Which Trail Boss should I buy

[Transient]

Fish eggs

Caviar???

 

[Johnny7]

Caviar???

Yea that’s the fancy name for fish roe.
We were poor

 

[WRS7458]

I went with the 6.2 because I like the acceleration. I had a Silverado before this with the 5.3. It had no issues but was definitely slower and less torquey. On the Trail Boss's, you are talking about 2 MPG on the highway difference between the 6.2 and 5.3. Worth it in my opinion. I'm at 47,000 miles now with no issues.

If you want torque but better mileage, the 3.0 Duramax is the way to go. I haven't heard of oil consumption issues in that one, but I also don't know of anyone personally that owns one. Just never seen it come up often online.

I don't know enough about the 2.7 Turbo to have much of an opinion on that one, other than I think that motor is a better fit for the Colorado's and Canyon's.

Hey all,

Former Chevy owner, haven't owned one since around 2005 but am looking at Trail Bosses, ZR2's and AT4X's.

Coming from a 2011 SVT Raptor with a 6.2L Boss engine with tons of power and being tuned, I've test driven a 5.3L fully loaded 2021 LT Trail Boss and it was plush and very solid. Certified pre owned with under 15K miles. Test drove an RST 6.2L and the power was definitely right there with my Raptor. The key thing is, I need a newer, more economical truck as the best the Raptor gets is around 10-11 mpg tuned with a fresh tune up at 113K miles. I have a buddy with a 2021 5.3L Trail Boss that gets upward of 22 mpg highway in his. What's the absolute best I could expect out of a 6.2L Trail Boss/ZR2/AT4X in all honesty? Anything to stay away from?

It'll be essentially just my daily driver. Looking for comfort overall and luxury. Thanks in advance.

 

[fotoguy21159]

Hey all,

Former Chevy owner, haven't owned one since around 2005 but am looking at Trail Bosses, ZR2's and AT4X's.

Coming from a 2011 SVT Raptor with a 6.2L Boss engine with tons of power and being tuned, I've test driven a 5.3L fully loaded 2021 LT Trail Boss and it was plush and very solid. Certified pre owned with under 15K miles. Test drove an RST 6.2L and the power was definitely right there with my Raptor. The key thing is, I need a newer, more economical truck as the best the Raptor gets is around 10-11 mpg tuned with a fresh tune up at 113K miles. I have a buddy with a 2021 5.3L Trail Boss that gets upward of 22 mpg highway in his. What's the absolute best I could expect out of a 6.2L Trail Boss/ZR2/AT4X in all honesty? Anything to stay away from?

It'll be essentially just my daily driver. Looking for comfort overall and luxury. Thanks in advance.

I have the 5.3 and after installing the Roarpedal throttle response controller it feels just as peppy as the 6.2 running around town, leaving stop lights, etc.... Probably doesn't help overall horsepower any but it definitely helps the response quite a bit with no acceleration lag. Very affordable too and literally takes one minute to install and with the bluetooth version you control it with your phone. (highly recommended) You can also put it in "lock mode" and it disables the gas pedal until you turn it off. https://roarpedal.com/products/roar...MI-e3Sxtz4gwMVTAetBh0KcAk0EAAYASAAEgJqSfD_BwE

 

[Jmzvet]

I have a 5.3 on 34in tires and 2in lift.
My overall MPG after 23K miles is 16.3

 

[Transient]

The sweet spot for the optimal mpg on the 6.2 is at 55 mph. The same would probably be said about the 5.3 mounted to a 10-speed. With that said, the best I've seen on my 2020 Trail Boss LT with the 6.2 is 24.4 with the cruise control set at 78 mph. That was with the stock 275/65r18 Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs. The ZR2 and AT4X have larger tires, so you'll see lower mpg than I did. With that said, I'm currently running 285/75r18 Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs and the decrease in mpg is ~2-3mpg. The greatest decrease is at freeway speed.

If you're concern is truly about mpg I recommend looking into the 3.0 Duramax diesel engine. It produces more torque than the 6.2 and almost as much horsepower as the 5.3. Since the 6.2 recommends premium fuel, and diesel sells for about the same price as premium, thus might be the more optimal direction for you to go.

Other areas to pay attention to are valve springs on the V8 engines, sliding rear window, and torque converter on the 10-speed.

 

[Jmzvet]

My 2wd 3.0 Duramax Yukon avgs 25mpg. Easily 30mpg at 65 light throttle highway trips.
I think it’s a great engine for a light truck/suv

 

[WRS7458]

The sweet spot for the optimal mpg on the 6.2 is at 55 mph. The same would probably be said about the 5.3 mounted to a 10-speed. With that said, the best I've seen on my 2020 Trail Boss LT with the 6.2 is 24.4 with the cruise control set at 78 mph. That was with the stock 275/65r18 Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs. The ZR2 and AT4X have larger tires, so you'll see lower mpg than I did. With that said, I'm currently running 285/75r18 Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs and the decrease in mpg is ~2-3mpg. The greatest decrease is at freeway speed.

If you're concern is truly about mpg I recommend looking into the 3.0 Duramax diesel engine. It produces more torque than the 6.2 and almost as much horsepower as the 5.3. Since the 6.2 recommends premium fuel, and diesel sells for about the same price as premium, thus might be the more optimal direction for you to go.

Other areas to pay attention to are valve springs on the V8 engines, sliding rear window, and torque converter on the 10-speed.

I think GMC is where I'm going to head toward with a 22-23 AT4X. If I can see 20 mpg on highway, I'm good with that. My Raptor barely sees 10 mpg.

 

[2KWIK2C]

If you want better MPG and horsepower look at chipping it or tuning it. A lot on this site related to that. I really don't look at MPG. I'm off road mostly and well, lets just say, I'm, not easy on the truck! Bought it wheel it. If I'm a good boy and on pavement (flat ground) I can squeak a pretty solid 18-20 at 70 mph with my setup.

 

[Transient]

The only thing I hate about my truck is how often I need to stop at the gas station. The gas tanks are too small.

 

[Transient]

I wish I could like my previous comment. I was under my truck yesterday looking to route wires. I took a look at the area in front of the gas tank. GM could've literally gone with a tank that was a couple feet longer. Even if they had to stop short for a short bed extended cab we would've had 30+ gallon tanks. I have a crew cab short bed. At roughly 6 lbs per gallon we wouldn't have lost much in towing and payload.

I'm getting off my soapbox now

 

[2KWIK2C]

I wish I could like my previous comment. I was under my truck yesterday looking to route wires. I took a look at the area in front of the gas tank. GM could've literally gone with a tank that was a couple feet longer. Even if they had to stop short for a short bed extended cab we would've had 30+ gallon tanks. I have a crew cab short bed. At roughly 6 lbs per gallon we wouldn't have lost much in towing and payload.

I'm getting off my soapbox now

I agree on the size of the gas tank. Hate to say the word D0dge but I believe you have a choice on size or two. Don't quote me on that. However, I'd rather stop for gas and be back on the road in less than 10 minutes vs. someone who has to charge their car for up eight hours to go another 300 miles to do the same.

 

[JB0694]

Do you need to use premium fuel in the 6.2?

 

[Ed R]

2020 TB, 5.3L 10 speed, factory Duratrac 275/65R18, 87 Octane.

No off road, some dirt roads, mostly highway. I drive on cruse 85% of the time. On cruse city or highway. I'm old, quick starts and quick stops are behind me. I do tow a 20' fiberglass bass boat no problems.