2019 Duramax CC DRW 4x4 High Country

[onechaddude]

Originally Posted by NevadaNick

My Ram had a guage.

I was pretty sure the last Ram I test drove had a DEF gauge. I assumed maybe the Ford did.

Chad

[Wildman4x4]

Yep it does just can't tell you how accurate it is yet.

[onechaddude]

Originally Posted by Wildman4x4

Yep it does just can't tell you how accurate it is yet.

Boy I wish my Chevy had a gauge like that. I was thinking the last Ram I test drove had the gauge. I'd still be driving Ram if my local dealer hadn't sold out and new owner changed service dept. among other things around.

Chad

[drdit92]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

A doubt any truck has a DEF gauge. My Ford had full and less than half. When less than half I added 2.5 gallon. It was not a gauge but in the display panel that I had toggle thru to see it

Here is my DEF gauge on my 2017 F350. It is pretty accurate, and I clearly need to get diesel and DEF soonish.

[tuffr2]

Ok, so the new trucks do have a DEF gauge. That is a good improvment !!!
I needed that on my 2012 Superduty as I always felt I was guessing.

[grindstone01]

The GM dealer free oil changes will only include 2 1/2 gallons max of DEF fluid. The GM DEF tanks hold something like 7 gallons, so don't assume your DEF tank is full after a dealer oil change. I was told to expect to use about 1 gallon of DEF per 100 gallons of diesel fuel, therefore towing will make a big difference in DEF usage. I agree that a DEF gauge would be great.

[tuffr2]

drdit92 - hey, I noticed your tach at 700 rpm. My 2012 diesel superduty never tached that low. At idle it was more like 1,000 maybe 1,100.

Taching 700 means the Ford diesel engine has been further refined. [emoji106]

[onechaddude]

Originally Posted by grindstone01

The GM dealer free oil changes will only include 2 1/2 gallons max of DEF fluid. The GM DEF tanks hold something like 7 gallons, so don't assume your DEF tank is full after a dealer oil change. I was told to expect to use about 1 gallon of DEF per 100 gallons of diesel fuel, therefore towing will make a big difference in DEF usage. I agree that a DEF gauge would be great.

Boy I wish that's all my Duramax used. Mine uses about a gallon of DEF to 40 gallons of diesel. My 2016 I had probably a gallon of DEF to 80 gallons of diesel. These are a guesstimate but are fairly close.

Chad

[2002dura]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

A doubt any truck has a DEF gauge. My Ford had full and less than half. When less than half I added 2.5 gallon. It was not a gauge but in the display panel that I had toggle thru to see it

My Ford has a DEF gauge. Ford started it with the 2017 models.

[drdit92]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

drdit92 - hey, I noticed your tach at 700 rpm. My 2012 diesel superduty never tached that low. At idle it was more like 1,000 maybe 1,100.

Taching 700 means the Ford diesel engine has been further refined. [emoji106]

Lol, maybe so. This is my first diesel, so I can't compare it to anything. I had a gas F250 with a 9,000 pound travel trailer and the engine scream in the rolling hills of Indiana was part of the reason I wanted a diesel when I bought my fifth wheel, as I'm headed to Alaska this summer.

I love my truck. I'm not brand loyal, but I had a miserable experience with my dodge dealer when I had a Durango. And I feel the Chevy/GM trucks just aren't in the same league as RAM and Ford for various reasons. I'd buy another Super Duty in a heartbeat.

[drdit92]

Originally Posted by onechaddude

Boy I wish that's all my Duramax used. Mine uses about a gallon of DEF to 40 gallons of diesel. My 2016 I had probably a gallon of DEF to 80 gallons of diesel. These are a guesstimate but are fairly close.

Chad

Holy cow. That's crazy. I haven't calculated what my Ford uses, but it's nothing like that. I last put in DEF several thousand miles ago. I need to fill it, so I'll keep track this time.

[Elisavaet]

The next morning after I spent the night in the parking lot of the only fuel station in McDermitt, NV I bought four gallons of Blue DEF and was able to add them standing, almost, flat footed. That was good to find out. I was afraid I was going to have to stack up leveling blocks and stand on them!

From now on when I'm traveling I'll have a couple of gallons under the rear seat!

Overall I'm not unhappy with the DEF usage. I got around two thousand miles on the DEF while towing through some pretty rough country. I'm VERY unhappy with GM's implementation of the DEF idiot gage and it ONLY telling me it was getting low with less than three hundred miles left, and then telling me it was going to reduce speed soon around a hundred miles later!

The oil life and fuel filter life monitors manage to display a percentage all the time. Not having a reasonable DEF gage is simply stupid.

[Elisavaet]

Regen
I've had the truck do a regen on me twice in the apx 7,800 miles I've driven it. Once at about 1,200 miles and again at about 2,300 miles. Both times the "Keep driving, cleaning exhaust filter" message came up. The first time I drove about ten minutes on the highway and it went away.

