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Anyone have any experience with 2020 or 2021 Chevy/GMC 2500 or 3500 with the new 6.6L gas engine? I currently have a 2011 duramax and tow a 7500 pound travel trailer and a light bay boat.

The duramax has been stellar with the exception of emissions. I am at the point (about 145,000) that I will need to spend some serious money in repairs on a 10 year old diesel truck with no guarantee that the dreaded Bosch CP.4 fuel pump won’t take a dump to the tune of $10,000. That plus a $4,000 egr problem and a DPF that is close to the expected life suggests that trading now may be smart. I would worry if I had to jump in it and tow or drive cross country.

I spend most miles empty or towing the boat, and I do short trip quite a bit. I think I will be happy to be shed of the diesel, but it does have gobs of torque.

Any experience with the new Chevy 2500 gassers?

Last edited by K1500; 03/22/21.
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A friend at work has a 2020 with the 6.6. He seems happy so far. He pulls a skid steer on a deck over some but not for a living and not every day.

My main issue is that they have to be the ugliest pickup ever to roll off the line. If you can live with that I odds are it’ll be a decent rig.

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The looks are...interesting. When they first came out I told myself I couldn’t do it but the longer I stare at it the less it bothers me. I’ve said that about every generation of truck.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FBAbE8dE3k&t=1s


Does alright with heavy loads, better than the 6.4 Hemi, not as good as the Ford 7.3

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On TFL Truck is didn't do well towing compared to the ford 7.3

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Well, we will find out. I traded the 2011 in today. If you are thinking about trading or selling a truck, now is the time. My trade was worth more than it was 2 years ago and I believe more than book value 5 years ago. The used market is very tight because the new market is so tight. Most trucks are selling before the get to the lot around here. On new, MSRP and any discounts basically set the line, while used trucks can rise more freely in price. It seems like there is a price squeeze where the used are rising (have risen) much faster than the new. I don’t expect that to last regardless of brand. Good luck. I’ll post up again when towing season gets here, but right now I am relieved to be out from under the pile of deferred and pending maintenance on the diesel. It was a GREAT truck, but will likely cost the next owner far more to drive than it cost me. Let’s hope this one is as good as the last.

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I’m at 6,000 miles now with about 2,000 of that towing a 26’ camper through the Rockies and another 1,500 towing a boat. No problems in any of the towing and the downhill grade shifting/engine braking of the 6L90 is very nice. Fuel economy isn’t great, about 1-1.2 mpg less than the Duramax. Towing at 75mph with a wind catching camper is around 8’ish. Dropping to 65 mph gets it up to around 10. Empty is 14-15 or so. The best was a highway trip at 60-65 mph for 18.5 mpg. All of this is around what I was getting with my 2011 LML. Of course, gas is typically less than diesel. The power is there, no problems going over Colorado passes at 12,000 feet with the trailer. So far I am happy with the switch. There is a clunk coming from one side of the rear suspension when off road. I am sure the dealer will fix it. Other than the clunk I have zero complaints, and the 6.6 gas can really scoot when needed.

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Thanks for the report.

I've been interested in the Super Duty with Godzilla, but lately been thinking about the 6.6 GM.

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You are welcome, and good luck with your decision. I was honestly impressed with how little I missed the diesel power, especially in the mountains. That being said, none of my trailers are very heavy, so they may not really be ‘diesel worthy’. The LML had something like 397 HP and the new gas L8T has 401 HP, so the output is similar to the LML (except of course for torque).

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Originally Posted by 4th_point
Thanks for the report.

I've been interested in the Super Duty with Godzilla, but lately been thinking about the 6.6 GM.


I have the 7.3L Godzilla. I can’t compare it to the GM truck, but I can say I pulled a 10k lb camper from Ms to Maine and back with zero issues regarding power.

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Godzilla with Tremor trim would work well for me.

