How about a review of a 2018 GMC Sierra, regular cab, long box... with a 5.3 liter V8?
This one was decked out in full UHaul livery, so it likely hasn't led an particularly easy life.
It was used to pull a UHaul auto transport trailer, loaded with a certain 1952 Chevy Deluxe, for 900 miles total. I estimate that the combined weight of car, trailer, and cargo (in the trunk of the car) was right around 6,000 pounds.
It had 11,200 miles when picked up, and it was returned with 12,100 miles. Build date on the door jamb was shown as 3/2018. As an aside, it had a MicroGard oil filter on it from O'Reilly's... so the factory fill had already been replaced at some point. It was full of oil when I picked it up, and the OLM was at 87%. I returned it with the OLM at 81%. The trip was 99% highway/interstate driving. The truck saw less than 10 miles (of the 900 miles total) at anything less than 55 mph.
The truck was equipped better than I expected... for it being from UHaul... with a driver's side power seat, keyless entry, power windows, mirrors, and locks, power locking tailgate, cruise, tilt, and air. The stereo was much better than I expected, with 4 speakers and a USB input in the fold down center console. At first, the touchscreen seemed to be sluggish and somewhat less responsive than I expected. Then I noticed that the protective screen cover was still on it from the factory. Removal of the screen protector was a huge improvement.
The seats were much more comfortable than I expected, and the driver's side power seat even had a power lumbar adjustment. Other than that, it was pure work truck... right down to the rubber floor.
It didn't have a GM factory trailer hitch, but instead had a UHaul branded hitch. Of course...
For the trip, the 5.3 in this truck returned 14.5 mpg. I am not disappointed with that, considering the long hills that we had to pull on I-44 and US-65 between St. Louis and Branson, MO. Cruise control was used for the majority of the trip, and was set at whatever the speed limit was. With the cruise control on, the transmission was flawless in determining downshifts when pulling a hill. It was always right where it needed to be. I have no idea how the rear end was geared. I should have taken a picture of the RPO label and deciphered it, but I didn't. I'd hope it was a 3.42.
However, I personally was not expecting the transmission to downshift on downhill grades, with the cruise control set or not. GMC calls this Powertrain Grade Braking and Cruise Grade Braking. One time, it increased the engine RPM to around 4,200 RPM. I'm not convinced as to how much help that using the engine as a braking system really was... but apparently it is, and it did it.
It had AFM, and I tended to watch the indicator to see how often it went into V4 mode, and for how long. Even with the loaded trailer, it did find some opportunities to go into 4 cylinder mode on flat roads. It was imperceptible when the AFM was doing it's thing.
If there was anything that I'd do differently, I suspect that we had a bit too much weight in the trunk of the car, which was literally hanging out past the end of the trailer. The trunk was the only place that we could lock our stuff up and keep it dry, since it was a single cab truck. It seemed to me that we might have been on the verge of needing a little more tongue weight on the trailer.
There was a time or two, when it felt like to me, that the tail end of the trailer was starting to get a little tail happy, with some side to side movement in it. If the truck had been a double cab or crew cab model, then the weight of the stuff in the trunk would have been in the cab of the truck instead, and then I suspect that it would not have been an issue at all.
The first picture was when we left home in the snow. The second picture is in Branson, MO... before we left for home.
This one was decked out in full UHaul livery, so it likely hasn't led an particularly easy life.
It was used to pull a UHaul auto transport trailer, loaded with a certain 1952 Chevy Deluxe, for 900 miles total. I estimate that the combined weight of car, trailer, and cargo (in the trunk of the car) was right around 6,000 pounds.
It had 11,200 miles when picked up, and it was returned with 12,100 miles. Build date on the door jamb was shown as 3/2018. As an aside, it had a MicroGard oil filter on it from O'Reilly's... so the factory fill had already been replaced at some point. It was full of oil when I picked it up, and the OLM was at 87%. I returned it with the OLM at 81%. The trip was 99% highway/interstate driving. The truck saw less than 10 miles (of the 900 miles total) at anything less than 55 mph.
The truck was equipped better than I expected... for it being from UHaul... with a driver's side power seat, keyless entry, power windows, mirrors, and locks, power locking tailgate, cruise, tilt, and air. The stereo was much better than I expected, with 4 speakers and a USB input in the fold down center console. At first, the touchscreen seemed to be sluggish and somewhat less responsive than I expected. Then I noticed that the protective screen cover was still on it from the factory. Removal of the screen protector was a huge improvement.
The seats were much more comfortable than I expected, and the driver's side power seat even had a power lumbar adjustment. Other than that, it was pure work truck... right down to the rubber floor.
It didn't have a GM factory trailer hitch, but instead had a UHaul branded hitch. Of course...
For the trip, the 5.3 in this truck returned 14.5 mpg. I am not disappointed with that, considering the long hills that we had to pull on I-44 and US-65 between St. Louis and Branson, MO. Cruise control was used for the majority of the trip, and was set at whatever the speed limit was. With the cruise control on, the transmission was flawless in determining downshifts when pulling a hill. It was always right where it needed to be. I have no idea how the rear end was geared. I should have taken a picture of the RPO label and deciphered it, but I didn't. I'd hope it was a 3.42.
However, I personally was not expecting the transmission to downshift on downhill grades, with the cruise control set or not. GMC calls this Powertrain Grade Braking and Cruise Grade Braking. One time, it increased the engine RPM to around 4,200 RPM. I'm not convinced as to how much help that using the engine as a braking system really was... but apparently it is, and it did it.
It had AFM, and I tended to watch the indicator to see how often it went into V4 mode, and for how long. Even with the loaded trailer, it did find some opportunities to go into 4 cylinder mode on flat roads. It was imperceptible when the AFM was doing it's thing.
If there was anything that I'd do differently, I suspect that we had a bit too much weight in the trunk of the car, which was literally hanging out past the end of the trailer. The trunk was the only place that we could lock our stuff up and keep it dry, since it was a single cab truck. It seemed to me that we might have been on the verge of needing a little more tongue weight on the trailer.
There was a time or two, when it felt like to me, that the tail end of the trailer was starting to get a little tail happy, with some side to side movement in it. If the truck had been a double cab or crew cab model, then the weight of the stuff in the trunk would have been in the cab of the truck instead, and then I suspect that it would not have been an issue at all.
The first picture was when we left home in the snow. The second picture is in Branson, MO... before we left for home.
