Exciting year for heavy duty pickup trucks. 2020 Chevrolet and GMC HD 3500’s went from a gooseneck towing rating of 23,000 lbs to 35,500 lb trailers. But like everyone else that’s for a single cab 4×2 3500. But all the 2020 GM dually’s can tow over 30,000 lbs for 2020. That makes them very competitive with Ford and Ram. The question is do we have trailer brakes that will stop 35,500 lb’s? The 3500 dually tires are still 10 ply, is that enough? Don’t know if GM is going to a 3 in. gooseneck ball. The new upgraded Duramax 6.6L diesel has the same torque and horsepower as the 2019 with 445 hp and 910 torque. But the Allison automatic is now a 10-speed. Most of the new trailering ability comes from the new Allison 10-speed. The rear axle changes from 3.73 to 3.42. The engine fan has increased in size to 28 inches with a seperate pulley and belts on a mechanical fan. I’m looking forward to driving the new beast this fall with a super trailer.
The gas engine is new as a direct injection 6.6L replacing the 6.0L with basically the same 6-speed automatic. Confusing to have the gas and diesel engine the same size. The new 6.6L has 401 horse power and 464 torque and a 3.73 rear axle ratio. The whole truck is wider, taller and longer. 3 inches longer crew cab, the short bed is now 6’9″ from 6’6″, the long bed is one inch longer. Finally the rear axle is 1 inch wider which will help handling. The bed rail is almost an 1 inch lower. Finally some help towing goosenecks and 5th wheels. I like the bed step pocket behind the cab to get to the toolboxes in the bed. The new trailer mirrors, power telescope and fold. Like the 1500 in 2019, the trailer brake controller moved to the right side of the steering wheel and the new steering wheel is straight at you. Another important item from the 2019 Silverado 1500 is the stats label in the drivers door frame. For each truck that label will tell you max trailer tongue weight which by adding a zero will tell you the max trailer weight. And rear axle weight max, gross combined weight rating and GVWR. All the stuff that use to take hours to know what your truck is rated for.
The 3500 gets a 12 in ring gear, 2500 gets 11.5″ ring gear. The new Allison 10-speed has a new PTO. Tow/Haul mode can still be manually engaged. But if the truck sinces downhill grade and increased speed, it will automatically engage. The transfer case now has automatic 4×4 along with Hi and Low. Another noticeable difference is the gooseneck ball placement. On the 2500, the goose ball is 2 inches behind the rear axle toward the tailgate. On the 3500 long bed the goose ball is 1 inch ahead of the rear axle toward the cab. Big improvement with diesels is the DEF tank moved up along the frame instead of hanging low below the frame. And the DEF filler cap is in the fuel door with the diesel filler cap. Way better than under the hood.
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