JACK & MY MARGARITAVILLE ESCAPE 21 NE & THE NEW CHEVY 1500 DURAMAX 3.0L TURBO-DIESEL

[jack sparrow]

Hey All,

As requested from multiple Escapees here, Ill give this a try to post my experiences with this new TV.

Just bought this vehicle last night, so this will be a new beginning for me with setup and I'll share all that I can to help if I can with information that I collect and share with you here .

As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome.

Cheers to you.........and Happy Trails........Jack

 

[jack sparrow]

For those that would like to see how my chevy 1500 duramax is dress out, I have posted a file here for you pull up and print out to take your time looking it over.

The total vehicle sticker price here shows $65,480.00 with listed options. I did not pay this price.
Instead I purchased it for $55,180.00 and for all that this unit has, I think I did good.

Read over this information and chime in with your thoughts and comments.

Cheers to ya...... and Happy Trails.........Jack

 

[CharlesinGA]

My biggest concern...............

 

[jack sparrow]

Hey Centex,

I too will be eyeing these areas (fuel,def and oil) plus overall performance.

I was told it has a 22gal fuel tank and the DEF tank is just a bit over 5gals.
the GVWR is: 7,100 lbs. Rear axel is 3.73 ratio.
20" wheels.


The 3.0L Duramax is a 6 cylinder Turbo-Diesel tied to a 10-speed automatic transmission.
This truck is a 2025 Silverado 1500 crew LTZ and is 2 wheel drive. I look at the 4x4 LT but
it's fuel mileage was a little less and it didn't have all the options that this truck came with.

According to the window sticker for my truck, it is boasting 29mpg highway and 23mpg city.
I'am really looking forward to seeing what this rig will produce. Anything better that the 10-11mpg that I'm currently getting with my Lexus GX470 would be a God sent blessing. I have a short trip coming up on June 6th and we'll get a little idea of what it'll do.

Now I was told by a good friend of mine that has this same truck as well. That being new the mpg will be somewhat low in the beginning because it is new and as you put miles on it to break it in, the mpg does come up. He is getting 28mpg on highway now and his truck is only a month old.

More to come soon.....

Chime in with your thoughts and comments.


Cheers to ya.........and happy Trails.......Jack

 

[Centex]

As requested from multiple Escapees here, Ill give this a try to post my experiences with this new TV.

Thank You, Jack! I appreciate the Monroney sticker and pic, it 'reads' and looks like a really nice truck!

I'm subscribed to 'watch', looking forward to the occasional updates

My biggest concern...............

I wonder how many F150 5.0V8 (at least since 2021) and 2.7V6 EcoBoost owners know their engines use a very similar wet belt buried in the oil-pan to drive their oil-pumps? Reports of belt failures are extremely rare.

(and yeah, replacement is a many-hours undertaking, the oil-pan can't be dropped for service without lifting the engine, some dealers choose to lift the entire cab to accomplish the task )

BTW for F150 3.5 EcoBoost owners - your oil pump is driven directly off the front of the crankshaft, no belt or chain.

 

[jack sparrow]

Hey Charlesin GA

Thanks for the information you've supplied. Information is power and very useful to
have in you tool kits.

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers to ya........and Happy Trails........ Jack

 

[jack sparrow]

Hey Centex,

Glad you liked the read. I'm working my way through it to learn how everything works. My Lexus GX470 is a great vehicle, BUT, this truck has tons of stuff to make a trip experience more enjoyable and hopefully easier on the wallet. Time will tell and then I'll pass this information on to the folks here.

Watched a video a moment ago about the oil pump belt and he made up a cost for the belt and pulley change, Calling for about 15hrs labor and figuring parts cost at retail came out to just over $2900.00 bucks. Belts can last up to 200,000 miles give or take.

As you noted there are other brand trucks that have a belt driven oil pump as well with rarely any failures reported to date.

All good information, thanks for sharing.

Cheers to ya.........and Happy Trails........Jack

 

[CharlesinGA]

What I've read is that the ford 2.7L is noted for belt failures. In any case, is expensive to replace since the transmission comes out.

It seems the 6.6L Duramax is the only diesel without any real issues. 2019 Cummins went to roller tappets which are prone to early failure, and the engine has to come out, head off, and TURNED UPSIDE DOWN to get the cam out so the interlinked pairs of tappets can be removed and Ford has the CP4 fuel pump failure history which is extraordinarily expensive to fix.

Not sure why engineers keep changing what works for the sake of change.

Charles

 

[CharlesinGA]

For me, reliability is paramount with a tow vehicle. You don't want to be left by the side of the road at the mercy of the local shop, so you have to proactively replace critical items on a reasonable schedule. I've done many unnecessary parts replacements on my old RAM just to help prevent failures on the road.

All of this reminds me, I think my 60,000 mi timing belt on my old Ranger is nearing it's next replacement.

