I was set on a 2500, but now considering a 3500

FirstAscent · January 28, 2020

7 hours ago, es2020HD said:

BTW, hoping this is not considered hijacking the thread, but I think this info could be useful to other 2500 owners or 'would be' owners that later wished they had more payload capacity. I checked into upgrading to the 3500 SRW to avoid this, but the hit on trade in was atrocious.

Definitely not hijacking! I've already pulled the trigger and ordered a 3500 but all of this info is still great to have and hopefully helps anyone else considering the same thing. I was quite surprised to learn through all of this how little is actually different between them.

I'm assuming what @davester is saying is that officially, since you're adding more weight you are legally reducing the GVWR and payload. But physically, comparing against the 3500. Adding the same leaf pack would essentially provide you the physical capability to do so without worrying about damaging anything. I'm just guessing on this though, don't hold me to it

es2020HD · January 29, 2020

15 hours ago, FirstAscent said:

Definitely not hijacking! I've already pulled the trigger and ordered a 3500 but all of this info is still great to have and hopefully helps anyone else considering the same thing. I was quite surprised to learn through all of this how little is actually different between them.

I'm assuming what @davester is saying is that officially, since you're adding more weight you are legally reducing the GVWR and payload. But physically, comparing against the 3500. Adding the same leaf pack would essentially provide you the physical capability to do so without worrying about damaging anything. I'm just guessing on this though, don't hold me to it

Haha, lawyer speak! Yeah, that's kinda what I was thinking too. Technically, it does reduce payload and gvwr by the weight of the addons but it 'should', at least in theory, give the 2500 the capability of the 3500 SRW (though not on paper). I was more concerned about riding around with the payload or GACWR maxed out causing long term damage. I'm way under on GVWR. Just really close on the rear axle weight.

But this may all be for naught if you can't add the 3500's extra leaf pack without major modification. I like the tire air up idea better in that case. Just hoping that's in official GM writing somewhere. ha!

FirstAscent · January 30, 2020

9 hours ago, es2020HD said:

Haha, lawyer speak! Yeah, that's kinda what I was thinking too. Technically, it does reduce payload and gvwr by the weight of the addons but it 'should', at least in theory, give the 2500 the capability of the 3500 SRW (though not on paper). I was more concerned about riding around with the payload or GACWR maxed out causing long term damage. I'm way under on GVWR. Just really close on the rear axle weight.

But this may all be for naught if you can't add the 3500's extra leaf pack without major modification. I like the tire air up idea better in that case. Just hoping that's in official GM writing somewhere. ha!

haha right!

I'm not sure how airbags come into play in this scenario. Either way you look at it, from the perspective of the axle, it's still the same amount of weight on the axle. and as I understand it the 2500 and 3500 axles are the same. Well the 3500 has the 12" rear diff but I imagine that has nothing to do with the weight rating of the axle.

Obviously the airbags wouldn't be taking any weight off the axle but it would provide more support for your leaf springs right? If you were going to go through the trouble of getting genuine 3500 leaf springs and any frame modifications etc needed, I bet it would be much less expensive to just have Deaver make you a custom set of leaf springs to handle the load? I'd guess $800-1000 or so for custom leafs.

es2020HD · January 30, 2020

1 hour ago, FirstAscent said:

haha right!

I'm not sure how airbags come into play in this scenario. Either way you look at it, from the perspective of the axle, it's still the same amount of weight on the axle. and as I understand it the 2500 and 3500 axles are the same. Well the 3500 has the 12" rear diff but I imagine that has nothing to do with the weight rating of the axle.

Obviously the airbags wouldn't be taking any weight off the axle but it would provide more support for your leaf springs right? If you were going to go through the trouble of getting genuine 3500 leaf springs and any frame modifications etc needed, I bet it would be much less expensive to just have Deaver make you a custom set of leaf springs to handle the load? I'd guess $800-1000 or so for custom leafs.

Yeah, I wondered about that .5" difference and what it improves. I'll definitely have to weigh all the options. I definitely don't want to hurt anything overloading it (or breaking any laws). Would have been much easier and cheaper to just get the 3500 in the first place. Lesson learned!

Thanks, Jaime!

FirstAscent · January 30, 2020

Would have been much easier and cheaper to just get the 3500 in the first place. Lesson learned!

Thanks, Jaime!

