Truck rant. And don't know what to do.

[herm0016]

had 2 Sierra's, an 09 and a 15. loved both. bought the first new and put 100k on it, only issue I ever had was leaky transmission cooler lines and had to replace the half shaft seals on the front diff. all under warranty, not a big deal either way for both items. the 15 got a new front diff because of bearing noise but I bought it used at 60k and I believe it was a commercial truck in Canada before I got it. maybe a road crew supervisor or something? so could be due to using 4x4 for its whole life. no other issues. I am not easy on it, have towed 7k lbs across the country and max load of boulders out of the mountain's, (could have been over GCVW) sheep over lots of mountain passes, skiing, slide in camper in the mountains and all over Utah etc. I really don't think the quality difference between the f150, the tundra and the GM trucks is very much. I do believe the 5.3 is the best engine out of the 3 and there is nothing wrong with the rest of the GM drive train either. I have 125k on the 15 and don't see any reason to upgrade.
The GM trucks also drive so nice compared to all the others. Easier to drive and more comfortable than a 4 runner, even compared to an outback. My mother in law borrowed my truck, a 6.5 bed crew cab that is just over 21 feet long and she was very intimidated at first. when she came back, she said it was easier to drive and had better visibility than her 4 runner, gets about the same gas mileage too.

Nissan is totally discontinuing the titan, so I really think that should be out. i drove fords working in the oil fields for 12 years. not impressed. my company (a very large company) switched to GM for fleet and has had a huge reduction in maintenance cost on the 1 ton diesels, of which we have hundreds of across the country.

oh yea, Ram... I don't know, they are super nice inside. not much experience with them and FCA builds mostly terrible stuff now.

 

[jyoutz]

had 2 Sierra's, an 09 and a 15. loved both. bought the first new and put 100k on it, only issue I ever had was leaky transmission cooler lines and had to replace the half shaft seals on the front diff. all under warranty, not a big deal either way for both items. the 15 got a new front diff because of bearing noise but I bought it used at 60k and I believe it was a commercial truck in Canada before I got it. maybe a road crew supervisor or something? so could be due to using 4x4 for its whole life. no other issues. I am not easy on it, have towed 7k lbs across the country and max load of boulders out of the mountain's, (could have been over GCVW) sheep over lots of mountain passes, skiing, slide in camper in the mountains and all over Utah etc. I really don't think the quality difference between the f150, the tundra and the GM trucks is very much. I do believe the 5.3 is the best engine out of the 3 and there is nothing wrong with the rest of the GM drive train either. I have 125k on the 15 and don't see any reason to upgrade.
The GM trucks also drive so nice compared to all the others. Easier to drive and more comfortable than a 4 runner, even compared to an outback. My mother in law borrowed my truck, a 6.5 bed crew cab that is just over 21 feet long and she was very intimidated at first. when she came back, she said it was easier to drive and had better visibility than her 4 runner, gets about the same gas mileage too.

Nissan is totally discontinuing the titan, so I really think that should be out. i drove fords working in the oil fields for 12 years. not impressed. my company (a very large company) switched to GM for fleet and has had a huge reduction in maintenance cost on the 1 ton diesels, of which we have hundreds of across the country.

oh yea, Ram... I don't know, they are super nice inside. not much experience with them and FCA builds mostly terrible stuff now.

Dodge Ram has continually received awards for the quality and capabilities of its trucks within the past decade.

 

[N80]

The thing that is putting me off from the Fords right now is that I digging and digging trying to find out the towing capacities of the various 2020 and 2021 versions are and it is almost impossible to tell. Even on the F150 forums there is utter confusion even when trying to buy a new one. Trying to get the towing specs on a used one would be just about impossible. Just trying to find out read diff gearing is driving me nuts. I have a hard time understanding why Ford does this. Three different levels of towing packages the contents of which are totally confusing. Multiple diff gearings with no rhyme or reason why and for what purpose and virtually no way of telling what a vehicle has on it without the original window sticker.

At this point Ford is out, again, unless someone somewhere can show me a fool proof way to know what one of them can tow. The used car salesmen are useless in this regard.

As far as GM and Dodge, well, you know how it is. You build up prejudices based on family and friends preferences. Growing up we were Ford people. My in-law who is a farmer switched from lifelong Fords to Dodges. Had 2 or 3 of them and nothing but trouble. My son-in-law's surveying company has had good long term reliability with Suburbans. But he only drives Fords. My best friend recently had a Suburban that required engine and transmission replacement. He ditched it for an Excursion.

