Diesels: Finding a clean, low mileage diesel in 2021 is like finding the Arc of the Covenant in a Bigfoot den. Typically we have an expansive diesel inventory, right now we have two! Whats even more incredible is that two diesel ton full quad cab pickups right now is A LOT, so upgrade the Bigfoot cave to a duplex with the Loch Ness Monster as the downstairs tenant.
2021 GMC Sierra 3500 HD Duramax DRW:We made it 7 months into 2021 before we saw a 2021 GMC Sierra 3500HD. Admittedly, a few of us had completely forgotten that it had a front end redesign, so when it showed up it was met with a resounding, woah, that’s new! It has the 6.6L Duramax turbodiesel, the heavy duty 10-speed Allison Transmission, 6 tires, 5th wheel prep package, and it can tow 31,000 lb. When you need to pull something truly massive, you need something like this.
The wild part though is that despite the 910 ft/lbs of torque, the massive curb weight, and the fact that it has a DRW axle- its still very pleasant to drive. The interior is quiet and comfortable, and the GMC Intellilink infotainment is rock solid as ever. At just over 3k miles we didnt spend a ton of time driving this one because it is still so new, but you just wouldnt expect that out of something that you know could tow a building.
Its also smart. This 2021 GMC Sierra 3500HD has the Safety Confidence Package ” that equips it with forward collision alert, automatic emergency braking, lane change alert, and side blind-zone alert. Not going to lie, playing chicken in something this big to figure out how it all works was not something I was going to try with a very possibly 1-of-1, 1-ton pickup within 500 miles.
2019 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD LTZ:Need to tow said aforementioned building, and want every option under the sun? LTZ. This 2019 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD LTZ fits that bill perfectly. Z71 suspension package, 6.6L Duramax Turbodiesel paired to an Allison 1000 6-speed automatic transmission and 4WD are the main headlines for this big crew cab.
But then you get to the creature comforts, and the option sheet pretty much explodes. Heated seats, heated steering wheel, center console with tons of USB, AC and DC charging options, and it has done under 30k miles. The Chevrolet MyLink infotainment that handles the backup camera will also seamlessly pair your phone to pump through the Bose speakers and you can control the entire thing from the steering wheel.
The idea that big diesel pickups are more of a family car than ever is definitely one of the things that is adding to the shortage of them. Quite simply put, as diesel pickup trucks became more refined and user friendly, the benefits quickly began outweighing the reasons that people didnt buy them, because they are in many cases more efficient and capable than comparable displacement gasoline engines.
Thats why they work. It does everything that an upscale Blazer does: carry 5 people, decent console and storage space in the cabin, tons of places to plug in and charge up devices, the ability to electrically warm your hands and buns – but it can tow over 7 tons! Also it would be hard to get a four wheeler or a few dirt bikes into the back of a Blazer without the aid of a sawzall.
Trail Ready:When the Silverado Trail Boss and GMC AT4 pickup trim levels came out everyone immediately jumped the gun and started comparing it to the Baja-ready Ford Raptor and the incoming Hellcat powered Ram pickup. After spending some time with these high-riding-half-tons, we figured out what the real point of it was.
If you were going by popular media, the Raptor and TRX are more Fast and the Furious” while the AT4 and Trail Boss are more Knives Out, meaning that the former are a bit more gratuitous and indulgent, where the latter are more about perfecting a good formula by making it a little bit more interesting. They know youre not going to use 700hp all the time, so they give you a 5.3L V8 that is naturally aspirated. The lift is a mild 2 to keep the driving dynamics nice on the road, but the underbody shielding and chunky tires make this a genuinely capable half ton when you take it off road. In spending some time with this trim level we have found a definite charisma that is undeniable.
Trail Boss:At one point in researching and writing this article, searches for 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Trail Boss were up 1,800% over the average set by searches for 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. Unfortunately for everyone involved, good luck getting a 2021 Trail Boss! We have had a few, and almost all of them have been sold before they ever touched our lot. Fortunately though, because of their popularity they have begun showing up on the used market, and most of them are low mileage because they were bought right before a global pandemic!
With the Chevy Silverado Trail Boss you get two trim options, Custom or LT. We have spent a lot more time in the Custom, and despite it not having all of the bells and whistles of the LT it still works. The Trail Boss is equipped standard with Apple Carplay and Android Auto which make pairing your phone a breeze for either media or communications. As far as road noise goes, you are definitely going to get more than you would from a standard 1500 because of those chunky tires. Its not deafening, but were sure you could change that!
As far as driving the Chevy Trail Boss goes, yea, it’s a little taller but it doesn’t make enough of a difference to the driving dynamics to notice. We have to remember that the Silverado 1500 is a pretty big truck to begin with, but it is well planted and well designed, so adding a bit of height while stiffening the suspension doesnt turn it into a wobbling mess at 75 mph.
