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The Crowning Event

For 2011, the Canadian Truck King Challenge was a heavy duty event,
taking advantage of the fact that three Detroit builders each unveiled a
new Heavy Duty pickup truck in the past year; a rare occurrence.

For 2011, the Canadian Truck King Challenge was a heavy duty event,
taking advantage of the fact that three Detroit builders each unveiled a
new Heavy Duty pickup truck in the past year; a rare occurrence. These
trucks ­–the Chevy Silverado HD, Ford Super Duty and Ram HD – were each
delivered as crew cab diesel-powered versions. The three were similar in
most respects and the tests were conducted back-to-back and all on the
same day. As always we tested at our private IronWood test facility near
Head Lake, Ontario.

The contenders lined up at the Ontario testing site for the Truck King event.

This is the fourth Canadian Truck King Challenge and, just like in other
years, it rained. That seems to be the Challenge curse; over the past
five years each test has been rained on. So, we towed in the rain, drove
off-road in the rain, and loaded and unloaded the trucks with rain
running down our necks. But then this is why Truck King is as authentic
as it is; we run the tests in real-life conditions.
   
2011 Chevy Silverado 2500
What’s new:

• All new frame is fully boxed and is five times stiffer than its predecessor.
• The brake rotors are larger, and the leaf springs are now three-inches wide.
• The front end is now adequate for all snowplowing duties (6000 lbs).
• The upgraded 6.6L Duramax V8 diesel makes 397 horsepower and 765 foot-pounds of torque.
• New limits are 17,000 lb for conventional towing and 21,700 lbs fifth wheel towing.
• GM claims an 11 percent improvement in fuel economy.
• Payload is 4192 lbs.
• A new “smart” exhaust brake (on the diesel) is tied into the
  transmission downshifts via electronic sensors and the brake pedal.
• The integrated brake controller now has a trailer sway control feature.
• Hill Start Assist.
• Unaided starting (on diesel) down to -29 degrees C.

Empty test loop notes: GM has put all its R&D dollars into a
great leap forward in chassis and powertrain development for the new
2011 Silverado HD. Although this is great, it also means the changes to
the body and interior design are
negligible. Body style-wise this means little, the outside design is
still fresh, but the interior design is now the oldest and could be
considered “tired.” The ride is firm and the road manners steady;
steering, however, feels “heavy.”

Seating is comfortable with a decent centre armrest (plus storage). I
noted that the interior soundproofing has been improved. The dash is
functional and remains the same as last year. The rear seats flip up for
storage, but the floor is not flat (as Ford’s is). 

Towing/loaded: The Duramax is a proven diesel (1.2 million built
to date) that even before this upgrade had enough jam to pull up to its
limit easily. Now with the stiffer chassis, towing feels more confident.
The Allison transmission is smooth regardless of the amount of weight
towed; frankly, it’s an excellent gearbox. It also has a manual “tap
up/tap down” shift feature along with a tow-haul setting.  The smart
engine brake works with the transmission to downshift and hold the load
on grades, no matter how severe.

GM has deleted the four-pin electrical trailer connector from its
standard hook-up – Ford and Ram have  both kept  them; however it is
well placed in the bumper. GM has an optional back-up camera for the
lone driver hooking up a trailer. The mirrors are adequate, but could be
improved.

Off-road: What GM offers for off-road traction is a neat
mechanical differential locker built by Eaton. This locker has an
internal spring-loaded pendulum that reacts to centrifugal force; flying
out when there is wheel slippage and locking the gear set.  It’s
completely automatic and when engaged gives the 4WD system a goose as
the back end slips. Excellent.  

Conclusions: This GM Silverado HD is the best ever, but this
market is highly competitive. With this effort, GM is back in the game
with Ford. That was the consensus among the judges, too. We could all at
least agree that both are now neck and neck in this race.

Ford’s entry into the Truck King event heads over some rough and wet ground with ease.

2011 Ford F350
(Note: An F250 was not available: however with the exception of the
increased load limits on the F350, this truck is identical to the
three-quarter-ton version.)

What’s new:

• The 6.7L Power Stroke diesel engine is designed by Ford and built by
  Ford; a first in all respects. Our test engine made 390 horsepower and
  735 foot-pounds of torque (Note Ford upgraded its PowerStroke in August
  to 400 horsepower and 800 foot-pounds of torque).
• Maximum payload 6,524 lbs.
• Conventional towing is 16,000 lbs and fifth-wheel towing is 24,400 lbs.
• New six-speed transmission has a manual “SelectShift” feature as well as towhaul mode.
• This powertrain combination now offers a PTO option
• Ford’s Trailer Sway Control (TSC) is added to the Super Duty lineup.
  TSC is integrated with AdvanceTrac with Roll Stability Control; now
  standard on all single rear wheel trucks. 
• Hill Start Assist.
• Hill Decent Control.
• A new steering gear setup feels much more precise than its predecessor.
• Interior has been tweaked and is fresh.

Empty test loop notes:  The new dash has clear large gauges and a
larger centre information screen (4.2-inches) that displays info from
the radio settings to the trailer connections. It’s easy to see, bright
and can be used with steering wheel mounted five-way buttons.

