What Does VYU Mean? The Snow Plow Prep Package

VYU is the RPO code for GM’s Snow Plow Prep Package. If you are buying a truck to plow with, or buying one that has been plowed with, this is the code that tells you whether the factory built it for the job.

This is the best-documented package on this site: GM published a dedicated special-applications document for it, and it itemises the whole package.

What VYU includes

2016, full-size K-series 4×4 pickups, single and dual rear wheel. GM’s special-applications document lists:

• Increased front spring rate (4WD)
• High-capacity air cleaner
• External engine oil cooler
• 170-amp alternator on gas engines (150-amp without VYU), or 220-amp
• Dual 150-amp alternators on diesel engines
• Provision for a roof-mounted emergency light
• Transmission cooler, air-to-oil, automatic only
• A 42 mm hole in the front of dash with a rubber grommet
• Forward lamp harness with an in-line connector
• A mounting location for snow plow controls

Engine and alternator options vary by configuration.

That list is the whole argument for checking the label before you buy. The increased front spring rate and the oil cooler are not things you add in a driveway — they are how the truck left the factory, or they are not there.

By generation

Generation	Years	What the factory documents list	Source
T1XX	2019–2026	Snow Plow Prep Package, includes alternator and skid plates. 2025 documents record a combined Snow Plow Prep/Camper Package.	2019 and 2025 GM order guides
K2XX	2014–2018	The full ten-item list above.	2016 Special Applications – Full Size K Series (4×4), GM Upfitter, rev. 10/19/2015
GMT900	2007–2013	Recorded as a snow-plow preparation package. Component list not documented.	2007 Chevrolet Silverado Classic Truck Restoration Kit
GMT800	1999–2006	Recorded as “snowplow-preparation package”. Component list not documented.	2000 Chevrolet C/K & Silverado Truck Restoration Kit
GMT400	1988–1998	Recorded as “provisions, snow plow prep”. Component list not documented.	1989 GM documentation

Note the 2019+ entry is much shorter than the 2016 one. That is what the order guides say — a retail order guide summarises where a special-applications document itemises. It does not mean the package shrank.

How to check what your truck actually has

1. Find the RPO label — glove box, console lid, or under the spare.
2. Decode VYU for your model year.
3. The package’s parts also show up as their own codes. Look for the alternator and cooling codes on the same label — if VYU is there but the supporting codes are not, ask why.

VYU is 4×4 only in the document we hold. A two-wheel-drive truck with a plow on it was not built for it.

If your label is a QR code

On 2018 and newer trucks the glove box label often carries a QR code instead of the printed list of three-character codes. Scan it with your phone camera, then paste what comes back into a text message or a notes app — phone cameras tend to show it truncated, and pasting it is the easiest way to read the whole thing.

It is not a web link. It is one long comma-separated line: VIN, model year, model, build date, order number, then a group of three-character codes separated by spaces, then the paint code. That group is your RPO list — paste it straight into the RPO decoder.

What VYU gets confused with

• NHT — Max Trailering. Also brings cooling and a heavier alternator, which is why the two get mixed up. Different job.
• Z71 — off-road. Skid plates appear in both, which confuses people.
• KW5 / K47 — alternator and air cleaner codes that come with VYU but also appear on their own.

Sources

• 2016 Special Applications – Full Size K Series (4×4): Snowplow Prep Package, GM Upfitter (rev. 10/19/2015)
• 2019 and 2025 GM order guides (gmfleetorderguide.com)
• 2007 Chevrolet Silverado Classic Truck Restoration Kit, GM Heritage Archive
• 2000 Chevrolet C/K & Silverado Truck Restoration Kit, GM Heritage Archive

Related

• RPO Decoder · RPO Code Database