real world milage? 07 Chevy silverado

[jetboat]

Im contemplating picking up a 4dr 4wd 2007 chevy silverado with the 5.3 v-8. What kind of mileage are you guys that own them getting? epa estimates 14/19 but I know that varies greatly.

[indiana mudcat]

Mine's the four door ext cab not the crew and I would say 12/18.

[tcrawlerace]

My '07 Sierra 5.3L ext. cab (new body style not classic '07) is good for 16mpg around town and 18mpg on the highway. The v4 cylinder shutdown mode is cute but not overly functional when trying to maintain roadspeed. It's fun to play with if your into 100%, light-footsie-feathering the go pedal hyper-miling. I sqeezed 20 mpg out of it on a 300 mile round trip once. Hard to keep the the pedal in the sweet spot to keep it out of V8in'. Trim package on this pu is Lt2. Dunno if the v4 mode comes on the lesser dressed units. Great 1/2ton though. I really like it.

[NU2KRAWLIN]

My 06 4x4 crew cab 1/2 ton 5.3 averages about 16.5mpg.

[jetboat]

those numbers arent much different from my 2wd f150... well highway is less but combined seems like it would be.

How do you guys think it tows

[indiana mudcat]

I pull a 6x12 enclosed trailer loaded with tools all the time and it pulls it great, the power drop when I added 33's was barely noticable. I get about 12-14 MPG when towing loaded. What was said about the light foot was true also, I've got 20-21 MPG at 55-60, but can't get that at 70-75. I have 95,000 on mine and the truck has held up well, tires and brakes is all I've really had to do beside's oil changes.

[crunky]

my wife's 04 denali is a gas pig.
then again she's got the 6.0 in hers.

maybe 15-16 mgp when she's driving it...
... when i got it, about 9.
hahahaa

[chrisjlittle]

Originally Posted by jetboat

How do you guys think it tows

Pretty solid tow rig, the 5.3 is a good motor. All around a good truck, though you may notice it has a bigger turning circle than your ford. I notice pulling them into the shop.

The two big and potentially expensive issues with those are the t-case and the rear diff. The floor shift t-cases are generally trouble free but the electric shift ones sometimes have issues with the 4x4 auto clutch pack, you can keep that issue at bay by not leaving it in 4x4 auto all the time and keeping up on fluid changes. You'll get better fuel millage in 2wd anyways. Both t-cases occasionally crack cases when the chain stretches and hits the case but it's pretty rare; again leave it in 2wd unless you actually need 4x4.

The 1/2 ton chevys have a cute little 8.5" ring gear rear diff. It's not terrible, but they're not burly like the ford 1/2 tons. They're a lot better than they used to be, but we still sometimes see bearing failures on those trucks. I've also seen guys boil the paint off the diff cover towing with those trucks, experimenting on repeat customers showed it's way less severe if you use synthetic oil. I'd strongly advise synthetic whether you tow or not.

Don't let that scare you off, every make and model has issues. I'm just pointing out things you can do to make it last longer. The 5.3 is a really good motor, I've seen lots of them go 250k plus with relatively few problems.