New Truck Help

i own one of the TOY-ota Tundras.

Um....it's a wimpy, wimpy 1/2 ton....but it went everywhere the 3/4 and 1 ton Fords and Dodges did this weekend in the San Juans....not that we pushed it er anything .(this wasn't "real" 4-wheeling by any means). I only put in in 4-wheel a few times all weekend....

Reliability is key here. I look around these hills and see LOTS of old toyotas chuggin along...but see very FEW older model Chevy's, (remember the S-10??) Fords (my dad had 3 Rangers to my one Nissan king Cab), Dodges (how about a Raider? seen any?) from the mid-80's.... THAT says alot here....

there are aspects of the Toy that are lacking....but reliability ISN'T one of them. I hate giving ANY of these bastards $$$...so the farther between purchases I can make it the better.

Diesels are great if you aren't following one. That **** gives me a headache and makes me pass folks in crazy places on windy roads. Pee-U.

good luck in yer quest

mtn


But how do you really feel?
 
But how do you really feel?


Like I need a good massage and another 2 hour stint in the hot springs.

Thanks for asking
 
OK, here's my 2 cents - probably worth every penny but...
When the ATC bug bit me I started out looking very hard at newish Tundras. Very nice trucks and who doesn't get off on a new vehicle but $$$. I made myself really look at how I would use it and came up with camping and the occasional time when the snow plow hasn't been through and it's too deep for the Acura, probably less than 10k miles/year. After searching the net for a few weeks I found my 97 ex-USFS F250 HD 4x4 with 72k on the odo about 250 miles away. My mechanic looked it over and decided it was the supervisor's truck as it was in great shape. Being ex-gov, it has no options except air which is how I wanted it, less to go wrong. I figure I can do a lot of camping for the $12-15K savings over the Tundra and I like the room of the 8"bed/Cougar combo. I also like having more truck than I'll probably need rather than just enough. Just more food for thought (or possibly just adding to the confusion). Barney
 
Buy what you like and can afford. Maintain it. Don't mistreat it. Finding a good low mileage used truck takes a little looking, but it may be an answer to the high dollar blues when buying new. Do you really need all the gew-gaws that come on today's trucks? I would look at Consumer Reports for reliability ratings to get an idea of what NOT to buy.
 
OK, here's my 2 cents - probably worth every penny but...
When the ATC bug bit me I started out looking very hard at newish Tundras. Very nice trucks and who doesn't get off on a new vehicle but $$$. I made myself really look at how I would use it and came up with camping and the occasional time when the snow plow hasn't been through and it's too deep for the Acura, probably less than 10k miles/year. After searching the net for a few weeks I found my 97 ex-USFS F250 HD 4x4 with 72k on the odo about 250 miles away. My mechanic looked it over and decided it was the supervisor's truck as it was in great shape. Being ex-gov, it has no options except air which is how I wanted it, less to go wrong. I figure I can do a lot of camping for the $12-15K savings over the Tundra and I like the room of the 8"bed/Cougar combo. I also like having more truck than I'll probably need rather than just enough. Just more food for thought (or possibly just adding to the confusion). Barney



That is pretty much my position as well. Didn't want to spend what was left of the 401k. 95% of my miles are likely to be paved highway and at times may haul a small trailer. I need some power for the steep terrain I tend to migrate to, want low operating costs, and minimal depreciation which is like dollars thrown into the wind. A couple years ago I wanted nothing to do with a 3/4 ton, or a diesel but that is what I ended up with. The older (mine's a 99) do smoke and rattle but if you want clean the new ones can do that. I figure I'm doing my part for the environment by recycling an older vehicle and avoiding all the consumption and pollution required to make a new one. My F150 was just enough truck but like realbtl says having more is better. I've had this truck for 6 months now and have been able to put over 25,000 miles on it and she is humming right along.
 
Everyone, the input has been good. I know I have to work through what I want and this helps.

I did spend more time at the Chevy and Ford dealers today (different than last time) and spent a lot of time with the 3/4 tons. Seems they don't have a lot of stock on the floor. Most of the trucks were diesels and long beds. With the price of the diesel, I doubt I can really afford that without going used. From what I hear of the ford diesels, I think that would be a bad way to go.

There was this one chevy, though that was OK. Not everything I wanted on it, but the manager did go much further down on the price than I thought he would. When I did some research on used trucks of the 06/07 years, it really wasn't that much more for the new one....There just does not seem like there are a lot of used low mile trucks out there. Pickings seem few. they also said Chevy had decreased or stopped production of trucks for while and are tooling for 2010 models. Yikes.

