Full size pickup opine...Tundra, Titan, Ram, F-150, Silverado?

[Lumber_Jack]

My friend in college had a diesel VW Jetta that got 45 MPG. It's a remarkable difference Edited July 16, 2013 by Lumber_Jack

[gunwhatgun]

I am a ford guy so of course I am going to say F150. That being said, and since you already said you are thinking about a pre-owned, I would shy away from the new eco boost. Not meaning to be harsh to anyone who has one, but... I have a friend who has one and he cannot get anywhere near the advertised mileage.Also, and I know I will get flamed for this but, a 6 cyl is just not enough for a full size truck (excluding the 4.9 inline 6 form Ford LOL) not even with 6 turbos let alone 2.

[austin7.62]

I am a ford guy so of course I am going to say F150. That being said, and since you already said you are thinking about a pre-owned, I would shy away from the new eco boost. Not meaning to be harsh to anyone who has one, but... I have a friend who has one and he cannot get anywhere near the advertised mileage.Also, and I know I will get flamed for this but, a 6 cyl is just not enough for a full size truck (excluding the 4.9 inline 6 form Ford LOL) not even with 6 turbos let alone 2.

They should bring back the inline 6s. I have a ford 300 and a Chevy 250. Great motors

[Monkeyman2500]

I have a 05 Dodge 2500 diesel 4x4 115000 no problems. Older dodge diesel even better. Ford 7.3 diesel up to 2002 are really good too. If you go for a diesel do some research it's easy to find the bad ones out. I love em though and you can get a lot of miles out of them.

[Guest TankerHC]

I have owned three brands/models. My take. Not a best, not worst, but "Why I bought them" or didnt.

 

Chevy Silverado 1500.

 

 But because of GM brand loyalty. I no longer have that for any brand.

Really nice truck, looks good too.

You can buy one in the 25,000 price range, in 2004 that would have got you most available options, today that gets you a basic truck. Looked at them while looking for a new truck in April. For anything with options your looking at 37,000 and up. For 25, you get a work truck.

Did not buy, no flexibility with any of the dealers I spoke with on incentives and zero negotiating the price.

 

Ford F150. Owned 2 (And an F100). Looked and drove them in April while looking.

Again, really nice truck, looks good, and lots of power, top and bottom.

Has a really nice looking grill, and the gauges themselves and the layout are the best I had seen on any truck. 

I didnt buy because:

A real lack of options.

Price too high for what you get.

 

Toyota Tundra. Owned 3, an 06, 12 and 13.

First one I bought was because of the reviews, every mag, including Motor Trend gave it glowing reviews. but I made a mistake and bought it with the V6. Thought it would be enough power, it wasnt for what I needed it for (Towing and hauling), but for the price had a ton of options.

 

The 12 I bought because I liked the 06 so much. But this time I bought it with a V8, but the 4.6, was a great truck at a great price and again, almost every option available. Had to upgrade, plenty of power but I bought a 7500 pound trailer and it wasnt capable of towing it safely. The tow rating was I think 8500 and your not supposed to tow beyond 75% of that rating, took me 300 feet to come to a complete stop from 50 MPH. Up to that point, the best truck I ever owned, bar none.

 

Got the 2013 Tundra with the 5.7 4x4. Hands down the best "overall" truck I drove out of all of them and I drove all of them.

More power than any of the rest that I drove. If you dont watch, you look down and you will be driving 100MPH without even realizing it. It doesnt take a lot of throttle to get there either.

Every single option, plus a few extra that the others (Except one) didnt have. And to top it off, even though some models didnt have certain (one or two) options that I wanted, the dealer was willing to add the option, in this case the backup camera, at no additional cost, after we had already decided on a final price. But I didnt get that one anyway.

So many incentives that it ended up knocking about 5 grand off the price. They are willing to deal on MSRP, and if you buy a new Tundra it comes with $1000 worth of power tools.

