Advice needed..Keep old truck or get a Tundra

[Dmace]

I agree with Dmace here. He is going to recommend the Ram, me the Titan, and the next guy the GM.

Actually I would put the GM at a tie for first with the RAM.
And until Ford can put a real truck V8 in that F-150, it will be at the bottom with the Tundra. That new 6.2l would be a good addition to the F-150 (non-Raptor) line. A Titan for towing over 8k is a joke too as someone else mentioned here. It's a great off-roader but not a good hauler.

 

[BrierPatch]

I had a 2001 Silverado 5.3 with 3.73 gears and it wasn't up to towing my TC 40 with attachments very well. In 2008, I purchased a 2007 Dodge Ram Quad Cab with a 5.9 CTD with 3.73 gears with a 4 speed auto. The truck has been great and I only have 31k miles on it. I got a great deal on the truck and I can get several thousand more now than what I paid for it.

I find that I only tow 8-9k pounds a few time per year now. The Dodge is beating me to death without a load and is just more truck than I need. My wife had a 2010 Sequoia and I am thinking about getting a new Tundra Crewmax with 4.30 gears, so I believe it should tow my tractor well and it should tow better than my old Silverado.

Should I just keep the Dodge or go ahead and get a new Toyota while Toyota is offering incentives on this truck?

Depending on your financial situation, I think I would have to consider trading. You have too much truck for probably 95% of your driving (approx. 15K/yr I am assuming) and the perfect truck for only 5% of your driving (towing/hauling). I tradded down from a 3/4 ton to a 1/2 for similar reasons. Every time I tow now I am a little dissapointed in my 1/2 ton compared to my 3/4 ton, but then I remind myself of why I did it. Just keep the frame of mind that you are okay with not having the best tow rig and drive accordingly and live in peace (or should I say smooth ride) knowing that now you have the perfect truck 95% of the time instead of 5% of the time.

Although, I don't know how comfortable I would be towing 8-9K with a 1/2 ton truck. I assume it's pretty hilly around you? Sometimes you just have to have what you need even if it is only 5% of the time. Maybe you should consider getting a nice cheap used car with good gas mileage to drive when you don't need your truck. I ended up buying a nice buick park ave for $3000 to drive back and forth to work and only drive my truck when I need to haul something. Which now I have been considering going back to a 3/4 ton since it is not my daily driver. Just a thought

Good Luck !

 

[RobertN]

I would look at simple suspension options first. What about a set of Rancho adjustable shocks? I had them on my old truck. Set them low for a smoother empty ride, set them stiffer for hauling a load. It worked great when I would put a 10' cabover camper on the truck.

Mine had knobs on the shock body, so you had to reach in the fenderwell to adjust them. They are available with a control box that goes in the cab though.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Actually I would put the GM at a tie for first with the RAM.
And until Ford can put a real truck V8 in that F-150, it will be at the bottom with the Tundra. That new 6.2l would be a good addition to the F-150 (non-Raptor) line. A Titan for towing over 8k is a joke too as someone else mentioned here. It's a great off-roader but not a good hauler.

I was trying to be nice here but I guess that is not going to be possible. Gm has made improvements on the bigger stuff but the 1/2 tons are still lacking in the interior, brakes, and chassis. The dodge looks good but I am not sold on the rear suspension and quality overall. The tundra frame concerns me. That leaves Ford and Nissan. Both have proven to me to be up to the task with Nissan leading the way upto a few years ago. I agree the 6.2 in the Ford is needed but the 5.4 is plenty capable.

Bottom line is I will not support gm any more.
Chris

 

[Bikewanderer]

I had a 2001 Silverado 5.3 with 3.73 gears and it wasn't up to towing my TC 40 with attachments very well. In 2008, I purchased a 2007 Dodge Ram Quad Cab with a 5.9 CTD with 3.73 gears with a 4 speed auto. The truck has been great and I only have 31k miles on it. I got a great deal on the truck and I can get several thousand more now than what I paid for it.

I find that I only tow 8-9k pounds a few time per year now. The Dodge is beating me to death without a load and is just more truck than I need. My wife had a 2010 Sequoia and I am thinking about getting a new Tundra Crewmax with 4.30 gears, so I believe it should tow my tractor well and it should tow better than my old Silverado.

Should I just keep the Dodge or go ahead and get a new Toyota while Toyota is offering incentives on this truck?

If it was me, I would keep the old truck if I liked it and sell the dodge. If you need more truck get a cheap older truck for pulling a trailer. $3k-$5k ought to get a reliable one that isn't embarassing to have sitting outside. If you want a newer one sell both and get the toyota.

 

[texasjohn]

Per these posts, everybody's different.

