Looking at used

[Gren71]

I have this posted on the HD forum as well. But its “awaiting approval before going public” and has been for over an hour…so i wanted to drop it here as well. Any insight is appreciated

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New to this forum, but im a current 1500 owner. Im looking into possibly buying a used 2500 and want some feedback, thoughts, and insight from current owners.

Looking at a used 2022 2500 Laramie w/ the 6.4 and 25,000 miles on it.

My concern with it is that the under carriage was rusty as anything…im neurotic about the under side of all my vehicles so this thing made me twitch. Is this as bad as i THINK it is?

Top of passenger side shock/top frame


Rear uca bolt


Exhaust has flaking rust..


Mid way under the body has rust


Front right wheel


Front axle, passenger side


Oil pan has flaking rust @ drain point


Oil pan has rust all around the seam



Aside from the rust the entire truck looks fantastic IMO.

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Another concern is that this will be my full time driver and camper puller. We pull out camper a couple hundred miles a month and im wondering if the decreased space in the passenger cabin is a problem for anyone who has two kids. My boys are 5 and 10 and they have a LOT of space in our 1500.

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Another concern I have is will this thing sag with my camper? I made it through the first 60 pages (browsing…not reading) of thr towing thread and saw a LOT of 2500s that are doing the pooping dog with their campers. I have my 1500 dialed it and was sorta hoping the 2500 would handle it better overall. The payload of my 1500 is 1,730lbs and has the 3.92 rear.


Pulling a Keystone 250BHS 6,000lbs w/750ish lbs of tongue. (About 13%).



thanks for ANY and all input.

 

[boogielander]

personally that kind of rust is no bueno
regarding the sag when towing, i think a set of stiffer springs or bags will get it squared away, though i'm no expert when it comes to towing.

i'm also interested in swapping my rebel for a 2500 power wagon lol

 

[Willwork4truck]

I hate rust. No fixing it.
Rust converters and liquid oil sprays and all that slow it but you should try to start with a southern truck, then you can “fluid film” or whatever if you want to.
You left off details like location, price and options. I suppose if its such a “great deal” you can think more about it yet it “don’t look good” to me…

Oh you are in Delaware. I would think they salt or use the liquid chemicals on the winter roads.

You could always ask the now a civilian JB, he would tell you “its all good man”.

 

[PurpleRT]

For a truck with only 25k miles on it.. that looks horrible which tells me even living in the salt state the owner did next to nothing to keep it at bay or it’s a company work truck so no fcuks given. A run through the car wash once a week to wash the salt away would have done wonders.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Gren71]

I hate rust. No fixing it.
Rust converters and liquid oil sprays and all that slow it but you should try to start with a southern truck, then you can “fluid film” or whatever if you want to.
You leftoff details like location, price and options. I suppose if its so e “great deal” you can think more about it yet it “don’t look good” to me…

Ty for the input. I left off some details because i didnt want to muddy the waters all too much. Added options are very subjective and not where my concern is at the moment. But suffice it to say that the truck is option exactly how I want, but im also concerned with all that rust. I will add that it was originally owned in NJ ( which is a red flag for me ) and currently resides in PA.

 

[Willwork4truck]

Yea, a pass for me. Maybe not a "hard pass", due to the rust converters and fluid filming that one has to do up in your neck of the woods and further N and NW, but still it's possibly a needless expense.

Maybe do a search within 500 miles farther south for the truck you want. I can about guarantee you that North Carolina trucks are usually clean.

 

[Gren71]

These last couple comments, combined with my kids saying they felt less room in the back, are pretty much the last nail in the coffin for this truck. The search continues.

Though id still love hear from anyone with experience towing with their kiddos in the back seat of a 2500.

 

[1791]

hard pass on that one

 

[millerbjm]

I'm just curious why you're making the switch if your 1500 has the room you want and you've got towing dialed in? I tow a similar travel trailer and I am guessing it is not so much how the truck tows as much as how much the engine is working in the 1500 and the frequency of your towing?

 

[Gren71]

I'm just curious why you're making the switch if your 1500 has the room you want and you've got towing dialed in? I tow a similar travel trailer and I am guessing it is not so much how the truck tows as much as how much the engine is working in the 1500 and the frequency of your towing?

