2012 Silverado 2500HD Diesel

[rherold9]

So... I did a thing a bit earlier than I expected. I just went to the dealership to look at the new 2500s just to compare to used ones. Little did I know a used 2500HD was just put up for sale there for a pretty high price for miles, year, options, etc... compared to what I was seeing online. So, from there I was offered quite a solid deal after saying what I saw used trucks online with similar miles and year on them going for. I took the bait and just ended up going for it and yeah I don't know it just happened :dunno:. Oh well I was getting a truck eventually regardless. Carfax is 2 owner with no issues and most service records :thumbup: :thumbup:

Anyways, why I chose this truck... I'm sure some are dying to know so they can tell me why would I do it... Well my thoughts were:

A) Future Proof - Own this for a long time, tow heavy loads including possible 5th wheel with no issue
B) Resale Value - always going to be high unless diesel prices go insane again
C) Best truck in the segment for the generation I picked up besides interior but that's not what I bought a truck for so make fun of the shitty ass interior all you want because I agree it sucks :thumbup:

Really those were my main reasons for going for a diesel.

So on to the shit most people care about:

- 55k miles
- Newest Gen Duramax w/Allison
- Crew Cab
- 4x4
- LT
+ convenience package (adjustable pedals, rear park assist, rear defogger)
+ interior plus package (dual zone a/c, steering wheel audio control, bluetooth, usb, fog lamps, locking tailgate, ez lift tailgate)
+ HD trailering package (locking rear, integrated trailer brake)
- Z71 w/appearance package (All terrain tires, off road suspension, skid plates, some appearance crap that makes it look pretty)
- leather interior
- upgraded audio system (better than my old car but not amazing)
- backup camera
- remote start
- tow mirrors
- all weather floor mats

Basically from my understanding it is an LTZ that has a bench seat, no fake wood trim, and no heated seats? Not sure what else an LTZ would have came with hugely different.

Oh boy is this a huge change coming from almost a base model Mazda3. Things to note:

a) torque, torque and even more torque
b) holy shit this truck is faster than my car
c) wow this thing feels like a tank, I mean absolutely huge
d) this thing is about 5 times more luxurious than my car and I don't have to feel my head vibrating from the resonance of no rear interior and loud ass exhaust.
1. power door locks, cruise control, bluetooth, rear view camera, dual zone a/c, leather? Wtf? This is a lexus compared the Mazda3
e) the steering is lighter than my car. wut?
f) oh fuck I can't park worth shit
g) there are so many buttons idk what to press
h) what does my left foot do now?
i) yup these brakes suck then again this truck is double my cars weight

There is a lot more but I will stop there.

What I will say is included in my finance I decided to pick up GAP Insurance since I only put 10% down and I paid for their extended care program for 4 years/60k miles. That care program was only $800 which includes oil change/filter every 5k miles and tire rotations every 10k. This will indeed pay for itself and was well worth it, imo.

I would like to try going on an easier trail sometime with everyone else. I don't know shit about off-roading or placement but whatever I'm sure I will learn and have a great time. Should be tons of fun.

Last but not least, what I'm unsure of is modding path here. Mostly basic maintenance with maybe a hard bed cover and some touch screen HU if I can keep steering wheel functions. Not really sure what else I would want to do to the truck? Is there even a point? :dunno:

Now on to some dealer + some exterior pictures I took. There are some buttons on the left of the steering wheel which I'm unsure of what they mean or do but yeah. :lol:

[Senor_Taylor]

Please don't offroad this. I'm all about getting people to "use" their vehicles but this will

1) Be way too big with too much wheel base
2) Break things and scratch things you don't want to
3) Still be way too big

Maybe some dirt roads or something, but this thing is TOO nice to take off-roading.

Other than that, I don't really mind the interior on these years. My roomate has a 2015 which I think is similar, and it's not bad at all.
Great buy, man! You're in for the long haul! (Pun intended)

Look around for the button for the "Cargo light". It's super useful to see stuff in the bed at night, like at the track.

[Kaan]

does it have an integrated brake controller?

I like my soft bed cover... it gives me more flexibility when i need to haul stuff in the bed. DJ has a nice hard cover, but most of the standard hard covers just make it a big trunk.