The biggest difference that we have noticed between the standard Silverado 1500 and the Trail Boss is how many more people look at you in the Trail Boss. It is a good looking truck and it has just the right level of accents that make people who are not in the know say, whats that! Its not gaudy, just a handful of different colors, a different badge on the back, a slight lift, and a very good pickup truck underneath all of that. If youre from a small town and want to flex without being considered ostentatious the Silverado 1500 Trail Boss fits the ticket. At the time of writing, we have five used Chevy Silverado 1500 Trail Boss on the lot, but honestly thats probably going to change before the end of this sentence.
AT4 and LT Trail BossSo if you get a Custom Trail Boss because you dont want to stand out too much at your small hometown bar, you get the LT or AT4 because you do want to stand out. Between the two of them they have more technology than you can shake a stick at, and even have some features that you wont be able to get in a 2021, or possibly even a 2022!
The LT Trail Boss is smack between the Custom and the AT4, with a ton of amazing features that make this big half ton a genuinely nice place to be. The LT that we have (currently) is a gorgeous black on black-leather crew cab that works as both a daily driver and capable workhorse. The Z71 suspension package and underbody shielding make it so that you can take this heated seat half ton just about anywhere with confidence. The steering wheel is also heated, and the rear seats have in seat storage. Additionally, there is a trailer brake controller and active fuel management which will be unavailable for the foreseeable future due to the lack of semiconductor components.
We really like the fixed console on the LT. It provides so much space, and for many drivers having a fixed position to keep all of their stuff is crucial, as the flip down consoles that reveal the 6th seat can trebuchet for all of your stuff into the back seat. Additionally we think it provides a cleaner look to the interior and breaks up the space.
The AT4:While all of the Trail Bosses on our lot have to make do with the fantastic 5.3L V8, the AT4 is packing the epic 6.2L making 420 HP and 460 ft/lbs of torque. It is a completely different animal. It sounds better, it revs better, it goes like a train, and on top of that is one of the most well appointed interiors ever to roll out of Detroit.
Looking at the jet black leather with Kalahari accents, you are instantly thinking of something high end and European. When you turn it on and hear that tremendous 6.2L roar and then calmly burble you are reminded that this is American, and you can do some serious work with it! The heads-up-display is also instantly familiar to anyone who has spent some time in a Corvette or high end Suburban. All of the seats are heated, and the front ones are also air conditioned. The Multi-Pro tailgate is a fantastic piece of engineering that reminds you of a massive Swiss Army Knife, and the integrated step handle is a legit safety feature coming from someone who has jumped in and out of the back of a lot of pickup trucks.
The tech fest with this truck really doesn’t stop. The around view video cameras offer 360 degrees of vision which makes driving this big, jacked up, long-box, half ton pickup in a crowded parking lot a lot less nerve wracking. If you love the half ton GM pickups, but want it to have Cadillac Escalade levels of comfort and refinement this is really the only GMC Sierra 1500 AT4 you should be looking at!
The Competition:How are Ford and FCA (Ram) doing these days? Well Ford just announced that they are probably going to shift more towards build to order and Dodge keeps putting Hellcat Motors in places that they probably dont belong. So were all basically in the same boat. Not enough trucks and way more demand than supply.
But with that being said, weve still been getting used units of some of our fiercest in market competition.
Ford:We have had some epic Fords on the lot over the last few months. One of the highlights was a F-150 diesel with enough extra goodies on it to make Henry roll over in his grave. It was black on black which would have made him happy, but the heated and ventilated seats while getting nearly 30 mpg turning 1150 RPM at 65 MPH would have freaked him right out. Admittedly, that oddball stayed around a lot longer than we thought it would, which isnt surprising then that they have dropped the diesel from their lineup for 2022 in favor of the Electric F-150 that we have outlined in a previous blog.
But here’s what we do have: a trio of EcoBoost F-150s and a big F-250 with the 6.2L V8 and all of them are full crew cabs.
When they first pitched the V6, twin turbo charged F-150 a lot of the die-hards were skeptical. They prefer the easy going torque of a small block V8 over forced induction witchcraft. And then they drove it. Forced induction and pickup trucks should get along like peas and carrots. Its free horsepower. What do you need when you are pulling or hauling stuff? Some free horsepower! The downside though, and not a lot of drivers really understood this, was that turbochargers make a vehicle as efficient as you want it to be, or rather how efficient your right foot makes it.
From a driving dynamics standpoint, the F-150 is a lot lighter and a bit more car-like of a ride than a lot of the GM stock and trade. Some people love this, some people hate it. It really comes down to your personal preference and how you like a truck to ride. It still feels solid, but it does take some getting used to. Even the 4-cylinder Silverados still feel like a pickup truck, which is something that we think the Ford engineers worked really hard for, just for people to complain about on the internet.
