Who makes a work truck with creature comforts?

[grsthegreat]

Some people suggest you should follow the 1/10 rule and only spend 1/10th your annual income on a vehicle. I wonder how close people follow that?

I follow the rule... if you cant Pay cash, dont buy it. Ive been debt free for 15 years. I bought a new 2017 toyota tundra for cash. I couldnt justify $60,000 for another ford diesel. I have a ford and a dodge diesel. Wanted a quiet truck for traveling around. The toyota was about 36k. Thats still too much to pay for a truck though.

 

[grsthegreat]

The massage seats was the reason I got a platinum over the lariat. ..That, and I didn't want chrome bumpers.

Those chrome bumpers arnt like they used to be. I replaced the one on my 2004 f350. The bumper felt like it weighed about 10 pounds. My old 1975 ford bumper needed 2 people to lift it. I see alot of rigs that seem to have plastic bumpers that cost more than steel bumpers....all nuts. Then add collision sensors and a new bumper can cost $1,000’s.

 

[truckdiagnostics]

Base bumper to bumper warranties are typically something like 3 years 36000 miles. That’s exactly what my 2020 GMC came with. For $1822 I extended that bumper to bumper coverage (with a $100 deductible) to 10 years 100K miles. GM warranty good at any dealer in the US or Canada. I keep trucks for 10+ years so the added coverage was a no brainer for me. Your mileage may vary.

Thanks things have changed last i bought new was 20 years ago. I will need to start crunching some numbers.
The next question is do the newer trucks with the bells and whistles spend a lot of time in the shop? I know electronic controls have come a long way are they reliable, in some cases they may be more reliable. It will be a work truck loaners are not a real good option. It is hard to take a work truck out of service because the mirror doesn't telescope in or out when the rest of the truck works.
For those of you that have older trucks with the bells and whistles that are 3 years old, or older, do they still work has it been in to be repaired have they been able to fix the issues, is there repair data out there that a guy can look at?

 

[s219]

My last truck was fairly basic, no frills, and I was always fine with it. Didn't know what I was missing I guess. This morning it was a little chilly so I used remote start on my new truck. Went out there and the seat heater and steering wheel heater had been going and it was super nice to slide into that truck. It's been so hot this summer I didn't even pay attention to those features when I bought the new truck in July. Wonder what other niceties I will discover as fall and winter sets in. The old truck was always a little brutal on cold mornings.

The other features I appreciate are all the cameras. If you can figure out which icon to tap on the screen, you can see all sorts of angles from about 15 different cameras. Some of them are automatic based on what you're doing. When towing a couple weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised to see the side cameras come on whenever I flipped the signal lever to make a turn. Could see down the side of the truck and trailer and see exactly where all the wheels were going. The bed camera is nice, to keep an eye on cargo. And when the cargo blocks part of the back window and rearview mirror, another camera reconstructs that view and replaces the mirror reflection with a screen. They put some good thought into all these features.

I want to add the invisible trailer camera to mount on the rear of my trailer. That view gets stitched together with all the truck cameras to let you see through the trailer. Pretty cool. It's been on perpetual backorder all summer but hopefully I can score one soon.

 

[grsthegreat]

My last truck was fairly basic, no frills, and I was always fine with it. Didn't know what I was missing I guess. This morning it was a little chilly so I used remote start on my new truck. Went out there and the seat heater and steering wheel heater had been going and it was super nice to slide into that truck. It's been so hot this summer I didn't even pay attention to those features when I bought the new truck in July. Wonder what other niceties I will discover as fall and winter sets in. The old truck was always a little brutal on cold mornings.

The other features I appreciate are all the cameras. If you can figure out which icon to tap on the screen, you can see all sorts of angles from about 15 different cameras. Some of them are automatic based on what you're doing. When towing a couple weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised to see the side cameras come on whenever I flipped the signal lever to make a turn. Could see down the side of the truck and trailer and see exactly where all the wheels were going. The bed camera is nice, to keep an eye on cargo. And when the cargo blocks part of the back window and rearview mirror, another camera reconstructs that view and replaces the mirror reflection with a screen. They put some good thought into all these features.