This Ford (granted it was the one-ton) is the stiffest ever and so I
found it had a tendency to skitter on the washboard during my test
drive. On the other hand, the new steering is confident with good
on-centre feel.

Large catch-all rubber floor mats are nice. The seating is very good,
but four cupholders up front? A bit of overkill?  The new engine is a
torque monster, yet vibration is low, and noise is well controlled. Ford
claims as much as a 20 percent improvement in fuel economy over the
outgoing 6.4L. The signal stalk has been changed; it no longer “sticks”
when activated, which can be slightly annoying.  Several extra inches of
floor space have been added to the new Super Duty Crew, most of which
finds its way into the rear seat area. This makes the rear bench
comfortable and with the seats folded, the large flat floor lends itself
to easy loading and unloading of equipment, tools or groceries.

Towing/loaded: The Ford has powered mirrors that extend for
trailer towing; these are excellent, however Ram found a simpler
solution (see Ram review below). I noted that Ford’s backup camera also
doubles as a convenient way to hook up a trailer alone. They also offer
four- and seven-pin connectors, but they are still located below the
bumper. Why? This location gathers more dirt and grime than a
through-bumper installation. Ford’s tailgate step-and-handle is a nice
feature that has yet to be copied by the others.

The new TorqShift six-speed transmission that Ford has coupled to its
6.7L Power Stroke gives me pause. Under load I had some rough up-shifts;
while it didn’t happen regularly it was noticeable. On-road, or towing,
the truck oozed
confidence.

Off-road: Shift on the fly controls for 4WD on the Ford work
well, and they also offer a button operated electronic rear differential
locker (as opposed to the automatic mechanical GM system). Ford was the
only one to have manually locking front hubs. This makes it the only
truck with true 4WD among our test units. Clearance was good, which
contributed to the very rugged off-road performance of this truck.

Conclusions: The hood on this 2011 Super Duty, gets “power dome”
and with the large Super Duty logo stamped into the upper grill the
brand’s (adds a possessive and deletes ‘and its’) claim to being the
most powerful HD out there is never in doubt.  This look is polarizing;
buyers love it or hate it. You decide. As for under the hood, Ford has
made a huge investment in the new engine and associated systems. At
first blush, this effort looks very good.

2010 Ram 2500
(Note: Although we tested the 2010 model, there are no significant changes planned for 2011.)       

What’s new:

• Ram offers a Crew cab for the first time in its HD truck (the Mega Cab is also still available).
• Integrated brake controller now standard.
• The exterior and interior of this truck is completely upgraded.
• Heated steering wheel along with heated and cooled leather seating.
• Two-tone colour schemes inside and out are attractive.
• Offers HD Snow Plow Prep package (5500 lbs).
• Power adjustable pedals.
• Second row in-floor storage lockers.
• Maximum fifth wheel tow limit 18,500 lbs, conventional towing is estimated at 12,000lbs (not listed by Ram).
• Maximum payload is 5110 lbs.
• HD Ram shifter moves to the steering column creating more useable centre console space.
• Only HD manufacturer still offering a six-speed manual transmission.

Empty test loop notes: The engine and transmission in the Ram is
the veteran combination of the 6.7L Cummins turbo-diesel (350 horsepower
and 650 foot-pounds of torque) and six-speed automatic. This is now the
lowest power output among the three: however, how much power is
enough?  

My test truck came with carpeted floor mats; these hold the dirt and are
hard to clean. Otherwise the interior is excellent in both soft-touch
materials, accents and the interior design. The drive was confident and
comfortable – in fact, maybe a little “soft.”

Towing/loaded:  Has the best mirrors in the bunch, they easily
flip-up to resemble “west coast mirrors” of old. No power means no
failures. Dodge also provides four- and seven-pin connectors in the
bumper – a good protected location.  My tester didn’t have a backup
camera included – however one is available.  Ram was first to offer a
button-activated engine exhaust brake – this is still there and works
very well while towing.  This feature holds the load on grades, saving
the brakes. Its operation is tied in with the selectable gearing feature
on the shifter handle.

Off-road: The truck has a two-speed transfer case (as do the
others) for 4WD HI and 4WD LO that’s an electronic shift-on-the-fly
setup. Where the Ram falls short is it lacks a rear differential locker.
In effect, without one, it really is just half of a 4WD truck.  Of the
three it’s the most likely to get stuck.  The other noticeable omission
is a traction control system. This truck may spin its wheels off-road as
well as on if over-torqued.

Conclusions:  Of the three trucks, design-wise, inside and out, I
liked the Ram best. However it appears that is where the development
dollars ran out. While the powertrain is decent (and proven), it is also
the oldest of the three and the capacities offered are the lowest.
There are also obvious omissions in the areas of traction control and
electronic stability systems that both GM and Ford have. 

Wrap-up
These are all excellent vehicles and the best piece of advice for anyone
in the market for one of these trucks is to visit your local dealers
for a test-drive and put all three through their paces. It really comes
down to personal preferences.

Howard J. Elmer is the editor of Truck King Media Group.