I have a 2001 GMC 1500HD. This truck has an 8600-pound GVW with eight-bolt axles. Normally, this would be considered a 3/4-ton truck. The guys at my local dealer say it's a half-ton. I saw another truck at the dealership, with the 2500 badge, but it also has an 8600-pound GVW. What's the difference, if anything? Is my truck a heavy-duty half-ton with heavier springs or is it really a 3/4-ton with a different name?
Doug Salzwedel
Vegreville, Alberta, Canada
Dear Reader,
From 2001 to 2007, General Motors manufactured a heavy-duty version of the 1500, called the Silverado/Sierra 1500HD (1500HD Classic in 2007). Built on the 2500 frame, it's slightly smaller than the 2500 (yet still 10 inches longer than an extended-cab 1500), but the suspension was retuned to be more compliant than the actual 2500. Your truck has a GVW and towing capacity just like that of the 2500. GM started making the 1500HD because the company didn't have a full-size half-ton crew cab, so it modified the full-size 3/4-ton crew cab as a stopgap. Dodge did the same thing with its 1500 Mega Cab.
- Truck Trend