Ford sells more trucks than anyone, but General Motors’ two brands combine to sell more than The Blue Oval. Half of GM’s famed truck duo, the Chevrolet Silverado, is an iconic American pickup with solid capability and refined driving dynamics. Its big brother, the Silverado Heavy Duty (HD) does those things to the max, and brings extreme towing capacity and payload.

The Chevrolet 3500HD is the top dog in the automaker’s “civilian” pickup truck lineup, sitting atop the Silverado 1500 and 2500HD. The 4500, 5500, and others are considered medium-duty. When equipped with its available diesel powertrain, the truck can tow 36,000 pounds, and delivers over 900 pound-feet of torque. At the same time, it’s still a comfortable, luxurious work truck, especially in higher trims. Chevy offers different body styles, including regular cab, crew cab and extended cab models. Most models come in single rear-wheel (SRW) configuration, but a few models are available with dual rear-wheels (DRW).

All Silverado HD models offer spacious and comfortable front seats, excellent interior functionality with great storage, and excellent legroom in models with back seats. The Chevrolet Silverado 3500 also offers a solid list of safety features. Available safety tech includes blind spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alerts, park assist, and more. Chevy also equips plenty of tech, with a touchscreen infotainment system, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth, a Wi-Fi hotspot, SiriusXM satellite radio, and more. The truck’s camera views and clear display help owners maximize its crazy maximum towing capabilities, and make the more-than-full-size truck feel smaller than it is.

The Silverado HD competes with the Ford F-Series Super Duty trucks, the Ram HD, and the GMC Sierra HD.

Generations: Four

• Chevrolet Silverado 3500 1st Generation
• Chevrolet Silverado 3500 2nd Generation
• Chevrolet Silverado 3500 3rd Generation
• Chevrolet Silverado 3500 4th Generation

Pros: Sharp styling, no shortage of powertrain options, winter-ready all-wheel drive
Cons: Not as deluxe as its price tag suggests, Sport model gone for 2020

Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD 4th Generation (2020-Present)

The fourth Silverado HD generation began in 2020. Highlights include monstrous specs, with towing that maxes out at 36,000 pounds and up to 7,442 pounds of payload capacity. The new diesel engines produce up to 910 pound-feet of torque as well, meaning the truck never feels lacking for grunt.

Chevy currently offers five trims: WT, Custom, LT, LTZ, and High Country. The standard drivetrain is a 6.6-liter gas V8 engine with 401 horsepower and 464 pound-feet of torque. A 6.6-liter turbodiesel is available that produces 445 horsepower and 910 pound-feet of torque. The engine pairs with a 10-speed automatic Allison transmission to get its massive power to the ground.

To help owners take advantage of that power, Chevy offers an advanced trailering app with detailed camera views and display in the truck’s infotainment system. Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is standard, and four-wheel drive (4WD) is available.

Two bed lengths are available with up to 83.5 cubic feet of storage space in the long bed model. The bed comes standard with 12 cargo tie-downs, and Chevrolet offers its useful Multi-Flex Tailgate on all trim levels. The new Silverado HD is also the only truck in its segment to offer a power up/down tailgate.

Chevy is set to jump into the new-age electric pickup wars starting in 2024 with a fully electrified version of the Silverado. The automaker has not yet announced a heavy-duty electric truck, but there’s a far better than zero chance that it rolls an electric HD truck out before the end of the decade.

Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD 3rd Generation (2015-2019)

The third-gen Silverado 3500HD debuted for the 2015 model year as the first HD trucks available with advanced driver aids. Chevy also improved the truck’s tech offerings with an available 8-inch driver display and 8-inch touchscreen. Later in its first year, Chevy added OnStar with a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot.

Chevrolet continued offering several powertrains in the Silverado HD, including a 6.0-liter V8 gas engine with flex fuel, a 6.6-liter diesel, and options for CNG/LNG. In addition to the extra tech, Chevy began offering heavy-duty alternators alongside the Duramax diesel engine. Variants equipped with four-wheel drive got an off-road information screen, and the trucks came standard with a heavy-duty locking rear axle.

In 2016, the Silverado got a facelift, which brought a larger standard touchscreen and other tech improvements, including Chevrolet’s MyLink infotainment system. The next year, Duramax-equipped HD trucks got a revised hood with improved cooling and airflow. Chevy again updated its MyLink system, and certain body styles picked up Chevy’s Teen Driver system.

Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD 2nd Generation (2007-2014)

In 2007, Chevrolet released the second-generation heavy-duty pickup. The automaker shuffled the truck’s engine lineup by doing away with the big block V8 from the first-gen. A new six-speed automatic transmission became standard, and Chevy added an Allison transmission paired with the Duramax Diesel V8.

A few years later, Chevy replaced the truck’s frame with a new full-boxed steel unit that it said drastically improved stability, stiffness, and capability. The truck got a new suspension system with revised control arms and updated leaf springs in the rear to handle heavier payload and improve ride quality.

Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD 1st Generation (2006-2012)

Coming out of Chevy’s C/K truck era, the Silverado debuted for the 2000 model year as a completely new truck with dramatic updates across the board. Heavy-duty trucks came, too, including the Silverado 2500HD and 3500HD. The 3500 came standard with the same engine that powered the 2500, which was a Duramax V8 making 300 horsepower. Chevy offered two V8 upgrades with up to 340 horsepower and 455 pound-feet of torque.

Though the 1500 light-duty trucks could tow and haul more than most people ever need, heavy-duty trucks pick up the slack beyond their capabilities with towing that reached 16,700 pounds in the 3500HD. Four-wheel drive lowered that staggering rating by a few hundred pounds, but at that level it wasn’t a disaster.

Chevrolet’s HD truck program turned out some of the longest-lasting vehicles around in the early 2000s. Analysts at iSeeCars.com found that the 2500HD was one of the ten longest-lasting vehicles around.