Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra - Owners hangout

minikin · July 2001

After all that about a 2500HD you're going to keep your current truck??? Your wife got to you, huh?
-- Don

gmc2500hd · July 2001

Hello all;

I've enjoyed the comradeship amongst truck owners. I have a '01 2500HD-8.1L 4x4 Crew cab, with 4.10 diff.
I've enjoyed every minute driving this truck. I even find places to go just to drive it. I'm getting about 9mpg city and 12mpg highway. I've just installed a Flow master on it with dual in/out that they just came out with for the 8.1, and it sounds great and is even performing better.

The reason I'm posting is to solicit the comments of anyone that is having problems with heavy vibrations on the concrete highways with vertical rain groves. It also rides much rougher than my '99 2500.

This is the only problem I've had with my truck other than on one occasion where the transmission seem to downshift to a lower gear at the wrong speed. I am taking it to the service kept tomorrow to have it checked out. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thank

ryanbab · July 2001

maybe because its a 2500HD and its built stiffer?

mgdvhman · July 2001

gettin' to me......I think my bar project has made me lose interest for a bit about an HD?

I have wanted an HD for a year or so...wanted the bar for 22 years...

gonna be too cool when I am done with it...

- Tim

4x4man · July 2001

My 4x4 2500HD doesn't have any vibrations on most concrete highways, but when hitting an expansion joint, it will buck...the nature of the HD beast. Also if the hired help (read: cheap labor) wasn't quite rested from the night before's drinking, the surface of the highway is not smooth and level. In that case it starts getting a bit rough and bounces you up and down....another nature of the beast with the stiffer suspension of the HD.
I "upgraded" from a 97 4x4 1500 so my new truck hands down rides better than that thing did, not sure what a 99 2500 rode like..sorry can't help there..

Bob

mgdvhman · July 2001

Yes you do!

LOL

- Tim

dmnsmith2 · July 2001

I am a proud new owner of a Silverado. There is a wiring harness in the glove box that is supposed to be used for modifying the connection that I have at the bumper, or something. Can someone shed some light on what this is for?
TIA

ryanbab · July 2001

thats for a trailer brake.

dmnsmith2 · July 2001

I am a proud new owner of a Silverado. There is a wiring harness in the glove box that is supposed to be used for modifying the connection that I have at the bumper, or something. Can someone shed some light on what this is for?
TIA

ricsch · July 2001

Seen in a fleet catalog that GM is putting in sunvisors with extensions, I would assume similar to the Tahoe and Subs? Now hopefully they will fit the existing Silverado and Sierra trucks.

dmnsmith2 · July 2001

thanks...

ryanbab · July 2001

what kinda truck do you have? Do you tow a trailer? Large trailer? If not then you will probably never touch it. Mines still wrapped up in the glovebox

Ryan

ctstonewalls · July 2001

I plan to buy a new 2500HD. I can't decide which engine to buy (standard Vortec 6000 or Vortec 8100)or which axle ratio. I won't tow very often. Any advice?

dmnsmith2 · July 2001

Thanks!!

ryanbab · July 2001

http://www.pickuptruck.com

http://www.gm-trucks.com

brazoo · July 2001

I was a Ford man but am leaving Explorer behind for world of pickups and need your assistance. I never owned a pickup before and know I want a Chevy Silverado Extended Cab but need to narrow the focus down to either a 1500 ID, 2500 or 2500HD and was wondering which is the best one to pick and what corresponding engine size should I get given what I want to do with it at given times including:

Pulling a boat of about 17 ft/3000 lbs
Not much passenger weight (about 300 lbs) or payload say another 400 lbs
Another scenario is pulling a two place horse trailer with 2 horses of course in it.

I am tired of pulling items with a truck not equipped with enough power to go up and down the rolling hills of WI and MN without sounding like a dog. I want enough power but not go nuts and over buy a truck I don't use to its capacity. Any advice is welcome. Cheers - Bill

minikin · July 2001

plugs in under the dash. Other end hooks up to your trailer brake controller. Makes for a clean and easy way to wire a brake controller into your truck, without having to cut into wiring bundles.
-- Don

minikin · July 2001

If all you're gonna do is pull a 3000 pound boat plus another 400 lb of payload, a 1500 is fine. Horse trailer country is a whole different ball game; 2500HD and preferably with the new diesel if you're going to keep it awhile and have to deal with long term fuel consumption. Buy more truck than you need? Just like with anything else; figure out exactly what you're gonna need, add 20%, and then double it.
-- Don

mgdvhman · July 2001

..don't even look at a 1500 for what you mentioned. A 2500 at least. And why not get a 2500HD with an Allison while you are at it?

although a 6.0 would do fine.

