I’m not complaining too much about the fuel economy, if I wanted amazing fuel economy I would drive a car. But with the current situation of being a one vehicle man, having a truck comes first.
The current truck is a nice vehicle, 2015 Silverado LTZ z71. Has every option but a sunroof. It goes where I want, and tows most of the stuff I want. I think we can all agree that I’m just too picky, but here’s what I dislike:
I had to have the engine rebuilt from a short block at 86k miles. Really put a bad taste in my mouth with this truck. I can’t seem to get past it.
I just hit 100k miles, and have to replace the faulty AC condenser due to poor manufacturing practices. Both this and the engine have class action lawsuits being filed. Chevy just doesn’t stand behind their product anymore. It just doesn’t feel like a truck I can drive for the next 10 years. That doesn’t sit well with me.
all the alarms and dingy crap. Corrosion or road dirt in my trailer plug? Notifications, dinging, and other annoyances until I clean it out. Typical Chevy thing now. I can’t turn off other alarms and stuff either, because it’s built into the ECM.
the GPS is useless, and I don’t like having it anyways. Call me paranoid, but the entire onstar vehicle shutdown thing weirds me out.
the towing capacity is ok, but I’m having to pass up on things. My buddy owns a blasting business. If I had a 3/4 ton or better I could catch jobs for him while he’s out of town working on the primary job. I have a buddy in Texas that asks if I could come down and drag his second detailing trailer around and do work for him on the occasion. I can’t tow that trailer with my current truck. I have another buddy who works a side job with his cousin, and when they buy equipment/materials in Oklahoma, I could hot shot it to them in New Mexico. Not being able to do these things hurts my bottom end. Im currently working on starting my own business, but having some side work here and there would be nice so I could bring in some extra cash.
I don’t know much about working on gas engines, but I have over a decade and a half of experience working on diesels, and some of the specialty Cummins tools. I just feel more comfortable in a diesel. Plus, who doesn’t love the noise?
Buying a 3/4 ton or better would make dragging a camper around much easier, and would allow me to get a decent sized setup. Campers that you can tow with a 1/2 ton or smaller command a serious premium, so being able to buy something a little bigger would be a bonus. The old lady has shot down my idea of a utility trailer with a roof top tent, so a camper is on the honey do list. I’ll built the utility trailer for my own adventures.
at the end of the day, I want a truck that I can go most places and do most things with. I’m biased, favoring diesels. Yeah, the repair cost is higher typically. But the maintenance compared to what I have now is similar if not cheaper. Typically, the diesel is going to last much longer than a gas engine, and should, over time, be more reliable. Which offsets the higher price tag and repair cost. I want a truck that I can keep for the next ten years. I hate dealerships, I hate selling vehicles, and I hate how much money you lose changing vehicles. I wouldn’t mind taking a break from that cycle for a decade or so.
