Newer Chevy 2500 Duramax?

Kubota_Man

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Is there anyone on here that has a 2014-2016 that has a Chevy 2500 Duramax? If so what type of MPGs are you getting unloaded/loaded and towing or not, as well as driving types? I'm looking at but not ready yet to pull the trigger.
 

hodge

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I've got a friend- so take it for what it's worth- who has a 2015. He works his truck, but he does drive it gentle. He gets about 14 locally, and 10-11 when he tows. He is very pleased with the truck (he puts about 40,000 a year on it), but it doesn't get the mileage that he had hoped for. Then again, what does?
 

skeets

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All I know is when I went looking for a new truck,, you couldnt find one around here for love or money, wait Im liying, they had one on the lot but I rather blekd at 65 k for PICK UP TRUCK,, so I got the 5.3 and getting 20 mph around town 25 going to Canada and back,, if you can trust the computer in the dash borad, A full load of wood in the bed and you dont know theres anything back there
 
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Tooljunkie

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A friend bought a 14 with 5.3 also, its excellent on fuel on highway, pig on short runs.
My other buddy claims 22 mpg with his 14 dmax
 

Doctor481

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I bought a new 2014 3500 SRW Duramax for my main tech, he has a little over 100K miles on it. We have 3 WeatherGuard tool boxes and it's loaded down with parts and tools, he routinely pulls a 12K rated utility trailer. (We do sales/service on the big forklift batteries, our small battery is about 1000 lbs.) We have been checking fuel mileage monthly, it stays in the 15-17 range. I have used his truck when he is on vacation and spot checked the mileage on day trips and have got 18-19 without the trailer.
We have had 0 issues with his, had 99K miles on the factory tires.
Very happy with the D-max, this is our 3rd. I'm in a 2006 and looking to buy another soon.
 

Corney

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All I know is when I went looking for a new truck,, you couldnt find one around here for love or money, wait Im liying, they had one on the lot but I rather blekd at 65 k for PICK UP TRUCK,, so I got the 5.3 and getting 20 mph around town 25 going to Canada and back,, if you can trust the computer in the dash borad, A full load of wood in the bed and you dont know theres anything back there
Skeet is that a 1500 with a 5.3 or a 2500?

We have an 09 1500 Siverado that has been a great unit. We have a Bigfoot 1500 Short Box Truck camper that we have been dragging around. It's just enough truck if we keep things light. I would like to go with a 2500 next time but the 5.3 is enough engine if you drive it properly.
 

redfernclan

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Jul 18, 2014
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I know it's not a big truck, but I ordered one of the GMC Canyons with the baby D max last year. Waited 132 days to finally get it. I now have 10,000 miles on it and love it. This is a 2.8 4 cyl diesel. It will tow 7,600 lbs and I drive about 50 miles round trip a day to work. I'm averaging 29.5 mpg going to work. Towing the 3,000 lb boat gets me 22 mpg doing 65. My 5,000 lb trailer knocks it down to 14 mpg doing 65 on the flats.
When I saw the specs come out on the truck I knew it was what I have been looking for. Sold my commuter Honda and am loving it.
Oh yea, it has something like 365 lbs of torque. I can live with that. ;]
 

Tooljunkie

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Skeet is that a 1500 with a 5.3 or a 2500?

We have an 09 1500 Siverado that has been a great unit. We have a Bigfoot 1500 Short Box Truck camper that we have been dragging around. It's just enough truck if we keep things light. I would like to go with a 2500 next time but the 5.3 is enough engine if you drive it properly.
09's commonly had valvetrain failures,cyl1 typically drops out and starts a little rattle. Instead of repairing it appeared cheaper to swap in used engine vs repairing valvetrain (pull heads).
Swap was 20 hours.
Oil changes aparrently make all the difference.
 

Daren Todd

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Skeet is that a 1500 with a 5.3 or a 2500?

We have an 09 1500 Siverado that has been a great unit. We have a Bigfoot 1500 Short Box Truck camper that we have been dragging around. It's just enough truck if we keep things light. I would like to go with a 2500 next time but the 5.3 is enough engine if you drive it properly.
I have the '09 gmc with the 5.3. Only gets 9mpg pulling the 6,500lb camper :eek: Gets 14mpg in the city, and averages 16mpg to 18mpg highway. 5.3 is better then my v10 gasser work truck on the hills pulling a load :D

They must have come a long way in the past few years with the fuel efficiency on the 5.3 :D

Duramax is on the short list for my next truck :D
 

TN Road Dog

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Sep 19, 2016
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I have a 2011 2500HD duramax, I get 21 on the highway, no extra cargo etc..
17 mpg with a mix of city some highway.
While towing a 13,800 lb. fifth-wheel I get around 12 mpg depending on hills, flats and road conditions.
Been very pleased with the trucks pulling power, especially in the steep hills in Arkansas and the long steady inclines in route to Yellowstone.
And it's my favorite color, my third red truck. :)
 

North Idaho Wolfman

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I just got a 2009 GMC SLT 2500HD Z71 4wd with the 6.6 Dmax and 6 speed Allison and only 49K miles.
So far it's been great, drives like new.
Been getting 17MPG for the last week.
 

