and it has to be a pick up truck - so other responses will be disregarded and possibly ridiculed.
so, I'm at the point in my life based on my kids ages and our family travel needs a pick up truck makes sense to me (one I've always wanted one but they were not convenient for our lifestyle and two I sometimes have to haul stuff - debris, leaves, materials, etc.).
I have many questions.
I used to avoid Ford aggressively based on a bad experience (Ford Explorer), but I have read their trucks are among the best and should not be avoided.
I liked the Toyota Tundra the best, but someone said they're not better than the F-150.
and someone else said Dodge and Chevy are fine too.
So now I'm confused.
Here are my questions:
1. I'm thinking extended cab and regular bed - I don't need an 8 foot bed and with both an 8 foot bed and an extended cab it won't fit in my garage, solid plan?
2. What brand do you recommend - I know personal preference has a lot to do with this so I'll take some of this with a grain of salt?
3. Any benefit of a lease to get to make sure its the right brand? I've always been a buy vs lease person because I own my vehicles for 10+ years, but is there merit to a lease here?
4. What else am I not asking?
thank you in advance.
Tows great and rarely had need for the larger bed (I have 5.5' bed), though I'm a "weekend warrior" and not in construction or anything like that.
Learn everything you can about your choices, I think you have two very good ones in F-150 and Tundra.
it seems like they're all 45k plus.
I was thinking 30k for a decent new one, which makes me think leasing before buying might make sense (so thanks for the Tundra tip).
Most of the landscapers around me do have F-150's and they have to rely on truck to haul around trailers, etc. (which right now I don't but it definitely speaks to dependability IMO).
my older two are in college otherwise I wouldn't consider it.
but it's just my youngest and I noticed two parents on the hockey team had pick ups - with multiple kids still playing sports and it seems to work for them.
but yeah, I've always wanted one too.
Full sized pickups are definitely pricey though. Consider getting a used one with ~30,000 miles. Or maybe one step down in size fits your needs (Ranger, Titan, etc)?
If $$ didn't matter, I'd look at the Rivian models coming out too.
not even a discussion
Diesel engines last longer and hold value really well but they are also much more expensive.
I second this! I'm looking into these right now.
I'm thinking the 5.3 with the 10 speed transmission. I've read a lot of good things on the 10 speed transmission, so that is a must.
Also, I hate too much chrome, so I like the AT4 or Elevation trims.
Now the big fuss with the Chevy and GM is the relatively small infotainment screen. Max size is 8 inch. So, if that is important to you, you want to wait till the 22 model year as Chevy is refreshing the infotainment setup. My friend has the Trail Boss and I'm fine with the 8 inch screen. Depends on your timing and likes/needs.
As for sports and traveling? My last truck had a camper shell. Nothing better than shoving all your kids smelly sweaty lax gear somewhere that doesn't share the cabin air.
Used to love driving down the highway seeing other families crammed into their suvs with kids and gear and the windows fogged up with stink.
I do like the full sized sierras and the gas mileage is getting better on the full sized trucks but I don't trust chevys in particular after having one.
My Ram used to get 10mpg I average 17 with the tacoma and I'm pretty sure the full sized trucks are not much worse.
I dig the new Chevy 2500HD Silverado Z71.
Personally, I like the look of the GMC pickups and their tech packages are pretty sweet. But my friend has a new F-150 and that thing is really nice. They've come a long way in terms of trim and they've also been very dependable.
You have to consider what you'll be using the truck for, are you towing, you'll be sacrificing passenger space for the bed, gas mileage, 2-wheel vs 4-wheel drive, engine power, camper shell of you're hauling, etc. Luckily (or not), there are more choices than ever.
I've had some experience with a few.
2004 Sierra has all the options including 4-wheel steering which is incredibly nice when navigating tight turns. With the larger engine in it and tow package comfortably pulls 15,000+ over large mountain summits, [url="https://goo.gl/maps/5eME1MphMM6d86Yp7"]like this one.[/url] This truck now has something like 265k and still pulls well, has had minor repairs, probably less than $3k for the life not including basic maintenance (tires, oil change, etc.). Very nice truck, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this one.
