The all-new 2020 Chevy Silverado HD is officially here with unique in-your-face styling and a couple surprises under the hood.
2020 Chevy Silverado HD
Let’s start with the styling and size of the new HD truck. Chevrolet did not simply scale up the size of the new 2019 Silverado 1500. The company says the new 2020 HD truck shares on the roof panel with the half-ton truck, and every other body panel is different.
The heavy duty styling is completely unique. You will not mistake this truck for anything else. The new HD truck is also bigger than before. The truck is longer and has about three inches more of legroom on the inside.
The truck is also taller, but we do not know yet by how much. I had an opportunity to see a full-scale model of the truck in person several weeks ago, and the hood of the truck is visibly taller. I would put it in the similar size class as the current Ram Power Wagon or Ford F-250 crew cab 4×4.
One very handy new design element is the new built-in “bed step”. It’s an additional step that is mounted right behind the cab and in front of the rear tires. Chevy says it aides bed access during 5th wheel trailer towing, but it’s simply a useful feature at any time. As the trucks get taller, it’s handy to have extra steps.
Capability
We all want to know the maximum payload and towing ratings for the 2020 HD truck, but we do not have these specs yet. Chevrolet says the new truck will offer “significant increases in towing and payload capabilities”. Does it mean that the new 2020 1-tonne dually will be able to tow approximately 30,000 lbs? We will have to wait and see.
We expect the new HD truck to also feature aluminum hood, tailgate, and doors (similar to the 2019 half-ton truck). This will allow the truck higher payload numbers.
By the way, since the 2020 HD Silverado is sharing the roof with the new 2019 Silverado 1500, it means that there will not be a panoramic sunroof in the heavy duty truck. It will have an optional standard sunroof.
Technology
High-tech features that help the driver with every task is very important these days. These official images show the new design for the towing mirrors. It’s a single-post design, and they are mounted to the door panel. We expect them to be power folding and extending. The mirrors also feature front and rear LED lights for better visibility. The base of the side mirrors house a side camera that will enable full-surround or partially-surround view (similar to what is currently available on the 2019 half-ton trucks).
Chevrolet also promises unique new features for the heavy duty customers to aide with towing and hauling.
Off-Road & Tires
The Silverado HD 2500 shown here shows a Z71 off-road package. We do not the details behind all of the components for the new Z71 package, but we expect it to include skid plates, hill descent control, rear locking differential (G80), and Rancho shocks.
The tires displayed here are Goodyear Wrangler with Kevlar. They look to be mounted to 20-inch rims on the truck with LT trim. The overall tire size appear to be larger than on previous generations of GM’s heavy duty trucks. The larger tire size is welcome, especially on a truck with an off-road package. It offers more ground clearance, but it also looks good.
Engines & Transmissions
What’s under the hood of the new truck? Chevrolet says it’s a choice between two new powertrains: all-new gasoline engine with direct injection that is mated to a 6-speed transmission, or a turbo-diesel engine with 910 lb-ft of torque. We expected the Duramax diesel to come back to the next generation of the HD truck, but we did not expect a 10-speed Allison automatic transmission.
Yes, the Duramax turbo-diesel will be mated to a 10-speed Allison automatic transmission. We do not know more details about this right now, but this engine/transmission combination is expected to return better efficiency in the new truck.
We will have to wait until we can test the new truck in Colorado on the Ike Gauntlet™ – world’s toughest towing test and our highway mpg loop.
The 2020 Chevy Silverado HD will go on-sale in “mid-2019” or in about 7-8 months from now. The heavy duty trucks will be built at the Flint Assembly plant in Flint, Michigan.