A lot of the trucks on the lots were all full sized beds. What do people think about extended cabs with full sized beds. Nice, larger fuel tank, but I have only Hawk. Anyone go from a short to long bed and upgraded to a grandby? Anyone who could chime in and share their experiences taking a longer truck off road would be appreciated. I could see myself one day moving up to a grandby. Does make those wheels starts moving in the brain. Would be really really nice....

thanks for the input.

dave
 
Playing the odds: If the half ton in a particular year is not doing well, odds are that the 3/4 and one ton are doubtful as well. Consumer Reports does give you an idea of years of various trucks to be more cautious about, whatever the capacity. Just a thought, anyway. In the end, buy what you like and can afford. Trucks today are MUCH better than they were in the '60's and '70's in terms of reliability, whatever the brand.
 
Playing the odds: If the half ton in a particular year is not doing well, odds are that the 3/4 and one ton are doubtful as well. Consumer Reports does give you an idea of years of various trucks to be more cautious about, whatever the capacity. Just a thought, anyway. In the end, buy what you like and can afford. Trucks today are MUCH better than they were in the '60's and '70's in terms of reliability, whatever the brand.


Just no. For Ford, the 3/4 tons share the same name (i.e. FORD) as the 1/2 tons. Might as well look at the reliability of their cars...! (As an aside: Ford's car reliability is in there with Toyota for the past few years.)

I suspect all the 3/4 tons are about the same for reliability. I personally don't care for IFS, so I'd stick to Dodge or Ford.

Ford's "weakness" is the early 6.0 diesels. But I hear the 2006 and 2007 diesels generally resolved the earlier problems. I'm happy with my '07. The 7.3s are, without doubt, superior.

4x4, extended or standard cab, manual tranny, v8 gas, long bed, Grandby/Cougar is -- in my opinion -- one heck of a compelling set up.
 
Our company truck is a 4 door long bed, what a pain in the ass for around town. Once again, it is what u are generally using it for. This is much like buying a new TV. U get a 42" two months later wish i got a 46".
Same when u bring home a new 46", later I hear should of got the 50". It never ends. We get suck in.
Just do it, be happy, u only go around once.
 
Our company truck is a 4 door long bed, what a pain in the ass for around town. Once again, it is what u are generally using it for. This is much like buying a new TV. U get a 42" two months later wish i got a 46".
Same when u bring home a new 46", later I hear should of got the 50". It never ends. We get suck in.
Just do it, be happy, u only go around once.

That's why my first (and for the foreseeable future, only) HD TV is a 52 inch. :)
 
I never have thought much of Consumer Reports. I have had the best luck finding out about reliability issues by simply doing a google search for a message board related to the specific model you are interested in. It takes some time but read as many of the posts as you can and you will start to see the common failures and things to watch out for. Example; early Dodge & Fords had weak transmissions, early Ford 6.0 Diesels had numerous serious problems, Duramax has injector failure etc. Also www.cartalk.com has a section where you can put in a model and see everyones comments on it, you will see a pattern after you read a while.
 
Good thought and a way to look at others' opinions about a prospective purchase.
 
OK, y'all, been doing some research and have some general questions for the more informed....your thoughts will be appreciated.



First, I have a family connection and probably will get a GM truck as the cost will be substantially less. Too bad they don't work for the other companies, but I can't argue with such a gift.

So far, looking for an extended cab, long bed full sized with big gas engine, towing package 4x4. That's the basics.

1. Since they don't make a manual transmission these days, I gotta go automatic. What is the difference between the regular and the Allison transmission? It is about 1000 bucks difference if not more.

2. Rear axle gear ratios....what does this mean and how will it effect the truck with camper. I tow rarely, but you never know what toys I will get in the future. Will keep the Hawk for now.

3. looking at "Z71" heavy duty off road gear, but really not all that much. Could do after market shocks, sway bars myself and do better. Not so sure about rock guards and such. Do many people add protection from rocks under the trucks as aftermarket upgrades?

4. I looked in the wheel well of these trucks and there is no plastic guard in them. It is an aftermarket upgrade! Mine came with them standard. I thought this would be necessary with a 4x4 but it appears not. Am I missing something here?

5. The GMs have the option of a second or dual battery setup. Will probably get this, but is the upgrade to a 160 alternator better or worse than having 2 125A alternators? I like duplication, but I don't know what the difference is.

I know, lots of questions. Sorry if I sound so uninformed.

Dave
 
Go to http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/ they will have all the info on gmc and more,they have help me in the past. good luck. I have 04 2500HD ext cab,long bed,4x4,6.0 eng.and have no complaints and very good ride.I did add 2" lift took 2 hrs at home very easy cost was about $200 w/new shocks.
 
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