The maximum tow rating for a 2027 Chevrolet Silverado HD with the new 8.3-liter Duramax diesel is 38,000 pounds, and Carscoops reports the engine adds $11,400 to the price of a truck with the gas V8. The first-drive review argues that most buyers will not need it, because the updated gas engine hauled a roughly 14,000-pound camper without trouble.
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GM’s heavy-duty pickups have been rebuilt around two new engines for the 2027 model year. The new diesel makes 555 horsepower and 1,230 lb-ft of torque, and the gas option has been revised and now pairs with a 10-speed automatic.
Gooseneck hitches, dually axles and the 38,000-pound ceiling
The number carries conditions. Carscoops writer Chad Kirchner, in his first drive of the truck, says the diesel can tow up to 38,000 pounds for a gooseneck trailer, depending on equipment, and that maximum towing was tested in a regular cab 3500 dually in the maximum-towing configuration, which he says is needed to reach the 46,500-pound gross combined weight rating. That 46,500-pound figure is the most weight the truck and trailer may total together. Chevrolet’s 2027 Silverado HD page lists the 38,000-pound figure as a maximum available rating, along with up to 6,170 pounds of payload for the diesel, and marks the power and towing claims as best in class.
Other ratings are lower. GM says every diesel dually can tow 30,000 pounds or more, according to Work Truck, and Jaclyn McQuaid, senior vice president of vehicle products, cited the 38,000-pound number while noting that more than 70 percent of heavy-duty owners tow monthly.
The $11,400 Duramax option against the 6.6-liter gas V8
Carscoops lists the Duramax as a $11,400 upcharge over the gas engine, and Kirchner adds the running costs of regular fuel filter changes, diesel exhaust fluid and diesel fuel he calls expensive at the moment. Chevrolet has not announced pricing for the 2027 trucks, so the $11,400 figure is the reviewer’s, taken from the first-drive materials, and should be treated as the option cost rather than a sticker price. The gas alternative is not a weak one. Chevrolet’s page lists the enhanced 6.6-liter V8 at 412 horsepower and 472 lb-ft, with up to 19,000 pounds of towing and up to 6,990 pounds of payload, and Auto123 reports that both engines work with an Allison 10-speed transmission.
Kirchner called the gas and 10-speed pairing a real peach of a setup. On the road, he towed the camper at nearly 8,000 feet of elevation on a closed course near Tucson. It was not fast, he wrote, but the truck did not struggle. The calculus for an owner is therefore about frequency and weight, as Kirchner frames it. A trailer that approaches the gas truck’s 19,000-pound ceiling, or a fifth wheel near the diesel’s limits, points to the Duramax, while lighter and occasional towing makes the $11,400 hard to recoup.
The test conditions give the numbers some texture. Kirchner reports that the diesel pulled a fifth-wheel camper at a combined weight of about 26,000 pounds near 8,000 feet, an altitude where engines lose air and power, and that the diesel’s exhaust brake helps hold speed on long grades and reduces the risk of brake fluid boiling. At 26,000 pounds the setup was well short of the 46,500-pound ceiling, which suggests the maximum rating is mostly a spec-sheet matter for most owners.
Kirchner’s conclusion is that the Duramax has all the torque in the world and that most owners do not need it. A buyer who tows a travel trailer a few times a year can use the gas V8 and keep the $11,400.
1,230 lb-ft from a clean-sheet diesel
The diesel is a new design. The Drive’s spec rundown describes the 8.3-liter V8, nicknamed Mongoose, as the largest V8 ever fitted to a production pickup, built on a compacted graphite iron block with a forged crankshaft and connecting rods, steel pistons, a dual-stage air-to-water charge cooler and a variable-geometry turbo. It replaces the 6.6-liter Duramax, which makes 470 horsepower and 975 lb-ft in its current form according to Work Truck. For competitors, The Drive lists Ford’s 6.7-liter Power Stroke at 500 horsepower and 1,200 lb-ft, and Ram’s 6.7-liter Cummins at 430 horsepower and 1,075 lb-ft, and notes that Ford’s Super Duty can tow up to 40,000 pounds when properly equipped.
Ken Morris, senior vice president of product integration, called it the most capable, durable and relentless diesel GM has built. Chevrolet’s page says the Duramax is built in Brookville, Ohio, and the gas V8 in Tonawanda, New York.
Steering, brakes and when the trucks arrive
The trucks change in other ways. Work Truck reports electric power steering with about 30 percent more output than the hydraulic gear it replaces, plus an electronic brake-boost system that GM describes as a first in the heavy-duty segment, paired with 14.6-inch front rotors. Carscoops adds independent front suspension and a new infotainment system, and notes that the instrument cluster is unchanged. Chevrolet lists the trucks as available in late 2026 and says they can be ordered later this year. The open question for towing buyers is the final price: until Chevrolet publishes MSRPs, the true cost of the 38,000-pound configuration remains unknown.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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