ClassicTractorProfessor 5,366 #1 Posted January 2 Courtney and I have been talking over buying a new farm truck for quite some time now. We have my 2004 F350 and a 1991 Chevy half ton. Both are good trucks but the half ton really isn’t heavy enough to do much with and my Ford is loaded down with the air compressor and welder and all that, which makes it unusable to pull our gooseneck stock trailer. That has left us with having to trade trucks with her parents and use their 2012 Ram every time we need to haul calves to the sale or move any cattle from pasture to pasture. Was really in the market for another diesel, but the price on them has always been out of our range, and we couldn’t ever agree on what to buy. I wanted another PowerStroke, she wanted a Cummins. I love the Cummins engine, but can’t stand the truck wrapped around it. About the only thing we could agree on is that we didn’t want a Duramax. So anyway we’ve been kinda casually looking, last night my Dad called me and he bought Mom a 2025 Trailblazer, so he is taking her 2018 Silverado for a fishing truck and selling his 2005 2500HD and wanted to know if we were interested in it before he listed it anywhere else. 6.0 gas and 2WD but should make us a good truck for hauling calves to the sale. $4000 later and it’s ours, they’re bringing it down this weekend on their way to OKC to pick up the new Trailblazer. 5 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OutdoorEnvy 1,730 #2 Posted January 2 Looks great for a $4k truck and good drivetrain should serve you well! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jrblanke 885 #3 Posted January 2 That is a great truck! I'm a big fan and hope to have one similar one day. The early 2000s chevys/gmcs were great because those engines do not have the active fuel management or the cylinder deactivation. The 4L80 transmission is also a great trans. A friend of mine had a 2002 HD with the 6.0 and drove it until it had 413k miles. The engine locked up after a rubber oil cooler line broke on the highway and he didn't catch it in time. Congratulations!!! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ClassicTractorProfessor 5,366 #4 Posted January 2 17 minutes ago, Jrblanke said: 413k miles. If this one makes it to that mark it should last us from here on out, seeing as how it will probably spend most of its life hooked to the stock trailer and that’s the only time it will get driven for the most part. I’ll keep the old 91 for driving back and forth to work and to the farm, it may be beat up and ugly but it was free and it’s cheap to insure and drive. 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 70,389 #5 Posted January 2 5 hours ago, ClassicTractorProfessor said: 2005 2500HD . 6.0 gas and 2WD Good catch Bryce! You'll do just fine with that! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TonyToro Jr. 1,748 #6 Posted January 3 We have the same truck. You’ll love it. Our trucks name is Tasha. Take off the dash part on top of the glove box and find out its name! Tows our 4 pulling tractors that each way 1,050 pounds and 18 foot trailer with just about no issues. 2 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ClassicTractorProfessor 5,366 #7 Posted January 5 Truck was delivered last night, along with a stock trailer loaded down with all kinds of goodies, unloaded it tonight, it’ll take me a week or better to go through everything. Dad decided to clean out the shop before he came down . Took it on an 80 mile round trip to pick up feed before the cold hits tonight, ran and drove great. Now just waiting for tax time to roll around so I can get a gooseneck hitch ordered for it. 2 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 70,389 #8 Posted January 5 8 hours ago, ClassicTractorProfessor said: Took it on an 80 mile round trip to pick up feed before the cold hits tonight, ran and drove great That's just awesome sir. You'll be very happy with that drive train and its capability. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ClassicTractorProfessor 5,366 #9 Posted January 27 Made our first long trip with the new truck this weekend. Our niece turned one a few months ago, and her favorite thing to do when she comes down is to go out to the farm and see the cows, so for her 1st birthday we gifted her two heifers. We finally got around to delivering them this weekend. Close to 300 mile round trip. The stock trailer that dad brought us full of stuff when he delivered the truck belongs to my sister, so Saturday morning we loaded the heifers and headed that way. Truck did great, but did NOT like pulling the trailer into a 40 mph head wind most of the way. 8.7 mpg going up there. Reset everything this morning when we headed home, haven’t filled up yet to figure exact mileage, but the dash showed 14 mpg coming home empty. