Hi. I'm Wade from Thoroughbred Diesel and today
we're going to be showing you a 2020 Chevrolet 3500 HD with L5P Duramax. This is a work truck package, 3500 single-wheel.
And we're going to show you the entire truck, obviously, but super, super nice truck.
I think that one of the biggest shake-ups for this truck has been the front end. I think that
when we first started seeing some of the prototype pictures of this truck when it came out, you had a
lot of very, very strong opinions on this truck. A lot of people hated it. A lot of people loved
the front end of this truck. It's different. It really is different. The size of the grill
on these new trucks is a lot to do with the functionality of the vehicle of the Duramax truck
and just the cooling capabilities of the vehicle. And we'll talk about that in our walkthrough.
So whether you like it, whether you hate it, it has to do with function as well.
And then I think the second thing that people really were very strongly opinionated about on
these trucks were the tow mirrors or the mirrors that are on these trucks at 2500 and the 3500
HDs. We'll get to those when we go through the body. But yeah, as far as a vehicle goes, this
is a model year shakeup for Chevrolet and GMC. Yeah. So let's just go ahead and get started.
We're going to start with talking about engine on these trucks. Now, this truck is still equipped
with the L5P Duramax. Not a whole lot... Well, really not very many changes at all to this
engine platform. We're going to link you in this video to our other L5P video with a dyno
run on it. We're not going to dyno run this truck today because we really don't have any changes in
horsepower. This truck at 2020 is 445 horsepower, 910 foot-pounds of torque. So
it is a very stout motor.
Biggest change for engine compartment was the
front cooling fan. The front cooling fan is much, much larger, almost two and a half times larger
for the cooling fan on this truck. That is going to have to do with the increased towing capability
of the 2020 Chevrolets. The 2020 Chevrolets, just depending on what your model is, if you were
to buy two-wheel drive, long bed, standard cab, dually truck, the towing capability of that
truck on fifth wheel would be 35,500 pounds equipped. Now I think that the most common truck
out there set up is crew cab short bed. So on a crew cab short bed Chevrolet, max towing at the
fifth wheel is 21 3, 21,300 pounds. The overall combined on the crew cab short bed is 29 7.
So it's definitely a large combined number.
I think that dually two-wheel drive was 43 5 was
the combined on that. Now, that's the combined, that's not your trailering. But your fifth
wheel trailering, just depending on what you got on the truck, was 35 5. They have
really up the towing on these vehicles. They have worked towards making sure that
the motor was able to stay cool for that by increasing that fan size. That has a much
bigger fan on the front of these trucks so it's going to be well equipped. The horsepower
is there to be able to tow these as well.
Now, one of the other biggest changes to be able
to handle those types of towing load is if we do go to a 10-speed Allison on this truck,
10-speed transmission. So we'll talk about that once we get there as well. So that pretty well
covers. This is still DENSO fuel system. This is DENSO HP4, DENSO injectors on his truck.
No changes on that. As the 2020 goes, still working in that DENSO fuel system. So that's
going to be engine, just L5P stuff. Again, no big changes there. So there we go.
Let's go ahead and talk about exterior. I want to talk about exterior because it's really, really
what this truck platform is leaning on. Some of the sizes that you're going to in the 2020: this
truck is longer, it's taller, the bed is bigger. It's just a bigger overall truck. Bigger
in every way. Interior size is bigger. I mean, you can look at the truck. Even the front
profile of the truck is kind of a precursor to... Well, it's going to be one of the first Chevrolets
that in stock format was stock wheels and tires you dang near have to pull yourself into.
So we were going to show you that, too.
All right. So, on exterior, you've got a
little bit bigger scoop on the hood bringing air into the engine, which is nice for the ram-air
system. I'm going to call it a ram-air system, but it's a charge air system bringing air in
through the hood, into this scoop right here, and directly into the air intake box for the
motor. That's a little bit larger than the previous year models. We talked about the
grill. Not going to stay on the grill.
There's changes in the lights, just depending
on what package that you have. There's some of these that have the led strips and satellites
when you get into the higher-end packages. The tow mirrors, of course, that's
another point of contention for people, but I'm going to let Adam kind of look at those
right there for you. To me, they're really not that gaudy, I guess, is what we talk about.