1999 Chevy 1500 WT. But this truck from the DOT at auction for a pittance 12 years ago and am just letting it go now. Went from 160k to 275k with it and never did anything beyond basic oil changes and tires, wiper blades. Best bargain I've ever had bar none. I wouldn't let it go still but my kids destroyed the heck out of the body gradually as they learned to drive in it, and those dents have become rust, and I'm not putting any money into fixing it now that the kids are all gone.
1999 Ford F-250 Super Duty Harley Davidson package with the Triton V10. Nice puller, pretty tall, my wife hates getting in and out and it's even a little scary for me to pull my 4-wheeler into the bed on ramps. Only has 122k miles even though it's 22 years old now. Body has been in good shape, interior is nearly flawless. Paint is starting to fade, but mechanically this thing is beautiful. Just changed the alternator as it was starting to go out. Other than that the engine looks like it might have 2-3 years or 25k miles on it. No leaks or drips, just a solid truck. This truck can pull anything, but don't expect it to drive past any gas stations without wanting a sip.
These are all older trucks, just giving you some food for thought on the vehicles I've owned.
If I were able to buy any one truck right now it would maybe be the Dodge 3500 with the Duramax diesel. Something about having the ability to pull a fifth wheel trailer with ease up a hill but still get above 20 mpg unloaded on the highway.
I just can't bring myself to spend upwards of $85k for a new one of those.
I've been extremely happy with this vehicle. My two kids were 11 and 8 when I purchased it. We did a lot of long driving vacations in the Western US. Having the extra cab space (particularly the width, providing seating separation between the kids) was great. I put a shell on the vehicle right after I purchased it and still have it on today. Never had problems with enough room for luggage etc.
I got the 4 x 4 which was also great. I typically did three trips to the Sierra Nevada mountains each year. A basic "family camping" trip at a campground, an "off road" tent camping trip with another family (just dads and kids; no wives) and a backpacking trip. The latter two needed 4 wheel drive.
We have horses, so I needed a big vehicle to tow a horse trailer. Lots of trips to Home Depot. Also helping folks move. I got the larger (at the time) 5.4 liter V-8.
I've got about 180,000 miles on it (it wasn't my primary commuting vehicle).
I would buy another F-150 in a heart beat. We're about done with the horses, so I won't need as much towing capacity. I'm considering the Ranger too, but I want a V-6 engine option.
I hope the above helps.
That being said I would never get one or any modern full size pickup.
1. Vehicles that large are such a pain in the ass to park in your average busy parking lot. Unless you're hauling heavy shit all the time I'd go with a smaller pickup.
2. F-150s had an issue with their Ecoboost engines at that time and mine just shut off randomly as I was driving. Kind of scary.
If I ever get another pickup, I'll go with the Tacoma.
Learn everything you can about your choices, I think you have two very good ones in F-150 and Tundra.
I was so close to getting the tacoma but the fiscally careful side of me took over and I went for another subaru. got the crsstrek. I love the subaru and saved 15-20k but I wanted the truck. I just wouldn't use the truck aspects enough to justify the purchase.
I did a ton of research. I have had ford rangers before, twice. they were fine. I wanted a little bigger if I was getting another pickup. From what I could tell the tacoma is a great truck. Pricey yes, but worth it. pretty much checks off every box.
Now I just need a better car stereo. The one in this subaru fucking blows.
HTH
When looking at trucks,look at specs of travel trailers you may like and look at the tongue weight and then add 150 lbs to that.
Now look at the payload capacity of your crew cab truck. Subtract everyone's weight that will ride in at once. Subtract an extra 100 lbs for misc things inside the cab. Subtract any weight of items in the bed...now Subtract that tongue weight (with the 150lbs). That's why you don't buy a Toyota truck.