...4:10's of course also

- Tim

mrurl · July 2001

I disagree, unless he is pulling Clidesdales. Two 1200 lb horses and an 800 lb trailer is about the same as the boat and well within the capacity of the 1500 with 5.3 and 3.73 or 4.10.

A 2500HD with D'max/Alli is overkill - which is not to say I wouldn't mind having one myself.

Peter

dmnsmith2 · July 2001

Thanks for the reply. Another question is how does the other end of the harness get to the brake controler? Through the firewall? I am assuming I have to buy the controller, and mount it on the firewall? TIA

ryanbab · July 2001

what kinda trailer are you pulling? Are you pulling a trailer? You didnt mention if you were

jaguar0027 · July 2001

Thanks for the heads up on the HP III Guess its yet something else to save up for ... LOL

Jim

brazoo · July 2001

I was looking at brochure today and think that the weight of gear, and trailer and horses might be close to the ax for a 1500, so I am leaning towards the 2500 now and think that should be sufficient, as the ID from what I read gets you about 2000 more lbs in towing capacity. It looks like it comes with the vortec 6000 V8, not sure if that is big enough. Not a fan of manual transmission nor diesel engines which I will stay away from. Yep, I plan to spend a ton of cash in gas as you can imagine. Stinks but I know what I like for this regards.

Thanks to all for the comments and keep them coming. Plan to trash my garbage truck (explorer) sometime in next 3 months for a new Chevy. Bill

dmnsmith2 · July 2001

Ryan,
I have a 16 ft tandem axle trailer, with brakes. Not too sure how to set this up on the new Silverado. Thanks for the help.

minikin · July 2001

You do have to buy a controller, but the other end of the harness goes to where ever you want to mount it. Put it where you want within reach of the driver and wire it in. The pre-wired connector end provides power to the controller and signal feeds to/from the trailer brakes.
-- Don

erikf2 · July 2001

Something else to throw in the hopper: if you plan on **ever** getting a slide-in camper (fairly popular with "horsey" types out here in the West), go with a 3500HD dually long-bed and the 8.1l engine.

Otherwise, a standard 2500 short-bed with the 6.0l should suffice; you may be suprised at how much power this engine has (300hp for '99 and '00 models, 325hp since), and the "tow-haul" mode on the automatic tranny really helps.

sonjaab · July 2001

Hey..if your worried about gas mileage check
out the 2500 light duty with the 373 rear.
It will haul or tow just about anything.
I get about 16 mpg hiway unloaded and only
have 2300 miles...It got 10 when i first got it.
There is a 500 rebate on the 01 2500 ld also
but NO rebate on the 2500 HD .
There was a 1000 rebate and 2.9 interest when i
bought mine in May.
And GM don't advertise it either...............Geo

markbuck · July 2001

Check out www.http://www.tekonsha.com/Tekonsha/DOCS/tekcat/tekcat.html

For details. Buddy and I have sentinal's. Work great. The plug in location is the plastic box below the parking brake pedal when fully depressed. GM calls it the customer conv panel or something like that. Pop the cover off, plug in the brown connector in the correct spot (see lid of cover) and solder your pigtail leads to the brake controller. Might have to put the 40 amp maxifuse in the right spot under the hood. Nothing special needed when connecting the trailer plug.

PS. Make sure you have electric trailer brakes.

trucks4me2 · July 2001

I just purchased and installed a Tekonsha Prodigy in my 2500HD. It was easy with no soldering because it came with the correct harness to go from the Conv Center to the controller. I mounted it to the left of the steering column on the dash so I can get to it easy. The prodigy is all electronic and needs no leveling. I tested it today with my 7,000 Travel trailer and it really worked great...lots better than my old Kelsey-Hayes.

Stan

trucks4me2 · July 2001

One problem I noted after towing my 7,000 lbs Trvl Trlr for the first time...I had a lot of up and down bounce on the hitch causing the truck to also rock up and down. I was thinking of putting on heavier shocks to correct this. Does anyone have any experience with the Rancho RS 9000 or the air adjustable Rancho RS 9700 shocks (or perhaps another brand)??? I would think this would solve the problem. Any input Pos or Neg would be appreciated.