The second time was coming home from work on the surface roads in Vegas. I was running late for meeting friends so didn't have the time to get up on the highway and drive it off. About ten minutes later I arrived and the message was still up. I just shut it off and went in. When I cam out an hour or so later and started it up the message was gone.

Comfort (and safety)
I just finished a trip to Seattle from Vegas, around 1,250 miles each way up through NV to Twin Falls, Boise, then Yakima. Back through Portland, Bend, then N NV. Going up I drove 14 1/2 hours the first day. Coming back I drove 12 hours the first day and 10 the second. I was mildly tired at the end of the ten hour plus days, but not exhausted. I NEVER could have done a 14 1/2 hour day in my 2002 3/4 ton 4x4 Dodge Cummins!

This truck is comfortable and feels safe and planted. Granted, I was only towing a 10k 30' fiver, less than half the rated capacity, but went through some challenging terrain. Coming back I went through the Toiyabe National Forest where the pass was close to seven thousand feet with a number of switchbacks. The temps were in the low thirties and ice and snow covered the road in a number of places. I was smart with my speed and the truck NEVER felt like it wasn't in complete control.

The Allison worked with the exhaust brake and grade braking to control the speed to plus or minus two to three mph whether I was going up or down a grade. The haptic feedback seat combined with a heads up display flashing light does a pretty good job of telling you if you're getting off center in your lane, similar to what rumble strips do, and if you're coming up on an obstacle while driving both sides of the seat vibrate and four or five lights flash in the hud. It gets your attention!

I'm not for certain, but in traffic one time a car stopped suddenly in front of me to turn and the seat vibrated on both sides, the hud flashed, and I "think", the brake was already starting to apply before I hit it. I "think" it might auto/emergency brake. I'm not counting on it and haven't been able to find any docs to confirm that.

The combination of handling characteristics, size (smallest of the duallies), excellent tires, safety features, comfortable cabin, etc., make this a very comfortable rig to tow with.

Cabin
I tend to get "butt burn" after two many hours in the drivers seat. I don't have a lot of padding and it's like a "bone bruise". This is perhaps the first vehicle I remember owning where I could drive long hours like this and not have a problem with that. The seats are very comfortable.

The heated seats and steering wheel are very nice in cold weather. I hadn't expected to like them as much as I do. The lumbar support is ok I guess. I don't have much lower back problem and of course I'm a pretty small woman so what fits me might not fit you, but the seat is very comfortable for me.

I have read and seen videos about the GM "off center" steering wheel. I can't tell. It seems right for me. I DO have an issue with not being able to get my seat in the position I want and also be able to rest my left elbow on the door, but I run with my seat all the way up to give me a better view. Since I'm short, that puts my line of sight still well below the sun visor. For a taller person that shouldn't be a problem obviously.

I run with the mirrors in the "out" position all the time. When I park I hid the auto fold and her ears fold in. I also have a 3.5" round concave mirror on the main mirror high and outside in addition to the standard low rectangular convex mirrors. With this arrangement I have good visibility.

IntelliHaul Camera System
I had the IntelliHaul Camera System installed. I like it for lane changes and turns, the turn side camera comes up in the center display and you can see if your lane is clear, where your duals or trailer tires are, etc. However, when it does that it obviously blanks out your navigation. So if you're using the center screen for navigation coming up on a complex interchange and put on your turn signal all the sudden you lose your map! Because of this I bought a Ram Mount and run my 9.7" iPad off the windshield for primary navigation when towing. It's the 1.5" ball suction cup with a 9" stalk and the xgrip for my iPad. I mount it low on the window, run it out along the dash, and it hangs the ipad just over the lip of the dash above and to the left of the center display. Doing this it doesn't really block anything and gives me an uninterrupted view of nav while leaving my center display for everything else.

The bedcam isn't really useful for hooking up. I still just turn around and I can see the top of my hitch to guide it back onto the kingpin. The center screen and camera are too grainy and dark. If I couldn't see my hitch I might be able to make it work, but it's non optimal.

The backup camera works, most of the time. I think the wireless cuts out.

Clearance
As noted in a prior post, I drug off the front air dam. I may consider a small lift and taller tires at some point in the future when I get a new fiver that is taller. My current fiver is already raked up in the nose. That's one of the reasons I got this truck though. A lower tow height, entry to the bed, more comfortable ride, etc. I hesitate to mess with that.


Let me know if you have questions.

kate

[grindstone01]

I also have a 18 Chevy DRW truck and would like to add a couple of notes here. The lower front air dam should be ok as long as you keep the front tires on the road. Going into a snowbank or ditch will probably scrape most vehicle front air dams. Also, depending on how often you do your oil changes (I chose 5k miles) then just have your DEF tank filled to the top and you should be good to go. Don't rely on the dealers to fill the DEF tank as they will only put in 1 - 2.5 gallon jug. The other issue is the LTZ option has the painted lower bumper vs the chrome bumper. Today, I contacted a shop to have a clear vinyl wrap installed for $300 to protect it from stone chips. I recently seen a 17 Chevy LTZ that had 100k on it and the front white bumper was dotted with gray stone chip marks and really looked bad..