I had the hots for a Tundra couple of years ago.... My son really strongly insisted that I look for a used 1 ton diesel that would tow what I needed when I needed. Good advice. I found a F350 7.3 on Craig's List within 2 miles of the house that was in immaculate condition/repair although high mileage. Got it and use it for hauling, nothing else. Now, I've got lots of trailers, including a dump trailer which hauls 20k lbs and 30 ft cattle trailer. So, sometimes, when I need to haul, I need to HAUL.

Later, I ran into a used Tacoma, bought it, wife loves it and has taken it for her driver.

Net, am out less $$ than a new compromise vehicle and can select the particular vehicle for task at hand.

This combination has proven to be superbly handy for me although it does mean I have to maintain and inspect and license two vehicles. Still less than one new one.

So, consider purchase of a daily driver and keeping what you have for towing.

 

[Diamondpilot]

A few post back someone stated they had a Titan and was not real impressed. I am. I am not new to this rodeo either. I have had 4 diesel trucks since 1999, of which 3 were 1 tons. I have also had 7 gas 1/2 and 3/4 tons since 1997 The Titan is the most capable of them. Not sure what package you had but mine is very stiff in the rear end and gets about 12 mph towing 7,000# It does suck around town averaging just over 14.6 mph but I bought it to tow. I have pulled 10,000# part of the way on a 500 mile trip in a customers 05 Titan and it averaged rights at 10 mph.

As for Dodge versus Nissan my current Titan would stomp all over the 3/4 ton RAM Hemi I had with 8,000# behind it.

Chris

 

[Patches]

I agree with Dmace here. He is going to recommend the Ram, me the Titan, and the next guy the GM. Reason being we all like what we have or we would be complete idiots to drop 35K on it. Any are up to the task you need it to do if properly equipped. I still say keep the 5.9.

If I were buying a 1/2 ton my order would be:
1. Ford F-150
2. Nissan Titan
3/4. Dodge Ram/Toyota Tundra tied
5. GM

Chris

I traded my owned '05 Ford F150 Lariat with 25,000 mi. in on my '07 Tundra and have never regretted it.The only thing I regretted, was buying the Ford in the first place; took a wicked financial hit. The 150 had to have been the most anemic tow vehicle I've ever owned. It was supposed to be the "cats' meow" with the 3valve 5.4, 3.73:1 gear ratio and towing package, but turned out to be a total bust, so I traded it;Done. The Tundra does everything I've asked of it while producing 18+ mpg during the summer mths, empty. For some reason, mileage falls off to 16ish during the fall/winter.I've never owned a Nissan, but read numerous reports before I traded from un-happy owners reference rear differential problems; like blowing them up. I occasionally tow loads in the 10,000+# range, and the last thing I wanted was a soft rear diff. See my posts in "Please educate yourself"

 

[hawkeye08]

I was trying to be nice here but I guess that is not going to be possible. Gm has made improvements on the bigger stuff but the 1/2 tons are still lacking in the interior, brakes, and chassis. The dodge looks good but I am not sold on the rear suspension and quality overall. The tundra frame concerns me. That leaves Ford and Nissan. Both have proven to me to be up to the task with Nissan leading the way upto a few years ago. I agree the 6.2 in the Ford is needed but the 5.4 is plenty capable.

Bottom line is I will not support gm any more.
Chris

A few post back someone stated they had a Titan and was not real impressed. I am. I am not new to this rodeo either. I have had 4 diesel trucks since 1999, of which 3 were 1 tons. I have also had 7 gas 1/2 and 3/4 tons since 1997 The Titan is the most capable of them. Not sure what package you had but mine is very stiff in the rear end and gets about 12 mph towing 7,000# It does suck around town averaging just over 14.6 mph but I bought it to tow. I have pulled 10,000# part of the way on a 500 mile trip in a customers 05 Titan and it averaged rights at 10 mph.

As for Dodge versus Nissan my current Titan would stomp all over the 3/4 ton RAM Hemi I had with 8,000# behind it.

Chris

Chris, you need to stop sugar coating your posts. Just say what you have to say... :laughing:

Some folks have had very good experiences with GM, myself included. I have no trouble towing my travel trailer (~7000lbs) and my 20' 10,000lb car trailer with 3/4 pickup on it (scaled around 7,000lbs). I tow with my wife's 2008 Yukon XL Denali (6.2, 6sp auto, AWD, 3.42 diff) and get 9-10mpg towing the travel trailer and 10-12 towing car trailer and 18-20mpg empty on freeway. It works very well for an all around vehicle. I have also driven Fords as company rigs (more than 20 new cars/vans in 22 years), but have not had a personally owned Ford for more than 30 years.

 

[hawkeye08]

Yes, and none of it good, especially with 1/2 ton axle choices.

Sorry, I keep forgetting you are an axle expert in addition to the wizard.:laughing: