My wife and I are thinking of buying a new or slightly used Silverado. Used it will need to have less than 15K miles- probably a 2023- 2024. Or a new 2025. We need at least an LT to get telescoping steering. Our ideal truck is a Trail Boss LT. 4WD will be nice to have and I love the 2" lift and the stance. We are going to do some traveling in it- may pull a small trailer 5K LBS. It is intended to be our "last" truck. We have driven a couple of Trail Bosses- with the 2.7 and 5.3. The 5.3 seems much more lively in performance and is our preference. Is the 5.3 a good choice? Are there inherent problems with it like the 6.2? The 6.2 is very bad from what I have read. Are there any "bad" years to stay away from? We just need a reliable platform that will last us 10 or so years.

 

I would certainly go with a 5.3L over a 2.7L engine if it were me. But, and I hate to say it, I am not sure any of the current crop of trucks are going to be reliable for 10 years. Not sure anyone knows that. There have just been too many cost cutting measures at GM over the past decade+, and quality has gone to pot. If you buy the 5.3L, get an AFM delete "dongle" to plug into the ODB2 port, as the lifter failure those engines are prone to is related to the Adaptive Fuel Management (AFM) that turns 4 of the 8 cylinders off to save fuel. Also, there are certain transmissions that seem more prone to failure than others.

On the plus side, a 5000 pound trailer is not too bad a load to tow - my old 1996 and 2006 would be fine with that. However, factor in the LOADED weight versus the "dry weight" of any camper or tailer you plan to tow. It is easy to add 1000+ pounds of gear and water to those dry weights. Which then puts it at the limit of my older trucks (6000 and 6300 pounds).