So hard to know. So hard to get past the anecdotes and lifelong prejudices.

Might just have to bite the bullet and go Toyota.

 

[jyoutz]

The thing that is putting me off from the Fords right now is that I digging and digging trying to find out the towing capacities of the various 2020 and 2021 versions are and it is almost impossible to tell. Even on the F150 forums there is utter confusion even when trying to buy a new one. Trying to get the towing specs on a used one would be just about impossible. Just trying to find out read diff gearing is driving me nuts. I have a hard time understanding why Ford does this. Three different levels of towing packages the contents of which are totally confusing. Multiple diff gearings with no rhyme or reason why and for what purpose and virtually no way of telling what a vehicle has on it without the original window sticker.

At this point Ford is out, again, unless someone somewhere can show me a fool proof way to know what one of them can tow. The used car salesmen are useless in this regard.

As far as GM and Dodge, well, you know how it is. You build up prejudices based on family and friends preferences. Growing up we were Ford people. My in-law who is a farmer switched from lifelong Fords to Dodges. Had 2 or 3 of them and nothing but trouble. My son-in-law's surveying company has had good long term reliability with Suburbans. But he only drives Fords. My best friend recently had a Suburban that required engine and transmission replacement. He ditched it for an Excursion.

So hard to know. So hard to get past the anecdotes and lifelong prejudices.

Might just have to bite the bullet and go Toyota.

If you are concerned about towing capacity, Dodge Ram will serve you better than Toyota.

 

[dodge man]

I own a 2017 F150. All brands can be a pain to figure out the towing specs. If you dig deep enough, you can figure it out. Keep an eye on the payload, you want a payload closer to 2000 pounds than 1500 pounds. It’s easy to eat up all your payload when towing.

The newer Fords have a 10 speed so even with 3.31 gears, the first couple of gears pull well. Mine is a 6 speed, 3.55 gears, and I bet the overall ratios work out better in a newer truck with 3.31 gears and the 10 speed.

You can capture a window sticker and post it and the door jamb sticker with the payload and I can ballpark the towing rating.

 

[milkman636]

I’ve owned GMC, Ford, and Dodge 1/2 tons. They’ve all had their specific quirks, but they’ve all been good to me. My current daily driver has been my best though. It’s a 2007 F150 XLT 4x4 that I’ve had since it was new. It has the awfully rated 5.4 V8 that just keeps on going for me. It’s less than a 30 mile round trip, but I still drive it to work every day after 15 years. I’ve changed the spark plugs, wore out a couple batteries, replaced brakes, belt, front and rear pinion shaft seals, both front hubs, both front strut assemblies, and tires. Other than that I’ve followed the maintenance schedule very strictly. And, I still use it to tow an 8500 lb load occasionally. She’s rusty and not much to look at any more, but the durability I’ve experienced from this one has me leaning hard towards Ford for the next 1/2 ton truck. That being said, I also own a ten year old Chevy 3500 that’s been great for me too. I think the domestic truck makers produce pretty good products.

 

[DieselBound]

Clearly, brand loyalty is not (no longer) a good strategy. I'd been watching Nissan a bit a few years back and saw how they (corporate) were really struggling. Unstable internals means poor focus. I was a bit curious to their truck offering with a Cummins engine; reviews seemed to reveal that they were more novel than practical given the cost (i.e. lacked value). One has to do one's research, thoroughly: or, one can gamble one's money (perhaps away).

Regarding engines, I'm a diesel guy and would only have a diesel in a truck, so comments on gassers isn't something I'd be qualified to comment on; BUT, my truck mechanic praises the V6 Ecoboost: he owns a diesel performance shop, so he, as am I, are partial to diesels. Ford had early issues with these engines and they seem to have been resolved via different oils (and subsequent engineering changes over the years).

When I was considering a newer truck I boiled it down to a 2014/2015 (I think I have the years right- maybe 2013 through 2015) GMC Denali 3500 Duramax. I currently have a 94 Dodge with a 12V Cummins (which is obviously one of the greatest engines ever produced): didn't want to go away from a Cummins, but I struggled with the rest of the Ram package (suspension/steering issues seem to be built-in!). I'd never liked GM products, and vowed to never own one: have owned a Dodge and a Ford (with diesels; neither produced by Dodge or Ford!). Ha ha! Things change! I once said I wouldn't have a diesel car and now that's all I drive and ever want to drive (MKIV VW TDIs): lusting after an old Merc with and OM606 turbo, for fun.