Stan

obyone · July 2001

the weight of the truck. Maybe consider air bags.

markbuck · July 2001

Just thought I'd check.... you are running a equalizing hitch, right? I'd certainly run one, will solve some of your porpoising (spelling -5).

trucks4me2 · July 2001

Yes the hitch is a full equalizing. I had the same prob on the Suburban I used before I got the truck and shocks helped. I am a little surprised the 2500HD does this since the springs are a lot stiffer. The shocks don't support the weight but they do control oscillation. I was just looking for input on the quality of the Rancho brand. I am also going to try taking up an extra link on the spring bars.

Stan

eric2001 · July 2001

I would try the airbag route IMO. When not trailering, bags deflated, you still have the same nice ride, unlike an extra leaf & higher compression shocks. Plus if you go full out $$ with in-cab controller, no hassles at all. Just my $0.02.
-Eric

dmnsmith2 · August 2001

for Tekonsha? The one above and www.tekonsha.com doesnt work. Thanks for the info...

jpfltaw · August 2001

the Air Bags really work... the ride empty is greatly improved. Pulled a small ut trailer for construction supplies and and have to keep checking to see if it is still back there. Should have done the Air Bags when I got my 99, but ended up getting a 2000 that still had a 2 inch rear end drop after 3000 miles. This greatly effects the ride loaded and unloaded. So Air Bag it and enjoy.

dustyone · August 2001

" Yes the hitch is a full equalizing."

The hitch that comes with the HD trailering package is NOT the equalizer that he is talking about. It is a separate device that is used to equalize the load on the front and rear wheels. See

http://www.reesehitch.com/contents.html#Weight for an example

markbuck · August 2001

If he's talking about spring bars.... he knows what an equalizing hitch is.

Trucks....is your front wheelwell height lower with the equalizer and trailer on? I shoot for about 1/4" lower when setting spring bar preload.

truckchic · August 2001

Hi everyone: I'm looking at getting the spray in liner for my 2001 GMC Sierra. Anyone have any thoughts? Anyone have Rhino lining? Is that any good. Holding up well? What ranges of costs am I looking at?

I'm the the western subs of Chicago.

Thanks again
Truckchic

andyengemann · August 2001

I have a friend with the Rhino liner. The Rhino liner color fades unevenly over time. It seems to be working well but it looks old before it is old! I prefer the Line-X brand. It seems to be holding up much better in terms of looks. Both types do a great job of protecting the bed. Is Line-X available where you are at? They charge about $450 for a 8 foot bed with coverage over the bed rails. It costs a little less for a 6.5 foot bed or if you don't want the rails covered. You can save an extra $50 to $75 by negotiating and getting the installation done at the installer's convenience.

trucks4me2 · August 2001

Thank's to all about the hitch suggestions. I know what an equalizing hitch is and have one. I never have measured the wheel height but will try that when I hook up the trlr again. The air bags sound interesting. I hadn't thought of that but will certainly look into it. This is what I enjoy about these sites.....lots of second opinions and good suggestions. Thanks all.....

Stan

ryanbab · August 2001

have had mine now since april 00. 18K miles

Worked and looks great

If it becomes a little faded all you need is some rhino shine stuff. Spray that on (kinda like an armor all but different) and the shiney blackness comes back

Ryan

ricsch · August 2001

I installed an Airlift air bag kit on my truck, definate improvement in ride and should be a benefit in towing. Easy install too.

gator34 · August 2001

Line-X has a coupon on their website. Had one sprayed on my LB this week. Just over $500 for over the rails incl. tax. I haven't seen a bed that looks better! You also get a warranty for as long as you own your truck.

obyone · August 2001

in business. Some of these guys are here today and gone tomorrow.

dmnsmith2 · August 2001

Thanks...

erikf2 · August 2001

Rick, here are the pictures of my Ride Rite compressor and in-cab controller. I think I will be re-locating the controller to someplace higher on the dash, or maybe put it on the A-pillar, because it's actually kind of inconvenient where it's at right now. It's not actually in the way, but it is in a very poor spot to view the guage.

Here's the compressor in the engine compartment.

Here's where the air lines and wires for the controller feed into passenger compartment, next to the steering shaft.

And here's where the controller is located - for now.

ricsch · August 2001

thanks for the pics, will help in mounting my compressor and running line & wiring. I did mount my gauge in the cab-I don't have a console, so I mounted it just to the right of where you mounted yours. Hope to complete the rest of the install soon.

erikf2 · August 2001

The biggest problem I am having with the controller being located **under** the dash is that the guage can't really be read unless I duck my head down to about the same level; not very practical for monitoring while driving!

Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra - Owners hangout

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