Vic's new truck - 2006 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 LBZ

[Vic Harder]

Sold my pristine 2002 8.1L 2500HD for this truck with 387K KM on her. We got this truck for a number of reasons:

1) Long bed. Gives us the option of getting a Grandby vs Hawk or having a Hawk with lots of storage space
2) Diesel... much better range. First tank of fuel already shows a 50% improvement, from 10 mpg to 15 mpg in city driving. PLUS the tank is bigger (36 gal vs 26 gal) and I can easily up that to 62 gal by replacing the existing tank

Having 2x the miles on it has not been TOO big a concern, as the engine hours are low, and it has little to no rust.

Heading out tomorrow on a 4000 mile round trip to pick up a 2012 PUMA to put on this rig.

 

[Vic Harder]

I have already done the following to this truck:

1) Replaced all fluids and filters, hoses, belts
2) Added a muffler to the aftermarket 5" exhaust - still too loud. FTE Diesel resonator to come
3) Refreshed front suspension/steering with new pitman and idler arms
4) Flushed brakes
5) Replace emergency brake parts.. separate drums on these trucks
6) Replace spare tire lowering mechanism... a royal PITA... glad I did this on my driveway, not 300 miles from anywhere
7) Replaces rear axle seals
8) Added an Auto-Vox X2 dash cam/rear view mirror. Primarily for the rear view mirror function. It rocks!
9) Upgraded all lighting to LED
10) Installed a FASS lift pump


Still to come are:

11) Upgraded headlights from Lightwerkz.net
12) Extensive soundproofing
13) Resonator to reduce 1400 RPM drone
14) Tie rod sleeves
15) Replace worn out seats with nice heated leather seats from a wrecker
16) TBD

 

[PokyBro]

Congratulations on your new vehicle Vic. Looks like you dove in and prepped it with important replacements for common failure problems, and ready for the road. Hope it works out well for you and that your trip to pick up your new camper goes smooth.

 

[klahanie]

Congrats Vic. Impressive with the fuel improvement. Will be interesting to see how loaded changes consumption, gas vs diesel. And of course, the seat of the pants comparison

I was going to say how much you'll enjoy buying cheaper fuel - then I checked gasbuddy for Calgary, oops ! It's opposite here, then again, not hard when gas is 1.70 ...

Enjoy.
And safe travels.

 

[EM4]

Good for you Vic.....gotta luv the increased fuel mileage. Enjoy the new combo!!

 

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

Will be watching closely. I’m just about to Google a couple of your upgrades.

 

[Foy]

Congratulations Vic. Your meticulous planning and research seems to have found you a winner. Best of luck with it. I suspect you'll like the Duramax/Allison combination a lot!

Foy

 

[CougarCouple]

Congrats on the vehicle Vic. Have a safe pickup trip.

Russ

 

[Colorado Mark]

Nice find Vic!!!

The 06 Silverado with the LBZ & long bed is a fantastic combo.

No piss tank or DPF. 650 ft lbs tq is hard to beat. Only came out for about a year in that engine & year then it dropped when the LLY came out.

Took quite a few years to get that kind of power back out but now, ya gotta dump wizz in the filler under the hood and spill it all over the inner fender and lord help you if its needs a regeneration while you are driving. You won't have that problem.

You mind if I ask what you gave for it?

 

[Bill D]

Cool. I like the simple lines on the older body styles.

Couple questions. Why did you need to replace the e-brake parts and spare lowering mechanism when these items are rarely used? Was it due to lack of use and maintenance?

The Auto-Vox X2 looks cool. I'd like to have one by the looks of it.
It will be interesting to hear your long term review.


Like Vic was glad I lowered the spare on my driveway and not out on the road. As I had issues as well. The tube which connects from hole at the bumper to the lowering mechanism had fallen out of place. I had a heck of a time getting the wheel down and things repaired. It's probably something we should all should do once a year, but probably neglect.


Enjoy the new rig Vic!!!

BTW, I enjoy seeing the things you do, because I know you've researched the heck out things and bought the best. Saves me a lot of work

 

[Vic Harder]

Congrats Vic. Impressive with the fuel improvement. Will be interesting to see how loaded changes consumption, gas vs diesel. And of course, the seat of the pants comparison

I was going to say how much you'll enjoy buying cheaper fuel - then I checked gasbuddy for Calgary, oops ! It's opposite here, then again, not hard when gas is 1.70 ...

Enjoy.
And safe travels.

900km of highway travel from Calgary to Twisp, Wa via #3 today 17.6 mpg (US gallons). Totally stoked about the fuel economy!

 

[Vic Harder]

Congratulations Vic. Your meticulous planning and research seems to have found you a winner. Best of luck with it. I suspect you'll like the Duramax/Allison combination a lot!

Foy

i had an Allson in the 2500HD with 8.1L too. LOVE these transmissions. The Duramax is definitely louder, but just loafs along. Driving route today had several 10% grades, and it pulled up those hills at 65mph without shifting down. Amazing

 

[Vic Harder]

Nice find Vic!!!

The 06 Silverado with the LBZ & long bed is a fantastic combo.


You mind if I ask what you gave for it?

$12K Canadian. $8K more invested already. Still a deal compared to others I saw out there.

 

[Vic Harder]

Cool. I like the simple lines on the older body styles.

Couple questions. Why did you need to replace the e-brake parts and spare lowering mechanism when these items are rarely used? Was it due to lack of use and maintenance?

The Auto-Vox X2 looks cool. I'd like to have one by the looks of it.
It will be interesting to hear your long term review.


Like Vic was glad I lowered the spare on my driveway and not out on the road. As I had issues as well. The tube which connects from hole at the bumper to the lowering mechanism had fallen out of place. I had a heck of a time getting the wheel down and things repaired. It's probably something we should all should do once a year, but probably neglect.


Enjoy the new rig Vic!!!

BTW, I enjoy seeing the things you do, because I know you've researched the heck out things and bought the best. Saves me a lot of work

Thanks Bill.

e-brake bits were totally covered in oil and there was NO material left on the shoes. Totally trashed.
Spare tire hoist was seized. 2 hours of work to get the old one one. Ended up having to cut the cable and buy a Dorman replacement that does NOT have the fail-safe hook that GM uses.

The mirror takes some getting used to. It has a very wide field of view... as in, you can still see vehicles in the "mirror" that are at your rear bumper.

Thanks for the compliment re: my R&D!

 

[DavidGraves]

Hi Vic

Congrats on the new truck...it is good to explore new things (campers) ever so often.

It keeps one young.

David Graves

 

[buckland]

Congrats Vic. So exciting getting a new set of wheels and making it yours. I love the diesel power and the fuel generally is a bit more $ but the mileage increase and range by far outweighs that. Be sure to post more photos when you get the camper on!
Rob

 

[Advmoto18]

Sweet truck Vic!
Just now getting broken in with those KMs!
Enjoy the project of making it your truck!

 

[Bill D]

Congrats Vic. So exciting getting a new set of wheels and making it yours. I love the diesel power and the fuel generally is a bit more $ but the mileage increase and range by far outweighs that. Be sure to post more photos when you get the camper on!
Rob

Where we live, diesel is generally cheaper or on par with mid grade gas.

 

[Vic Harder]

driving down to NM and so far diesel is.10 cents less than gas from WA to UT. Speed 80 mph according to GPS and 17.6 mpg

 

[fish more]

17.6 Tall gears? I'm happy with 16.5