F-150? F-250? Tundra?

[tic]

Re: F-150? F-250? Tundra?

My boss drives a new F-250 diesel.. not sure which exact engine but I asked him tonight about his MPG... He said 13... Ooof... Of course towing w/ the 5.4 litre V-8 gas engine in an F-150 I'll probably do even worse... That must be why they are "giving them away" at the dealerships right now.

 

[gregtay]

Re: F-150? F-250? Tundra?

Okay.. i am going to throw my hat in for the Tundra.. and YES.. i own one. I have a 2007 Tundra CrewMax 4x4 Limited with the 5.7L. Did it cost more than the Chevy... NO!.. there were within $200 when i optioned them on the web the same (which was a bit of a surprise.) both had great rebates, 0% for 60 mo, yada, yada, yada.

I pull a Crownline 240LS... 4900# for the boat dry, add 1300# for the trailer, plus 50g of fuel, 15 gal water, and way too much gear. I LOVE my truck.. why... cause it rides better than my last SUV (when not towing).. in fact it is a wonderful vehical to drive around town in. With the CrewMax we have a ton of space for family/friends/gear, etc. As far as towing... i could not be happier. The rear hardly drops when i hook up the boat and towing my 7000#ish load isn't a problem... in fact i hardly know i am towing anything. The brakes are very strong and the truck doesn't get pushed around by the boat one bit. I wish all of you could come and take it for a spin around the block because it is that good. I didn't expect it to tow this well.

Don't let the few out there claiming their are issues with the Tundra scare you away... it is a Toyota so everyone just set the bar really high. They did have 2 initial issues... one with the cam shafts.. only 20 trucks total have had an issue and they caught it early... not a design problem, just a bad batch of cams. So the problem is gone. (and for those who were affected.. they got a brand new motor air frieghted to their dealer and Toyota even added 100,000 mile warrenty to the new motor for those trucks. The second issue is still going on and Toyota is investigating... a few (VERY FEW!) people have had the 6 speed transmission "break"... Toyota sent out new trannys to those affected but it sounds like it is more of a software issue vs. a mechanical problem... so it is possible that it is jsut a "software patch". Either way.. just a very small number of people affected and not something i am worried about.

For those towing 3000-4000#... i think this is WAY more truck than you need.

 

[shipoffools]

Re: F-150? F-250? Tundra?

I'm not going to jump into the Toyota fray, but I have owned and towed with a lot of different trucks, and for daily towing and heavy use with minimal maintenance and down time Ford has become my hands down favorite.

 

[Terry Olson]

Re: F-150? F-250? Tundra?

Most of the full size trucks price out about the same when you look at MSRP but almost no one pays sticker price. It becomes a question of who will depart the furthest from sticker and you don't ever really discover that without spending a great deal of time haggling. The dealerships like it that way because that affords them the opportunity to ply their trade.

 

[tic]

Re: F-150? F-250? Tundra?

It's definetly a buyers market right now...Should be able to do some good haggling... I hope anyway

 

[tic]

Re: F-150? F-250? Tundra?

We drove a 2007 F-150 Lariat and a 2007 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD LTZ today... I really liked the Ford better but the wife can't get comfortable in the seat.. She WAS comfortable in the Chevy.. Oh well, the 6.0 Liter Vortec engine mated to a 6 speed auto transmission can't be all bad? I might be a chevy man soon, still have to drive the Tundra and a Dodge

 

[bassboy1]

Re: F-150? F-250? Tundra?

My dad is the manager for a foreign car repair shop, and that is probably the reason that we only drive chevys. He was a mechanic for 18 years too. His shop has stopped servicing the toyota vans/suvs/trucks. 2 reasons. First, the product in and of itself. Second, the type of person the owner either is, or turns into after buying one. NEVER FAILS. I il just leave it at that.

The toyotas may have good selling value in a couple of years, but the American trucks have USABLE value. Id hate to be the snob that wont put anything into the bed of his truck, yet brag at how much the tag says it will hold. Truth be known, if you actually load it up to its TRUE CAPACITY, you will find how wrong the sticker is. Maybe more, maybe less.
I could beat this topic all day, and after a technical conversation with dad, could beat it for another week, but I will just leave it as it is.

 

[firehog6305]

Re: F-150? F-250? Tundra?

there is nothing that toyota has, or ever will have, that will out pull the ford powerstroke

 

[tic]

Re: F-150? F-250? Tundra?

From the research I've done,( and info from people here) the Duramax/Allison is the way to go for real heavy duty stuff. Looks like I can still tow 10,500 even with the 1/2 ton chevy silverado w/ the 6.0 litre V-8... Way better mileage.. There is a reason Chevy won't put the mileage figures on their 3/4 ton trucks, and it's not just that they don't have to. The 2500 we drove never registered over 7mpg on the test drive.