The frame from the cab back is a box flex frame. no other manufacturer has it. It is part of the towing package, but helps for someone going off road as well. According to Motor Trend, and the dealers, the frames on most trucks, when they flex, retain some memory. Over a longer period of time, the frames on those trucks are not exactly straight from the flexing. The Tundra's box frame is made so that when it flexes, it retains no memory at all. Apparently it is a Toyota invention, (this particular type), is a better frame and also helps to reduce cost.

Number one towing capacity in its class.

It gets pretty decent gas mileage fr a 5.7, better than all the other V8's. Or so the mags say. But I do get nearly the same mileage as I got in the smaller V8, 21MPG average. Which is also almost exactly what I got with the 06 V6. I was told the reason is much improved computerized fuel management.

I bought the Crew MaX. The rear passenger area is the largest on any of the other trucks, hands down. My cousin just bought an F250 crew cab. Before he drove down here he was telling me how large the back seat was, when he saw mine he couldnt believe it,. IT IS HUGE. His crew cab is the same size as my two double cabs. My Crew Max cab is about 1 1/2-2 feet bigger. There was only one other truck that had the backseat option, the seats slide out and recline. They also lay out flat and flip over for tie down storage with tie down latches. This truck has storage everywhere.

The Tundra's now come standard, all of them with a Pro Liner, and most of them (Mine) come standard with Nerf Bar Running Boards, the big ones. All the other ones I looked at that was an additional cost option. Even my 12 it was an additional cost option. They started it for the 2013 models.

The 5.7s come with 20 inch wheels. The 4.6 comes with 18's and 30,000 mile tires. All the other ones I looked at came with 30,000 mile tires and basic tread. The Tundra came with 50,000 mile tires. The tires are off road but border on the extreme type. has some serious tread, none of the other trucks I looked at had tires anywhere near close to these.

I dont know, havent checked, but was told that the Tundra 4x4 is the only truck that has 52MPH on the fly 4 low. The times I used it (So far) I always come to a complete stop anyway.

Variable Auto Manual Shifting. And it is one of the FEW trucks I drove, actually I cant recall any of the others having it, that has an 8 Speed transmission. Although I am sure they do, I just cant remember.

Free dealer oil changes for the first 25,000 miles. Considering an oil change costs $100 at the dealer, thats a pretty good little add on. And when they do the oil change, at the dealer you get a wash and vacuum too. Once you use up your free oil changes, you can buy oil change packages that drop the change down to $60. If you do it one at a time, its $100.

I bought the SR5 TSS package. The SR5 package (I have had 2) came with steel rims, no bedliner (They all do now) and no running boards. I bought the custom premium rims, added a bed liner and no where near as nice running boards on my other two and it ran me between 4 and 5000. The TSS package adds all of that and then some other options, and only runs 4000, with parts far nicer than the aftermarket that cost more.

This probably wouldnt matter to most, but the Tundra used to be the only full size truck under the American Automobile Labeling Act that could claim American made. Some writers I have read use their own criteria, but they arent the Government and under the act you cant claim US made unless it consists of a certain percentage (I think I recall 81%) of US manufactured parts and a higher number for assembly. Now there are two, the Tundra and the Ford F150 and the 150 actually passed the Tundra in number of US manufactured parts. Under that act, you cannot claim in advertising "American made" unless its American Made. I expect we will be seeing some of the old American Made style commercials coming from Ford. Legitimately. Because the act also requires a certain number of those cars also be sold in the US. That means for Toyota and Ford, they are selling more full size pickups to Americans, made by Americans with parts manufactured in America than anyone else.

With all that, more options than anyone else (Except one), better fuel economy than any of the others with the bigger V8;s, bigger rear cab and more overall cab space, more storage, I still drove off the lot for 8 grand less (before trade in) than I would have paid for any of the others.

 

There is only one other truck that I would have bought over the Tundra. And I didnt, and it had nothing really to do with the customer service issue, and that was the Ram 1500 Laramie. Doesnt have near the power, not as big, not as much legroom, but still the baddest azz truck I have ever seen on a lot. Motor Trends Truck of the Year (And they say it won hands down), but I am not paying $55,000 for a truck. not even if its gold plated and has diamond encrusted rims. but a member here owns one. he can tell about it. Its a dream truck really, IMO.

