1/2 ton pickup opinions???

[RayH]

Im looking at buying a used (2000-2004) 1/2 ton pickup. I will be using it frequently as a daily driver,sometimes to haul building materials, occationally for road trips, seldomly to tow up to 6000lbs.
Ive decided on a 1/2 ton over a 3/4 or 1 ton for the following reasons. I will have a tandem trailer to haul heavy loads of lumber and so forth so the building materials I will be hauling in the truck will be limited to a few pieces of lumber or or drywall and so forth and my towing will be limited to occationally towing my 2600lbs tractor on a 7000lbs rated tandem trailer and I would like the option of trailering our Wrangler if I need to.
Ive been doing a little reading up and I think Ive got it narrowed down to a Dodge or a Ford. I suspect this will start a brand debate, just keep it civil and clean so I can sort through the good, bad and ugly of it. I'll get it started.
I just dont like the Chevys, sorry,
I would consider a Tundra but they are generally too much $$$$ for a used truck.
The dodges seem to have transmission issues.
The fords had frame problems early on but I think they worked that out around 2000 or so.
Ok, so what problems has everyone had from their trucks? Anything I should steer away from?

 

[Dmace]

If you are looking for a good 1/2 ton truck in that year range, you just can't beat an 03-04 Ram 1500 with the HEMI. I bought my 03 Ram 1500 SLT 4x4 QC with the HEMI in 05 with 28,000 miles. I now have over 60,000 miles and the truck has been flawless. I have hauled everything from my 2 sleds on a 2-place covered snowmobile trailer to my 6,000lb tractor on a 1,200lb 4-ton trailer to a 7,000lb mini-excavator on a 1,500lb 5-ton trailer. The listed towing capacity is 8,550 lbs and she had no problem hauling that mini-excavator.

The HEMI engine is unbeatable, it has 345hp and 375lb-ft torque but also has over 300ft-lb of torque at less than 2000rpms. It also has a payload of 1,600lb. My tranny has not given me any problems and it is the same tranny used in the 3/4 ton diesels, so it's made plenty strong.

Plus after driving both the new style F-150 and my Ram, I found the Ram to have a lot more room inside and to be much more comfortable. The interior is much better laid out and the drive-by-wire on the Ford's give them a ton of lag from when you hit the pedal to when it accelerates.

Here are some towing pics:

Hauling my 3,500 lb race car on a 1,200 lb car hauler, never even took it out of overdrive.

The other race car.

This is the tractor I haul. I used the dump truck that day cause I had to get 2 tons of gravel in it to bring to the site. The Ram hauls it easily.

Attached is a picture of the mini-excavator, I didn't get a picture with it loaded on the truck, but the trailer is still hooked up in the background.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Well I agree to stay away from the GM trucks but I prefer the Fords with Dodge a close second. The Hemi is a gas hog. Yes the Dodge has a slightly larger cab but it seems cheap to me versus the Ford and even the GM. The Ford's tow ratings are by far the best when comparing all the trucks. The Nissan Titan is also one **** of a truck. The Toyota's of that era had weak tow ratings, most V6 suv's can tow more. Like you said its a brand loyal thing.

Chris

 

[RobertN]

We have a '04 RAM-1500 2wd quad cab shortbed with the 4.7L/auto. It has been a good truck, no issues. It is just turning around 46k miles. We've towed a 14' boat, gravel, dirt, and/or a 8' utility trailer full of dirt.

I haul my tractor behind my 3/4 ton; I only have a brake controller on that truck. I think the 1/2 ton would do fine(my tractor is about 2300lbs with loader+mower, and 1600lbs for the trailer).

We run around town, do local trips, and have had it on trips to up to 800 miles. It does well on the road, although I have never done better than 19mpg on the road.

I like Fords too; we have two Dodge's because we bought them new. My Dad has worked for Dodge since 1965; we know the owner and general manager, so buying is a little easier.

 

[RollingsFarms]

I know you said you didnn't want to consider a Chevy but I would still like to give my input of why I went with a Chevy over the others when I bought. I own a 2004 extended cab Z71 with the 5.3 Vortec. It's been a VERY reliable truck and is used on a farm so it works hard. I'll buy another Chevy again oneday(I usually keep a truck 10yrs on average). Anyways I'll list the 1/2 ton trucks I shopped and give the reasons why I decided against them, maybe this will help you decide also.

