Either will do fine. May find better deal on a 2010 than 2011 ones. Lots of post on the 2011 and all it has. They will be adding the Urea system to the Emission system so if you ever think of modding with a tuner you may have to wait till they get around that if you plan on that as well as doing DPF delete to help on mileage too. But if like previous LMM series it will have tattle tale systems so if you alter the ECM you lose your warranty. So if you need warranty then plan on leaving it as is the way you buy it.

Brian

 

The '10 is a massively stronger truck than your Avalanche so you'll be pleased with either. Also and 11,000lb trailer is 3,000lbs less than the max towing of the '10 2500 Dmax so you're good there.

They say ride quality is improved for 2011 but I doubt it'll be noticeable as the GVWR has increased across the board so this strength will offset the 20% wider rear leafs and what have you.

If you need/want a truck now and can get a good discount (10k or more) then I'd get the '10 as it's very strong and has proven extremely reliable.

However, the only possible negative of the '11 is that the new LML Dmax is untested. However, if it proves as reliable as the '10 LMM then it would be my choice. Far higher GVWR and more power will provide room for growth if you ever get a bigger trailer or use the bed for heavy hauling.

My LMM 2500HD tows big weight up grades in 120 degree heat without complaint and handles 3,000lb totes in the bed while sitting totally level. I have no complaints but will be changing to the newly available 3500 SRW CC short bed for MY12 after seeing how the LML does in real world conditions.

Sorry for the long answer ad I guess in summary if you want great truck now and fancy a good deal get a 2010. However, if you can wait and don't mind paying more and taking a chance the 2011 will be reliable that's the one to go for without doubt as it will for sure be the better truck (reliability pending).

 

personally I would wait to get a 2011. They are going to have tons of power and lots of other really neat features.

But Ill be in the minority because of all the other techno-phobes out there who are under some impression that the urea system is going to be a disaster even though they dont know jack diddly about the system and have ZERO experience with it (so that means its not gonna work, right? Anything we dont know about automatically sucks?)



ben

 

THanks for the feedback. What are the thoughts on the Duramax as a everyday city driver. What will i have to do to keep the mileage decent. SHould this truck be taken onto the highway to clean out the dpf on a regular basis?

 

Makes a great daily driver in the city. I live in Los Angeles so things don't come much busier and I've had zero emissions problems. The freeway is a good idea every so often but trust me, the reason I chose a Dmax is because the emissions eqpt is assimilated so much much better than in the cummins or powerstroke. Driven diesels all my life and really don't know it's there.

There is always Q marks when a new diesel comes out but, as Ben said, I don't anticipate any problems with the forthcoming LML and will be getting one myself in a year or two.

 

Every Duramax is different. You can have two roll off the line right after the other with same configuration and one may have good mileage and the other sucks. Never have figured out why some do so good and some don't. But I say don't baby a diesel just drive it hard. They can be anywhere from 12mpg to about 18mpg. Older LB7 have been know to do 23mpg. City of course I say be in the 15mpg or less and with winter diesel and warm up time you be less than that. The truck will tell you if it runs into issues with the regen of the DPF. May need to get out and run it over 35mph for 30 minutes to get it fixed or have the dealer do a manual regen. It needs broken in to do good mileage and towing is a quick way of doing that. If just putting around town it may take 50,000 to 100,000 miles or more before it be considered broken in. Right now I average 16.9 mpg as the Dic says now and has never been reset since the day i bought it. That is 75% highway 70 to 75mph and 25% city stop and go. This is pretty close hand calc using all the data over the past 3 years. If use the last 4 or 5 its a bit lower with winter diesel fuel. Hand calc on the highway for 1200 miles at 70mph I see 18.7mpg. one tune i have does about 22mpg at 60mph. This is no DPF of course but first 20,000 was with DPF. Stock setup was 18.1mpg out on the highway for the first 3000 miles on it. I seen the dic get down to 15.6mpg the first winter.