Corney

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L1500DT, front end loader, mower, tiller, snow blower
09's commonly had valvetrain failures,cyl1 typically drops out and starts a little rattle. Instead of repairing it appeared cheaper to swap in used engine vs repairing valvetrain (pull heads).
Swap was 20 hours.
Oil changes aparrently make all the difference.
The valves are noisy at start up ticks like a diesel. Once it warms up its fine. I am adamant about servicing my vehicles and equipment.
 

Kubota_Man

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Dec 25, 2010
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Kellogg, Idaho
Thank you everyone. I am just in the learning, looking and feeling (& drooling) stage.
On a greatly positive note I took the Lovely Wifey-Poo with me to look and feel. She liked the Silverado 2500 LTZ Duramax :D

She also surprised me and wanted to check out a a Silverado 1500 LTZ. SHE LIKED IT :) She said she may be willing to give up her Equinox :eek: She also tried a Colorado Duramax she didn't like it as much ;)

Who knows I may have a 2 Silverado family :p
 

armylifer

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Just another thought about fuel mileage with the Duramax. I have a 2007 New Body Style 2500 Silverado with the Duramax. Around where I live in Thurston County, WA I get up to 17.5 MPG driving mostly empty except for a 40 gallon auxiliary fuel tank in the bed.

When on a trip towing my 7500 lb travel trailer at the speed limit I can get as little as 10 MPG. I once got 9 MPG while driving on I-90 between Spokane, WA and North Bend, WA at 70 MPH against a strong headwind. I also have gotten as much as 22 MPG while driving empty in Wisconsin.

The big difference would be driving over flat highways without a load or driving mountainous country with a load. The bottom line is that fuel mileage figures will be highly subjective depending on where you are driving.
 

Lil Foot

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The bottom line is that fuel mileage figures will be highly subjective depending on where you are driving.
And at what speed.
I had a friend who constantly bragged about his Dodge Cummins 3/4 ton long bed getting 23-24mpg pulling a heavy 5th wheel. My one ton Ford 6.0L 4wd crew pulling a relatively light (but tall) toyhauler could not get close to that. On one of his trips, I agreed to meet him in western Montana, & travel together towards Minnesota.
Well, I found out how he got that mileage- he drove on the interstate at 40-45mph.:eek: He pissed off so many people I thought he'd get shot. I could not run that speed, both for safety & boredom, so I said goodbye & resumed my usual 75mph.
 

BigRed57

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I have had 4 new Duramax trucks since 2015. 3 2500's and one Denali dually. The 3/4 ton trucks will average 17. The truck pulls my L4060 Hstc and 20' big Tex really well. It's not great on fuel when pulling the tractor on short hauls. Most diesels will get decent just driving them. Tuners and exhaust with intakes help a lot since a diesel is basically a giant air pump. The dually only got 15. Go ahead and buy one. You won't regret it. I have a 2016 gmc Denali HD I will let ya have now. 3500 miles.
 

aeblank

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Jun 19, 2013
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16
Cadillac, MI
2014 SRW standard bed, crew cab, duramax. Here's my calculated mileage column from my log. If you care, you can see the mileage dip for 2 weeks this summer, which was pulling a camper on vacation (some crappy mileage, mostly due to speed and head-wind). Also, the last month (couple tanks, probably) has been mostly towing a camper. All the rest is mixed driving. I don't mind letting it idle a bit on warm-up, cool-down, fueling, etc. Not excessive though. DIC can be misleading, because of regens mostly. This is a odometer/gallonage calculation.

18.26
16.25
16.22
15.51
15.82
17.40
17.10
19.96
11.64
11.11
10.04
7.78
8.18
8.59
9.63
9.74
10.74
11.35
11.19
10.83
16.78
12.52
11.50
10.09
9.40
9.99
10.38
11.46
12.54
15.33
15.22
18.77
18.37
13.52
12.88
 

Kubota_Man

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BX24, Rear blade, Front blade, Snowblower, 54" MMM, Box scraper, Landscape rake
Dec 25, 2010
953
2
16
Kellogg, Idaho
So I'm guessing that MPGs are very dependent on how you drive it and the conditions in which you drive it in.

I have been told that there is a sweet spot around 65-70 MPH however if you want to they will peg the speedometer in a heartbeat although I don't know why I would want to...however I'd have to try it once :eek:

Between this post and a similar post on another site, from what I can gather I can expect somewhere in the neighborhood of 18-24 MPG empty/unloaded and 14-18 MPG with a 10K trailer.