I had to rent a few trucks this summer while mine was in the body shop and drove a 2500 for a few weeks. After driving it for a little while I really like the stance and just the way the truck drives overall, even compared to the 1500. The power and the towing were very similar between the two in my opinion… but the 2500 suspension definitely handles the camper like a dream.

The Ride height of the 2500 is just amazing. And I would like to be a little higher and I don’t really want to lift my truck if I don’t have to. After having jeeps for years lifts are always just a can of worms and you never get the same right quality once you go down that road. The most I’ll ever do to this 1500 is a half inch in the front and I’ll only do that if I end up doing the XHD cargo Max springs to replace my current HD springs at some point.

The 1500 has good payload (1,730), but it would be nice to have a much larger number. That would give me the opportunity to do a golf cart or four wheeler or anything along with the camper and the family.

I’m definitely not afraid to make the engine work lol. I used to pull to a lot of the campsites I do now with my gladiator having a 3.6 V6 and a 4.10 rear. So this V8 with my 3.92 rear does exactly what it’s supposed to do. I have realized I should have gotten the larger fuel tank though.

But at the end of the day, my kids have to exist in that backseat for hours while we drive so it’s not just a me choice.

 

[Willwork4truck]

I had to rent a few trucks this summer while mine was in the body shop and drove a 2500 for a few weeks. After driving it for a little while I really like the stance and just the way the truck drives overall, even compared to the 1500. The power and the towing were very similar between the two in my opinion… but the 2500 suspension definitely handles the camper like a dream.

The Ride height of the 2500 is just amazing. And I would like to be a little higher and I don’t really want to lift my truck if I don’t have to. After having jeeps for years lifts are always just a can of worms and you never get the same right quality once you go down that road. The most I’ll ever do to this 1500 is a half inch in the front and I’ll only do that if I end up doing the XHD cargo Max springs to replace my current HD springs at some point.

The 1500 has good payload (1,730), but it would be nice to have a much larger number. That would give me the opportunity to do a golf cart or four wheeler or anything along with the camper and the family.

I’m definitely not afraid to make the engine work lol. I used to pull to a lot of the campsites I do now with my gladiator having a 3.6 V6 and a 4.10 rear. So this V8 with my 3.92 rear does exactly what it’s supposed to do. I have realized I should have gotten the larger fuel tank though.

But at the end of the day, my kids have to exist in that backseat for hours while we drive so it’s not just a me choice.

Two points, first, these modern engines can tow literally tons of weight, it’s the rest of the truck that’s the issue for most of them when a 1500.

Second, my kids sat in the back of a cc 1977 GMC 3500 for thousands of miles, course they were under 10 and yet they brought lots of things to stay occupied. Kids are more resilient than you may think…

 

[boogielander]

These last couple comments, combined with my kids saying they felt less room in the back, are pretty much the last nail in the coffin for this truck. The search continues.

Though id still love hear from anyone with experience towing with their kiddos in the back seat of a 2500.

mega cab is what you need to look for lol

 

[Davidbt]

mega cab is what you need to look for lol

I was just thinking the same thing!!

 

[Gren71]

mega cab is what you need to look for lol

And @Davidbt

I was thinking the SAME thing…accept they’re ugly as sin IMO im unappeasable …I demand an inexpensive 2500 that has the back seat space as my 1500 but looks like a 2500 and has a tire thats good in all situations and still looks aggressive, all while getting 25mpg.

 

[boogielander]

And @Davidbt

I was thinking the SAME thing…accept they’re ugly as sin IMO im unappeasable …I demand an inexpensive 2500 that has the back seat space as my 1500 but looks like a 2500 and has a tire thats good in all situations and still looks aggressive, all while getting 25mpg.

hahaha i thought the same until i saw those built ones with Carli/ Thuren kits on and 37s.
frigging majestic beasts those are!

3rd gen and not fully built but that's the idea!

 

[Davidbt]

I've been thinking about moving back up to a 2500 or 3500. My wife and I really like the flat floor and even though we don't ride in the back seat, it's very comfortable when we do have extra passengers. I'm kinda in @Gren71's shoes. My truck is set up pretty good for pulling our travel trailer. I've owned both 2500 and 3500 and do miss the ride height, not climbing up in them though, even with running boards.