 

[DaveM]

Re: F-150? F-250? Tundra?

There is a reason Chevy won't put the mileage figures on their 3/4 ton trucks, and it's not just that they don't have to. The 2500 we drove never registered over 7mpg on the test drive.

Like you said, auto manufacturers are not required to put mileage estimates on heavy duty (3/4 ton and above) trucks. I get slightly better than 21 MPG highway in my 2006 1 ton crew cab long box diesel with no load. They say it will get better after 100K mi.

 

[tic]

Re: F-150? F-250? Tundra?

That's EXCELLENT mileage!... I wish the diesel wasn't a $7,100 dollar option. Granted you'll eventually make that up but geez!

 

[mkrupp]

Re: F-150? F-250? Tundra?

Tundra no question

 

[tic]

Re: F-150? F-250? Tundra?

Tundra no question?... care to back that up a little?... Frankly the camshaft failures and grenading transmissions have me a long ways away from "no question"...

 

[arya6000]

Re: F-150? F-250? Tundra?

I would go with Ford, I've owned a Honda, Toyota, GMC and Ford. Ford was and is the most reliable one. And the F-150 tows the most

 

[jmolin3]

Re: F-150? F-250? Tundra?

ford, I drive a 2006 f-250 diesel pulls my 2700 lb boat almost like its not even there and i get 16 mpg with the boat on and 18 to 20 without.

 

[tic]

Re: F-150? F-250? Tundra?

Actually, the 1/2 ton chevy has a higher tow rating capacity than an F-150..The Chevy also says 1mgp better mileage city and highway... I don't see how that's possible in real life, the chevy engine is bigger, the axle ratio is higher and it's only a 4 speed auto transmission.

 

[Wotam]

Re: F-150? F-250? Tundra?

IMHO stuff... if you're thinking a bigger boat might be in your future:

Anything over 6,000 lbs and you want a full-on 3/4 ton chassis. bigger brakes, heavier frame, bigger tires and wheels, heavier driveline, more vehicle mass (yada). In that one wide-eyed moment when you get in trouble (which comes sooner or later) it's worth every damn penny to have all the vehicle you need under your butt.

While it takes 100K miles to break even on the diesel... don't forget you'll get the bucks out of it at resale time... ditto having 4x4, they carry their value. 99% of the time you don't need it, but when you do need it, you'll thank god you have it. Being stuck on a boat ramp can ruin your whole day.

I've been driving about 40 years and have owned Fords, Toyotas, Nissans, Subarus, Dodge, Chevy, Mitsubishi, Jeep, and BMW... and driven most every other brand in one circumstance or another.

In a full size pickup truck, I'll still take a Ford... even though the new Chevy diesels are pretty nice. In a half ton pickup truck, I'd pick a Toyota.

In a car I'll take the BMW for sheer pleasure of the driving experience. For practicality and reliability, a Toyota. The full time 4WD in the Subaru is amazing in bad weather.... but the vehicle has some pretty quirky things about it.

That's my 2cts.

 

[tic]

Re: F-150? F-250? Tundra?

Tow rating on the silverado 1500 with 6.0 gas engine and max tow package is 10,500... Right now the boat we want is a Sea Ray sundancer 240... Boat, trailer, gas, batteries and gear should not weigh more than 7,500lbs.....That's 3,000lbs. under max... That's not enough of a "buffer" ????

 

[Wotam]

Re: F-150? F-250? Tundra?

>"Tow rating on the silverado 1500 with 6.0 gas engine and max tow package is 10,500"

On paper that's plenty of cushion, and in a 'normal' venue, I think you'll probably do just fine provided you have a well-balanced trailer, good hitch and good trailer brakes... and maybe a tranny cooler too (assuming automatic).

My bigger tow these days is a 25' sailboat which comes in at about 7,000 lbs (boat+trailer). I have a 3/4 ton extended cab 4x4 Powerstroke with the towing package (410 diffs). The gross across the scales is about 14,500. Based on my experience I can't imagine towing 3-1/2 to 4 tons with any less of a rig. BTW I get about 14.5 mpg towing... 17 around town and 21 on the highway without the tow.

All the above said, my experience is colored by the fact that I tow in one of the worst spots you can find in the USA. Between me and anywhere else are (3) 3,000 +- ft mountain passes... and that's in the first hundred miles to make it to I-5. If I turn north, I've got 4 more mountain passes in the next 150 miles.

Towing elsewhere is probably a different ball of wax and your mileage may vary! (literally).

 

[tic]

Re: F-150? F-250? Tundra?

it has the aux. transmission cooler as part of the max tow package, plus the 4.10 diffs.. My first trip will be to a good trailer place that will make sure the rig is balanced properly.. Trailer brakes? of course!..