Help Me Pick A Truck

Alright, here is my quandry (sp?) After a summer of towing my 19ft boat with my jeep grand cherokee 300 miles roundtrip to the lake and back and stuffing all my equipment, my gf and my dog in it I am in the market for a new truck. Here is what I am looking at:

2003-2005 Dodge Quad Cab 4x4 5.7 engine (1/2 or 3/4 Ton, haven't decided)

2003-2005 Chevy Avalanche Z-71

2005-2006 Nissan Titan 4x4

Options on them vary widely but I was wondering if I could get some peoples personal experiences with the above mentioned trucks, good, bad, and the ugly. I also have to use it as a daily driver but drive 7 miles one way to work so the daily driving and gas mileage won't kill me too much.

Thanks in advance.......

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

I have a chevy pickup 1500 with a 5.3 and probably could not be happier with anything else. But you'll still need a cap to keep anything dry or secure. Why not stow the things you are taking with you in the boat? I can understand it getting crowded in the jeep. Don't think any of your choices are bad. It's a personal matter of what you want and appeals to you.
Gregg

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

Dodge Seems to have the most room for interior on those only rode in the Titan once...The back didn't seem to big. The 5.7 Will have all the power you would ever need. Not a chevy fan but have a coworker with an avalanche he hates it says 12mpg and didn't have the power he would have thought - pulled trailer w/4 - 4wheelers and 4 guys - not sure what options or motor he had in his assuming they all come with an 8

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

I'm probably completely biased, but I have a 2006 Dodge Ram 4x4 Hemi Tow package and it seems like it could climb up the side of a building with my 20' Bayliner in tow

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

bigD1031 said:

2003-2005 Dodge Quad Cab 4x4 5.7 engine (1/2 or 3/4 Ton, haven't decided)

2003-2005 Chevy Avalanche Z-71

2005-2006 Nissan Titan 4x4

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The choice all depends on you, but these trucks are in different classes.

The Avalanche is a great looking truck with style over function.

Dodge 4X4 3/4 ton is a real work/fun truck, but so is the Chevy 2500 and Ford 250.

The Titan and the Tundra during these years would work, but not like their undated, more powerful siblings of 2008.

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

Any of the vehicles you mentioned will work for you but you are missing one very valuable piece of information: Tow ratings are almost exclusively stated as "when properly equipped". If you note any of the TV ads, fuel economy is never mentioned for any of the trucks except GM. Engines of the same displacement are tuned for one of three categories: Economy, Performance, or a combination. Dodge is probably the least economical of the bunch but they do make good tow vehicles without paying much attention to axle ratios. Tundra is tuned for all around performance and GM tends to tune for economy and Ford is probably best described as somewhere in the middle. Each of those categories requires that you figure out what you intend to tow, what the ratio of towing vs commute is, and any other factors that impact how you would use the truck. Lastly, I tend to dismiss those who claim they can't get anywhere near the rated MPG figures on their vehicle and you would be amazed at those who have no idea how to calculate MPG (so much for our education system). At my age I've probably owned more vehicles that the average person on this board and have been towing stuff for 40+ years and still do so. I have never had a problem meeting or in many cases exceeding the MPG ratings on those vehicles. Many people simply don't know how to drive for economy -- towing or otherwise. We can't help you pick a wife and we can't tell you what truck is best for you. We can however point out things to look for. It is your money so make sure you understand the claims being made.

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

Derek0302 said:

Dodge Seems to have the most room for interior on those only rode in the Titan once...The back didn't seem to big. The 5.7 Will have all the power you would ever need. Not a chevy fan but have a coworker with an avalanche he hates it says 12mpg and didn't have the power he would have thought - pulled trailer w/4 - 4wheelers and 4 guys - not sure what options or motor he had in his assuming they all come with an 8

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I have a friend with an 02' Avalanche with the 5.3L. He usually gets 14 or 15mpg with his and most of it is freeway driving. He is a stock car driver so I think he might drive it a little harder than most.

I have the same 5.3L in my 04' Silverado and I get much better mileage. I typically get 16mpg with mixed almost no freeway driving. I towed 3k with it a few weeks back on a 2hour drive. With the A/C cranked and going 70mph I hit 18mpg. I did have a tail wind, but was using reformulated fuel. Even with that load I was at or below 2k rpms the whole time.

I have towed a similar load with a 5.4L 05' F150 and only got 15mpg.