Don’t worry, I’ve been in your shoes many times haha. Just one year ago I bought a 2019 Silverado 1500, instantly lifted it with new wheels and tires. Loved it, love it... and here I am exactly one year later ordering a 3500 [emoji51]

MTU Alum · January 30, 2020

On 1/28/2020 at 9:19 AM, es2020HD said:

Excellent information, MTU Alum! I wasn't aware of the tire air up option. Is that documented anywhere that you are aware of?

On the overload brackets, I have the 3/4 ton Denali HD diesel so I assume that means I don't have the nuts. Is that something that a welding shop could easily add? Are the holes already there in the frame for the bolts to pass through?

BTW, hoping this is not considered hijacking the thread, but I think this info could be useful to other 2500 owners or 'would be' owners that later wished they had more payload capacity. I checked into upgrading to the 3500 SRW to avoid this, but the hit on trade in was atrocious.

You probably don't have nuts. It's a fully boxed frame so not easy to add. You could weld brackets to the frame but, you have to remove all the wax and sets up for corrosion and ugly looking frame.

None of the suggestions i mentioned will change the label for gcw or rgawr on your truck. If you think your are close to rgawr, bumping your pressure to 80 will give you some extra load capacity. If you are getting crash through where you are hitting the jounce bumpers hard, an air spring run at lower pressures could be an option to explore.

#iworkforGM

IdoMRI · January 30, 2020

Here's my door tag for reference on my 2500he

Dunn · February 14, 2020

I want a 2500 just for payload, but I would assume if your a 5th wheel guy or tow a lot why not just get a 3500, you just have more options if ever a need arises from the norm....and seeing how they almost ride same, money isn't a concern and don't think there is a lot between em anyway.....mostly its incentives between 1500 and 2500/3500 that are different....for sure get one that covers anything

back in 2009 my buddy was buying HD truck and I went with him to test drive and there was noticeable difference between F250 and F350 ( I know he likes Ford, what can you do, lol)….The F350 rattled my teeth on city streets in LA. but seems things have changed a lot since then....

Edited February 14, 2020 by Dunn

es2020HD · February 17, 2020

Maybe I can find someone that regretted getting the 3500 and instead wants a 2500. Odds of that? PM me if you're that special someone!

ArTurf · February 19, 2020

I wonder, could the capacity of the truck along with what one tows require a different drivers license? I know I was stopped by a DOT guy and found out I am required to have a health card certification since my work truck is 14,500 GVWR. Might want to check this out

davester · February 19, 2020

Yes, definitely what and how much you tow makes a different with DOT inspectors, particularly if what you are towing makes ANY money for you.

MTU Alum · February 19, 2020

1 hour ago, ArTurf said:

I wonder, could the capacity of the truck along with what one tows require a different drivers license? I know I was stopped by a DOT guy and found out I am required to have a health card certification since my work truck is 14,500 GVWR. Might want to check this out

If the gvw of the truck is over 10k or the gcw is over 10k and the gvws of truck and trailer are over 10k combined then at the minimum you need a medical card for business use. If you go interstate, you will need a chauffeurs as well.

#iworkforGM

Edited February 19, 2020 by MTU Alum

roegs · February 19, 2020

On 1/22/2020 at 9:10 PM, MORSNO said:

The main spring pack is the same, they are the same width and thickness 4 springs with lower overload. The only difference is the upper overload springs.

I'm torn between 2500HD and 3500HD. I'd be purchasing for future 5th wheel use, and even though GM raised GVWR's for the 2500HD, I could still run out of payload depending on how big 5th wheel we purchased. This truck would be my DD and 80% would be non towing with nothing in the bed other than groceries. Unloaded ride quality is an important item for me. In the quote above, if the 3500HD uses the same rear main spring pack as the 2500HD, would it be fair to say that they both ride equally well unloaded?

CRApex · February 19, 2020

1 minute ago, roegs said:

I'm torn between 2500HD and 3500HD. I'd be purchasing for future 5th wheel use, and even though GM raised GVWR's for the 2500HD, I could still run out of payload depending on how big 5th wheel we purchased. This truck would be my DD and 80% would be non towing with nothing in the bed other than groceries. Unloaded ride quality is an important item for me. In the quote above, if the 3500HD uses the same rear main spring pack as the 2500HD, would it be fair to say that they both ride equally well unloaded?

Very close in unloaded ride quality with maybe a slight slight edge to the 2500. My personal opinion is to buy the 3500 if there is a possible concern with payload.

jjackkrash · February 19, 2020

If you are looking at a 5'er, 3500 all day every day. The ride quality on the new trucks is so close it doesn't make sense to get a 2500. I would venture to bet you couldn't pick the 2500 from the 3500 in a blind ride quality test better than random.