Our Last New Truck

[JEBar]

she's home .... the pictures below show her from various angles and with Maureen's Blazer .... she really shines

[daytime dave]

Wow!!

[JEBar]

I've been wondering about mileage .... with this officially being a work truck, they don't don't say .... this morning we took it on a little over 100 drive which brought the truck's mileage to 250 ... we drove on a mix of two lane county roads and on I-40 as well .... the dealership told me to keep it under 2,000 RPM's for the first 500 miles and I did so .... I learned several things .... first, she cruises effortlessly 80 MPH at 1700 RPM'S .... a few other observations:

1. she has a 10 speed tranny but I have no way of knowing what gear she was in while doing 35 to 45 MPH got 14 to 14.5 MPG

2. while doing 70 to 75 MPH she got 15 to 15.5 MPG

3. MPG's really fell once the speed got to the upper 70s her MPG's dropped rapidly

4. no sign of any engine/tranny stress at any speed up to 80 (didn't go any faster so as to keep the engine under 2,000 RPM's)


we don't plan to tow our camper until late in October .... my hope is she will get around 10 MPG while towing it

[BrokenolMarine]

The paint looks great with the new coating. I like the color. Good choice.
When we bought the Titan, they had two Pro4xs in stock, white and black. Never liked white cars. The old white faded too bad. We bought the black one.

[JEBar]

When we bought the Titan, they had two Pro4xs in stock, white and black.

for me a shiny black vehicle has always been beautiful .... back in the late 90's we had shiny black Silverado that was mighty pretty .... from it I quickly learned that I'm simply not inclined to put in the work to keep one looking as it should .... that's the only black vehicle we've ever owned

[BrokenolMarine]

Yup, they are a lot of work, but worth it to me.

[JEBar]

Yup, they are a lot of work, but worth it to me.

our youngest son has a black 2025 1500 Silverado and loves it .... he keeps it shinning

[JEBar]

as noted, I had a 1978 Jeep J10 pickup with a 360 cc engine mated to a 4 speed floor shift that I literally kept for 24 years .... during that time we rebuilt the motor twice .... she would get about 10 mpg .... I need to get some miles on our new truck prior to towing our 5er, so tonight after eating I took her out on a 35 mile drive .... most of it was over a narrow, rolling 55 mph state road with some 70 mph driving on I-40 thrown in .... per calculations by the trucks odometer system she got 15.3 mpg .... I'm happy with that .... within the next week or so we intend to install a bed cover, it will be interesting to see if it has any impact on the truck's gas mileage

[JEBar]

well, the time has come .... drove our new 2500 to Raleigh-Apex Hitch --- https://rahitch.com/ --- to have a Pace Edwards Electric Retractable Roll-Up Tonneau Bed Cover and a B & W 5th wheel hitch installed .... ours will be installed today .... the same bed cover will be installed in our daughter's 2500 tomorrow

[JEBar]

the installation of both the bed cover and 5er hitch is complete and looks very good .... sorry, I can't post pictures because I've misplaced the gizmo used to take pictures from my camera and transfer them to a computer .... when I find it or get another one, I'll try to get several pictures posted

[JEBar]

just got back from a little over 100 mile round trip cruse to put some break-in miles on our truck .... it now has just over 830 miles on it .... once it reaches a thousand miles I'll probably not make many more miles such drives

[JEBar]

another day, another break-in tow ... 100+ miles covered .... 958 miles on the truck .... that's close enough to 1,000 miles for me, no more break-in tows .... from now on, she'll be cranked for use .... averaged 14.9 for all break-in tows

[JEBar]

just hitched our new truck to our 20 year old camper for the first time .... for today all I wanted to do was to see how they look when hooked up .... with the tall grass its hard to see that the campers front landing gear that supports its weight when it is not hooked up to the truck have been raised enough to get them completely off the ground .... very glad to see that the truck sits level when supporting the pin weight of the camper .... the last picture shows the advantage of having a truck with a full 8' bed, there is plenty of room between the lowered tailgate and the front of the camper

[JEBar]

UPDATE ---- as this is being typed our new truck is parked in the driveway with 990 miles showing on the odometer and 29.4 hours on the motor .... the following numbers were copied from the truck's computer

average gas mileage to date ---- 13.9 mpg

over any 25 mile distance the best mileage 18.1 mpg .... overall average 14.2 mpg

over any 50 mile distance the best mileage 17.5 mpg .... overall ​average 14.4 mpg

over any 450 mile distance the best mileage 15.0 mpg .... overall ​average 14.8 mpg

none of the miles so far have been towing a trailer

going into the use of this truck we had no clue what to expect .... we purchased it with heavy duty towing in mind and mileage wasn't a prime factor .... based on a range of diesel and gasoline tow vehicles, we aren't displeased with the results so far

[JEBar]

happy to report that, for the first time since her knee replacement surgery, Maureen unassisted and with NO pain was able to get into and out of the passenger's front seat of our new truck .... these new trucks are so tall that I need a stool to get up into the truck's bed

[JEBar]

our 2007 Freightliner Sportchassis had a 2" receiver .... our new Chevy 2500 has a 2.5" receiver ..... must admit I had to ponder a bit on that point .... our truck has a Multi Function Tailgate so it requires a special ball mount .... after a good bit of searching we decided to go with a multiple ball mount and the one made by B&W .... https://www.amazon.com/Trailer-Hitches- ... B08CY72484 .... we didn't purchase from Amazon, got a better price from the folks who installed our 5er hitch .... biggest decision yet to be made is where to store it when not in use

[Mags]

That's a nice one. Looks like you could store it right where it's at. It's also nice, stored that way, as passer-bys that don't see it won't be banging their knee or shin on it.

[JEBar]

That's a nice one. Looks like you could store it right where it's at. It's also nice, stored that way, as passer-bys that don't see it won't be banging their knee or shin on it.

it most certainly could be stored where it is and that may well be what we do .... with its locking hitch pin, it shouldn't walk away

[JEBar]

I've found a rather unique product designed to help secure items being hauled in our Silverado .... Ultimate Retractable Ratchet Straps --- https://juggernautdesigns.com/products/ ... Covers=Yes --- I have an item that I need to secure to the sidewall of the truck's bed and I believe it will do the job .... its supposed to be delivered today and, of course, its raining ....

[JEBar]

yesterday I struggled to install one Ultimate Retractable Ratchet Straps mentioned above .... it is really well made and fits as designed .... my problem with the install centered on my difficulty in getting into a good position to work on it .... called our oldest grandson, he stopped by after school and finished the install in less than 10 minutes .... I haven't decided if or where I will install the second one .... most impressed with the way it can be pivoted totally out of way when not in use