Brian

 

I'm in basically the same situation....and I have done the most disgusting amount of research trying to find the right answer. Conclusion: There is no right answer..

So.....for your purposes, which are nearly identical to mine, here is my novice to novice answer fwiw.

First: You have an 11,000 lb trailer whereas mine is 7,000 loaded, 5,500 dry. IMHO figure on loading and pulling no more than 80% of your max weight rating to stay safely within the "bringing enough truck" range. It's one thing to pull that much weight....and entirely another to try to stop it. I thought my 8600 GVWR Expedition EL coupled to my 7000 GVWR travel trailer was enough truck, and it feels like a Prius trying to pull a raging bull to a slaughterhouse. Lots of white knuckle driving in wind, but I admit, I didn't know too much about what I was doing and should have been a little slower in my first trailer pull trip.

I could be wrong and probably am according to many....but it sounds to me like the 2010, with a max trailer capacity of 13,000 lbs is on the edge of being too light for an easy pull of a, 11,000 lb trailer plus people in the truck, plus gear, plus fuel weight, plus water weight, plus wind load, you get my drift. Yes it WILL pull the trailer. Yes it will. A million other people here will tell you yes it will.....but its out there towards the end of what you SHOULD do if you like an easy trailering experience...again...IMHO..but the 2011 has a trailering capacity of 20,000 lbs!!!!

That being said, the 2011 will be a jump in GVWR and a jump in torque over the 2010. Torque is up at least 40 ftlbs; from 660 to reportedly somewhere north of 700. Ok so that's a LOT of torque, or a lot MORE torque. But you're apparently comfortable with the 2010 power per your statement so thats good for the 2010 option. Vote 2010..

The other biggie that the 2011 brings to the table is the electronic trailer sway control function. Yes, for under $1000 you can get a Reese dual cam sway control assembly and knock alot of sway down, but if that electronic sway control technology lives up to its hype, it is a BIG reason to wait for the 2011 with a 11,000 lb trailer. Mine sways like a flag behind my soon to be traded back 07 Expedition EL, so its a big factor to me. Vote 2011

I think it is reasonable to expect that you should be able to get a better deal on a 2010 in its last year of production over a 2011 in its first year of production, so if money is a consideration...Vote 2010

As for me.......................I'm probably going to buy the 2009 new old stock (identical to your 2010) that I have been eyeballing for a few weeks now. The 2011 is a much stouter truck, capable of hanging with all construction and oil field applications neck and neck with the F250.............but that's not what YOU and I are using our trucks for!!! You and I are looking for a good powerful now and then RV puller that has room for the family and manners sufficient to be a daily driver...........so in that case..........the somewhat lighter duty chassis of the 2009/2010 is MORE than sufficient to meet our needs and at a good price ideally.

 

w. The 2011 is a much stouter truck, capable of hanging with all construction and oil field applications neck and neck with the F-250.............but that's .

New 2011 GM kills the F250 as regards towing and payload, the 07-10s were already neck and neck aside from the GMs having a far superior powertrain. The LMMs also had a towing max of 16k, 13k was just for bumper pulls and that will remain unchanged for all but the Duallys. So comparing 20k of the new ones to 13k of the old ones is inaccurate.

The 2011 is finally the equal of the F350 in the areas of towing and payload but likely far better as regards dependability.

 

If you got the time and cash I would go 2011. Alot of upgrades.

 

Well, trying to finalize a deal on a 2010 today. Sierra Crew Cab, Z71, SE2 in a pure silver metallic color. $52,000 but i am trying to get them to come down another $1000 as Ford is offering a $1000 discount for Costco members. THanks for the info people.

 

IMHO thats WAY high..

Is the SE2 comparable to the Chevy LT?

Even the prices I had for loaded LTZs weren't as high as what you're about to pay fwiw.......

Step carefully amigo..

 

Ya, up here in Canada we pay through the nose.