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?

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

Thanks for the report.

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

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).

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.

Godzilla with Tremor trim would work well for me.

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.

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

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.

Thanks for the reports.

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

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.

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.

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

Well, I am sure you will likely be happy with either. Any 2500 is a big step up in towing ability from a 150/1500. I’ve had my truck for 5 months and 5,000 miles of towing and don’t miss a diesel. Like you are considering, I went from a 1500 straight to a 2500 diesel. I didn’t really need a diesel but didn’t want to leave anything on the table in terms of capability. One additional thing to consider is you will likely get about 1/2 or a bit more of the added cost of the diesel back when you sell the truck. That offsets the cost to some degree of you do go for the diesel. For me, the gas truck makes more sense. Best of luck with your decision.

Which model/trim did you end up with k1500?


Any likes dislikes?

LT Texas/All Star Edition (they are the same thing) Z71 crew cab. Only thing I may change is the cloth seats. I would rather have leather, and aftermarket solutions exist. I started out looking at the Custom trim and am sure I would have been happy with that, but this truck was on the lot and available. Plus, the dealer gave me more for my trade than the lot with the Custom trim truck, so I really only spent around $1800 more to get the upgrade in trim, which was more like a $5,000+ bump on the sticker. I am sure a custom trimmed truck would have been just fine for my needs.

For me with 3 kids, leather would be a really good idea lol

Love the gmc AT4. But they are proud of them

Thought about a custom but don’t like the front end. LT might be how I go

With the exception of leather it is nicer/more features than the LTZ I had before.

Around here, decent leather is a $1,200 to $1,300 job at the upholstery place for a full-size crew cab. I know guys that buy low-trim 4wd trucks and add the leather for durability and ease of cleaning.

That’s about what I’m seeing. If the dealer checked the leather box I believe it would have been something like $900 or so more. My understanding is the aftermarket Katzkins leather is actually nicer than factory.

Katzkins is nice. Wander how much that would cost for a 2500? Guess I better see if I can find that out

Any update OP on how ur truck is doing? Still happy with the 6.6 gas?

Still doing good. About 30,000 miles or so, maybe 1/4 of it towing. Towed a 22’ dual axle bumper pull camper through the Rockies with no issues. Pulls a boat like it isn’t even there. I don’t pull anything too heavy. I’m happy as can be with the power plant and transmission, and I don’t miss the diesel premium. Mileage isn’t great, but it would be worse fuel wise with a diesel. 12’ish around town. 14.5 highway at 75 mph. 18-18 at 55 mph. 9.5 or so towing at highway speeds.

Brother has a 6.6 Gas and likes it Duramax was giving him DEF issues so he went with gas, went on a 500 mile trip in Oregon with it heavy loaded with cargo trailer, side by side above cab, and stiff headwinds Dalles canyon,saw around 6 MPG at 70 plus. Doubt Duramax in same conditions wound have done better than 8 MPG.

My 2018 RAM diesel only gets between 6 and 8 pulling our 28ft pumper pull trailer through rolling hills and 18 mpg empty, sometimes more mostly less. The only advantage I see anymore is torque. It is nice to start at the bottom of a hill with trailer and have no problem gaining easy speed up the hill. Gassers have more HP though these days.

I just finished an 1100 mile trip with a 22 F250 Godzilla. I never ever felt like I didn't have enough power to get started or pass. My trailer is about 7000# but the bigger issue is the front profile. I flipped my axles for ground clearance so it is about 6" taller. Being an older trailer it is pretty flat faced. We dealt with some noticeable wind coming west on I40 from Williams, AZ to I 15. 15 south from Victorville to Cajon Pass was a straight 30 MPH headwind. That was pretty nasty and my lie-o-meter showed 6.6 mpg through that stretch. Along I40 diesel was $1 a gallon more than gas.
I just couldn't justify the diesel premium for my application.

Took delivery of my new 2022 Chev 2500HD with the gas engine couple days ago. It was a painful process since the delivery company lost the keys to the truck so it took 6 weeks to actually get the vehicle.

Like it so far and nice to drive.

Trying to decide on a ranch hand grill guard or not for it.

Why would you ever decide 'not'?...

Lol just put the order in. Dealer is giving it to me at cost minus $500 for the pain it was to deliver the truck.

Those Ranch Hand grills are hell for stout. Were like bellybuttons when I lived in TX - EVERYONE had one and I don't remember seeing a single one damaged, even after application of an opposing force...

I'm up to about 4,000 miles on my 2022. The power increase over my 2013 6.0 is dramatic. Worked great towing about 7,000 lbs. of travel travel over I-70 from Denver to GJ. MPG is not great, but again, an improvement over the 6.0 and not far off the 2011 Cummins I had. Not far enough to justify the expense of a diesel at least.