North Park Chevrolet Castroville

Mar 23, 2023
A white 2022 Chevy Silverado 5500HD, a popular work truck for sale, is shown parked at a manufacturing site.

The Chevy Silverado 4500, 5500, and 6500 HD Chassis Cabs are some of the best work trucks for sale. There are plenty of reasons to choose the Chevy Silverado. It’s dependable, powerful, and safe, but it is also extremely customizable. There are plenty of options when upfitting your truck, allowing you to make it your perfect work truck. Let’s break it down and see what the Chevy Silverado HD Chassis Cabs can offer you.

What You Get With the Chevy Silverado HD Chassis Cab

When you take a look at the Chevy Silverado HD Chassis Cab line-up, you’ll see there are a few options, making it easier to fit your unique business needs. For the heaviest of heavy-duty, there is the 4500 HD, the 5500 HD, and the 6500 HD. Similar in many ways, these heavy-duty hard-hitting trucks are built to last.

Under the hood of each heavy-duty Silverado is a 6.6-liter Duramax Turbo-Diesel V8. Paired with an Allison six-speed automatic transmission, the heavy-duty Silverado line-up offers smooth shifting. If you are looking for nonconforming school bus or shuttle bus applications, there is an Allison PTS transmission available, so the heavy-duty trucks can accommodate plenty of uses. Specially tuned shocks and cab mounts, which attach the cab to the frame, help smooth out the bumps and lumps when driving. It’s easy to say fueled up with the standard 40-gallon tank, especially when you throw in the midship tank that allows for an extra 25 gallons of fuel, so there is less time spent at the pump.

The design of the Chevy Silverado HD Chassis Cabs was carefully thought out to maximize efficiency and convenience. The hood has been sloped to create a clear line of sight. The battery box is conveniently located below the driver’s side of the cab for easy access. With the addition of the available auxiliary jump-start stud, you can get the jolt you need without having to attach it directly to the battery.

The infotainment buttons on a 2025 Chevy Silverado 5500HD.

For even easier maintenance or repair, the hood of the Chevy Silverado HD opens in a forward fashion. An unobstructed access to the engine and other major components makes servicing such a large truck much easier. Convenience is a trend with these heavy-duty trucks, which is obvious in the positioning of the Diesel Exhaust Fluid Fill. The Diesel Exhaust Fluid Fill is located behind the front wheel to keep it away from the fuel fill on the other side. This lessens the chance of accidental contamination of one fluid into the other.

To make things easier for whoever is driving, the wheel well has been cut deliberately wide so that maneuvering in small spaces is much easier. The cab, which is available as either a regular cab or a crew cab, is triple-sealed to create a peaceful space for drivers to stay focused on the road ahead. There are ten auxiliary switches available and designed to be easy to reach so drivers can keep their attention where it needs to be.

Before deciding which truck to get, make sure your upfitting requirements can be met. The 4500 HD has a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 14,001–16,500 lbs. The 5500 HD has a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 17,500-19,500 lbs. Finally, the 6500 HD comes in with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 21,500–23,500 lbs.

Upfitting Options

The Chevy Silverado heavy-duty trucks are perfectly designed for upfitting as you desire. The top-of-rail is designed to be completely flat. Mounting hardware is flush with the frame, so there is nothing to interfere with the body being added. The frame rail is made of one piece of material, which helps protect the integrity of the component, and for some extra support against heavy loads, a factory air suspension addition is available for the rear. When you are ready to upfit, the truck features a dual-side Power Takeoff so that auxiliary power can be used from the left or right side of the transmission.

All three heavy-duty truck options are dual rear-wheel and are available as two-wheel or four-wheel drive. Whichever upfit body is chosen, there are seven unique wheelbase configurations for the regular cab and three for the crew cab. Payload and body length accommodation vary depending on the cab style, wheelbase configuration, and of course, which heavy-duty truck you choose. As you move from the 4500 HD to the 5500 HD, payload and body length increase, with the 6500 HD able to hold the heaviest payloads and longest body styles. Depending on which truck is used and how it is configured, upfit body sizes range from 8 ft to 24ft. The max payload for the top vehicle and setup is 15,940 lbs. This applies to any of the upfit options.

Ambulance and Rescue

Both regular and crew cab options of the Chevy Silverado HD 4500, 5500, and 6500 can be upfitted with an Ambulance or Emergency Service upfit. These trucks are a great way to create a reliable and sturdy emergency vehicle. Wheelbase variations create an assortment of ways to equip each truck option.

Cargo Body

Hauling cargo in an enclosed cargo body upfit makes the Chevy Silverado trucks ideal for anyone looking to transport goods. The Cargo Body can be applied to both the crew and the regular cab style. Maxing out at a payload of 15,940 lbs, there isn’t much you can’t do with the cargo body upfit.

Dump Truck

When you need the toughest of the tough, there is no better truck than a Chevy. The sturdy frame and impressive gross vehicle weight ratings available across the board, the Silverado chassis cab is an ideal option for a dump truck upfit. You get all of the benefits of driving a Chevy but with the tough-as-nails attitude of a dump truck.

White 2025 Chevy Silverado 5500HD driving through a construction site.

Platform/Stake

Thanks to the smart styling of the flat frame, you can easily upfit the 4500, 5500, or 6500 HD with a platform body. Customize the goods you carry, especially with the stake body option. “Fence” in your cargo, knowing it’s secure with the Chevy Silverado HD as your muscle.

Utility/Service

The Chevy Silverado HD Chassis Cab is a fantastic option for upfitting whatever utility configuration you need to make every workday easier. Whatever service you provide, it’s easy to upfit the Chevy with the perfect body for your needs. Plus, with a comfortable and advanced interior, anyone driving will feel the benefits that come with using a Chevy. You don’t have to sacrifice comfort for versatility or function.

Snowplow/Spreader

There are so many ways that the Chevy Silverado is adaptable to the needs of a business. Unique add-ons like the Snow Plow Prep Package allow the Chevy Silverado to transform into the perfect vehicle for all conditions. Wiring provisions make equipping emergency gear easy, and there are plenty of options that include a high-output alternator to keep you going even in the harshest weather.

Chevy’s Business Is Your Business

For more than a century, Chevy has been changing the truck game. Chevy has been in business for a long time, making innovative and revolutionary changes to the automotive industry since the beginning of their inception, and it is these tried and true innovations that go into every Chevy Silverado HD Chassis Cab. You are going to get the reliability and quality of a Chevy whether you are looking for a light truck to roam the open road or you need the heavy-duty grit that only a heavy-duty truck can offer.

You can see the attention to detail put into every Chevrolet, be it a Corvette or a rough-and-tumble Chevy Silverado. From the deliberate flush flat rail support to the optional fuel tank add-on, the Chevy Silverado is designed for convenience, efficiency, and reliability. You don’t want a truck that will get you from point A to point B. You want a truck that will get you from A to Z and everything in between no matter what its hauling, and that’s exactly what you’ll get with the Chevy Silverado 4500, 5500, and 6500 HD Chassis Cab.