Charles

 

[7Gentex]

Nice rig OP.

The 2nd gen LZO diesel is high on my list next time around.

That low end diesel torque is wonderful.

Only thing I've seen/read, other than the oil pump belt which "shouldn't" be a problem for a long time, is DEF consumption under "heavy" towing can go way up - like a gallon every 200 miles. Believe that was with a #8k or so boxy (high wind resistance) trailer.

Curious - what payload does your yellow "Tire Loading" sticker on your driver's door post state?

 

[GinoandLinda]

Should be a wonderful rig!

 

[jack sparrow]

Hey 7Gentex,
Thanks for the Nice Rig

We have a short trip coming up on June the 6th so it will be it's first trial run with the trailer. Will give some of the numbers I receive from this rig when I return, only going to be gone for a few days.

As you requested, here is the sticker information from the door.

Hope this give you some numbers that you may be looking for.

Cheers to ya.........and Happy Trails........Jack

 

[jack sparrow]

Hey GinoandLinda,

Thanks for the come back.... It has a lot of room, can't wait to start a trip.

Cheers to ya........and Happy Trails.........Jack

 

[jack sparrow]

Hey All,

Here are more numbers for this rig, kinda sets up the foundation of the baseline for the other numbers to come. Like fuel mileage, def use, performance and whatever else I can come up with.

Click on the images to get a better view of these numbers.

Cheers to ya........and Happy Trails.........Jack

 

[Centex]

I really like the VIN-specific Trailering Info sticker that Chevy / GM puts on the door frame for easy reference.

I wish Ford did the same (Ford makes you dig through other resources not on the truck to figure much of that info out for a given VIN).

 

[jack sparrow]

Hey Centex,

Glad you liked the information and that it was useful to you. Having that information in that location of the truck makes it quick and easy to retrieve when needed.

Would be a good industry standard to have all makes have labels like this. Maybe in time.

Cheers to ya.......and Happy Trails........Jack

 

[HABBERDABBER]

Seeing how you're near the Mississippi River, any thoughts on taking that bad boy Duramax and coming on up to the 2025 Mississippi River Rendezvous in Thomson, Illinois, come Sept. 26? Easy directions there for you; just follow the river, North.
Your new rig cries out for a road trip and break-in.
And congratulations on your new truck. Are you working on mods on it already?

 

[jack sparrow]

Hey Habberdabber,

Now that you mention it, I am looking for a price on a LEER CAP for the back end.
Kinda make it look like a Tahoe and have something to cover the electric bikes and all the accessories that we tend to not be able to live without, while away from home.....LOL...

2025 Mississippi River, might have to give that some thought, would be a nice break-in run for the rig. I'm not going to say no, cause when you get that wild hair, ya never know what's going to happen or where you'll end up, all things are possible.

Good chatting with ya and thanks for the come back.

Cheers to ya.........and Happy Trails.........Jack

 

[salmo7000]

I’ve been towing my 19 since I brought it home in 2018, with a 2017 Chevy Colorado with the 2.7L duramax. It’s made it so I can’t even think about towing with a gas engine. It’s gets 30+ mpg not towing and averages between 18 and 19 mpg towing this trailer, up and down the mountain grades of the Pacific Northwest. It’s a 4X4. I’m currently considering trading up to the Silverado with the 3.0L duramax. Sadly, GM stopped putting the 2.7 duramax in Colorados/Canyons last year or I’d be buying another.

My Colorado has given me no trouble in 125,000 miles over the past 8 years, other than the emission system… I had to replace the DEF heater (warranty fix) and the DEF sensor, which was not expensive. Other than that, it’s been a flawless rig. It tears me up to consider getting rid of it, to be honest.

But, I’ll be most interested in hearing all about your experience with yours!

 

[jack sparrow]

Hi salmo7000,

Thank you for sharing your great experience your Escape 19 and your Chevy Colorado.. I like your mileage numbers and hope that my new rig will be able to sport the same numbers or maybe slightly more. We'll see in time, but the 18-19 sounds fantastic to me, as you've read here that my Lexus Gx 470 was producing 10-11 mpg at best. I don't run hard, doing my best to keep the speed at 60-65, but more towards the 60.

So fingers crossed, I'm hoping for better. Also it will be great if my rig will be able to give me the good service that you've had with your Colorado.

I know how you feel, talking of the changing times, in how these companies take a great working unit / make changes to it and you are unable to get more of what served you so well. It's just the changing world in which we live these days.

I've only got 94 miles on this rig at the moment, but this will be changing, starting in the morning. Work day in the morning and my office is 112 miles from my home, so this time tomorrow it will have over 300 and on it's way to breaking in. I'll keep us all posted on the days, weeks, and months to come.

Cheers to ya.........and Happy Trails.........Jack