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SylvanLakeWH 27,243 #10 Posted January 27 15 minutes ago, ClassicTractorProfessor said: but did NOT like pulling the trailer into a 40 mph head wind most of the way. 8.7 mpg going up there. Fine print just below gas meter: "Hauling heifers may impact gas mileage. Multiple heifers even more so..." 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ClassicTractorProfessor 5,366 #11 Posted January 29 Any of you Chevy guys shed some light on this for me? Perhaps @Pullstart I know you’ve been into and around a lot of these trucks. I’d like to swap to the larger towing mirrors for pulling our 24’ gooseneck. My truck has power mirrors with turn signals as well as power folding. These I found have the power and turn signals but are manual extend/fold. Anyone know if they will plug in and keep the power and turn signals working. I could care less about the power folding feature as I rarely fold the ones it has now, but would like to keep everything else functional. Just don’t want to spend $250 on mirrors only to have them get here and not work properly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 70,389 #12 Posted January 29 29 minutes ago, ClassicTractorProfessor said: swap to the larger towing mirrors I can't comment specifically but I'd throw this in there. Check with some salvage yards. See if there's a national level one that specializes. I've seen a few cheapo aftermarket mirrors go bad in short order with my parents and their friends from the RV community. Was it me... I'd try really hard to verify what original GM mirrors will work and buy a good used set of OE ones. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 64,388 #13 Posted January 29 I’m not sure how the electronics in the mirrors work, but thanks for pulling me in on this Bryce! I hadn’t seen it! That’s a great truck! Notice Tony’s similar one with zero rocker panels left. That’s what the Midwest salt belt does to vehicles in the winter! Boo! Yours is good and clean, like Norman 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 64,388 #14 Posted January 29 Oh, I forgot to mention. Norman’s mirrors are 100% manual. I have them set so I can push them out while hauling the trailer and pull them in unloaded, and don’t need to adjust the pan or tilt. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ClassicTractorProfessor 5,366 #15 Posted January 29 7 minutes ago, Pullstart said: but thanks for pulling me in on this Bryce! I hadn’t seen it! I figured it must have slipped through the cracks past you, cause I know how much you love a good rust free southern Chevy 8 minutes ago, Pullstart said: Oh, I forgot to mention. Norman’s mirrors are 100% manual. I have them set so I can push them out while hauling the trailer and pull them in unloaded, and don’t need to adjust the pan or tilt. I’ll do some more research, my original plan was to just tuck the wiring down in the door and put full manual mirrors like Norman’s, but then I found these and thought if they’d work it would be nice to keep the power features and turn signals, really like the signals in the mirrors 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 64,388 #16 Posted January 29 31 minutes ago, ClassicTractorProfessor said: I figured it must have slipped through the cracks past you, cause I know how much you love a good rust free southern Chevy I’ll do some more research, my original plan was to just tuck the wiring down in the door and put full manual mirrors like Norman’s, but then I found these and thought if they’d work it would be nice to keep the power features and turn signals, really like the signals in the mirrors Maybe see if you can find some wiring diagrams, or pin outs. You might need to move a wire, or make your own connections, but some of the features should still work if there is wiring for it. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Handy Don 13,265 #17 Posted January 29 1 hour ago, ClassicTractorProfessor said: really like the signals in the mirrors Agreed. Extra courtesy to fellow drivers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ClassicTractorProfessor 5,366 #18 Posted February 13 Put the truck to work again this past weekend. Courtney bought herself a 1951 Allis Chalmers WD, I was trying to work a deal with the same seller for a McCormick Deering W4, but that didn’t pan out so I bought myself a 1948 WD. So now we have a matching pair of tractors. That’s mine on the trailer. After our last trip pulling the stock trailer with the two heifers I must admit I was a bit disappointed, but also knew that the wind didn’t help things any. After this weekend I feel better about our purchase, I ran 70-75 most of the way loaded and couldn’t hardly even tell there was a tractor and trailer behind me. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
