08' Silverado 1500 6.0 reviews

Goinboardin · Oct 10, 2013

I'm going to check out a truck with a buddy of mine tomorrow morning, 2008 Chevy Silverado 1500 4x4 crewcab with 6.0L, tow package, elocker, and HD suspension package. It sounds like a heavy half to me. He doesn't tow anything currently but is looking to buy a truck and hold on to it for a good while so who knows in the future. It has 80k miles on it. He's not too concerned with fuel economy, just wants a capable & dependable truck.

Anything to look out for? This truck's build sheet looks great to me, just wondering if there are any common problems? It does have a ball in the bed & trailer brake controller, so it was used for towing, but sounds like a weekend warrior type tow rig and not a work truck heavy hauler.

Thanks

Dogmeat · Oct 11, 2013

Goinboardin said:
I'm going to check out a truck with a buddy of mine tomorrow morning, 2008 Chevy Silverado 1500 4x4 crewcab with 6.0L, tow package, elocker, and HD suspension package. It sounds like a heavy half to me. He doesn't tow anything currently but is looking to buy a truck and hold on to it for a good while so who knows in the future. It has 80k miles on it. He's not too concerned with fuel economy, just wants a capable & dependable truck.

Anything to look out for? This truck's build sheet looks great to me, just wondering if there are any common problems? It does have a ball in the bed & trailer brake controller, so it was used for towing, but sounds like a weekend warrior type tow rig and not a work truck heavy hauler.

Thanks

I don't think you could get anything in 2008 but the 4-speed auto. If this is the transmission it has, I would honestly steer clear of it.

The motor has a pretty peaky power band, and with the 4-speed transmission it likes to hunt for gears a LOT or you have to keep the thing revved pretty high. IMO, its not the best tow rig out there ..... I am not trying to be a brand zealot, in fact my last 4 trucks have all been Chevrolets, but I wouldn't buy that particular truck if I was going to tow an enclosed trailer. I wouldn't hesitate putting up to a 4-place open trailer on it or like a 21' boat or something, but that's about it.

With that said, they are very nice trucks. The motor makes good power and is a very solid motor, but as I said above its just not the best tow motor to begin with and then mated toa 4 speed .... ick.

They ride like Caddillacs though so to speak.

When buying used IMO its the bang for the buck factor you have to look at, IE is this vehicle I'm buying in the best shape for the least miles for the best price?

Might do you some good to compare with some F150s of that same year, I think they have a bit better power band for towing and they have a 5 speed transmission.

Raff_9001M · Oct 11, 2013

Dogmeat said:
I don't think you could get anything in 2008 but the 4-speed auto. If this is the transmission it has, I would honestly steer clear of it.

The motor has a pretty peaky power band, and with the 4-speed transmission it likes to hunt for gears a LOT or you have to keep the thing revved pretty high. IMO, its not the best tow rig out there ..... I am not trying to be a brand zealot, in fact my last 4 trucks have all been Chevrolets, but I wouldn't buy that particular truck if I was going to tow an enclosed trailer. I wouldn't hesitate putting up to a 4-place open trailer on it or like a 21' boat or something, but that's about it.

With that said, they are very nice trucks. The motor makes good power and is a very solid motor, but as I said above its just not the best tow motor to begin with and then mated toa 4 speed .... ick.

They ride like Caddillacs though so to speak.

When buying used IMO its the bang for the buck factor you have to look at, IE is this vehicle I'm buying in the best shape for the least miles for the best price?

Might do you some good to compare with some F150s of that same year, I think they have a bit better power band for towing and they have a 5 speed transmission.

Pretty much exactly what I experienced with 2008 and I had the 2500HD with the 6 speed transmission. Although one mistake I made with that truck was relying too much on the automatic transmission and not using the auto-manual shift. I did like it though.

Goinboardin · Oct 11, 2013

Drove it this morning. Rode nice. Being in Laramie we have a nice hill on I80 to pull for a test run. Everything seemed fine to me except rear rotors have some light gauges & the tailgate is a little loose/needs adjustment. My friend is passing his Subaru to his wife and will be driving this truck (hunting & maybe hauling motorcycle around), so I'm sure it will suite his needs well. He doesn't own any trailers currently and is generally easy on stuff. Sounds like he's going to buy it next week (made a deposit today).

Thanks for the input guys. I realize this isn't the best truck on the road but she seems solid & ought to work well. Plus they're taking his wife's POS Impala on trade for more than it is worth:face-icon-small-sho.

volcano buster · Oct 12, 2013

Dogmeat said:
Might do you some good to compare with some F150s of that same year, I think they have a bit better power band for towing and they have a 5 speed transmission.

I believe the F150's only had 4 speeds until the 2009 model year. I had an '08 F150 supercrew long bed which towed well. I now have a '12 F150 5.0 supercrew long bed and it blows away the '08 for towing. The 5.4 and the 5.0 are different motors though. The 5.4 would lug along building and using torque. The 5.0 is happier dropping a gear and running a few more R's but hauls the mail. I don't think the Chevy 6.0 is all that easy on gas if I remember.

MORSNO · Oct 12, 2013

GM makes various versions of the 6.0 depending on the truck, so to compare power, MPG, etc you need to be looking at the same truck. The 1500 Vortex Max 6.0 is high horsepower but it comes at a high RPM. Even the 2500HD and 3500HD's each have a different 6.0. 2500HD 6.0 has more HP than the 3500HD 6.0, but it comes at a higher RPM also. We may never see the torque of an old big block gasser again.

Dirty Steve · Oct 12, 2013

He'd be better of going with a 3/4 ton in my opinion. The heavy half is the same drive train as Avalanche. Smaller brakes and payload than the 3/4 ton and probably the same gas mileage as a 3/4 ton.

Dogmeat · Oct 12, 2013

Goinboardin said:
Drove it this morning. Rode nice. Being in Laramie we have a nice hill on I80 to pull for a test run. Everything seemed fine to me except rear rotors have some light gauges & the tailgate is a little loose/needs adjustment. My friend is passing his Subaru to his wife and will be driving this truck (hunting & maybe hauling motorcycle around), so I'm sure it will suite his needs well. He doesn't own any trailers currently and is generally easy on stuff. Sounds like he's going to buy it next week (made a deposit today).

Thanks for the input guys. I realize this isn't the best truck on the road but she seems solid & ought to work well. Plus they're taking his wife's POS Impala on trade for more than it is worth:face-icon-small-sho.

Quite the contrary, if all you are doing is hauling a bike or two in the bed or pulling a small trailer, you probably can't get a better truck. It will have great power passing on the interstate and get better mileage than the other several trucks in this class.

This just isn't the truck to buy if you're going to be towing an enclosed snowmobile trailer or camp trailer, etc

Dogmeat · Oct 12, 2013

volcano buster said:
I don't think the Chevy 6.0 is all that easy on gas if I remember.

The version of it that comes in the 1500 Vortec Max package does pretty well for a 360 horsepower motor. It will do 18-19 on the highway most days. You might get 9-10 towing with it.

The 6.0L that comes in the 2500HD and 3500 trucks seems to suck more gas down but it is tuned slightly better for towing than the DoD version that comes in the 1/2 tons.

volcano buster · Oct 12, 2013

I didn't realize there were different versions. Neighbor had a 2500 with the 6.0 and sold it due to the fuel mileage.

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08' Silverado 1500 6.0 reviews

Goinboardin

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Dogmeat

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Raff_9001M

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Goinboardin

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volcano buster

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MORSNO

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Dirty Steve

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Dogmeat

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