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Originally Posted by K1500
I’m at 6,000 miles now with about 2,000 of that towing a 26’ camper through the Rockies and another 1,500 towing a boat. No problems in any of the towing and the downhill grade shifting/engine braking of the 6L90 is very nice. Fuel economy isn’t great, about 1-1.2 mpg less than the Duramax. Towing at 75mph with a wind catching camper is around 8’ish. Dropping to 65 mph gets it up to around 10. Empty is 14-15 or so. The best was a highway trip at 60-65 mph for 18.5 mpg. All of this is around what I was getting with my 2011 LML. Of course, gas is typically less than diesel. The power is there, no problems going over Colorado passes at 12,000 feet with the trailer. So far I am happy with the switch. There is a clunk coming from one side of the rear suspension when off road. I am sure the dealer will fix it. Other than the clunk I have zero complaints, and the 6.6 gas can really scoot when needed.

Sounds pretty much exactly like my dad’s experience switching to a 2018 F250 with the 6.2 from a 2011 F250 with the 6.7. He just pulled his 20’ camper over Cottonwood pass with zero issues and averaged about 9.5mpg coming 600mi from SWOK. Gasoline HD pickups have improved considerably in the last few years, I’m sure the 10sp/7.3 is even better.

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I went over cottonwood last week, and I agree that new gas HD’s are much improved over their older counterparts.

Last edited by K1500; 07/23/21.
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Quick bump, probably the last unless something goes wrong as there isn’t much new to report. I’m at 8,000 miles with another 1,500 towing the boat. Still no complaints and zero regrets about not getting a diesel. Time will tell on the reliability front, but I am very happy with the truck so far.

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Thanks for the reports.

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You are welcome. Hopefully it gives anyone considering the 6.6 gas motor a data point.

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I’m looking at a new gmc 2500.

Never owned a diesel. Thinking of getting one, just not sure it’s worth the extra 10g to get one over a gasser

Tow a Grand design 2800 bunk house. Occasionally a tractor or skid steer. Don’t tow weekly. Everyone talks about reliability and longevity with diesels. I prefer to keep a truck for a long time, and don’t typically trade every few years

Are diesels that much better over the long haul? Myth?

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Originally Posted by kevinJ
I’m looking at a new gmc 2500.

Never owned a diesel. Thinking of getting one, just not sure it’s worth the extra 10g to get one over a gasser

Tow a Grand design 2800 bunk house. Occasionally a tractor or skid steer. Don’t tow weekly. Everyone talks about reliability and longevity with diesels. I prefer to keep a truck for a long time, and don’t typically trade every few years

Are diesels that much better over the long haul? Myth?




Well - all relative. If you're a high mileage guy anyway, maybe not as much but a diesel SHOULD outlast the body and most of the sub assemblies. Older diesels often did.


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I would say it depends on how many miles you tow. I got out of a diesel because of the high and continued maintenance costs. I believe the days of ‘diesels last forever’ and ‘gassers wear out’ are over. My impression is diesels wear out/have extremely expensive failures at as high or greater a rate than a gas truck. Furthermore, by the time either powertrain wears out, the rest of the truck is probably going to be in rough shape as well. Diesels do get better mileage, but that is offset by the lower cost of gas.

Google Bosch cp.4 fuel pump repair and you will see that for the cost of simply replacing a failure prone fuel pump in a diesel you could stuff a brand new crate engine in a gas truck. Add in a DPF replacement around 150-200k plus all the other emissions junk on new diesels and you can see that what is considered ‘normal’ parts replacement on a diesel can be nearly as expensive and rebuilding or replacing an entire gas motor.

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Mileage wise I drive 25000 a year give or take. 12 minutes to work and back. Will do 2-3 500+ mile camper tows a year at most

Tow a camper 7-10 times a year total I would think. Eastern mountains and interstates

My f150 is a POS as far as reliability. It towed the camper okay honestly. But a 3/4 would be even better

If diesel is that much better I don’t care to spend some $. But I also don’t wanna blow money for no reason

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