Our Last New Truck

[JEBar]

unless something totally unexpected happens, this should be our last vehicle purchase .... that said in our world it seems inevitable that our absolute and final plans are subject to change at any second .... with our decision to no longer make long distance tows, we realize that its in our best interest to part with our '07 Freightliner and replace it with a much more user friendly to truck .... after a good bit of looking and discussion we've settled on custom ordering a Chevy Silverado 2500 HD .... yesterday I spent a couple of most enjoyable hours working with the fellow at our local Chevy dealership .... over the years our family has purchased well over a dozen vehicles from him .... should things go as planned, our Freightliner will be with its new owner during the last week in this month .... a few days later we will custom order a replacement .... yesterday I came away with a 5 page printout listing every option that will be built into the truck we order .... yesterday evening I spent a good while cross checking the RPO numbers with exactly what they are .... I got a kick out TDM - TEEN DRIVER MODE

the core components :

Crew Cab
Long Bed (8')
LTZ
radiant red tintcoat
4WD
6.6L V8 Gas engine
Allison 10 speed automatic transmission

[Sir Henry]

That 10 speed Allison should give it decent fuel mileage.

[BigAl52]

Not trying to put a damper on your purchase but Ive read of some issues with the 10 speed Allison. Are you aware of those issues Jim.

[JEBar]

Not trying to put a damper on your purchase but Ive read of some issues with the 10 speed Allison. Are you aware of those issues Jim.

there were some issues when they first started using them .... its the same tranny used with their Duramax diesels .... from what I've heard, when GM first started actually making the Allisons they were installing there were some issues .... apparently those have been worked out

[JEBar]

That 10 speed Allison should give it decent fuel mileage.

our daughter has the same power train and 373 gearing in her 2025 Silverado 2500 .... she gets 14+ MPG around town and 8+ MPG towing .... I'd be happy with that .... they do offer a max tow option which offers more power but lowers MPG .... our anticipated use of the truck will be almost all non-towing miles so I have no interest in the max tow option

[Sir Henry]

That 10 speed Allison should give it decent fuel mileage.

our daughter has the same power train and 373 gearing in her 2025 Silverado 2500 .... she gets 14+ MPG around town and 8+ MPG towing .... I'd be happy with that .... they do offer a max tow option which offers more power but lowers MPG .... our anticipated use of the truck will be almost all non-towing miles so I have no interest in the max tow option

I got almost 20 mpg with five people and all their luggage and pulling my teardrop going down to Virginia at 60 mph. Coming back I was doing 75 and only got 14.

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The Transit is a T150.

[BigAl52]

Yes Im well aware of that transmissions applications. I pretty well keep up with the big 3 when it comes to diesel powered 5th wheel pulling trucks. It seems like right now there is a lot of recalls on vehicles. More than ever before. Im not sure if its lack of manpower skill or if its just manpower has no pride in what they are making anymore. I also think that regulations are making it harder and harder for them to put diesel power on the road. Simple has gone out the window and hi tech has taken over. Ive been going back and forth for a year or so now trying to decide if I want to dive into a new truck. Somehow the price tag has been holding me up.

[JEBar]

Somehow the price tag has been holding me up.

not just well understood, its a point I can identify with .... if we were going to continue traveling cross country, we would certainly not sell our Sportchassis .... the way our future looks, it makes no sense to us to keep such an expensive truck to own and operate for only few days use per year

[JEBar]

we've pretty well decided on the bed cover we will have installed on our new truck; as well as, as on our daughter's new truck .... .... we installed a Pace-Edwards Bed Locker on 2011 Chevy Silverado shortly after its purchase ===> https://www.pace-edwards.com/product/be ... 00651e0QAA .... it came with a remote and we decided to also add a small rocker switch that they mounted on the dash .... the remote stopped working years ago but that rocker switch continues to work every time it is pushed .... it simply works flawlessly and has done so without any service or adjustments since the install 14 or so years ago

[JEBar]

for the first time in almost 20 years, all storage areas in our Sportchassis have been emptied .... she's parked and awaiting her new owner .... as already noted, with us no longer routinely planning to travel thousands of miles cross county each year, we no longer need it .... we still intend to camp with our club and family locally so we will need a truck to tow our camper .... for that we simply don't need our Freightliner .... if things go as we hope, within the next week we hope to have its replacement on order