But what Chevrolet is calling the Durabed. The Durabed is the biggest change exterior to the
2020 model truck, and I really think Chevrolet hit a home run with this. I truly, truly feel
like Chevrolet hit a home run with this bed. This Durabed has got these steps sides for your
toolbox right here. So you can get up, get into the bed of the truck very easily, or a toolbox
if you have it. Move that for you, Adam. Then you have the steps on the back of the truck to get
into the bed. If you just need to step up over on this side or step on your tailgate, it's right
there for you. This bed, a standard short bed used to be 6'6". Chevrolet has got this now at 6'9",
so it's a three-inch longer bed on this truck.
It's got the assist tailgate push button. You
hit it and it comes down. That's a really, really nice feature. But I'm going to let Adam
kind of bring the camera around because I want you to see the bed on this truck. Not only is
this three inches longer, I think it's two or three inches wider overall width on the bed. It
is much, much wider. I don't know that that really translate on camera. I hope that you can see that,
but it is a very, very wide bed and it's deep. The bed is deep as well. This is an increased payload
on the truck. I think the payload on this truck combined is, this is just truck now, I think
it's 12 1. Is that right? So on the short bed, it's 12 1. So your whatever vehicle weight is
8,000 plus dang near two tons of gear that you can haul. Just watch those numbers. Don't quote me
on that. Each different platform is different.
Tons of hooking points inside of the bed here. And
just depending on how you had the truck set up, you can have the trailering package in there. This
is set up for the fifth wheel on the puck system, and then it's got the gooseneck ball
in it as well. That's all in packages that you pick. But yeah, the bed is super, super
big. Really, really do like it. And the steps, super, super functional.
While we're talking about this on exterior, as far as functionality of this truck
goes, in this model year, Chevrolet has really, really started leaning on kind of work trucks.
They've come out with a 4500 or 55 and a 6500, what I call a deuce and a half, setups. So there
really, really seems like the drive now is to try to get Chevrolet kind of back into that work
truck genre. I don't know how else to say it.
Because if you really think about Chevrolet,
Chevrolet go into independent front suspension in '88 model year. I think that's
right. And I think that for a lot of Chevrolet guys, when you went away
from a solid front axle, I don't know that the whole idea of Chevrolet being a work truck
left with that. But I think a lot of guys do it. I have the ability to talk about that. Even though
I own a Dodge, I'll also own a Duramax myself. I'm a Chevrolet guy. I grew up in a Chevrolet
home. My dad was Chevrolet through and through, GM through and through. And that's part of it. If
you're a Chevrolet guy, I know that in '88 when they took the solid front axle out from underneath
the three-quarter-ton trucks, it was like, "Oh gosh." You kind of go into a bar fight and
you just got to defend your drunk buddy.
But one thing I want to talk about on body. One
thing Chevrolet finally did, they finally, finally did this, boys, is you don't have to put your DEF
in underneath the hood anymore. They finally moved it back here with the fill-up cap just like the
good Lord intended it. It's finally back there so thank you to Chevrolet. Thank you whoever the
engineer was that sat in that board meeting and said, "Why in the hell are we putting the DEF
fill underneath of the hoods? This is stupid." Thank you to that guy, whoever he is and wherever
he lives. So yeah, that's exterior for you.
So the Durabed is main is the main focal point of
it. It's larger. The truck is bigger. Oh, Adam, we're going to talk about the size difference.
The truck overall is longer. The truck overall is wider. The bed is bigger. Let's show you the
tallness of this truck. Adam's going to come with me and talk about it. I'm 5'10". I don't
think I've ever been in a stock size Chevrolet that I didn't just wind up climbing in. I
noticed this in this truck. I literally grabbed the handle and pulled myself into it, which that
was a nice feature. But you can definitely see that the truck is overall taller.
Next up, we're going to be talking about drivetrain. We want to run
through driveline on this 2020 Chevrolet truck. They've done quite a few changes
on driveline here that are pretty significant and want to want to note them here. So again,
remember the theme is Chevrolet is increasing towing capacity quite a bit on these trucks,
and maybe going towards more of a heavier duty theme to these trucks with the 45, 55, 6500. So I
won't talk about that. So on the ton Chevrolets, the 3500 HDs, you're getting a American Axle
rear end, again. Rear diff is still American Axle. But on the tons, you do have a 12-inch
ring gear instead of the normal 11 and a half.
Then moving forward, the prop shaft or the
driveshaft. These rear driveshafts are much larger on these trucks, larger, beefier driveshaft. You
can see the after-treatment system is pretty well the same. DPF back there. And then all of the
other components. See, I don't know why I mixed that up. Catalytic converters all still the same.
