2020 Chevrolet Silverado HD Pickups Offer More Towing Capacity and a New Gasoline Engine
That the 2020 Chevrolet Silverado HD diesel's new cooling fan looks like a windmill blade assembly is not a coincidence. It's huge. And by huge, we mean 28 inches in diameter. If appearances tell the truth, the thing could cool a nuclear reactor. Or the Earth's core. Or even the sun itself. Yet it's but one component in a variety of chassis and powertrain changes that allow Chevy's diesel-powered Silverado 2500 and 3500 pickups to reset the max-towing bar among HD trucks.
A new Allison 10-speed transmission is paired with the diesel engine, as are beefed-up prop shafts and a larger 12-inch rear axle on 3500s. At 35,500 pounds, the 2020 Silverado HD's maximum trailering weight is a massive 52 percent higher than the 2019 Silverado HD. But that's a mere 400 pounds clear of the bar set only months ago by the Ram 3500, and it's only 500 pounds more than the 2019 Ford Super Duty, which is also being replaced for 2020.
Those are academic numbers, of course, especially considering that the peak number is always achieved with a single-cab, dual-rear-wheel, two-wheel-drive truck. You know, the one no one buys. What's more, although its tow ratings are increased, the Silverado HD's optional 6.6-liter diesel maintains the same output as last year-445 horsepower and 910 lb-ft of torque.
An all-new 6.6-liter gasoline V-8 bumps base-engine output to 401 horsepower and 464 lb-ft of torque over last year's 6.0-liter Silverado HD gas engine, which generated 360 horsepower and 380 lb-ft of torque. The gas engine is coupled exclusively to a six-speed automatic transmission, and each powertrain offers only a single axle ratio (3.73 gas, 3.42 diesel). Gas-engine-equipped Silverados max out at a 17,400-pound towing capacity.
Real-World Towing
We towed two trailers around the central Oregon mountains in the new Silverados: a 12,000-pound open-deck utility trailer using the gas-engine Silverado and a 14,000-pound enclosed trailer with the diesel. Both trucks were single-rear-wheel, crew-cab, all-wheel-drive models.
The gas-drinking truck, a mildly optioned Custom trim priced at $47,520, certainly felt the weight on a road that rose and fell between 4000 and 6000 feet. Still, patience is necessary when moving anything this heavy, and the load was within the powertrain's capability. The six-speed transmission delivered perfectly rev-matched downshifts when slowing and on grades to help control speed. The narrow two-lane roads, however, where there's a premium on steering precision and feedback, showed the limits of the chassis. And limits aren't really something we enjoy exploring while piloting nine tons of steel and rubber.
Two factors were at play: Lower-trim trucks (Work Truck, Custom, and LT) use hydraulic-assist steering where higher trims (LTZ and High Country) get electric-assist steering-Enhanced Digital Variable Assist Steering in the Chevy vernacular. The electric-assist setup allows engineers to tune the steering specifically for use in Tow/Haul mode, permitting additional damping and effort, which dramatically improves confidence during heavy trailering. Also, the lighter trailer hitched to the gas-powered truck wasn't equipped with a weight-distributing hitch, which shifts more weight to the front axle to normalize steering. Combined, these differences were significant in detracting from the towing experience.
The diesel truck, however, is a mountain-moving sweetheart. You get what you pay for with the $9750 diesel option and the better-equipped High Country. Even towing several thousand pounds more than the gas truck, it was clear that if you're towing frequently and the loads are heavy, there's no substitute for the diesel. With nearly double the torque of the gas engine and four more gears from which to choose, the Duramax was secure in its ability to pick a speed and haul uphill. Even with the equivalent of four Corvette Stingrays in tow, the 2500 was able to maintain 60 mph up the steepest slopes available. More important was its ability to maintain downhill speed using the exhaust brake, which operates silently and is engaged using a switch on the dash. Simply achieve the speed you want to hold, activate the exhaust brake, and steer.
Bigger, Better
All Silverado HD trucks are updated with new bodywork this year and share only their roof sheetmetal with the 1500. They're bigger, too. Crew-cab models get 5.2 inches more wheelbase, 10.4 inches more length, and 1.4 inches more width than last year's trucks. The result is three inches more rear legroom. An HD-specific bed is also longer and holds higher volume (8.6 more cubes on standard bed and 7.1 more cubes on the long bed) than on 2019 models.
Chevrolet is serious about diesel-engine longevity to the extent that it's added an after-run feature to Duramax-equipped pickups for 2020. The feature alerts the driver when the transmission is put in Park if the engine needs additional cooling time and will restart itself to enable cooling for up to 15 minutes should the driver opt to kill the engine.
The new Allison transmission also is available with an optional power takeoff for driving dump bodies or salt spreaders, and the air dam and skid plate are now easily removable for less intrusive snowplow installation. And haven't you always wanted a less intrusive snowplow, really?
Chevy's convincingly effective, yet nameless, new camera system is available across the HD lineup. The system offers 15 different views from eight cameras, including (optionally) one on the back of the trailer and one inside. Chevy claims 12 percent of pickup drivers have engaged in a fight with a spouse, friend, or family member while towing. (It's an unsubstantiated claim but a claim nonetheless.) Fortunately, the system, which leaves virtually no blind spots, will effectively eliminate your need for friends or spouses, thereby eliminating two of life's biggest struggles. Additionally, the system unquestionably makes towing easier and safer by bringing into view the previously unseen, which would be a handy feature for the rest of life as well.
What we're trying to say here is that the new Chevy HD pickups have moved the genre forward another notch with more capability and safety, all while reducing or eliminating some of towing's more burdensome hassles. That some of their trucks could benefit from better steering likely won't bother the big-tonnage crew that buys these rigs. They'll be more than satisfied with the ability to yank around houses in their daily driver. And they will be impressed with that big fan, no doubt.
('You Might Also Like',)