Edited July 16, 2013 by TankerHC

[tercel89]

Toyota Tundra . Toyotas just have been so good to me. My screen name on here isnt "Tercel89" for no reason .

[dlm37015]

sold, I'll give ya $25,000 for it :D
 
in all honesty thats exactly what I need, but Im not sure I can find on in my price range, I'll look though for sure

come see me I have a place to get them

[dlm37015]

I have a very, very, hard time believing this. Are you doing the math David, or just looking at the computer on the dash?
 
My 4-banger Toyota doesn't do that well.well it does that's my f250 with the high rear end my f450 gets about 15-16 when not pulling trailer but it has a 4/10 rearend

[Erik88]

Diesel engines operate differently and more efficiently than gas engines. 

 

Yes, I'm well aware of that however 27MPG is not realistic IMO.

 

 

I have a very, very, hard time believing this. Are you doing the math David, or just looking at the computer on the dash?
 
My 4-banger Toyota doesn't do that well.well it does that's my f250 with the high rear end my f450 gets about 15-16 when not pulling trailer but it has a 4/10 rearend

 

 

 

You didn't answer my question, are you doing the math? The computer on my car always says I'm getting much higher that I actually am.

 

According to this website the average MPG for the F-250 is 15.5.

http://www.fuelly.com/car/ford/f-250%20super%20duty

 

I'll stop hijacking the thread now. Continue.

Edited July 16, 2013 by Erik88

[Erik88]

You've obviously never owned a Diesel.

 

And have you?

 

I have plenty of friends who own diesel trucks, I've heard of 21-22mpg, not 27. 

[Erik88]

My friend in college had a diesel VW Jetta that got 45 MPG. It's a remarkable difference

 

Oh this I believe. My buddy's family has a diesel VW bug that gets around the same MPG. It's the slowest vehicle I've ever been in but great on gas mileage.

[enfield]

They should bring back the inline 6s. I have a ford 300 and a Chevy 250. Great motors

The old Ford 4.9L in-line 6 couldn't economically meet evolving government-mandated fuel economy and emission standards.  It was a great engine, but inefficient.

 

In-line engines present packaging problems underhood.  They require a longer engine compartment (an in-line 6 is as long as a V-12), and have no practical advantage over a V-6, which is easier to package.

Edited July 16, 2013 by enfield

[whitewolf001]

What really aggrivates me is that they're still making the Ranger for abroad use and it has a Diesel. I swear, it's like the big companies here our pleas and then do the opposite, then ask for our business. :squint:

[MiddTennTaco]

Chevy with a 5.3! The end!

[Joseg]

Never heard of a motor "loosing" HP! Lol

 

 

Ok, Power. 

[RobertNashville]

So, I currently drive a company supplied truck.  But now that Im in the replacement process they are really shorting me on what iI can get.  I have the option to purchase a truck and get paid mileage reimbursment.  After doing the math I feel that I can come out even with this option, so Im considering it. 

 

So, with that what full size trucks have yall had experience with.  I currently have a 2008 GMC Sierra with 240K miles on it.  It hasnt had any major repairs, just $200-$300 here and there.   Its been a great truck.  It does burn a lot of oil now though, so I know its coming up on a breaking point in its life. 

 

What I need,

 

• 4 wheel dive
• good reiliablity, will occur 40-50K miles a year
• comfortable (see above)

I have looked at Toyota Tundras, and if money wasn't an issue I would certainly buy one, but they are considerably higher priced than equal option in other brands.

 

Anyone have any opinions on the Nissan Titan?

 

How about newer model Dodge rams?  I am skeptical about their reiliablilty

 

F-150?

 

Stick with GM?

For purely personal (political) reasons I'll never buy another GM product which is hard for me as I grew up in a GM family and my first three new cars were all Pontiac Firebirds (a 400 Formula and then two TransAms). I fee the same for Cyrhsler products although I don't have much emotional history tied up with Chrysler.

