 on the highway at 75 mph. Towing the trailer 14+ at 75 mph. truly amazing. also sounds like the devil is coming when on the pedal hard and the turbos start to flow. so sic. so f..ing sic.

 

DONT DO THE DEF DELETE.... you get caught without the DEF system due to the Federal Clean Air Act which is getting cracked down on... its a 4500 dollar plus ticket, seizure of your vehicle on the spot and a court date which you won’t win(how could you? You ether have it or don’t), attorney fees, plus a new system installed by the dealership with receipts ( you can’t put the original system back in) you will have to bring receipts to court with you... local and state law enforcement enforce it but it’s not the states law is federal so no matter what your state says you still need it.

 

For the cold weather:
- if it comes with an aux electric heater for the cabin - get it (love mine).
- Stock up on the "anti gel" fuel additive for the winter in the fall (or check to see if it's already added in your fuel supply locally for the winter blend so you don't have to).
- Remote start (I run it for a good 10-15 mins in the winter just to get it up to operating temps before I even get in it and we're nowhere near the temps you get).
- join a GMC forum and check to see what the Canadians are doing.
Maintenance:
- yeah it takes more oil - still costs less for an oil change than my car (pretty confident I've spent more in bike maintenance and parts in 1500 miles than I have for 30,000 miles with the truck)
- Get friendly with the service center you take it too (I periodically bring cases of beer into mine - helps with scheduling appts and they always top off the DEF for free). Also comes in handy if you're going to delete.
- When they did the fuel filters - it wasn't outrageous (especially compared to how much I spend on just brake pads for the bike in a summer).
- get into the habit of topping off the DEF before any long trip - if you forget - just go to a Pep Boys ect to get it if you're in a pinch.
Gas Mileage:
- completely dependent on how fast you drive/tow (regardless of how fast you tow - definitely watch the speed because you will get caught off guard on how fast you're going)
- 35's dropped my mpg's by 1-2mpg depending upon speed
- check out adding range with getting a larger fuel tank (almost mandatory with Ford short boxes - so much so I would try to negotiate it in the deal)
If I had to do it again, what would I change:
- get a 350 instead of a 250
- 8 foot bed instead of a short bed
- wouldn't have gotten the extended warranty so I could delete it sooner.
- clear bra'd the lower rocker panels on day one

For the last two and half months I've had a Ram 1500 as a corporate rental - can't speak to the '17 super duty's but the Dodge's interior is nicer than my '16. Still love my Ford way more than the Dodge (it's more a diesel vs gas thing) but if I was going to have people in the back seat most of the time I was driving it - I'd seriously consider a Mega Cab or the '17 Super Duty.

 

Eric........a bit of advice from recent experience. I had a F250 that I bought new in 2010...it was the new 2011 model. Back then, it was not only my first diesel, but also I didn't know squat about towing heavy. I mention this because you said maybe a big toy hauler in the future. The 3/4 Ton trucks.....Chevy, GMC, Ford, Ram....none of them have the payload capacity for a decent size T.H. When I bought mine, my thought was.....diesel truck, 3/4 Ton, I should be able to tow about anything I want with this. WRONG. A well equipped 3/4 Ton truck with 4WD might be lucky to have 2000 lbs of payload capacity...maybe slightly over, maybe slightly under but the bottom line is....not enough for a decent size TH. 5vers have approx. 20 to 25% of their GVWR on the pin, so if you look at a 10,000 lb T.H. and figure the minimum of 20%, you have used up ALL of your payload capacity on pin weight. Then you add your 5ver hitch...another 150-175 lbs and passengers, additional cargo, firewood, tools, anything and everything that either goes on or in the truck, and you are becoming seriously overloaded. Now, think about a 35 or 36' T.H. and the GVWR probably goes up to the 14-15K lb range. Again, do the math on 20% of a 15K GVWR Toy Hauler and you are quickly at 3000 lbs of pin weight and at least a 1000 lbs overloaded.....and that's before the hitch, cargo, firewood, tools, anything and everything that goes on or in the truck.

Advice part two: Having said all of that ^^^ The only way to get even close to advertised payload numbers is the way the factories do it when they tout their payload numbers......Stripped down trucks with 2WD and basically a work truck with a regular cab and a gas motor as compared to a diesel truck. That truck will probably be pretty close to advertised payload capacities. But you get a 4x4, Crew Cab, Lariat, Diesel that is really a loaded up truck and the payload capacity falls waaaaay down! Ask me how I know. And the salesmen will tell you.....that blah, blah, blah truck will pull any thing that you want to put behind it.........Nope, it won't. And so in closing, the F250 that I formerly owned, was traded in a a newer model truck.....a 2016 F350 Crew Cab 4x4 Dually. I now have plenty of payload capacity, plenty of GCVWR, GAWR both front and rear, and absolutely no fear of overloading the truck like I did with the F250. Pretty much, when you get into T.H., TT, etc and get into the 10K weight range......you are getting into the one Ton truck arena.

Please feel free to call me if you want to talk some more about this.....I've learned a lot of general towing info over the last year or so. And good luck with your search for the correct truck for you.

Advice#3......go with a one Ton....either SRW or Dually....depending on what you think you might purchase in the future.....toy hauler wise.....unless you really wouldn't mind upgrading your truck later on when the toy hauler day arrives.

 

F350 is a F250 with heavier rear springs. Go with the F450 if you're really going to pull a seriously heavy load. 410 gears too...sucks for mpg's but nothing works everywhere. Don't worry about DEF costs, the stuff is cheap and compared to fuel costs you'll not even notice it.

 

i appreciate all the input, and advice (and private messages). however, We do not want a 3500 or a 350, or a different brand (yes, I am brand loyal to gmc, have had them since 1997, with very few issues, that were not caused by me). I have chosen the truck I want, and it is the 17 2500 sierra with the duramax. the thread was started to help me with the fueling, oil, services, maintenance ect... as I have never owned a diesel. thank you,

Ski

 

This is incorrect as of now. No one is having their vehicle's seized and/or forced to repair with proof of said work in a court of law. I know because I enforce said laws. Check with your individual state's laws as the majority of the US still doesn't hold diesel pick up's to a routine emissions standard after it leaves the dealership.

 

As far as the Duramax goes, Isuzu makes a great motor. Those who complain about a "injector epidemic" are referring to pre 2006 models when there was a known issue to include blown head gaskets. The problem was solved for 2006+ which is why you'll notice a price discrepancy between an 06+ against an earlier version even though they share the same body style. Keep your fluids fresh, your filters clean, and plugged in during the colder months and it'll be a great truck

 

Was the d'max in the express vans different than the truck motor? Seen a couple '06 vans up for sale recently with the stinkfuel motors, and not knowing jack nor shit about the d'max I'm loathe to consider them.

 

Same motor, but I believe they were rated for less horsepower.