2015 3/4 Ton Chevy Express Test

[Great White]

Ha - the Nissan...I loved my Nissan Frontier. Thanks for mentioning it.  I'm a bit worried about reliability given that reliability has not been good in the Titan - but you're right that Nissan has the truck frame and body. 

How has reliability been for you and how long have you had it? What's your average MPG?

I will check it out further. Maybe I'm not out of the van game yet.

 I haven't had mine long. About 6 months. Good so far but it is new. The drive train is Titan but the rear end has been upgraded and it has a dedicated heavy duty ladder frame, not the Titan's. I have the 3500 HD. I drove the 2500HD high top,  and the body roll was bad! The 1 ton suspension is very solid. No roll or whiplash after the lean. The 3500 come with the V8 as standard and the mileage sucks!! 8-9 city and 14-15 on the hwy. That being said, it will tow 7,200 lbs. and will carry 4,600 lbs. I bought mine to use as a camping rig for extended stays while doing photography. I wanted something that could handle a little off road trails. I will also be pulling a 25' travel trailer. We are going back on the road full time so I needed the double duty vehicle. The V6 get about 10-12 in town and close to 18-19 on the hwy. The V6 has good power but not enough for my needs. There is a low top and a high top. I have the high top and it is all metal with a lot of steel reinforcements. The NV owners forum has a lot of info and from the sounds of it reliability is very good. I would stay away from the 2012-2013 models due to problems that have been solved on the newer models. Of course it is that way with any new designed vehicle. They all have bugs to be worked out. Mine is a 2015. Hope that helps.

 

[cortttt]

 I haven't had mine long. About 6 months. Good so far but it is new. The drive train is Titan but the rear end has been upgraded and it has a dedicated heavy duty ladder frame, not the Titan's. I have the 3500 HD. I drove the 2500HD high top,  and the body roll was bad! The 1 ton suspension is very solid. No roll or whiplash after the lean. The 3500 come with the V8 as standard and the mileage sucks!! 8-9 city and 14-15 on the hwy. That being said, it will tow 7,200 lbs. and will carry 4,600 lbs. I bought mine to use as a camping rig for extended stays while doing photography. I wanted something that could handle a little off road trails. I will also be pulling a 25' travel trailer. We are going back on the road full time so I needed the double duty vehicle. The V6 get about 10-12 in town and close to 18-19 on the hwy. The V6 has good power but not enough for my needs. There is a low top and a high top. I have the high top and it is all metal with a lot of steel reinforcements. The NV owners forum has a lot of info and from the sounds of it reliability is very good. I would stay away from the 2012-2013 models due to problems that have been solved on the newer models. Of course it is that way with any new designed vehicle. They all have bugs to be worked out. Mine is a 2015. Hope that helps.

It does indeed.  I will check out the V6 and the Forum - good idea.

 

[cortttt]

If you're interested in MPG in any van - check out this fascinating thread on the NV Forums - http://nissannvforum.com/topic/395-disappointing-gas-mileage/

People are getting vastly different MPG's - from 18-20 mpg to 12-13 mpg... probably mostly based on the type of driving they do...

 

[cortttt]

If you're interested in MPG in any van - check out this fascinating thread on the NV Forums - http://nissannvforum.com/topic/395-disappointing-gas-mileage/

People are getting vastly different MPG's - from 18-20 mpg to 12-13 mpg... probably mostly based on the type of driving they do...

Also this thread - http://nissannvforum.com/topic/22-gas-mileage/ - in general pretty good MPG on the highway if driven right.

 

[cortttt]

Also this thread - http://nissannvforum.com/topic/22-gas-mileage/ - in general pretty good MPG on the highway if driven right.

Is this (+/-) a manual shifter on the Chevy/GMC?

 

[29chico]

Is this (+/-) a manual shifter on the Chevy/GMC?

Yes.  That is the rocker switch that I was talking about.

 

[cortttt]

Thanks

What year was your van?

I'm seeing them on a bunch of 2014 Uhaul vans for sale.

The Penske guy says he rarely sees them though.  I wonder if it could be added. I really like that feature on the 4Runner - I use it a lot.

You were right - not sure what van I will go with - the low, low mileage ex-Uhaul van for more money or the more mileage Penske for less money.

 

[cortttt]

Thanks

What year was your van?

I'm seeing them on a bunch of 2014 Uhaul vans for sale.

The Penske guy says he rarely sees them though.  I wonder if it could be added. I really like that feature on the 4Runner - I use it a lot.

You were right - not sure what van I will go with - the low, low mileage ex-Uhaul van for more money or the more mileage Penske for less money.

Ha! I see the Penske van has an extended wheelbase.   I have two thoughts on that - I don't think I need the extra room and given all the off-road driving I don't know if I want a longer vehicle.