 

I've owned several Ford products including a couple of pickups and they were great trucks.

 

I've owned one Titan, two Armadas and one QX56 (which were mechanically identical to the Titan at the time) and the only problems I've ever had were with the first generation Titan and the only major problem with it were the breaks which was actually a supplier issue.

 

Were I buying something new today I'd ether go with a Ford F150 (or larger) or another Titan.  The Toyota trucks are nice but I think very overpriced and I don't believe they stack up that well with Ford or GM for that matter.

[austin7.62]

The old Ford 4.9L in-line 6 couldn't economically meet evolving government-mandated fuel economy and emission standards.  It was a great engine, but inefficient.
 
In-line engines present packaging problems underhood.  They require a longer engine compartment (an in-line 6 is as long as a V-12), and have no practical advantage over a V-6, which is easier to package.

I know, wishful thinking...I just like them. They never stop.

[2.ooohhh]

I might be biased but I'd pick the Ford every time. :cool:  F-250 if you can swing it.  The F-350 I tow with is the older 7.3 and it gets 14-14 MPG everywhere, regardless of if it's empty or hauling several cars at once. Every F-150 I've borrowed off the lot has impressed me though all have been either the ecoboost or the V8. The sync is a nice system if your going to spend hours in it on a regular basis, I used it to listen to my audio books and navigate on a recent 8 hour trip and was quite impressed. If you are getting a gasser don't be afraid to change out the axle ratios to suite your needs. A great ratio for towing a really heavy load is not generally the best for optimum fuel mileage unloaded and some of the "off road" packages drop the gearing low enough to KILL fuel mileage if you don't actually need the off road capability.

[TGO David]

And have you?

 

I have plenty of friends who own diesel trucks, I've heard of 21-22mpg, not 27. 

 

 

 

Yeah, smart ass... I have.  And it got GREAT mileage.  Stop jacking the guy's thread.

 

 

 

[JReedEsq]

I read an article recently in either Road & Track or Car & Driver, (I subscribe to both, so I can't remember which) indicating that while most cars (and especially many hybrids) fall well below the EPA fuel economy estimates, diesels are very unusual in that they often can achieve better fuel economy that the EPA tests indicate.  I have a few family members with German diesels who have all reported really good numbers.  

[BigK]

I had the same dilemma last fall when I was truck shopping. GM and Chrysler didn't make my long list due to politics.

 

The Titan, Tundra, and F-150 stacked up pretty even on performance for what I needed. So, I ended up picking based on looks, comfort, and aftermarket parts availability. It got real easy at the bargaining table when price came into play. The F-150 was CONSIDERABLY less expensive.

Edited July 16, 2013 by BigK

[Just2Honor]

Tundra.  Good solid truck.  IMO, may cost more but you get more.   Have a base model 4x4 and would but another one if I needed it. 

[Guest TankerHC]

As mentioned, I have a 13 Tundra Crew Max that has more options, power and room than anything GM or Ford had, and it cost far less.

 

EDIT: Shoudlt say "anything" there are more powerful Engines. But you pay more. My 5.7 is 381HP, but you can ask for the TundSC and get 504HP, if you want to pay for it.

 

You get the Eaton Twin Vortices Supercharger, just add 6 grand for that.

You get a Cat Back Dual Exhaust, only 1100 more

You get the TRD Big Brake Kits, with 6 pistons per caliper, only need to add 2800 for that,

A bump up from a 20 to a 22 inch tire and wheel, just another $5000

 

On the Toyota Forums its referred to as "The Thundra"

 

Its put together and tuned at Toyotas TRD shop.

Edited July 16, 2013 by TankerHC

[Monkeyman2500]

A Thundra sounds pretty darn awesome. My cousin has a 2012 and its very nice with lots of power. Still like my Dodge diesel better. By the way if I run 265 series tires I can get around 23/24 mpg.

[whitewolf001]

Tundra Diesel concept using CAT motor, if only... :waiting: