Chevrolet Class 4/5/6 Silverado

[RoadwayR]

So far, these trucks look really good.  Only negatives I see are lack of a gasoline engine (supposedly in the works for 2020) and a relatively low GCW rating.  I wonder what GM and Navistar have planned for the future.........  

[kscarbel2]

 

[kscarbel2]

 

[RoadwayR]

Ed Peper makes the comment "we are just getting started" at 2:04 in the first video.

[kscarbel2]

 

[kscarbel2]

Cabs For 2019 Silverado Medium Duty Trucks To Be Built At Navistar Body Shop

Alex Luft, GM Authority  /  March 22, 2018

The cabs for the new 2019 Silverado Medium Duty trucks will be built by Navistar, GM Authority confirmed with Chevrolet officials.

Contrary to popular belief, the cabs for the new beasts will be assembled at a new body shop at Navistar’s Springfield Assembly plant in Ohio, where the Silverado Medium Duty family is produced.

Prior to this confirmation, it was rumored that the cabs will be built at the GM Fort Wayne plant in Indiana and transported to Navistar’s Springfield plant, located roughly 130 miles South East.

In addition, Chevy tells us that the cabs the new Silverado Medium Duty trucks will be “very similar” to those used in the Silverado 2500HD and 3500HD models.

GM/Chevrolet co-developed the new Silverado Medium Duty family with Navistar. The trucks, comprised of the 2019 Silverado 4500HD, Silverado 5500HD and Silverado 6500HD, will be assembled at Navistar’s Springfield Assembly facility and will launch by the end of the second quarter of 2018.

The vehicles are the spiritual successors to the Chevrolet Kodiak and GMC TopKick, which GM discontinued in 2009.

[Maxidyne]

Interesting... Thought I'd read that International was having Mayflower build their cabs?

[RoadwayR]

I thought that was the case to (go to cvgrp.com and there are pictures of Navistar cabs on their assembly line) .  The new Chevy medium duty trucks look like they use the current Silverado cab, probably all Navistar had to do is build a shop and have GM send over tooling and they are in business.  The Silverado 1500's will be all-new in 2019, the HD's follow in 2020 so this move frees up GM from having to supply the current 'old' cab for who-knows-how-many years.  

Looks like this is something Ford never thought of, unless they are planning on eventually using the aluminum Super Duty cab on the 650/750.

BTW- I have a hunch that body shop at Springfield will be making cabs for some other trucks in a few years.......

 

 

 

 

[kscarbel2]

Exactly, Mayflower is old history and Commercial Vehicle Group is Navistar's cab producer, as well as the Mack brands.

Sheller-Globe purchased Motor Panels of the UK and then put the Norwalk Mack cab plant under its new Motor Panels division. Then that division was sold in 1989 to UK-based CH Industrials, which was sold in 1991 to UK-based Mayflower Vehicle Systems, which was sold in 2005 to Commercial Vehicle Group (CVG).

FYI - The company, like Bendix who assembles Autocar (Xpeditor) cabs, had no prior history of assembling cabs.

[kscarbel2]

2019 Chevy Silverado HD 6500 or International Prototypes: Cold Weather Testing in Canada

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[Red Horse]

Kevin-looks like the Navistar logo on the grill.

[kscarbel2]

Chevrolet Silverado Chassis Cabs Start at $48,465

Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT)  /  July 12, 2018

The manufacturer suggested retail prices (MSRP) for the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado chassis cab trucks will start at $48,465 for the 4500HD, the automaker announced. The chassis cab lineup includes the 4500HD, 5500HD, and 6500HD Silverado models. Pricing includes a $1,495 destination charge, but excludes taxes, title. and additional dealer fees.

The Silverado will be available in 2WD and 4WD and will be powered by a Duramax 6.6L diesel engine with 350 horsepower and 700 lb.-ft. of torque and Allison transmissions with a Power Take Off (PTO) option.

“Bucket truck builders, fleet managers and many other customers told us they face a dilemma when their GVWR needs exceed 19,500 lbs.,” said John Schwegman, director of Commercial Product and Medium Duty at GM Fleet. “Some pay for expensive aluminum bodies to save weight so they can stay with a Class 5 chassis. Others may spend $10,000 or more to purchase a larger truck with much more GVWR than they need. The Silverado 6500HD gives them capability and protects their bottom line. It’s a great solution.”