On the other hand, I wonder if that extra spring would help it hold up to the rough roads a bit better, and for some reason one website says it has a shorter turning radius (???). That seems so weird to me...Does that make sense?

• http://www.newcars.com/reviews/gmc-savana2500-vs-gmc-savana3500-minivanvan.html

The GMC Savana 2500 has a significantly larger turning radius than the GMC Savana 3500, making it much more difficult to maneuver in and out of tight spots.

 

[29chico]

Thanks

What year was your van?

I'm seeing them on a bunch of 2014 Uhaul vans for sale.

The Penske guy says he rarely sees them though.  I wonder if it could be added. I really like that feature on the 4Runner - I use it a lot.

You were right - not sure what van I will go with - the low, low mileage ex-Uhaul van for more money or the more mileage Penske for less money.

My rig is a 2012.  

Uhaul is not known to do anywhere as good maintenance as Penske.

 

[29chico]

Ha! I see the Penske van has an extended wheelbase.   I have two thoughts on that - I don't think I need the extra room and given all the off-road driving I don't know if I want a longer vehicle.

On the other hand, I wonder if that extra spring would help it hold up to the rough roads a bit better, and for some reason one website says it has a shorter turning radius (???). That seems so weird to me...Does that make sense?

• http://www.newcars.com/reviews/gmc-savana2500-vs-gmc-savana3500-minivanvan.html

The GMC Savana 2500 has a significantly larger turning radius than the GMC Savana 3500, making it much more difficult to maneuver in and out of tight spots.

Both the G2500 rental and my G3500 are extended.  Both get into tight spots with surprising ease.

Why don't you do a poll on the subject of your getting a standard vs extended WB GM van?  I'm pretty sure what the results will be.

In my perspective, I'm also pretty sure that if you get the standard wheelbase van you will wish that you had gone with the longer unit.

FWIW: I drove the G2500 extended rental van hard, no surprise there, on some pretty nasty FS roads and never bottomed it out.  I'm also fairly sure that I did not manage to knock the alignment out of wack either.  It steered straight and true, and did not pull when on the brakes, when I turned it back in.

 

[cortttt]

Both the G2500 rental and my G3500 are extended.  Both get into tight spots with surprising ease.

Why don't you do a poll on the subject of your getting a standard vs extended WB GM van?  I'm pretty sure what the results will be.

In my perspective, I'm also pretty sure that if you get the standard wheelbase van you will wish that you had gone with the longer unit.

FWIW: I drove the G2500 extended rental van hard, no surprise there, on some pretty nasty FS roads and never bottomed it out.  I'm also fairly sure that I did not manage to knock the alignment out of wack either.  It steered straight and true, and did not pull when on the brakes, when I turned it back in.

Thanks. I go over my worries about the size of that big long extended van by comparing it's length to that of full--size pickups with crew cabs - which was my fallback car - they were almost identical

 

[akrvbob]

I have a 2001 1 ton extended Chevy, and it seems to ride exceptionally well on bad roads. I notice a lot of my friends drive much slower than I do on the back-roads. I think a lot of that is I'm just more comfortable with them but I think it may be the vans.

For example, I have a friend in a Ford extended 1 ton and it drives me crazy how slow she drives. One day I suggested that on washboard roads driving faster actually gives you a better ride. I drove this road at 30 mph and she was going 5 mph!! So she speeded up and it was really bad! It was rattling like it was going to fall apart and even I as a passenger I could feel the rear end floating around. I agreed, she had to drive 5 mph.

I've noticed that over and over again, my van just feels better on bad roads than most any other van I've seen.

My van is older and pretty beat up, her's is newer and in better shape so I think it must be the extended wheelbase.
Bob

 

[cortttt]

I have a 2001 1 ton extended Chevy, and it seems to ride exceptionally well on bad roads. I notice a lot of my friends drive much slower than I do on the back-roads. I think a lot of that is I'm just more comfortable with them but I think it may be the vans.

For example, I have a friend in a Ford extended 1 ton and it drives me crazy how slow she drives. One day I suggested that on washboard roads driving faster actually gives you a better ride. I drove this road at 30 mph and she was going 5 mph!! So she speeded up and it was really bad! It was rattling like it was going to fall apart and even I as a passenger I could feel the rear end floating around. I agreed, she had to drive 5 mph.

I've noticed that over and over again, my van just feels better on bad roads than most any other van I've seen.

My van is older and pretty beat up, her's is newer and in better shape so I think it must be the extended wheelbase.
Bob

Thanks Bob.   I know a lot of people drive Fords and they are apparently easier to convert to 4wd but the consensus seems to be that Chevy's are a heck of a lot more fun to drive.