Opinions/experiences needed for my next truck purchase

johnski

johnski

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2005
Location
Concord, NC
It turns out my tacoma is not going to cut it for the size of my family, so I'm going to be in the market for a fullsize, 4-door (crewcab/doublecab) short bed pickup, preferrably 4wd but 2wd is ok too. My budget is around $15-16K max, so that means it's going to be a rig that's higher mileage. I'm not looking to tow with it or wheel it. Just need the space for long family trips and the utility of the bed. Here's what I've found and like on autotrader/craigslist that fits the criteria:
  • Toyota Tundra (2004+)
  • Ford F-150 (2004+)
  • Chevy Silverado (2004+)
  • Nissan Titan (2004+)
I'm looking for something in which I can be confident about regarding reliability with higher mileage (100-150K). I already know the Tundra is already high on that list. I'm looking for people with good and bad opinions having owned these trucks to share their experiences. Any help and insight would be greatly appreciated. I'd like to trim that list down to 2 reliable possibilities. Thanks.
 
A Silverado will last longer than a Tundra. Just because it is a Toyota doesn't mean it is a Toyota car. My bro-in-law has one and it has served him well. The gas mileage is TERRIBLE on it though. He gets worse mileage in his 2wd 1/2 ton than I do in my 4x4 2500 Silverado. I had two coworkers that owned them, too. One of them put a big load of rocks in his bed and the frame bent, the other had his tailgate fall off because his bedside broke loose. :lol:

I've had two full-size Chevy/GMC trucks now. My Sierra was an awesome truck and I loved it. My Silverado is ok, but it has a ton of miles and was cheap so I accept the stupid things that annoy me with it. :lol:
 
I was buying an exercise bike on Sunday from a guy who owns a 2008 Tundra, 5.7L, 2wd. He tows his fishing boat with it. His truck has 140k on the clock, and he said he hasn't had a single problem from it. He said that he gets 17mpg. He lives out the country, so probably does a lot of 45-60mph back road type driving that usually nets good mpg.
 
Why not a Dodge? Just asking. I've been looking for something similar and the rams all seem least expensive. I'm considering selling my diesel and going 1/2 ton gas.
 
My dad has an 02 F150 supercrew that has been excellent. Unloaded mileage is fine, pulling a trailer is crappy. It just doesn't have enough power. I know they made a lot of changes from 02-04, so you should be in better shape there. It has been super reliable for him, I think he has 140k miles on it, and has had to change the battery and the spark plugs, and thats it. I'm not a huge fan of them, but its hard to question the reliability.
 
broncosbybart said:
Why not a Dodge? Just asking. I've been looking for something similar and the rams all seem least expensive. I'm considering selling my diesel and going 1/2 ton gas.
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I had the ram on my initial list, but after looking at a few around the area, it appears like their 4-door back seat area is much smaller than all the others. They don't get a big back seat until the newer model years, which puts them out of my price range. Plus, I haven't heard great things about their reliability.
 
drkelly said:
I was buying an exercise bike on Sunday from a guy who owns a 2008 Tundra, 5.7L, 2wd. He tows his fishing boat with it. His truck has 140k on the clock, and he said he hasn't had a single problem from it. He said that he gets 17mpg. He lives out the country, so probably does a lot of 45-60mph back road type driving that usually nets good mpg.
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That's really amazing. My bro-in-law and I towed a trailer with a car down to SC once. Same car, same trailer. He followed me down, I followed him back. My 2000 Sierra 5.3L got 19mpg highway pulling it down there. That truck was great, regularly got 21mpg unloaded. On the way back he towed, and got 7mpg. :lol:
 
i'm biased towards the Chevrolet, the driveline and mpgs are equal to or better than the alternatives, long-term, the ls-based truck motors seem to go past 200k and just keep rolling. when it comes time to buy, look them over carefully-any rust on the frame and rocker panels/cab corners in these is a no-go-I've seen a handful of this generation with some serious issues on the way. also be aware that gm trucks tend to eat plastic door handles and door hinge pins & bushings. Gm has come a long ways with the 4L60e, but I would be careful that whatever you get has been serviced regular, fresh filter and fluid make them last almost forever, but neglect kills one fast.
 
I am biased towards the Tundras. I had an 04 Tundra double cab 4x4. I averaged 15mpg, but I drove it like I stole it. Im sure a silverado would get better MPG than a 5.7 Tundra cruising around town, but the 5.7 Tundra has 381 HP. It will tow as much as a 3/4 ton truck and the brakes will handle it. My daddy had a powerstroke that he traded for a 5.7 Tundra just because it pulls his camper better.

I never had a bit of trouble out of my 04 Tundra. It was a great truck but just too big for me at the time. I traded it for an S10 that got 2x the MPGs.

If you decide on a Tundra, go with the 05-06 models. They got variable valve timing which will help MPGs a little bit.
 
What Brian said ^

I just went through the 3rd 1/2 ton based GM my family has had...3rd time the 4L60E trans started giving up the ghost between 120-140k miles. And yes we keep them serviced properly and at the right intervals. Not to say all of them do it, but I have just come to not trust the automatic 1/2 ton GM products. If its got a 4L80 or an Allison though, different story. 2500 6.0 Gasser Chevy with a 4L80E then go for it. You can find them all day in your price range and youll see 15-17 on the highway not towing as long as it has 3.73's and you dont do 90 the whole time.