[rherold9]

Taylor, but but I'm not talking about extreme trailing. Shouldn't be much bigger at all than Jake's truck. Jake's is 231.9 for 5.5 foot bed. Mine is 240.2 for 6.5 foot bed. I guess 9 inches would be a lot on trail though

Kaan, Yes it has an integrated brake controller and I was looking at a folded hard cover that pushes up against the rear window when not in use. I have seen problems of cracking with rolling ones

Sent from my SM-T713 using Tapatalk

[WRXtranceformed]

Yeah nothing to flame about here! That was a good purchase imo, with that mileage it should last you for a really long time and is probably more truck than you will ever need for any normal amount of towing (as you said future proof). I'm sure you would appreciate a nice touch screen HU at some point, I always thought that gen stock head unit looked very rental car-ish. Did you say if it had a bed liner or not? That would be another good investment.

If you are looking at tonneau covers, check out the Extang Solid Fold 2.0 or something similar. Gives you the ability to fold it back but it does not completely cover the rear window when it's folded...that to me seemed like a huge drawback when I was researching covers. I want to be able to keep that rear visibility if I am hauling something in the bed.

[Jake]

I'd do a touchscreen nav/radio head unit once you have some cash. Do a similar setup to mine - Alpine head unit and iDatalink Maestro RR for retaining all factory functions. Keeps it all plug and play.

FYI those four buttons to the left of your gauge cluster are for the trip computer, which displays in the cluster (DIC or Driver Info Center is what they call it).

this thing is TOO nice to take off-roading.

Dirt washes off, homie. Assuming we find a trail wide enough to hustle it down, it could easily handle what we did with my "too nice" truck a few weeks ago.

Congrats, Ryan! Now buy my trailer in the spring.

[jbails39]

Logical modding path is Smoke Stack -> Lift Kit -> Monster Sticker -> Dip Can

[Senor_Taylor]

Dirt washes off, homie. Assuming we find a trail wide enough to hustle it down, it could easily handle what we did with my "too nice" truck a few weeks ago.

No offense, but I think your trucks are in different categories. This is a pricey truck with a fantastic resale value. I wouldn't let this thing see mud.

[WRXtranceformed]

Logical modding path is Smoke Stack -> Lift Kit -> Monster Sticker -> Dip Can

+ -> Truck Nutz

[rherold9]

Looks like drop in bed liner. Don't think it is spray on. And yes I saw those when researching. That and bakflip look promising for hard tri-folding covers.

I definitely will look into a HU because even I think my Mazda3 has a more attractive HU than the truck... I don't think I'll be changing my speakers as I don't really care that much and they sound fine. Has mostly mid range but I haven't even touched the settings on it. Also haven't touched 80% of the buttons on this thing. I'll probably look at most things today when I get home.

Okay yeah I think I just had trip a and b on the mazda so was wondering what those left 4 buttons did.

Lols I probably look so weird driving this giant truck. I don't think I fit the typical silveraydo 2500HD look.


Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[D_Eclipse9916]

I am really glad you decided to future proof yourself.

Get a spray in bed-liner if you can, bakflips are great, and a locking tailgate (replaces your handle). It is nice for piece of mind at hotels or on the road to have your stuff locked up.
Grab a big plastic storage bin from target or walmart and go ahead put these in it. Flashlights and stuff go in the truck, this is stuff that gets dirty:
Nylon "climbing" Cord (great for multiuse, I end up using mine all the time when I am moving stuff, harbor freight is what I got)
Light ratchet straps (set of 4, harbor freight is fine)
Heavy ratchet Strap (for pulling a car out, holding down heavy stuff in bed)
Grease Gun (for use on your own truck, and for greasing the ball of your hitch
Couple rags
Set of Gloves

No need for a "tow strap" the heavy ratchet strap will accomplish the same and no need to double up wasting space.

Nav/double din head units are great, spend the money on a good one. Don't cheap out.

