07 Aug, 2024

Full-time towing with a big Chevy Silverado 2500

by Chris Maujean and Miriam Mace

Chris Maujean and Miriam Mace from Aussie Destinations Unknown (ADU) are advocates for US trucks to tow big rigs safely and reliably. They share their experiences travelling and towing full-time in a modified Chevrolet Silverado 2500 super-tourer.

About Chris and Miriam

We were part-time adventurers and travellers for many years and loved it so much that in 2020 we packed up the house, sold everything, and set off to explore Australia full-time in our first Chevy Silverado towing our first Titanium caravan.

Today Aussie Destinations Unknown is our full-time job. We are in our third Titanium caravan, a 2023 model weighing in at just under 4500kg fully loaded, and driving our third Chevy Silverado, the MY24 2500 in the new slate grey colour for this model.

Using our many years of offroad and caravanning experience, our life is now spent championing the booming touring and caravanning industry. We document our travels, showcasing the most beautiful, extreme and remote locations across Australia. We pride ourselves on educating our followers on where to go and what to see, and how to do it safely and comfortably.

Our content includes overlanding, mountain biking, diving, surfing, hiking and motorbikes and touring related content. We navigate some of Australia’s harshest conditions and challenging roads leading to incredible destinations not many people are able to reach. We are also known for our love of all things big, hence our number plates — LIVBIG!

Advocates for US trucks

We hear comments that American trucks are ‘too big’ for Australian roads. They are ‘too hard’ to park. They ‘don’t fit’ down 4x4 tracks. Spare parts are ‘too hard’ to find and take ‘too long’ to arrive.

But we believe that American trucks, particularly from our driving experience with a Chevrolet Silverado from GM Specialty Vehicles (GMSV), are among the only options if you want to tow a heavy load (4.5T) safely, reliably and comfortably.

ADU is the face of American trucks in Australia. We are advocates for the American trucks and accessories market and the level of capability, comfort and safety they bring to the caravanning and touring industry, which is currently experiencing exponential growth in Australia. We are seeing more American trucks on the roads than ever before with both men and women driving them.

We are also ambassadors for GMSV, the company that imports Chevrolet vehicles, including the Silverado, into Australia and converts them to right-hand drive.

In 2020 we were one of the first in Australia to build a heavy-duty vehicle into a full-blown tourer capable of going almost anywhere, towing almost anything. We travelled more than 80,000km in our first truck. We then stepped into the MY22 model in 2022 and covered more than 50,000km across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Tasmania. This year we are taking our setup out to the Finke Desert Race in Alice Springs (which took place in early June), before heading up to Cape York, over to K’gari (Fraser Island) and across the Simpson Desert.

Our experience with American trucks has only been in the Silverado, so we can’t speak for the safety, reliability or comfort of the F Trucks or RAMS.

What’s available in Australia?

There are a few different types of American trucks available in Australia and the designations for half, three-quarter and one-tonne trucks are a little different. Ford still goes with F-150, F-250 and F-350, respectively, while RAM, Chevy and GMC follow 1500, 2500 and 3500 terminology.

1500 (or 150): Most have a BTC of 4500kg (some 4200kg)
2500 NB1 (or 250): This can be driven on a car licence and has a GVM of 4495kg. Car rules apply to modifications, tolls, registration and insurance.
2500 NB2: This increases the GVM from 4495kg to 5148kg which takes it into the light truck category requiring registration through the National Heavy Vehicle Registry. You will need a Light Rigid (LR) truck licence to drive it. This is for any vehicle with a GVM above 4500kg and not greater than 8000kg.
3500 (or 350): This is also classed as a light truck requiring an LR licence.

Pros

We believe American trucks are the best vehicles for towing heavy loads including caravans, for the following reasons:

1. Safety:

As the name suggests, heavy-duty trucks are designed to haul heavy loads with a max braked towing capacity of 4.5 tonnes. There is a built-in trailering app that allows you to input specific trailer profiles, use a checklist to make sure you’ve done everything right down to removing wheel chocks before towing. It calculates trailer mileage and allows you to set service intervals on your trailer, check your trailer lights, and has a GCM alert that lets you know if your trailer is too heavy. Other built-in advanced safety features include:

Exhaust braking which is a game changer when towing down steep hills.
Fourteen unique camera views including transparency mode where the trailer disappears, meaning you can see right through it.
Adaptive cruise control even when using tow haul mode (the GCM of the trailer and truck is calculated and the gap between the truck and vehicle in front will be adjusted accordingly).
Power adjustable vertical rear view mirrors
Trailer side blind zone alert
Forward collision alert
Emergency braking
Pedestrian emergency braking
Following distance indicator

2. Reliability:

After travelling Australia full-time and covering some of the country’s most notoriously brutal roads plus doing many long days on the blacktop for nearly four years, our trucks have not let us down.