IIRC the Titan's had issues with rear diff's. Overheating or burning up bearings or something. Its a decent truck but IMO the interiors feel cheap. For a 4Door family truck it would probably serve its purpose well. My vote would be Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Chevy in that order IF you are only looking at the 1/2 ton variety.
 
What's MORE important to you? Fuel mileage, Comfort, Drive train Reliability? Put those in order and see how they stack up when compared to the trucks. Reliability is a little of a toss up seeing as there are lemons out there and who knows how a PO took care or didn't take care of their vehicle.

My vote for your described needs:
Toyota
Ford
Chevy

I've never been much of a Chevy fan and I think they are uncomfortable. Personally, I'd prefer a Dodge, but I'm partial to Mopar. then again, I've never been a fan of their more modern Transmissions.
 
The TL;DR version of this thread: This truck is great, all the other suck.

But this made me :lol:

sgtbriangreen said:
It will tow as much as a 3/4 ton truck and the brakes will handle it.
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It gets back to the thing about people buying 500hp duallies to tow their 3500# Jeep to Uwharrie... and there's some truth there. But any time you want to put your Toyota up against my Dodge, I'm game. I've got to warn you, though... there's 3500# on the ball. Not sure how your Toyota frame would hold up to that. :D
 
shawn said:
The TL;DR version of this thread: This truck is great, all the other suck.

But this made me :lol:




It gets back to the thing about people buying 500hp duallies to tow their 3500# Jeep to Uwharrie... and there's some truth there. But any time you want to put your Toyota up against my Dodge, I'm game. I've got to warn you, though... there's 3500# on the ball. Not sure how your Toyota frame would hold up to that. :D
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It towed the space shuttle though! Hell, a Tundra will pull anything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D
 
shawn said:
The TL;DR version of this thread: This truck is great, all the other suck.

But this made me :lol:




It gets back to the thing about people buying 500hp duallies to tow their 3500# Jeep to Uwharrie... and there's some truth there. But any time you want to put your Toyota up against my Dodge, I'm game. I've got to warn you, though... there's 3500# on the ball. Not sure how your Toyota frame would hold up to that. :D
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with a doubler an XJ could pull it.
 
can't beat the 04+ GM vehicles. I know Spence is tired of hearing about it, but I recently worked a job where I put over 1k miles on one of our hand-me-down shop trucks, an 06 k1500 chevy, with 270k on the clock. Thing has been maintained, and drove like a dream.

My father handles the maintenance scheduling for our crew trucks, and our project manager's trucks (i.e. non- chassis cabs) have had pretty good reliability... only memorable items I know of was a fuel pump on an 08 chevy 1500.
 
^^^ This.

The GM 5.3 and 6.0 engines are pretty good, even at high mileage. My father has 2 5.3s and one has 280k miles on it without much issue and the other has 160k on it without issue. They are pretty cheap for parts and easy to work on. The other vehicles you listed, I have no experience with.
 
Thanks for all the feedback guys. It is definitely helping. Drove an 07 2wd 5.7 crewmax tundra yesterday. An immense amount of space, tons of power, and drove like a big car. They make a nice truck. Wanting to check out the 05-06's tundras too. Checked out an 05 supercrew f-150 5.4, drove well with not as much power as the tundra for sure, not as much back seat space, but still a nice truck. Right now, I'm having trouble letting go of owning a 4wd truck, so I that may be back on the priority list.

So, you Chevy guys, I'm going to check this one out sooner than later: http://www.attentiontodetailautosales.net/2005_Chevrolet_Chevrolet_198866939.veh

And you Ford folks, I'm liking this one too: http://www.autotrader.com/dealers/d...me=adams&car_id=347532672&dealer_id=100009788

As you can tell, I'd like the creature comforts (leather, etc) too. Bottom line, though, is reliability. I'm not wanting to dump big $$ into a tranny or engine rebuild within the first 10K miles of ownership. Keep the feedback coming folks!
 
for $10,000-$15,000 you should be able to get a decent full size crew cab 4wd truck. I picked my F350 up 3.5 years ago with just around 100k miles, diesel, crew cab, 4wd for right at $13k. If you want gas and leather, you should be right in the range of your price. I think you could even find a decent gas, leather full size truck, 4wd for less than $10k.
 
honestly, if you don't buy an obviously abused truck, any of them will last.


^that's a teensie stretch, imo, with those price ranges.
 
My roommate has a 05 tundra with 100k on it, its the limited 4x4, I think he over paid but I love driving that truck. Any other time I would say get a GM, I pulled my tj with the tundra and it pulled awesome. They are super comfortable. With stock tires, best I could get was 16-17 mpg running a lot of highway with a heavyish foot. Now he has 33s and pulled a 20foot car trailer with a mg on it, to texas, and said he was getting terrible mileage, 8-9 I think he said. It does have the cool roll down back window and tons of rear passenger room. Like I said it rode awesome even with some chopped up worn tires and I personally liked the feel of everything.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4 Beta
 
rockcity said:
for $10,000-$15,000 you should be able to get a decent full size crew cab 4wd truck. I picked my F350 up 3.5 years ago with just around 100k miles, diesel, crew cab, 4wd for right at $13k. If you want gas and leather, you should be right in the range of your price. I think you could even find a decent gas, leather full size truck, 4wd for less than $10k.
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I know I can find one, no doubt. I just want to make sure I buy one that will last.
 
GM with the 5.3 or 6.0 would be my choice but I don't have any experience with any of the other vehicles, so I'm somewhat biased
 
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