The truck's frame is designed with one-piece straight rails with no rivets or brackets on top to interfere with the mounting of custom-made bodies. There are no obstacles to work around helping to save time and money during the upfit process. In addition to the straight frame rail design, more frame lengths are offered to help customers specify the exact truck to suit their needs. 

The truck is designed to be easy to service, with a clamshell hood and a wheel cut of up to 50 degrees that can give technicians better engine access than trucks with conventional hoods.

Optional equipment includes a twin-tank fuel capacity of up to 65 gallons, a factory-installed air suspension and a full suite of available connectivity, including OnStar, Commercial Link and a built-in 4G LTE Wi-Fi hot spot.

2019 Chevrolet Silverado Chassis Cab Base MSRP

Work Truck Trim	4500HD	5500HD	6500HD
Regular Cab 2WD	$48,465	$51,100	$54,575
Regular Cab 4WD	$51,365	$54,000	$57,030
Crew Cab 2WD	$52,080	$54,715	$58,190
Crew Cab 4WD	$55,580	$58,215	$61,245

“These new Silverado chassis cabs are a great addition to our lineup because we can now offer small businesses and large fleets a truck that can be upfitted to do many jobs including construction, utility and landscape work, tow truck operations, first responder calls and more,” said Ed Peper, U.S. vice president, GM Fleet. “Chevrolet was obsessed with making these Silverado trucks easy to upfit, drive and own.”

Customers can visit one of more than 400 Chevrolet commercial medium-duty dealers to customize and price the all-new work truck. Truck production will begin in late 2018.

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[RoadwayR]

GM is playing this smart (for a change).  They didn't price it out of the market (looks like it will be a bit less than comparable Ford trucks) and they went out of their way to make it very easy to upfit.  With a lot of fleets buying trucks 'turn-key' from the upfitter and not specifying a particular chassis make, I see upfitters going for these trucks.  Lower chassis price + less labor = more competitive bid.   

[kscarbel2]

I still see the conventional cab design as archaic. Look at that 4-door......you can't possibly get any load weight on the front axle. With the engine underneath a low-cab-forward, you have no wasted space, superior maneuverability and visibility, and far better load weight distribution. That vast real estate between the front bumper and windshield, the hood (bonnet), serves no purpose (It is commendable that the hood tilts though....finally).

From an aesthetic point of view, it looks the part of a Class 4 or 5, but in no way like a Class 6, whereas the F-650 looks like a full-blown Class 6, even if slightly smaller in stature that a Class 6 DuraStar (MV). Park a Chevrolet 6500HD next to a DuraStar, and there's no comparison.

[Dirtymilkman]

Cabovers are just not a big seller here. Especially once you get out of the big three cities, the maneuverability is not needed. And image is a big thing for a lot of companies. And that is a sharp looking truck. Personally, I wouldn't buy a cabover either. I have nothing against them, I just dont care for them. 

[kscarbel2]

Mark, I completely understand where you're coming from.

From a sales engineering perspective, my goal is to evenly distribute the load on the chassis, taking full advantage of the front axle's rated capacity, as I do with the rear.

[Maxidyne]

A single rear axle straight truck often weights around 18,000 pounds once you get the body, tail lifts, etc. mounted. If you can't shift any of that weight to the front axle you'll only have a payload of 10,000 pounds or less,  forcing you into a tandem just to get a couple thousand pounds more payload. With a cabover you can easily load the front axle to it's limit even with a crew cab and get better maneuverability to boot. If I were buying a class 6 or 7 straight truck I'd pay the couple thousand dollars more for a real work truck like the Isuzus instead of one of these pickups on steroids.

[12V71]

I do see these trucks being very popular as service trucks for the equipment dealers, locally the Ford 550 and Dodge 5500 are the kings, 4x4 and a lower profile seem to be what they are after. There are a few of the older 5500 Chevys here but most of the Mechanics that drove them didn't care much for them, way too tall as a 4x4. 

