I finally found a 3500 Silverado DRW “reasonably” priced. This is a long post but you might enjoy reading it. From November 2010 till October 2019, I owned a 2011 3500 DRW. This was a very good truck except for emission issues which GM to their credit, repaired at no cost. These issues were bad NOX sensors, bad DEF tank, etc. However when Chevy announced the new 2020 3500 with bigger brakes, higher towing limits, a 10 speed transmission, & very importantly safety equipment like Lane alert, forward collision alert, & 10 cameras I decided to look for a new truck. I’m getting older & the safer features were very important to me. With the cameras, I could park without having my wife get out & tell me how close I was to objects in front of me. This was October 2019, before Covid, & no duallys we’re being manufactured. Waiting till the new year was not an option due to a tax issue. (By buying before the first of the year I could take bonus depreciation “. I looked at the tow ratings for the SRW, & it appeared the SRW would have the rear axle capacity I needed for my then current fifth wheel. Then in April 20 I looked at Solitudes. The 345GK I looked at had a posted pin weight of about 2600 lbs. The dealer, who was great in so many ways, including not ripping me off on selling price, allowed me to hook up the Solitude & go to the Cat Scales a couple of miles away. Everything looked good until after purchasing the Solitude, I added a cargo tray, transferred our belongings into the Solitude, etc. Even with all this I was at the maximum, but not over. Later I added a 50 gallon auxiliary in bed fuel tank, & I was over about 100 lbs or less than 1.5%. Later last year, I added solar & now I was over about 350 lbs. Then last summer, we were going through windy Kansas & the truck was moving a little in 30 mph winds.

So I started casually looking for a DRW. Every dealer I contacted after finding trucks on Chevy.com was listing their trucks from $5 to $10K over MSRP. There were only one or two or no trucks at the dealers. And honest dealers told me that they didn’t trust Chevy’s estimated delivery times. Finally, here in Indiana, where we are staying for the summer I found a Commercial Chevy dealer in a very small town who had 2 used duallys. The first was a 2015 & the second was a 2021 with 19,600 miles. I got a very fair price & a great trade in price on the 2021. So, bottom line, my advice is if you are looking, try small rural dealerships. And if any of you are looking for a white 2015 3500 DRW, PM ME.

I made this change for peace of mind & to have a very large excess carrying capacity. I don’t judge anyone else for their decisions & I felt I was safe with the 2020 SRW. I just feel more peace of mind now.