1995 Chevrolet C/K 3500 Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Okay, it's me again writing about a test car driven back in 2001. Always in need to sell stories to my main customers, German automotive publications, I dug up a truly exotic vehicle, a 1995 Chevrolet K3500 6.5 TD Extended Cab Long Bed Big Dooley. I know, the exact model designation alone contained enough words to fill a paragraph. An obliging car dealer specializing in US automobiles handed me the keys to this monster truck in the hope my story would shove some extra business his way (it did, I'm happy to report). One look at this representative of Chevy's longest, widest, and heaviest class of light trucks sufficed to convince me that any German city dweller spending a truckload (pun!!!) of money to buy this vehicle must be completely mad. For instance, where does one park a truck that's 237 inches long and 107.3 inches wide in a big city where even owners of small cars despair over the lack of curbside parking as a matter of routine? Then there's the small matter of fuel bills. My K3500 test car came with a 6.5-liter V8 turbodiesel with 190 horsepower. Admittedly, diesel engines are more efficient than gasoline engines, but there was simply no way to coax more than 15 mpg out of the big V8 even under the most favorable conditions. At four dollars per gallon (that was in 2001 Germany, remember), filling up the Big Dooley's 34-gallon fuel tank cost (gasp!) 136 dollars. To think that the K3500 Big Dooley's standard engine was the 454 CID big block gasoline V8, which was even thirstier than the diesel..... Enough of that. Any German buying a truck like this had to be either filthy rich or outrageously insane, period. Since I wasn't going to buy it, why not have some fun with it for the time being, and fun it was, I admit. With a truck like that, you don't use the road, you own it without even half trying. Passenger car drivers go out of their way to make room for you and even 18-wheel truck drivers honk their horns with respect when they spot you. Understatement sure isn't what the Big Dooley is all about. In case you're wondering, the term "Big Dooley" is a pun; it refers to the K3500's optional dual rear wheels for carrying extra heavy loads (up to 5,000 pounds). Dualie - Dooley, get it? Naturally, a truck this big is unwieldy in traffic, but it has no business in narrow European city streets, anyway. Still, the K3500's smooth four-speed automatic transmission and light power steering make driving around quite enjoyable, even in the city. Out of town, the Chevy just rolls along nicely, picks up speed easily all the way up to its autobahn maximum of nearly 100 mph. The brakes do a fair job of slowing the 2.5-ton truck down, but repeated panic stops are inadvisable. It's hard to rate a Big Dooley in terms of handling and cornering ability. Let's just say it goes where it's pointed and is safe to drive at the usual truck speeds. Anyone who takes it beyond that is either nuts or a road tester - or both. Needless to say, the stiff truck suspension makes for a harsh ride just about everywhere. The big Chevy literally jumps over anything but the mildest bumps in the road, especially with an empty cargo bed. This cargo bed, by the way, provides enough length for even a tall guy like me to lie down and catch some shut-eye. With a good camper top enclosing the bed and a decent mattress underneath, you get all the space, comfort, and privacy you need. This was a road test, however, so napping was out of the question. Instead, the Chevy was in for a bit of off-roading. With four-wheel-drive dialed in (it was NOT 2WD, as the title says), this monster truck takes on rough trails, mud, and moderate hillclimbs with surprising aplomb, but a Big Dooley is certainly no Baja California or Rallye Paris-Dakar contender - too big. All things must come to an end and so did my test of the 1995 Chevrolet K3500 6.5 TD Extended Cab Long Bed Big Dooley. I can't even conceive owning a vehicle like that unless I decide to buy a ranch in Texas, but the experience of piloting this huge truck will never be forgotten. Jun 17, 2014