I still think that buying a truck comes down to what you like the best as far as comfort and driveability. A mpg here and a mpg there might be worth paying the difference in fuel economy if you have a vehicle you are more comfortable with.

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

We have a 2002 Avalanche Z71 5.3 and 4:10 gearing and a Larson 180 Sport No problems and love the versatility of the Avalanche. We use it as a truck but still can Lock up the water toys in the back as well.

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

im in the market for a new truck too. little older one tho.. but from what i heard. dodges seem to have trouble with their tranny.. chevy and fords are very dependable. so is a toyota.

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

zach103 said:

im in the market for a new truck too. little older one tho.. but from what i heard. dodges seem to have trouble with their tranny.. chevy and fords are very dependable. so is a toyota.

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the dodge tranny problem was mainly 94-96 and was mostly caused by improper use such as towing in overdrive but all trucks have isues my wife grandfather had a 1996 chevy with 107,000 miles on it and he is on his 5th tranny. in my opinion the avalanch is not a good car and a even worse truck but i pull a 5th wheel so i am biased towards a truck that actualy has a bed (by the way my truck is a 1999 Dodge quad cab 1500 4x4 and my camper weighs in at 4800lbs and it dose fine pulling it 70 mph getting 14mpg)

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

Sorry, but I will never go back to gas again after having this 6.7L Cummins.
Last fill up was at 25 gallon for 534 miles.
A little over 21 MPG and that was mixed driving pulling the boat and camper.

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

I have yet to drive a 6.7 but drove several 5.9 cummins and figured i could pull the world over if i could find a place to hook on

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

ne7800 said:

I have yet to drive a 6.7 but drove several 5.9 cummins and figured i could pull the world over if i could find a place to hook on

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Apples and Oranges difference in the 2. More torque, smoother, less engine noise and the new engine brake or whatever they call it is nice when towing. Mine is the 6 speed automatic and I love it.

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

SpinnerBait_Nut said:

Apples and Oranges difference in the 2. More torque, smoother, less engine noise and the new engine brake or whatever they call it is nice when towing. Mine is the 6 speed automatic and I love it.

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sounds like my dream truck

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

You won't go wrong with the last generation Tundra. A 4 dr with the 4.7 will give you the best reliability and mileage of anything else you are looking at except a diesel.
However diesel fuel is scarce and the higher mileage does does not make up for the higher price.
If you want to check reliability, get a Consumers Reports and check it out.
That 4.7 is 271 hp, 5 speed auto and can tow 7100 #.

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Any chance you might consider a smaller Toyota than the Tundra, specifically the 4th generation 4Runner ('03 to current)?

We averaged 17.5mpg round trip 425 miles to northern Minnesota last month towing our 17 1/2 foot Lund Fisherman, rig weight about 2500 lbs give or take. Well, add to it 2 golden retrievers and their kennels on the fold flat rear seats, luggage, and a set of golf clubs in the boat over the axle.

We have the V-6 and get 24+ on the highway (sans trailer). Very smooth ride. Has lots of torque. Tows up to 5,000 lbs. V-8 can handle 7,000. You can get 2wd or 4wd, and if you find a Limited it will be loaded up with all sorts of options.

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

not trying to steal just quick question.. NE you said it was 94-96 correct? so that means a 97 would be fine?

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I drive an Avalanche 2WD with 5.3, 3.73. I get 16 MPG around town, and 10.9 when towing, but my boat & trailer are around 5000 lbs. The Avalanche has more rear leg room than the Dodge and with the 5' bed the overall length is shorter which makes it easier to manuever. The cargo covers will keep the bed contents dry in a torrential downpour, but a high pressure wash will let a little water in. Having the ability to fold down the seats and extend the bed comes in handy once in a while, but you have to move the front seats up so for a 6'2" guy like me I wouldn't want to go more than 50 miles like that.

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

Thanks for the replies guys, I have drove all of the vehicles except the titan and like different aspects of each one, probably test drive a titan tomorrow or the following day. Just looking for the bit of information that will push me towards one or the other.

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

bigD1031 said:

Thanks for the replies guys, I have drove all of the vehicles except the titan and like different aspects of each one, probably test drive a titan tomorrow or the following day. Just looking for the bit of information that will push me towards one or the other.

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If you haven't, I would drive a Ford, the ride will blow everything else away with the possible excepetion of the Toyota.