Truck engine has one million miles (and counting)

In doing so, he and his brother, Gary, have put more than 1 million miles on a 2004 GMC Sierra 3500 HD and its Duramax diesel engine — an engine made at the Moraine DMAX plant, a General Motors-Isuzu joint venture.

McKinney is a Duramax believer. His company or its contract drivers rely on about 17 Duramax-powered vehicles, as well as five Dodges, one Ford and several semitrailer trucks.

“You can’t beat the Duramax,” McKinney said.

McKinney’s brother bought the GMC six years ago at Dave Arbogast’s Troy GMC dealership. In late February, the truck’s digital odometer held 999,999 for about 10 miles, then turned over to “error.”

But it was no error. Joe Johnson Chevrolet in Troy replaced the odometer for free, McKinney said.

As of May 19, the truck had 1,035,671 miles on it, McKinney said.

Mike Levine, editor of PickupTruck.com, was surprised — but not that surprised.

“Let met put it this way,” Levine said. “Is it unusual? Yes. Is it unexpected? Not necessarily.”

Diesel engines, especially recent ones, are built to last, Levine said. When owners take care of them, they should last much more than 200,000 miles, he said.

DMAX employees aren’t surprised. “I don’t think it should be an uncommon thing,” said Mike Cochran, a DMAX engineer.

Gerald Johnson, manager of North American manufacturing for GM, loves the story.

So how does McKinney keep these trucks — and engines — going for so long?

“Well, proper maintenance, first of all,” he said.

He said he follows manufacturer guidelines for maintenance and his employees work with Joe Johnson’s service technicians on any problems that may come up. And they adhere to towing and weight limits.

RV Xpress’s experience with Duramax engines has raised employee expectations for how future engines perform. The business has relied on four generations of DMAX-produced engines, and McKinney said he is looking forward to the latest Duramax engine.

“It’s what we expect now,” said Mike McGahan, co-owner of RV Xpress.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.