Still got the cat that's on the back of the turbo. You have no real changes that I'm aware of
on transfer case. And you're still torsion key system because it still is independent front
suspension. However, on this front driveshaft, you have a beefier driveshaft on this side as
well. And then you have the 10-speed Allison.
I'm a little bit confused about this. One of
the selling points that I noticed on the 2020 was the upgrade to PTO on these trucks. So you
chassis upfitters, if you've got a guy that's wanting to do dump bed or something or needing
a PTO, then it's capable on this truck. However, this new Allison, this 10-speed Allison, does not
have the PTO covers like the old Allison 1000 5 and 6-speeds did. So more to come on that. I'll
have to do a little bit more studying on that.
Again, American Axle front differential for you
four-wheel drive guys. But they have beefed up out output shafts, CV axle rods so they're much, much
beefier. Still got the junkie tie rods up here on the Chevrolet. They just won't get away from
that crap. They're awful, but they're good because they're one of the first upgrades that you need
to do on your truck is getting those upgraded. And then again, beefier rods. But yeah, everything
pretty well the same as far as that goes.
The L5Ps, I don't think we've ever shown that, but
a little bit smaller on the oil filter on these trucks. And then you've got this line that you had
to contend with. I don't like that. That's kind of an awkward place for that. That could have
been down the frame a little bit farther. But other than that, one thing they did get
rid of on the L5Ps, obviously, they got rid of the junky concaves on the oil pan. That's
gone so now you can get all your old truck. So beefier frame as well because
these trucks are longer and wider, like we talked about. So this is a new part
number on the frame, but it looks good. I mean, it's definitely coated again, like the
older styles were. It's a nice product.
We're going to go ahead and cover interior on this
truck. Now, this is a work truck package on this 2020 so there's not a ton of different features
on interior to talk about. We've already talked about the truck overall just being larger.
The rear seat, there is an additional three inches of legroom on the rear side there. I
think Adam's getting ready to come off the camera and kind of come back around so you can
see it. This truck was on loan or from one of our customers. Brought it over today so we had to take
all of his things out, but this is quite a bit larger on the crew cab side of this. That
much more legroom and quite a bit nicer.
There are really not a lot of bells and whistles
on the back there that we need to feature because, again, it's a work truck package. But one thing
I do want to say about the work truck package is really being able to scale these interiors
down. The interiors, as technology increases, everything increases, and you're more and more
living by your phone, navigation, and things like that, these interiors on these trucks are adapting
to that. This work truck interior, I was really impressed with this. This is a very, very simple
interior. We're probably going to go around to the driver's side and show that cockpit. But the
work truck interior I thought was very simple.
This interior is bigger. But the dashboard to me,
and I may be completely wrong here, just seems a little higher as far as line of sight goes. So
it just feels like the whole cabin is kind of deeper. But this is passenger side of the truck.
Obviously, you can see the controls are pretty basic on this package. I think this is going to
be true. Chevrolet offers I think seven or eight different packages that they offer. So you've got
tons and tons of different choices that you can go with here for your interior package. So don't let
this work truck fool you here. You can totally get it as high-end as you want to. I think there's an
eight-inch screen nav system that you've got.
I like the new gauge set up on the new
Chevrolet's. They don't feel as cheap to me. That's been another complaint that I've had
about Chevrolet here lately in the last few years, the interiors felt cheap. They don't feel cheap
to me anymore in the last couple of models so kudos to them for that. One thing that we
saw on this truck, or one thing that came out in the 2020 model year, is Chevrolet is
going to be offering these trucks with the automatic four-wheel drive. So you can set it
to auto, road conditions will dictate whether the truck is in four-wheel drive or not.
One thing we really like about this truck, and this is in other model years, you hit the
cargo lights on these trucks and you're getting a side mirror light. That's really, really nice for
being able to back up a trailer. I know it doesn't look like much, but you can see how much light
is shining back there. You talk about something that's nice for backing a trailer or something
in a barn at night, really, really nice.
I was surprised at one of the features on
this interior, and this may not be the same on all of the Chevrolets or whatnot. But the
flip-down console on this, I know it has the cup holders already in it and whatnot, but it
doesn't fold up. There's no place for you to store all your goodies in there. So that was a little
bit strange to me. That may change in different packages. Comment on the video here if it
does. Yeah. But again, work truck interior. Really nice. It's clean. It's simple. I think
the lines are better in it. It doesn't feel cheap. The seat quality seems to be very, very
good. They're rigid. I mean, they're not just crazy plush seats, but the interior is nice. It's
clean. All the lines are there so it looks good. All right. Adam and I are going to jump in.