If you don't an on using it much like a truck than the tacoma and tundra are great Choices. Very reliable but dated.
But, I now have a 2014 F-150 King Ranch and I absolutely love it. So that's 2 vehicles in about 20 years.
Best truck on the road
Ford= America. Real Work
It can take a decent amount of time to find the mileage, options, condition etc. you want, but buying a 1 to 3 year old vehicle saves a ton of money.
That's what tonneau covers are for
He traded F150 in for Honda Ridgeline and loves it. It Got made fun of earlier in this thread but it’s a super smooth durable pickup truck if you’re not beating the hell out of it. Will also last forever. It’s not Murica though.
My brother-in-law, a military guy who doesn't tow but puts on a lot of miles, is a big Ford pickup guy. He's had several including some F-250s. I have to admit, I'd probably look at them first if I was in the market for a pick-em-up truck. But I'd also consider Ram, too, especially since they have pushed Chevy out of 2nd place in overall sales.
A lot of guys in my snowmobile club have pickups for serious towing duty. Ford seems to be the most popular and seems to have the highest brand loyalty, but there are Chevy and Ram fans, too. Note that some of these guys actually work for dealers, so they tend to drive what their dealership sells, or what they were selling if they have changed employers.
Our President LOVES his Raptor 4-door short bed which gets extensive use on and off road including multiple annual road trips out of state. Another guy, who has now gone to the endless trails in the sky, had an F-150 with the EcoBoost blown V-6 engine and observed that the gas mileage was better than a V-8 when running empty, but once he was loaded with a big ATV or similar load, or pulling his sled trailer, the gas mileage dropped to big V-8 territory so there wasn't any real saving there when the truck was working. And another guy won't have anything but an F-350 for towing his BIG multi-axle heavy duty enclosed trailer. Another of the Ford guys noted that he bought his last F-150 for very little more than a mid-sized Ford Ranger pickup would have cost him, although this was a while back.
Another one of my good buddies has had multiple Chevy Avalanches so they must be treating him right. And another guy has a Ram, but he worked for a dealer who sold them. However, he still has it after several years and changing dealerships to another brand that doesn't sell trucks, so he must be satisfied with it. He's not the only Dodge or Ram pickup owner in the club, either. The guys who have them seem to stick with them.
One of my closest buddies had a Suzuki Equator, which is a small Nissan pickup in drag, but it got wrecked. So he promptly got a very similar Nissan to replace it. He's got a single place trailer, does some long road trips, and is more gas mileage conscious than most of these guys, so he likes the 4-cylinder engine.
Toyota makes a good pickup, but the guys who I know that had full-sized Toyotas liked them a lot, but tended to gravitate away from them over time. One said he just didn't need a truck that big and went down to a Tacoma, their mid-sized truck. One issue with Toyota is that you have to take it their way. They just aren't anywhere near as flexible with ordering options as the domestic manufacturers.
Nobody that I know very well has a full sized Nissan. The reviews on them, other than from the reviewers who think everything is great all the time, aren't that good either. And Honda does not make a truck. Sorry. It's a sort of an El Camino-type poseur vehicle.
Hope this gives you some insights from real users who actually spent their hard-earned money on these vehicles.
If you are just offroading then you can take what you like. If you are hauling things, I would go with Ram or GMC
Great looking truck and an absolute blast to drive when it runs well but should not have the litany of issues for what it cost.
Welcome to the club.
Thank you in advance for any future comments or replies.
:-)
:-)
that's funny, the Tundra lease sounds nice. I've never leased a vehicle, but with a pick up truck having never owned one before I feel like lease might be a good option then in 2/3 years replace it with a different one.
or i could just test drive it - I guess
I driven Fords and I don't like the ride -- it rides a little too hard; Dodge rides good -- but they fall apart a lot faster than the Chevy or Toyota. We all ride them till they either fall apart - or rust starts making the frame unstable around here -- pus are a necessity of life on a farm.
Rust protection is also part of a long pu truck life --