Just can't get a good basic truck, like the old days!

[jyoutz]

You obviously don't drive GM products

Nope

 

[jjeff]

You obviously don't drive GM products

I biasedly disagree.

 

[Jeepnford]

Back then they probably said "It ain't no good if it ain't got a horse pulling it".

 

[WinterDeere]

I biasedly disagree.

The trouble with these debates is that they've all made some good and bad vehicles, over time. GM had massive problems with 4wd solenoids, exhaust rot, and brake line rot, all through the 1990's. At the same time, Dodge/Ram was having probems with rear diff failures and a higher incidence of transmission issues. Both corrected these problems, but have had others creep in.

Anyone who biases their opinion of a brand or model based on their own personal ownership, or even the few units owned by a few acquaintances, could be missing larger trends. And anyone who bases their opinion of a brand or model based on a variant made a full generation or decade prior, is probably widely missing the current state of affairs.

 

[ultrarunner]

The trouble with these debates is that they've all made some good and bad vehicles, over time. GM had massive problems with 4wd solenoids, exhaust rot, and brake line rot, all through the 1990's. At the same time, Dodge/Ram was having probems with rear diff failures and a higher incidence of transmission issues. Both corrected these problems, but have had others creep in.

Anyone who biases their opinion of a brand or model based on their own personal ownership, or even the few units owned by a few acquaintances, could be missing larger trends. And anyone who bases their opinion of a brand or model based on a variant made a full generation or decade prior, is probably widely missing the current state of affairs.

Only over time will the good and bad come to light.

A solid warranty is how I hedge my purchases…

 

[WinterDeere]

Only over time will the good and bad come to light.

... and often by the time they do, the issue has already been corrected or obsoleted by a new generation of the model. Excepting obvious acute problems (e.g. GM's early-2000's piston slap), shopping on reliability may be more useful for those buying used, as the issues are well-known by the time a given model year hits the used market.

 

[jjeff]

The trouble with these debates is that they've all made some good and bad vehicles, over time. GM had massive problems with 4wd solenoids, exhaust rot, and brake line rot, all through the 1990's. At the same time, Dodge/Ram was having probems with rear diff failures and a higher incidence of transmission issues. Both corrected these problems, but have had others creep in.

Anyone who biases their opinion of a brand or model based on their own personal ownership, or even the few units owned by a few acquaintances, could be missing larger trends. And anyone who bases their opinion of a brand or model based on a variant made a full generation or decade prior, is probably widely missing the current state of affairs.

Good point, however I towed cars for several years owned and praised Tacomas back then, majority towed were domestic manufactured. Most with minor problems a average shade tree mechanic could fix however a few tows were due to mechanical breakdowns were major problems Chrysler products in particular had major issues from what I observed. Ground was flooded with either crankcase oil or transmission fluid. A few GMC vehicles with failed transmissions but majority of gm towed were either alternators or starters and probably other electronic problems. Fords had problems I usually could not shade tree diagnose from a rollback. When I had to tow a European car it was always electrical or electronic problem.i used to not look forward to towing dodge or Chrysler products cuz after towing what I named "cripesler" products a large majority of the time I had to clean the bed of trans or crankcase fluid. These are my observations of mostly mechanical breakdowns not accidents. Meanwhile owners of asian markets would almost complain about rarely having to get a tow causing them to drive there old asian imports for years. I will say Full size domestic half ton or larger pick ups were rarely towed., My what I consider reliable GMC Sierra was towed once when the idler pulley went out throwing the belt 600 miles from home. Fixed at a gm garage up there. A little over 200 bucks for new belt idler pulley and labor ,definitely Won't get into the botched fuel filter replacement they did though.

 

[Hay Dude]

The trouble with these debates is that they've all made some good and bad vehicles, over time. GM had massive problems with 4wd solenoids, exhaust rot, and brake line rot, all through the 1990's. At the same time, Dodge/Ram was having probems with rear diff failures and a higher incidence of transmission issues. Both corrected these problems, but have had others creep in.

Anyone who biases their opinion of a brand or model based on their own personal ownership, or even the few units owned by a few acquaintances, could be missing larger trends. And anyone who bases their opinion of a brand or model based on a variant made a full generation or decade prior, is probably widely missing the current state of affairs.

And let’s not forget, Ford had MASSIVE problems with the 6.0 & 6.4L diesel truck engines. They have continued to be plagued by all-around reliability issues.

 

[John0829]

We have owned Fords from the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and 20 teens and without exception the best part of owning them was seeing them in the mirror as we drove off the car lot in something else. Black holes each and every one, suspension and engine issues. The last one we kept, thankfully, for only 6 months. Will not ever waste money on another.

The GM's we have owned have all gone over 200k with nothing but what I consider normal maintenance. Even so all I am buying at my age is Tacoma's or Tundra's out luck with those has be exceptional.

