The three-quarter-ton segment of pickups takes everything you love from the half-ton design and amplifies it. The truck is taller, comes with upgraded engines and a stronger suspension. For most people, it’s more truck than they will ever need. But if you’re someone who wants more truck and needs the pure strength to tow your toys to the lake, to the camping site, or to the next job site, the 2020 GMC Sierra 2500HD may just be that three-quarter-ton pickup for you. With a number of best-in-class designs, it is more than just a jaw-dropper. It’s a trendsetter as well. So if you’re a fan of the GMC lineup of pickups but have been considering something that’s bigger and more powerful, it’s time to dive headfirst into the world of the Sierra 2500HD.
Make It Your Own With 5 Body Configurations
The 2020 GMC Sierra 2500HD comes with five body configurations. This way, you can tinker and adjust the design of the pickup to best fit your needs. The first option is the regular cab with a long bed. This two-door design comes with a box length of 98.27 inches.
If you’re looking for a truck with four doors and a back seat, don’t worry, all other four body configurations come with this feature. There is a double cab with a standard bed design. The “Double” cab design has a smaller rear door and seat. This is great if you want a backseat but don’t necessarily need the full-size rear cabin space. The double cab, the standard bed has a length of 82.25 inches. The double cab is also available with a long bed. This increases the bed length to 98.27 inches.
If you are someone who wants the full backseat, you’ll want to go with the crew cab design. For this build, all four doors are the same size, so the rear seat has more legroom. On the crew cab with a standard bed design, the box length is the smallest at 82.20 inches (just 0.05 inches smaller than the standard bed on the other trucks). And if you want the biggest option possible, you’ll get the crew cab with a long bed (98.27-inch box).
The 2500HD’s Engine Options
With the 2500HD Sierra model, the engine performance is taken to another level. After all, if you’re looking for a truck of this design, you’re looking for a truck that has an engine capable of offering top of the line towing and payload. That is why the base engine is the 6.6L V8. This engine is able to produce 401 horsepower and 464 lb-ft of torque. It comes with a 6-speed automatic transmission and a capless fuel fill, so no more forgetting to tighten the cap (or having the check engine light pop on because the gas cap wasn’t tightened all the way).
If you want to get the most out of your pickup, you will want to go with the diesel offering. You simply won’t be able to tow as much with the 2500HD when using the standard gas engine. The Sierra 2500HD can use a 6.6L Duramax Turbo-Diesel V8. This produces 445 horsepower and 910 lb-ft of torque. It also uses a 10-speed automatic transmission.
Towing and Max Payload All Depends On Your Engine
When it comes to reaching the max towing for the Sierra 2500HD, you’ll want to go with the 6.6L Duramax Turbo-Diesel with a fifth-wheel or gooseneck hitch. Both of these towing options give you a max towing of 18,500 pounds.
In terms of max payload, though, the engine you want to go with is the traditional unleaded option. This is why you need to consider what you’ll be using the truck for before investing in one engine type over the other. The max payload on the Sierra 2500HD is 3,979 pounds. This is only reached with the 6.6L V8.
For comparison purposes (because who doesn’t love comparing truck performance numbers), the max towing for a Sierra 3500HD almost doubles to 35,500. Additionally, the max payload almost doubles as well to 7,442 pounds. In case you’re wondering, the same diesel and unleaded engines are used. The boost comes in the overall build strength of the pickup.
To help keep you one the road, so you’re not stopping for gas every few hours, the truck does come with a tank of approximately 36 gallons.
Safety Features On the 2020 Sierra 2500HD
One of the benefits of driving such a massive pickup is safety. You’ll almost always be the tallest driver in the event of an accident (unless you ram into an Abrams tank, so outside of any military vehicle encounters, you’ll always be higher up). Thanks to the wider base, the vehicle is almost impossible to tip over as well. So in terms of safety, you’ll almost always be safer in a heavy-duty pickup over anything else. With that said, though, it’s always a good idea to go over the safety features.
On the base Sierra package, the pickup does come with six standard airbags, hitch guidance, LED daytime running lamps, a tire pressure monitoring system, StabiliTrak electronic stability control system with traction control, and a rear vision camera. You also have the option to add on front and rear park assist, lane changing alert and side blind zone alert, OnStar, and rear cross-traffic alert.
If you were to go with the Denali trim, the pickup comes with the same standard features as the base Sierra. You’ll be getting automatic emergency braking, following distance indicator, forward collision alert, front and rear park assist, HD rear vision camera, hitch guidance with hitch view on the in-cabin LCD screen, lane change alert with side blind zone alert, lane departure warning, OnStar, rear cross-traffic alert and safety alert seat. You also have the option of adding on a trailer tire pressure and temperature sensor, HD surround vision, bed view camera, and an AUX trailer camera. These camera features are excellent if you spend most of your time towing, and you need to monitor the integrity of your gear to make sure nothing is loose.
How Much Truck Do You Need?
The standard half-ton pickup is great for most people. But you’re not like most people. You need the size to tow and the strength to haul. You also want the larger cabin and the stronger suspension. While most people are satisfied with the smaller truck offering, which is perfectly fine, you need to take it to the next level. The 2020 GMC Sierra 2500HD is the next level. But what is it about the three-quarter-ton pickup you love? Do you need the extra towing power? Perhaps you like the improvement in max payload, or just being able to sit up higher? And what is it about the 2500HD that keeps you from taking a step further into the world of a 3500HD? Let us know below.