[RoadwayR]

The Chevy 6500 is definitely a niche truck for the customer that needs something between 19,500 and 23,000 GVW at a low price without the bulk of a traditional class 6.  

I understand completely the advantages of a cabover, we just added some Isuzu NRR's to our fleet.  Not only is the package more efficient than say a Ford F-550, but the 4HK1 engine is more than enough for a truck this size.  Cab notwithstanding, I think the biggest problem with these domestic class 4/5/6 conventionals is their diesel engines are far too large and powerful for most commercial applications.   

 

[kscarbel2]

3 hours ago, RoadwayR said:

The Chevy 6500 is definitely a niche truck for the customer that needs something between 19,500 and 23,000 GVW at a low price without the bulk of a traditional class 6.  

I understand completely the advantages of a cabover, we just added some Isuzu NRR's to our fleet.  Not only is the package more efficient than say a Ford F-550, but the 4HK1 engine is more than enough for a truck this size.  Cab notwithstanding, I think the biggest problem with these domestic class 4/5/6 conventionals is their diesel engines are far too large and powerful for most commercial applications.  

Agreed, they are ridiculously overpowered.

Dodge got airborne with Cummins in the second generation 1994-2001 BR/BE pickup/cab&chassis trucks. The 12-valve Cummins B with the 5-speed New Venture 4500HD manual was rated at 175hp, the automatic paired with a 160hp rating. With their vast torque, they offered abundant performance.

[RoadwayR]

BTW, I am hearing rumors that there will be a Chevy class 7/8 in a few years.  My guess is another JV with Navistar.

[12V71]

4 hours ago, RoadwayR said:

BTW, I am hearing rumors that there will be a Chevy class 7/8 in a few years.  My guess is another JV with Navistar.

I really hope that turns out better than the Cat/Navistar Joint venture. I know of one owner that has 3 "Cats" and is less than enthralled with the value he has now. Lucky for him the nearest Navistar dealer does their best to keep them running. Cat just gives him a funny look when he says "Truck". "Watchu talkin about Willis" seems to be their reply. 

[12V71]

7 hours ago, kscarbel2 said:

Agreed, they are ridiculously overpowered.

Dodge got airborne with Cummins in the second generation 1994-2001 BR/BE pickup/cab&chassis trucks. The 12-valve Cummins B with the 5-speed New Venture 4500HD manual was rated at 175hp, the automatic paired with a 160hp rating. With their vast torque, they offered abundant performance.

I bought a '94 Dodge Dually with the 12V Cummins and the sucky 48RE trans from a guy that replaced it with an '09 with the 6.7L Cummins and the Aisin 6speed. He wasn't impressed with the fuel mileage (13) and found out that huge horsepower could only be used for short periods before things got hot. He wanted to buy my '94 back and make a deal where I bought his newer truck... take over payments. He was hauling cars on a 53' wedge trailer. 

[HeavyGunner]

On July 13, 2018 at 10:53 PM, 12V71 said:

I bought a '94 Dodge Dually with the 12V Cummins and the sucky 48RE trans from a guy that replaced it with an '09 with the 6.7L Cummins and the Aisin 6speed. He wasn't impressed with the fuel mileage (13) and found out that huge horsepower could only be used for short periods before things got hot. He wanted to buy my '94 back and make a deal where I bought his newer truck... take over payments. He was hauling cars on a 53' wedge trailer. 

My dad has a small fleet of Cummins powered dodge pickups. He bought a new one e first year the 6.7 came out and was really disappointed at the poor mileage. Had a shop do the dpf/egr delete and put a tuner on it and runs the tuner on the 2nd hp setting and gets over 20 mpg again like the older engines and has gobs of power.  Never heard of him having any problems with heat issues and he puts the truck to work a lot. 

[kscarbel2]

11 hours ago, HeavyGunner said:

My dad has a small fleet of Cummins powered dodge pickups. He bought a new one e first year the 6.7 came out and was really disappointed at the poor mileage. Had a shop do the dpf/egr delete and put a tuner on it and runs the tuner on the 2nd hp setting and gets over 20 mpg again like the older engines and has gobs of power.  Never heard of him having any problems with heat issues and he puts the truck to work a lot. 

The non-emissions 12-valve B Series engines averaged 22 miles per gallon.