3. Comfort:

When you spend as much time on the road as we do, comfort sits pretty high on the ‘must have’ list. The seats are large, comfortable, electric, heated and air-conditioned. The dash has a huge 13.4in infotainment touch screen and a 12.3in driver infotainment centre. When you are monitoring your tyre pressures, listening to music and using the built-in Apple Play for GPS directions, being able to see everything at once (plus, all the other extras on display) is a game changer. The back seat is massive with plenty of room for three kids, three teenagers or even three adults. There’s plenty of storage space.

4. Capability:

Options for a vehicle to tow a heavy load safely are few and far between. For us it boiled down to an actual 4x4 truck or the Chevy Silverado. We didn’t like the lack of comfort or speed with the bigger trucks, so opted for the Chevy truck. Being able to tow our caravan down the highway and not be sucked into trucks as we overtake, not needing to pull over at the bottom of a steep range to let the brakes cool down, and not having to worry about towing our caravan across corrugated outback roads and through water crossings sold us.

5. Fuel Economy:

One of our most asked questions is how much fuel we use. Stock standard without towing, our Silverado fuel mileage sits at around 12L per 100km. Modified (we have a 6.5in lift on 37in tyres and weigh more than 5T) we get anywhere from 24L/100km to 30L/100km depending on the weather and road conditions.

Modifications

There are many options available to build these trucks into super-tourers safely and legally. Weights are very important if you want to build a tourer that also tows a heavy caravan — and our setups have been very close to their maximum.

Our trucks have all had the ‘ADU Touch’ added to them which takes them up to around the $400k mark when complete. It adds up quickly if you use quality components to build a vehicle that is not just impressive to look at but is reliable and practical as well.

All our trucks have been registered as NB2 which takes them from a car to an LR truck and increases the GVM from 4495kg to 5500kg. This allows us to do a few extra things such as increase the lift height. We also add offroad racing suspension, front bar with integrated lights and winch, top quality wheels and tyres, a touring canopy with Enerdrive battery system including 3000W inverter, two 200Ah slim batteries, two 150W solar panels and Simarine monitoring system. There is also a fully functioning kitchen with induction cooking, microwave, air fryer, powered drawer for charging camera gear, powered roof top tent or tinny with trailer, built-in water tanks with water pump and so on.

That’s more than $200k worth of extras. Roughly $50k for the wheels, tyres and suspension, around $80–120k for the canopy and front bar (depending on brand and what you add), then throw in roof racks, lighting, roof top tent or boat, boat trailer, accessory cameras, antennas and UHF. Add around an extra $8k for a paint protection film (PPF) wrap.

We do this so we can get to those destinations where the van doesn’t fit or isn’t allowed to go, when we just want to do a quick trip somewhere or we simply don’t want to take the van with us — such as our upcoming Simpson Desert trip. We must point out that some of these modifications could void your warranty so please think through your mods carefully before making any commitments.

Cons

There are some downsides to owning an American truck registered as NB2. We don’t consider these an issue at all but be mindful of the following if you are considering one.

1. Licence:

You will need a Light Rigid (LR) truck licence to drive it. This is not hard and takes about 30 minutes and can be done in your own vehicle.

2. Alcohol:

You need to have zero alcohol in your system when driving. This means not even one beer at the pub is acceptable.

3. Registration:

Be aware, truck registration is going to cost a whole lot more.

4. Insurance:

This can be quite a shock if you don’t know what to expect. Insurance for an American truck can be anywhere between $6000 and $12,000 per year depending on who you are insured with and the cost of your vehicle.

5. Cost:

When building a super-tourer truck be prepared to pay anything up to $400k for a full build. Of course, this can be done for much less, but $300k-plus is very average these days.

6. Size:

This isn’t a problem for us, and Chris can park ours anywhere, including downtown in big cities! He is also a master at towing and reversing and manoeuvring our huge setup into tight spaces. This could be overwhelming for some people.

Live big

We are die-hard fans of American trucks as tow vehicles and hope this has helped explain why. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us on your preferred social media platform. You will find us on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.

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