Half ton duramax or mid size duramax?

Emarshall · April 18, 2020

Hey folks, I’m just starting to shop for a truck. At first i was thinking midsize with the duramax, but with all the recent ravings about the new 1/2 ton duramax I’m debating biting the bullet and going up to the full size. Has anyone downsized and regretted it? Has anyone upsized and regretted it?

My head to head comparison goes as follows:

Price: midsize by $10k

size: midsize, but not by that much since I want the long bed on the mid size.

amenities: full size has more driver assists, better cameras, fancy tailgate.
economy: it sounds like its probably a wash. The new 3.0 is reporting the same or better as the 2.8.
reliability: midsize, only because the new 3.0 is brand new.

Comfort: full size
capability: full size. I’ll only be towing a car on a open carrier for the time being but there is no denying that towing 6000#s will be more easily handled by the full size

capacity: full size seats 6 and simply has more space everywhere.

any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks!

mjcmichigan · April 19, 2020

I have a 2017 duramax 2.8 with the long box. It’s great. I love it. Most the time the mid size works well for me. I hauled pavers in the bed and had to make two trips so I didn’t overload the bed. Bed rated at 700# vs 1000# on the Half ton.
The pavers were 5# each and needed 360blocks. I made it with 2 trips. The half ton would have needed 2 trips too.

A friend got the 1/2 ton Chevy in February. He’s beside himself. Previously he had a 2500 and a 6.6TD.
He can’t believe the milage, drivability and performance.

I’m
Thinking about upsizing. Probably depends if I lease or buy.

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Brass Monkey · April 28, 2020

I just downsized from a full size F150 (I know - not apples to apples).

Couple thoughts -

First - 95% of the time I'm alone in the truck so I dont need seating for 6.

4.5% of the time I have my wife with me & 0.5% I have my wife & maybe one or two others. So I prefer the crew cab - but dont really NEED the crew cab.

Second - I tow something maybe 15% to 20% of my miles. Fishing boat, 16ft car trailer, utility trailer. All are WELL WITHIN the 7700# rating for my 2.8l baby max. Plus - I get really good mileage compared to the 2.7L of fury from the Ford Ecoboost. My F150 got 9mpg towing my fishing boat & 5 mpg towing the pontoon boat. The max isn't broken in yet - but I'm expecting to tow the fishing boat at close to 20 mpg.

Third - the remaining 80% of my driving I just dont need a full size truck. They look nice - tough as nails bad ass 4x4 blah blah - I get it - I do it (1979 bronco) - but in my day to day it's just not necessary.

Forth - I immediately found the Canyon did not have the storage space that the F150 had. I used to run a toolbox in the F150 - the wife thinks the Canyon Denali is too "upscale" to stuff a tool box into. So I got a higher end roll up bed cover & built some bed slide boxes to store all of my crap ( mostly tow straps & ammo cans ).

So far I'm really happy with my choice (I have to say that because I just bought it LOL) but to be honest - most of the positives I've listed you will get with the full size Diesel compared to any full size gas engine. So the choice as I see it is do you want or need the extra space from the full size? Personal preference.

Edited April 28, 2020 by Brass Monkey

kstruckcountry · April 28, 2020

For what it's worth... The half ton 3.0 has a rear belt drive oil pump... no thanks. There aren't many things that should make someone write off an engine, but that is one.

I would be a lot more comfortable with the 2.8 as far as reliability is concerned. It is based off an older, well proven design.

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newdude · April 28, 2020

7 hours ago, kstruckcountry said:

For what it's worth... The half ton 3.0 has a rear belt drive oil pump... no thanks. There aren't many things that should make someone write off an engine, but that is one.

I would be a lot more comfortable with the 2.8 as far as reliability is concerned. It is based off an older, well proven design.

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This is a fair point, but can be argued the other way in that the 2.8 has a timing belt with the same 150k service interval as the 3.0 Duramax, plus the glow plugs (if needed to be changed) are a ****** on the 2.8, mainly the rear two.

kstruckcountry · April 28, 2020

This is a fair point, but can be argued the other way in that the 2.8 has a timing belt with the same 150k service interval as the 3.0 Duramax, plus the glow plugs (if needed to be changed) are a ****** on the 2.8, mainly the rear two.

I would assume the cab is pulled for the glow plugs on the 2.8, I think it is on most newer diesels. That said, the 2.8 does have the timing belt at the front (where it belongs). You at least don't have to pull the transmission.

The transmission has to be pulled to access the oil pump belt on the 3.0. I really don't understand the design, considering few engines have this arrangement. It is worth noting that the 3.0 oil pump itself is also an unproven design, at least to my knowledge. I understand the reasoning is efficiency, but I'd put reliability above that every day.

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newdude · April 29, 2020

13 hours ago, kstruckcountry said:

I would assume the cab is pulled for the glow plugs on the 2.8, I think it is on most newer diesels. That said, the 2.8 does have the timing belt at the front (where it belongs). You at least don't have to pull the transmission.

The transmission has to be pulled to access the oil pump belt on the 3.0. I really don't understand the design, considering few engines have this arrangement. It is worth noting that the 3.0 oil pump itself is also an unproven design, at least to my knowledge. I understand the reasoning is efficiency, but I'd put reliability above that every day.

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I've never seen a cab pulled for a glow plug. No reason to. The 2.8 just has them buried to hell and back.

The oil pump. It's a 2 stage just like the Gen 5 small blocks and other GM engines and they've been around since late 2013.

Edited April 29, 2020 by newdude

kstruckcountry · April 29, 2020

I've never seen a cab pulled for a glow plug. No reason to. The 2.8 just has them buried to hell and back.

The oil pump. It's a 2 stage just like the Gen 5 small blocks and other GM engines and they've been around since late 2013.

Isn't the variable oil pump on the Gen V crank drive front mount? I realize that they are both variable, but it sounds like that's about all they have in common. That said, it looks like the 3.0L pump is submerged, which I think is an interesting design, but why couldn't they use a chain? I see no reason.

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newdude · April 29, 2020

48 minutes ago, kstruckcountry said:

Isn't the variable oil pump on the Gen V crank drive front mount? I realize that they are both variable, but it sounds like that's about all they have in common. That said, it looks like the 3.0L pump is submerged, which I think is an interesting design, but why couldn't they use a chain? I see no reason.

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How they are driven and where they are located is different yes, but both are still a 2 stage variable displacement pump so in theory, their operation is pretty much the same.

Not sure on why they went belt as the rest of the timing componentry (which is also mounted on the rear of the engine) is chain driven. My guess is noise but that's just a guess. Noise would explain the chains for the timing instead of gears too.