We're going to take you on a ride-along.
In our ride-along here, Adam and I, we're
actually going to bring you an addendum to the interior because we found a couple of things
on this truck that we just... I mean, I'm going to be honest with you. I'm going to start with the
bad before I go to the good here, because I really think it's worth noting two things on this truck
interior wise that I hate. I mean, I absolutely cannot stand it already is the positioning of the
tow/haul button. The tow/haul button on this truck is this little round knob right here. And when you
engage tow/haul, you get a little indicator that comes up on the screen. It's going to be different
for different trim levels, I understand that. But that is the tow/haul button. That's stupid.
Whoever the engineer was that came into the board meeting that talked them into moving the
DEF back to the fuel door was not the engineer that did the tow/haul button. And if you are,
shame on you, shame on you. That's awful.
Manual shift. I don't like the manual shift
functionality in this truck because it's a little bit confusing only because of one letter. If
you look at the register here, you have L, okay. So on your manual shift, you can hit plus or
minus it. Doesn't automatically do it. That's all right. That's fine. You have to throw it
down into L. Which when you first look at that, you're like, "Do I throw this in low?" Well, L
is now you have an indicator over here so you can change through the gears. That's nice. The
functionalities there. But for a guy that just jumps into the seat of the truck, I don't know
about that. But those are two things that just jumped out to me as just bad. They could have been
done so much differently and so much easier for your driver, your pilot, for understanding.
Now, I'm going to give you a little bit more on interior stuff that we like. On this work truck
package, I really, really like the ease of the functionality of the air conditioner. You have
on and off for the fan. You have the temperature blend there. That's really, really nice. It's not
in the navigation system and you have to hunt for that. Obviously, after you've driven a new truck
a couple hours, you're used to it. It's okay. But the functionality is still here. When
I want to turn the heat up, I can turn the daggone heat up. When I want to turn the heat
off, I can turn it off, up, all the things AC. I like that. I like that really well.
All right, now let's talk about the ride-along, and really, what we're focusing on here is the
10-speed Allison. The first thing that I'm going to tell you is now that this is the third truck
that I've driven that is a 10-speed truck, I like this. I really do. I think Allison's done a good
job with this transmission. You really honestly to goodness don't know there's that many gears.
I think the shift strategy in this truck in stock form is frigging amazing. I mean, it's really,
really nice. The shift strategy is perfect. I'm driving down the road right now. We're running
60 miles an hour. I want to hit manual shift just to see what gear I'm in. Seventh. I mean, I'm
in seventh so I've got three more gears to run out when I get out on the interstate that I'm really
going to be able to climb through. I'm going to be able to save on fuel economy. I'm going to
be able to get the RPMs down on this truck. That should be really, really nice.
The exhaust brake functionality I think is in a good place. You got a switch down here to
turn your exhaust brake on. The capability of the exhaust brake function with tow/haul is really,
really nice. Chevrolet's had that for a while. They do just a super good job with that. I mean,
radio's good. You turn the radio on, there's the power button. You turn the volume up then you
change it to a different station. I mean, it's pretty easy to be able to get through that.
So that's it. As far as overall on the truck, we like the 2020 Chevrolet. This is a nice
truck. There's been a few little quirky things, but it's been like every new truck that
we've driven. There's some stuff you like, some stuff you don't like. A lot of it's due to
personal preference. I'm probably different than what 90% of the people will be. There'll be
plenty of people jump down in comments going, "Daggone. Wait, I love where the new tow/haul
button, blah, blah, blah," but I'm not a fan.
But big fan of the truck. I think Chevrolet's
getting it together. I liked the direction. I may be totally wrong on all this. I just feel
like Chevrolet has got an initiative that they're trying to get back into or be able to feature
their trucks as work trucks for the working man, for fleets and things of that nature. Just
an industrial truck, for lack of a better word. I like that direction that they're
going so we'll definitely be watching.
Yeah, that's it. Big shout out to Mr. Howard
for bringing the truck up today for us to drive through. Really, really nice vehicle. We really do
appreciate it. So thank you, guys, for watching. If you're thinking about buying a new 2020
Chevrolet, thumbs up from Thoroughbred.
