Cascade Crew

[IROCDave]

My work gave me a truck and a gas card a couple of years ago, and when I picked it up I immediately asked to trade it for a higher mileage truck that was more capable. What I was given was a 1/2 ton 2007 Chevy with a Vortec V6 with about 100k on the odo. It was under powered, couldn't haul much and was just a POS. It got about 17 MPG over the two years I drove it though.

Last month I picked up my brand new 2014 Silverado 3/4 ton HD with 10 miles on the ODO. I have about 800 miles on it now. The new truck has so much more power (6 liter, no DI or VVT) than the last work truck, comes with standard traction and stabitrack control, brake controller, air bags etc. It sits really high even though it's 2 wheel drive. The only option is a tow package, this includes a in dash break controller, 18K rated hitch, 3.73 gears and locker diff.
I am amazed at how much higher it sits than my personal truck (2003 3/4 ton 4WHD HD cc with duramax). I don't like a bed rail height of 5' plus but I guess that's what matters to people and this thing is all of that +.

The interior is really nice ( rubber floor mat stripper model) except that the cab got smaller compared to the last gen trucks. I cannot enter the truck without hitting my head on the cab without a concerted effort. The stock cloth seats ( 40-20-40 split) are really comfy once I fit my torso into the cab. I am 6'4" tall with an abnormally long torso. The dash is further away than normal for GM trucks and it has less headroom. It came standard with tilt wheel, wish it had telescoping as well. Another side note is the body panels / bed are made of much thinner steel than my personal truck. It will be dented soon.

The 6 speed transmission seems to hold gears like the Allison in my personal truck and shifts really firm. The rear diff looks a lot larger than what my 03 Dmax has as well as the driveshaft.

Since it's a work truck I haven't switched the traction and stability control off and layed in to the throttle to see how it performs, but I can say hammering down on freeway on ramps is really fun. I towed a 4k trailer with it today and the built in break controller was really easy to use. I will keep you guys posted as to how it holds up over the next 100k + miles.

[jchaussee]

I have a 96 2wd w/t and itbsits higj as well. It came with 8 lugs and and brake conyrols also. I think the w/t just seems to sit high

[aaron_sK]

This whole modern high waistline, high rail height and slab sides thing is getting ridiculous.

A brand new F-150 has a higher rail height than a ten year old F-350. Trucks, even heavier "work" trucks, are firmly in the realm of style accessory.

All the usefulness of the bed has been engineered out in the name of "design". You've got brand new stock-height trucks that can't even pass the simple toolbox-in-the-bed test. That's just crazy.

It will be interesting to see how the 6.0 stacks up to the Dura on a cost/mile basis (fuel and maintenance).

[Twilightoptics]

Crash standards.

[aaron_sK]

Which are directly correlated to vehicle height.

You could achieve the same effect lowering maximum bumper height as you achieve by raising the minimum height of the side-impact crash zone.

But everyone in our society has penis envy and doesn't work for a living so they want to show off.

[IROCDave]

Aaron hit the nail on the head. Seriously, the top of the tail gate on this truck is almost at my armpits. No wonder trucks need a man step in the tailgate or steps molded in to the bumpers now. It's pointless to have them sit so high as the ground clearance isn't much more than the older trucks. Another thing that is different than the last gen truck is that the seat base is higher. I don't like this as the dash feels lower, one of the main reason I don't like the ergonomics of Ford trucks. You feel like your sitting on top of it rather than in it. The door sill is still at the right height for resting the left forearm on the drivers door sill but the dash feels lower than any Chevy truck I have driven. I can barely see stop lights when in the pole position.

This truck has a torsion beam front suspension, new for Chevy but Ford has run with that for decades. The last gen HD W/T's felt much looser going down the round and had a lot more wind noise, this new one is really quite and the steering is more precise.

I have been fairly gentle with throttle in put so far and the gas mileage still sucks. The last gen trucks got around 12 MPG and this one even with the 6 speed auto gets about the same. Amazingly poor. I haven't played with yet but the transmission has a manual mode. The gear shift lever feels really solid and is designed for comfortably placing your right hand on it and using your right thumb changing gears via a nicely weighted rocker switch.

[IROCDave]

The work truck comes with a gas card and maintenance is via 2 year factory coverage and our yard picking it up from there. Fuel economy is a no brainer compared to my personal 03 D-Max. The Dmax still gets low to mid 20's unloaded on the HWY and 18 around town, same as it always has. However it will need injectors replaced soon. That's 5K.

The company has several 6 liter HD's with well over 200K on the odometer and the drive train the most reliable part of those 2002 - 2010 trucks. The one I gave my dad (2002 3/4 HD 6 liter) is still going strong and has well over 200K hard miles on it. My sisters 2005 Tahoe had to go in to the shop a couple of weeks ago and she borrowed my dads truck for a week. I talked to her tonight and she told me she was amazed at well it drove and how much power it has. The interior on that truck has held up really well also.

[QwkTrip]

I hate the high bed rails too. It's so bad in my F150 that you can't see behind you very well. I need the backup camera - it's not just a neat thing to have, it's a need.

[IROCDave]

Another good point. On the flip side how many arguments has that back up cam prevented I know every time I back up to the boat trailer or travel trailer there is a disagreement The wife thinks it's good enough to be within several inches, I'm thinking not. Most times I can get it within 1" if I can see the tailgate latch bolts. We park our boat in the backyard and the approach isn't a straight shot with my truck. Every F'ing time my wife tells me the trailer is to close to the house on approach, then I maneuver further to the right then it's to far. GRRRR. It's a tight squeeze so I usually follow her directions but it drives me nuts. the one time I didn't and just guessed the right rear tire on the trailer nicked a rock and punctured the side wall of the trailer tire. Had to buy a new tire, actually had to buy a couple new tires because Les Schwab didn't have a match.

My wife still doesn't understand that if she cant see the mirrors I cant see her.

[IROCDave]

11.7 MPG on the latest fill up. Mix of around town and freeway miles, unloaded except for about 20 miles of towing a 3K car trailer. Very little idling.

[IROCDave]

11.2 mpg on the last tank. My GF and Labor foreman put a couple hundred miles on it last week so I'm sure it wasn't being for fuel economy.

[IROCDave]

Last tank delivered 14.8 MPG, almost all freeway miles. Half the miles were in stop and go traffic. Couple of things I have noticed - it idles really high when you first start it (1500RPM) and doesn't idle down when you drop it in to gear. As soon as the oil pressure is up I take off and baby the throttle. I really don't like the blinker sound. There is a long delay shifting in to gear if you don't have the seatbelt on and cold. It rides like a floor jack, my 2003 3/4HD rides much better unloaded. Probably has more to do with the short wheel base of the work truck.

No issues with the truck and it has about 6K miles on it now. The traction control and stabilitrack work really well.

[QwkTrip]

Dude, this thread is sad. Usually it is Aaron's job to point this out but he seems to busy elsewhere.

I view it as a sign that you need another project car to replace what you sold. Seriously, you are so depressed that you are creating threads to report mileage on your work truck. Go get some car therapy and start searching the used car ads. Then tell us what you found and we'll have fun helping you choose what you're bringing home.

[aaron_sK]

[Alphius]

[iansane]

Aaron; the voice of my hatred for people.