Then there is the Platinum. See, all of the F-150s on our lot have the fantastic 3.5L EcoBoost V6, but only one of them has all of the options you get in an LT Tahoe. This thing is loaded. Heated and ventilated front seats, 360 degrees of camera coverage that displays through the Sync III Infotainment screen, and a massive panoramic sunroof. If you want an up-trim used BMW X5 that doesnt corner quite as well but can do it with a 4 wheeler in the back, here ya go!
The F-250SD on the other hand is a monster. There is absolutely no mistaking the ride of the F-250SD with anything other than a massively capable ton on chunky tires with tons of 4×4 grip. The 6.2 can tow up to 12,500 lbs with its 6-speed automatic sending the power to all four wheels, and the interior is extremely spacious with seating for up to 6 when you fold the center console up. This one has the full sized Sync III infotainment system which is a major upgrade over the tiny screen from the XLT, but either way you can pair your phone for media and cell phone integration with tons of steering wheel mounted controls.
RAM:Isnt it time for them to put a Hellcat motor into a 500 Abarth or something? The minivan was awesome, the Wrangler is a death trap, and the Trackhawk is one of the best SUVs nobody really bought. But the TRX, that is a whole other level. That is the most logical thing to throw a Hellcat motor into – almost specifically for the purpose of filming your shenanigans and putting it on Youtube. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7fmkc-qQX4)
However, we haven’t seen a TRX yet. Its been a while since weve seen one with a Cummins diesel! Were even sold out of the Hemi powered Rams! We have a few though with one of the most under-appreciated engines ever to grace an American car. Ram (formerly Dodge) is known best for hemispherical combustion heads, huge displacement, and putting a V-10 into a slightly bigger Mazda Miata. However, one of the best things that they have made in a long time is the 3.6L V6. At first it had premature wearing problems that would cause catastrophic failure, but they have worked that out over the last 10 million units they have produced and stuffed into everything from the Challenger and Grand Caravan, to the Wrangler and Ram 1500.
The V6 in this truck is way more entertaining than it should be. The Pentastar 3.6L V6 has no reason being as popular and prolific as it is, until you absolutely stand on it. The extra valves, variable valve timing and other clever engine electronics take a good engine and make it genuinely great while still being naturally aspirated. With forced induction we would imagine this would be an absolute hoot in anything you put it in.
The other major reason why people buy Ram trucks is the comfort factor. Their interiors are all well laid out even in the base trims with tons of options and a fantastic infotainment system in the form of the uConnect. These relatively basic trucks ride and drive fantastically, with tons of awesome options that make them perfectly capable daily drivers.
Normally we would make a transmission joke here, but the V6 1500 rams are a perfectly suitable pickup truck option if you don’t need the massive towing capacity, but you still need to haul stuff! The 4wd is very solid, and the infotainment systems really are some of the best in the segment. The only drawback comes from the anti-touch screen crowd, as most of the climate controls are on screen.
Other Oddballs:Not looking at a domestic, but need that familiar pickup truck form and capability? We have a few other oddballs on the lot that are interesting and have forced us to look at how other continents see American pickup truck consumers.
Nissan Titan:The Nissan Titan is very much its own thing, but if it reminds us of any of the domestic truck producers, it has to be Dodge. You can get a Titan with a V8 Cummins turbo diesel that gets a whopping 12 MPG. This one however is the 5.6L gasoline burning V8 that makes a ton of power with a plush and comfortable interior. Seriously, the seats in this thing are Ram levels of comfort, but overstuffed and oversized. Everything about the Titan is in fact titanic, and we kinda dig it. Also serious shoutout to that Cayenne Red paint, we dolled it up a few weeks ago and it still blinds us when its decently sunny out!
Toyota Tacoma Crew Cab:On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have a 2020 Toyota Tacoma Crew Cab SR5. These things just keep getting better and better looking, while not getting too big and too far from their original mini-truck roots. We love the 3.5L DOHC V6 for its legendary reliability and torque, and the rest of the truck is a genuine winner with upgraded infotainment for the 2020 model year. The 4WD is also a bona fide winner with tons of grip and an even power split from the electronically controlled differential. There are a lot of good reasons why you see these things all over the world. They haven’t made an environment that can kill the Tacoma yet.
Aside from all of this, we have a great selection of low mileage, off lease half ton Silverado 1500s and several 6.0L 2500HDs with plow prep. As stated all the way at the beginning of this article, we have two new trucks on our lot. Odds are if you want a brand new one, youre better off coming in and ordering exactly what you want. However, if you have an open mind and do some homework, youll find that we have one of the strongest used truck inventories out there right now! So click that little orange chat bar at the bottom of the page if you are in the market for a great used truck, because nice inventory hasnt been sticking around for long.
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