Ford- the year I bought in 2004, Ford had just won truck of the year....and they were proud of that award. The high price proved that. I also didn't like that Ford doent have a locking rear end(Chevy does). The Ford didnt ride half as comfortable as the Chevy and I figured since I would be spending alot of time riding, I wanted something I enjoyed riding in. The 5.4 Triton just didn't seem to have the get up and go as the 5.3 vortec. I guess due to the heavier framed Ford....it just seemed to lack the advertised 300hp. This was also around the time Ford had the problems of their 1/2 tons catching on fire due to an electrical shortage in the cruise control and many burned up in peoples garage. Theyve since fixed this, but it was a major problem at the time. gas mileage isnt good as Chevy's either....about 14.

Dodge- I have a friend who is die hard Dodge. he won't drive anything but Dodge. I think their cheaply built honestly. don't seem like theyd hold up too well if you worked them hard. The HEMI does have power, but I don't know if thats speed power or pulling power, or both. My friends Dodge will get up and go, but he also pulled 5,600 lbs with it once and ever since then his transmission has been giving him problems but he wont admit it. he'll be riding down the road and all of a sudden a light will come on and he will have to turn the truck off(while driving down the road!) and turn it back on. it must be a major problem because he does this quite often and he wont go get it fixed. the Truck will sometimes buck and lag due to this problem and going 70mph on the interstate the last thing I want my truck to do is buck and lag. the paint job on Dodges is TERRIBLE. he's owned 2 dodge trucks...the paint has prematurely faded or chipped off on both of them. 20 inch rims are useless to me on a truck also. the ride in a Dodge isnt up to par with Ford or Chevy either. I'd love to have a cummins, but I wish they bolted it up to the Allison transmission and dropped it in a Chevrolet. also the gas mileage is about 13mpg.

I didn't really consider the Titan or Tundra simply because I needed more horsepower then what the Tundra could give, and just wasnt impressed by the Titan although many seem to enjoy them that own one.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I have a new 2007 F-150 4X4 Super Crew FX4 Off Road with the 5.4 and 3.73 gears. I have averaged 15.5 mpg and the truck only has 4,000 miles. I have only towed once with it but it pulled the 6,500# trailer and tractor no problems. I leave the heavy towing to my 2006 F-350 4X4 Power Stoke FX4 Off Road. The diesel has a chip and intake on it and I average 18 in town and 24 on the road. It gets 17 towing my 15,600# trailer on the road. It did come from the factory out of alignment but the dealer ship fixed it a week after I got it no questions asked and they even came and got the truck at my place of work and brought it back. The dealership can make all the difference. I had a Chevy truck and went through a engine, transfer case, and exhaust manifold before the first 35K miles. The dealership blamed me but like I told the guy why would I tear up my $30,000 truck. I had a dodge and had tons of problems (2 trannys, power steering pump, ac compressor, 7 radiator cooling fans all before 70k miles) The dealer was great but the vehicle sucked. I was afraid to take it out of town. I have owned 11 fords since 1992 and no major problems. When there is a problem they fix it no questions asked and give me a loaner that is equal or better than my vehicle.

I do like the locker the chevy has but it is made by eaton and you can have a transmission shop install it on any truck for under $500 or do it your self.

Like others have said the Fords are heavy. They weigh 500 to 1000 pounds more than others. This is due to the boxed frame and heavy components. My f-350 short bed extended cab weighs 825 more than my neighbors 2007 3500 long bed crew cab duramax.

Chris

 

[mikim]

I have a 2000 F150 with a 4.6 motor and 196,000 miles on it - no problems. I tow my 18' trailer with my TC45 on it. Although it handles it -- I would prefer, and will have, a bigger truck next time. HOWEVER .. this lil 150 has been my daily commuter and I love it.

 

[yekrut]

I also have a 200 F-150 4x4 Ext. cab. Has 155,000 miles. Change the oil, tires and brakes once. Run bigger mud tires than factory but the truck has been great. Matter of fact it's been so good I used the money I had set for a new one to buy another tractor. Don't know much about the other but I have beat her pretty good. I think the Ford is a vey solid truck.

 

[john_bud]

For your stated needs, the Dodge Dakota should have enough to handle it.

I have a buddy that is Dodge crazy and gets a new one every 2 years or 80,000 miles. (he drives a lot). He has not gotten much for milage with the Hemi's, but maybe the new ones will be better.

I used to have a Ford truck and had lots of issues. Switched to Chevy in 2000 and have been pretty good with it. Have a fuel sender that went out. The milage went from 12 winter / 14 summer with the ford to 15 winter / 18 summer with the chevy. The Ford was a manual trans std cab and the Chev a 4 door auto with 100 more hp. Go figure.


The new trucks from the big 3 are all very good. Buy what you like and be happy!

jb

 

[RedRocker]

I'm kinda different when it comes to trucks, you can never have too much truck. I'd go 3/4 ton minimum if you plan to tow anything.