2009 Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD Dually 4WD Review

The 2009 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 HD Dually 4WD is Chevrolet's current one-ton dually model. As you would expect with a Chevrolet, it is a sharp looking, hard working truck, equally fit for to arrive at the ball or the barn.

There are no major changes to the looks of the 3500 since its last refresh in the 2007 model year.

There are two engines available for the 3500 Dually, a 6.0 liter 322 horsepower V8 and a 6.6 liter 365 horsepower V8 diesel. A six-speed automatic with overdrive is the only transmission for either.

There are three cab sizes for the 3500 Dually. They are the classic two-door standard cab, the two-door extended cab with a storage area behind the rear seat and the four-door crew cab. The extended cab version does have small rear doors on each side. The three trims of Work Truck, LT1 and LTZ, in ascending price order, are all available in all three cab sizes. There is no short bed, the eight-foot version being all that is offered.

Reviewers of the 3500 Dually find several things about it they like. It has better than class average width, payload capacity, horsepower and gross vehicle weight - the latter important for towing, among other things. However, the power to weight ratio is not very good and the warranty lags will behind the class average for large pickup trucks. Trucks in this class are not required to submit to government fuel efficiency testing, but fuel efficiency can't be helped by the low power to weight ratio. Don't plan on more than 10 miles per gallon.

Crash test figures, like fuel efficiency figures, are not required for this large model of trucks. However, the thing's a tank. Size, weight and view all promise a safer than average vehicle. So do the locking tailgate, antilock brakes, locking differential, basic airbags, tire pressure monitor and electronic parking aid that come as either standard or optional safety features.

One of the great new features for the 3500 Dually this year is OnStar 8.0. OnStar uses satellite technology and was initially designed as a safety feature that notified help in case of an accident. Modern OnStar does much more. It is a part of the navigation system and you can use it to make hotel reservations, unlock your car if you forget to remove your key and even check your email - hands free, no less.

The 2009 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 HD Dually 4WD starts at $30,070. Not cheap, but it's not meant to be a cheap truck. It's built big to do the big jobs.