New truck first tow report. Good, Bad, Ugly
We have finished our first towing trip with the new truck... So here is the good the bad and the ugly.
We went from Phoenix to the North Rim and back.
Our lashup was in the 25-26K range. Performance was out standing. The hottest the trany got was 182 climbing Sunset point. 155-165 most of the time. 205 for the coolant temp, and the fan never engaged.
The 10 speed tranny is a game changer. I had the CC set at 70 up Sunset Point. It slowly dropped to 65 then climbed bact up to 70. The third time it happened, I noticed it was dropping a gear. With so many gears, the rpm only changed 4-500 rpm. If you are not watching the tach, it is easy to miss it. That small gear change multiplied the TQ enough regain the lost speed.
Down hill was very imppressive as well. With more gears, the EB is able to more closely hold the speed that the CC is set for. No more having to click the set point down below the desired downhill speed.
We take this trip every year, so we now just what the fuel consumption has been previously. This new truck gets noticeabley better mileage. Normally upon arriving home, a refuel is a priority. Not so this year We drove around town for 2 weeks before refueling.
So better performance with a far more capable truck (vs my 2011) and better mileage. A win win. And the more capable platform is not an exageration, this truck is FIRMLY in control of the load.
So the good is VERY good.
On to the bad.
When we picked the truck up, there was a large bag of loose parts in it. We were told the cameras for the invisible trailer system were in there along with some stuff for the upfitter switches .
Upon going thru the bag at home.... No cameras.
After some discussion with the dealer, it was determined that when the High Country trim level was selected, GMs system deleted the cameras... IOW, it is impossible to order a High Country with the cameras... The truck is equipped for them, but they must be purchased seperatly.... Dealer says 500.00.
That is bad. really bad. I checked off nearly every option available, yet I have no cameras for this great camera system.
Now the ugly... Upon looking into the camera system, I found that it is a hard wired system (vs bluetooth) and it has a trailer length limitation of 32'... This won't even work on my present 34' TT, let alone the 44' toyhauler I have on order. This is UGLY real UGLY. GM builds this fantastic truck than can tow anything on the market eaisily, but it's much advertised invisible trailer camera system will only work with baby trailers.
Review/conclusion: If I had known about the camera situation being screwed up, I still would have bought this truck.
It was new truck time, and I did not want another CP4 truck.
But it sure puts a damper on the experience.
So there it is. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
Maybe, just maybe, some here will stop with the fanboy inferences now.
We went from Phoenix to the North Rim and back.
Our lashup was in the 25-26K range. Performance was out standing. The hottest the trany got was 182 climbing Sunset point. 155-165 most of the time. 205 for the coolant temp, and the fan never engaged.
The 10 speed tranny is a game changer. I had the CC set at 70 up Sunset Point. It slowly dropped to 65 then climbed bact up to 70. The third time it happened, I noticed it was dropping a gear. With so many gears, the rpm only changed 4-500 rpm. If you are not watching the tach, it is easy to miss it. That small gear change multiplied the TQ enough regain the lost speed.
Down hill was very imppressive as well. With more gears, the EB is able to more closely hold the speed that the CC is set for. No more having to click the set point down below the desired downhill speed.
We take this trip every year, so we now just what the fuel consumption has been previously. This new truck gets noticeabley better mileage. Normally upon arriving home, a refuel is a priority. Not so this year We drove around town for 2 weeks before refueling.
So better performance with a far more capable truck (vs my 2011) and better mileage. A win win. And the more capable platform is not an exageration, this truck is FIRMLY in control of the load.
So the good is VERY good.
On to the bad.
When we picked the truck up, there was a large bag of loose parts in it. We were told the cameras for the invisible trailer system were in there along with some stuff for the upfitter switches .
Upon going thru the bag at home.... No cameras.
After some discussion with the dealer, it was determined that when the High Country trim level was selected, GMs system deleted the cameras... IOW, it is impossible to order a High Country with the cameras... The truck is equipped for them, but they must be purchased seperatly.... Dealer says 500.00.
That is bad. really bad. I checked off nearly every option available, yet I have no cameras for this great camera system.
Now the ugly... Upon looking into the camera system, I found that it is a hard wired system (vs bluetooth) and it has a trailer length limitation of 32'... This won't even work on my present 34' TT, let alone the 44' toyhauler I have on order. This is UGLY real UGLY. GM builds this fantastic truck than can tow anything on the market eaisily, but it's much advertised invisible trailer camera system will only work with baby trailers.
Review/conclusion: If I had known about the camera situation being screwed up, I still would have bought this truck.
It was new truck time, and I did not want another CP4 truck.
But it sure puts a damper on the experience.
So there it is. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
Maybe, just maybe, some here will stop with the fanboy inferences now.