 

[kenmac]

You may want to do some research before you purchase a dodge.
They have had problems with the 5.7, and the 6.4 hemi.

We just rebuilt my son's 6.4 hemi after 115K miles. They have an issue with lifters that fail, and eat the camshaft.

When we rebuilt his engine, we deleted the MDS system, and went with after market lifters, and camshaft. new lifters are non MDS.

I also own a dodge. But it's a 5.9L Cummins with 135K flawless miles

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

The government buys whatever is least expensive and meets specs. So, we get a mix of trucks from the big three. So far no Nissan or Toyotas even though in theory they meet the Buy America standards. Everything is low trim level, the government banned power doors in the sixties, and paid extra to get them deleted after they be came standard, until they disappeared completely, and they couldn’t get them.

So, over the last decade I’ve had all three and put a bunch of miles on them. Fifty/fifty mix of highway and gravel/dirt roads.

13-years ago I had a 1/2-ton Dodge, then a 3/4-ton Chevy, and my current truck is an F450. The fleet manager complained to my boss that I was carrying a bunch of stuff I didn’t need, and overloading the 3/4-ton. I was on vacation, so they took my truck to the scales, and yes I had it overloaded. So they went to the shop and unloaded it. My boss decided that I needed everything on the truck to do my various work tasks. So, I now have an F450 with a utility bed.

I’ve had the F450 for about a year, and 14,000 miles. So far it is the favorite. Doesn’t ping on the lowest cost fuel at the pump, (which the bean counters say we have to use, doesn’t matter what eh manual says, and doesn’t matter that it pings). Seats are comfortable, the ergonomics are good, I’m 5-10, and keep the seat about a third of the way back from the front.

It is holding up well. The guys who work for me have had F450s for five years, and the only thing we have had to repair or replace on either of them is shocks, and tires. They are at around 60,000 miles. So the guys get new rigs this year, and theirs go into the seasonal fleet for one or two years.

I’m working another five years, and unless something drastic happens, i think I might buy the current rig, when it comes up for auction, which should be about five years from now. Kind of depends on which program gets it as a summer vehicle after I get the five years or 60k on it. The Recreation folks get lots of miles but all on maintained roads. The Timber folks less miles, but on logging roads, and the summer kids can be really rough on vehicles. The biologists thrash rigs Driving where and how they shouldn’t. Range is good on trucks, they tow a horse trailer to the end of good roads, then ride their horses. I think they would ride the horses everywhere if management would let them.

The worst truck I ever had was a Ford. But the fleet manager at that employer was buying rigs at the end of the model year production, with “no color preference”. I ended up with an F250, extended cab, in Baby Chit Yellow, with three colors of interior from three trim levels. Gray vinyl drivers seat, a blue leather passenger seat, and a tan cloth rear seat, and tan interior panels. They could not have saved enough on the purchase price to offset the hit they had to take when they sold it.

 

[Diggin It]

Never had a pickemuptruck. Always cars, currently a 95 Taurus wagon. Carries lots and lots of stuff, hauls a small trailer fine, but not much more. Been having a number of problems, but it's paid for and it runs most of the time.

Looking casually for something, but would rather have enclosed than open. Suburban, Bronco, etc.

Thing that caught my eye above was mention of a Dodge 3500. Neighbor has a dually (don't know the year) and was helping me haul something on a 16' trailer. On the way back, just a few miles from home, it lost drive in anything but low. Stopped, checked fluids, started out again. It would go until the first shift, then nothing. Limped home the last few miles at 5 to 10MPH. Truck had 80K or something. Had a guy come out to reset some codes, ran OK for a mile, then quit again. Had a rebuilt trans put in it which quit a few weeks later. Had another put in and so far it's been running.


I can't afford that kind of thing. I can't afford much of anything, so whatever I buy has to be all but trouble free. I don't care about styling, I care about running. I need operational and trustworthy, not gizmos. Both of my cars have heat, neither has air. I don't spend enough time on the road to really need either, but it must run without leaving me stranded as both of mine have in the past.

I gotta have something, but it's gotta run without flaw. Yeah, I know, they don't make it.


Ramble off.