 

[jjeff]

I think the diesel engines Ford offered after the 7.3 killed the Fords super dutys reputation equipped with a diesel for a generation maybe more. I will say I was kind of half heatedly looking at the 6.7 super duties for a bit though. Unfortunately I'll say the Ford website for building what I wanted was terrible at the time especially for electronically challenged individuals.

 

[WM75Guy]

You obviously don't drive GM products

No complaints here. Been driving GM products since I started driving in 1974. Very few issues and all covered by warranty. Most of my 2500HD trucks were high mileage, my 2003 2500HD had 230,000 miles on it when it was traded in on the 2017 2500HD. Still on the original brakes.

 

[WinterDeere]

And let’s not forget, Ford had MASSIVE problems with the 6.0 & 6.4L diesel truck engines. They have continued to be plagued by all-around reliability issues.

Yep. And that brings up another issue, that you folks driving diesel HD trucks are seeing totally different issues from those of us running 1/2 ton gassers.

 

[ultrarunner]

We have owned Fords from the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and 20 teens and without exception the best part of owning them was seeing them in the mirror as we drove off the car lot in something else. Black holes each and every one, suspension and engine issues. The last one we kept, thankfully, for only 6 months. Will not ever waste money on another.

The GM's we have owned have all gone over 200k with nothing but what I consider normal maintenance. Even so all I am buying at my age is Tacoma's or Tundra's out luck with those has be exceptional.

Mustangs if the 60’s and F100 pickups were very reliable…

The service truck for the dealership was a 69 F100 and kept for decades because never a problem…

 

[jjeff]

Another point about building a 3/4 or 1 ton truck, why do you have to add options like more capable extending mirrors etc. I remember when I found my 2016 GMC had the electric trailer brake controller as an option I believe it's standard now. I f your buying a 3/4 or one ton why wouldn't they come equipped with everything besides electronic contraptions to safely and successfully tow heavier loads? I can understand not having larger mirrors electric brake controllers etc on 1/2 tons but not 3/4 or 1 tons especially for the extra amount of cash your paying for a more towing capable vehicle.

 

[jjeff]

One option that should be available on all vehicles especially in 3/4 or 1 ton trucks equipped with snow plow prep is heated wipers so you don't have to constantly stop and flick them to clear ice buildup on wiper arms. Only vehicles I've ever seen them on were larger county plow dump trucks and my wife's old Toyota 4 runner. One of the best functional useable options if your inclined to drive in snowy inclement weather imo.

 

[Tomtint]

The past couple weeks I have been driving my "Basic" 2017 F450 V10 4x4 dump truck a bit more often.. It has about 17K miles on it now. .. Its a pretty simple rig.. PW, PL, AC.. am/fm.. that's it.. I did put leather seats in it just because I like them better than the vinyl it came with. Aside from the very harsh ride over bumps when its empty..and the 7MPG.. I like the simplicity of that truck.. It has a rubber floor so Im not terribly worried about dirty feet in and out.. ( I still keep it very clean ) But it cleans up quickly and has very little electronics to worry about... Manifolds on the other hand are a different story entirely....

 

[Hay Dude]

One option that should be available on all vehicles especially in 3/4 or 1 ton trucks equipped with snow plow prep is heated wipers so you don't have to constantly stop and flick them to clear ice buildup on wiper arms. Only vehicles I've ever seen them on were larger county plow dump trucks and my wife's old Toyota 4 runner. One of the best functional useable options if your inclined to drive in snowy inclement weather imo.

I do that one better and say how about a heated windshield?

I had heated wipers in several of my plow trucks and they work, but the rest of the un-wiped windshield still tends to ice up.

 

[3930dave]

I do that one better and say how about a heated windshield?

I had heated wipers in several of my plow trucks and they work, but the rest of the un-wiped windshield still tends to ice up.

I remember the Ford ones, that were optional on Tauruses..... the windshield had a very distinctive reflection, somewhat copper-like, driving towards you daytime. Never used one, but the vague impression (casual comments, random people back-when) I retained was it worked well. I think that was Pilkington Glass, or some other division of Ford.

I did laugh, watching the recent vid of Leno restoring his Chrysler Turbine car with the company that built the turbine originally (nobody else could have done it, even with Jay's bank-acct). Exhaust hit something like 1200F almost right after startup..... hella fast window defrosting !

Rgds, D.

 

[jjeff]

I do that one better and say how about a heated windshield?

I had heated wipers in several of my plow trucks and they work, but the rest of the un-wiped windshield still tends to ice up.

Defrost on full works ok if you can handle the heat so I rolled down a window I kept the windows cracked or down anyway in my chain smoking yrs lol

 

[jjeff]

For now, I'll stick with my fancy bougy desire for wanting no ice build up on the wipers. Lol