Lastly, once you get the money I do highly suggest an EFILive Autocal with DSP5. I have one and its fantastic. I have mine set up stock/eco/light tow/heavy tow/"race" tunes. It's cheap and not only adds gas mileage/gets rid of emissons; but on the tow tunes gives you "turbo brake". This is massive when towing and is my single favorite feature. I leave mine in race tune when driving around as I like the throttle response a lot better and as long as you stay off the throttle should be similiar to the eco tune.

[Jake]

I definitely will look into a HU because even I think my Mazda3 has a more attractive HU than the truck... I don't think I'll be changing my speakers as I don't really care that much and they sound fine. Has mostly mid range but I haven't even touched the settings on it.

You may be pleasantly surprised at what an aftermarket HU can do for stock speaker quality. I'd run the stockers until you blow 'em.

[rherold9]

My dealership takes it to a local place for all their spray on's which I might check out. Luckily mine is already locking so I just need a cover for it. These little things will add up in cost not sure which to prioritize for the truck or future race cur.

Thank you for the list of things I should 100% have. Anything else you can think of? I'm guessing the light straps are for car on trailer? I have to to check this truck out for tie downs and such if not I'm sure I can find stuff to add more tie downs. The only thing I really didn't look at is the actual bed of the truck and what it has. I completely blanked on that.

Well I have no idea what an EFLive is but I will have to look at that sometime. The nice thing it has an exhaust brake but what I hear is it sounds like a semi coming at you haha.

I won't cheap out for a HU I like Pioneer/Kenwood units. Not really sure what everyone's preferences are there.

Are there any other things I should look into for just carrying around in the truck? Or what I is nice for future towing?

Jake, yes it improves stock speaker quality a lot as it can provide a bit more juice to them. I've read that online in several places.

Edit: Ironic part is I totally forgot I need to do the final move out of Harrisonburg this weekend so this truck is going to be nice and useful there :thumbup:

[Jake]

The "light straps" are the little orange ratchet straps you see us using for like, securing EZ-Ups and stuff. You'll buy some big-boy straps for the car when it's time. I'm sure you've got a few tie-down spots in the bed, mine has 4 that are convenient, plus you can use random other spots to help out (hitch, for example) if needed.

I carry straps, a tow rope, an umbrella, spare (non weight-distributing) hitch, a case of water and sunscreen. Some of those are just because I'll otherwise forget them, and trucks have enough storage space to leave shit like that kicking around so you always have it. The spare hitch is nice if you happen to need it and your mongo-sized WD hitch is at home or something. I think mine is a $50 AutoZone special.

FWIW I hated my Kenwood head unit and sold it for an Alpine. Loved the Pioneer I had in the Denali and the Alpine is great too. Kenwood feels very behind the times in speed and UI.

[JPolen01]

Kenwood feels very behind the times in speed and UI.

This. And their customer service blows.

[rherold9]

Alright went over some of the buttons. Those left 4 buttons are things like customizing lock timing once you move, lights, alarm sound, etc... other button include showing vehicle stats like oil life, tire pressure, etc... top button is the trip button with like mpg, miles for trip, gas left, etc...

Oh BTW I'm getting an average 16mpg. I'm going to say that's solid for a truck. Actually surprised by that.

Audio, you can't really do much. Adjust settings to preset eq levels is about all. Definitely want to get HU ASAP. So maybe in a month or two maybe sooner. Then I'll start browsing for some covers and the essential list that DJ recommended.

Bed has 4 tie down points. I'm 99% sure I have to go buy a decent hitch. The hitch mount or whatever it is called is a class 5. This truck daily is something I can get used to. It's big but that feeling will go away with time. Truck is super comfortable though.

Oh and wtf. The engine bay is hilariously weird looking after actually giving a good look around to see where some stuff is in it.

Sent from my SM-T713 using Tapatalk

[*insertusernamehere*]

What's weird about the engine bay?

[rherold9]

What's weird about the engine bay?

Two batteries? Truck looks like it has a front mount intercooler from the factory? Oil fill is kind of weird. Idk. It's just different from what I'm used to it guess

Sent from my SM-T713 using Tapatalk

[*insertusernamehere*]

Lol

[*insertusernamehere*]

I'm not sure if trucks these days have to worry about it, but make sure to keep your baby warm in those long winter nights too.