I want to add the invisible trailer camera to mount on the rear of my trailer. That view gets stitched together with all the truck cameras to let you see through the trailer. Pretty cool. It's been on perpetual backorder all summer but hopefully I can score one soon.

holy cow...15 cameras. No thanks. I have a back up camera on toyota, and hardly use it. Im so use to mirrors, just forget to use it.

 

[Jstpssng]

holy cow...15 cameras. No thanks. I have a back up camera on toyota, and hardly use it. Im so use to mirrors, just forget to use it.

The backup camera is great for checking to ensure that no kid walked behind the truck after you entered it. I tried backing my trailer up with it... once. Granted it was pitch black dark out and I was trying to back around a corner into my driveway; but it was so comical I'm surprised nobody was secretly filming it for "Funniest Home Videos."

I follow the rule... if you cant Pay cash, dont buy it.

I suspect that most of the guys here follow that rule. I'm not there yet though... 3 more years. I borrowed about 40% to buy a truck this time, because I'm tired of owning junk which spends as much time in the garage as on the road. Payments are cheaper than the repair bills I've shelled out in the last 5 years and I no longer have AAA on speed dial.
(Actually they are nearly useless.)

 

[strantor]

Thanks things have changed last i bought new was 20 years ago. I will need to start crunching some numbers.
The next question is do the newer trucks with the bells and whistles spend a lot of time in the shop? I know electronic controls have come a long way are they reliable, in some cases they may be more reliable. It will be a work truck loaners are not a real good option. It is hard to take a work truck out of service because the mirror doesn't telescope in or out when the rest of the truck works.
For those of you that have older trucks with the bells and whistles that are 3 years old, or older, do they still work has it been in to be repaired have they been able to fix the issues, is there repair data out there that a guy can look at?

I don't know about a source for repair frequency on non-powertrain parts other than word of mouth, car forums. I can tell you that GM power windows have long been basically a consumable. However, in my 10 y/o yukon I'm happy to report all the original power windows still work. Here are the electro-gadgets that have broken on my yukon:

Both power folding/defrosting mirrors (folding motor AND defrost element, both sides) - I haven't bothered to fix them.

Passenger side power seat switch (cheap & easy fix).

Gas tank vent solenoid (twice)

Throttle Position sensor

Wheel speed sensor

 

[dragoneggs]

With YouTube, there are a surprising number of DIY fixes easily doable for far less than a trip to the shop. I have fixed many things on my vehicles that I would otherwise live with. Many thanks to the internet and people sharing. Sure a few 'tubers' actually profit some but I love that spirit.

 

[strantor]

With YouTube, there are a surprising number of DIY fixes easily doable for far less than a trip to the shop. I have fixed many things on my vehicles that I would otherwise live with. Many thanks to the internet and people sharing. Sure a few 'tubers' actually profit some but I love that spirit.

Agreed. I've become a much handier person since youtube came along. I do all my own work on my vehicles apart from major stuff (engine rebuilds, etc.) And stuff that requires special tools. And... well, I don't change my own tires. And sometimes let the quick lube change my oil (and usually regret it, stripped drain plug, loose oil filter, etc.)

 

[4570Man]

Base bumper to bumper warranties are typically something like 3 years 36000 miles. That’s exactly what my 2020 GMC came with. For $1822 I extended that bumper to bumper coverage (with a $100 deductible) to 10 years 100K miles. GM warranty good at any dealer in the US or Canada. I keep trucks for 10+ years so the added coverage was a no brainer for me. Your mileage may vary.

You say it’s a no brainer to buy it. I’d say it’s a no brainer to not. How many new vehicles are breaking major parts between 36000 and 100000 miles? I’d take my chances with having to fix something because they should put in trouble free service past that point.