Help Me Pick A Truck

[109jb]

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

if i didn't see my 24 ft cobalt in the mirrors i'd never know it was behind my 02 f250 'stroke. pulls like the thing wasn't even there.

I guess this is a pet peeve of mine and is nothing against you personally and I know this has become slang for saying that a truck pulls really well. I guess I just don't like exagerations when it comes to things that can affect safety if someone truly believes it. I don't care what pickup you have, you WILL know when you are pulling a load like that. My guess is that a 24 ft Cobalt and trailer are somewhere in the 5000 pound range. I know what you mean. You mean that it pulls well. I drive a 2003 GMC 2500HD Duramax crew cab that is chipped and has some other performance mods, and have towed up to 12,000 pounds with it. It does well in all the towing I have done, but I know even when I have my 3,000 pound boat/trailer back there. I know my truck and I can tell a the difference in acceleration, stopping, and handling. All aspects are still very good, but in no way is it like it wasn't there. I hope no offense is taken as I don't mean this as a bash or anything. You definately do have a very good tow vehicle in that P-stroke.

 

[cmcpherson]

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

I guess this is a pet peeve of mine and is nothing against you personally and I know this has become slang for saying that a truck pulls really well. I guess I just don't like exagerations when it comes to things that can affect safety if someone truly believes it. I don't care what pickup you have, you WILL know when you are pulling a load like that. My guess is that a 24 ft Cobalt and trailer are somewhere in the 5000 pound range. I know what you mean. You mean that it pulls well. I drive a 2003 GMC 2500HD Duramax crew cab that is chipped and has some other performance mods, and have towed up to 12,000 pounds with it. It does well in all the towing I have done, but I know even when I have my 3,000 pound boat/trailer back there. I know my truck and I can tell a the difference in acceleration, stopping, and handling. All aspects are still very good, but in no way is it like it wasn't there. I hope no offense is taken as I don't mean this as a bash or anything. You definately do have a very good tow vehicle in that P-stroke.

If you understood what he was trying to say, then you did not waste your time post this...

 

[5280Hawk]

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

The right Tacoma will handle 6500lbs. The '05-up Tacoma six puts out at much hp as the older Jeep's 4.7 V8. I was camping in the mountains of Va last week, matter of fact on the highest mountain. I camped next to a guy pulling a 26ft Hi-Lo camper with is 2005 Tacoma. He said he had no troubles on the mountains....My brother had a 2005, also. He pulled his 20 ft boat all over the place with it and said it hardly strained the truck.

What he said.

and the Tacoma is Bullet proof as well as VERY capable off road.

I live in Colorado, and have an 05 Tacoma. It will easily go as fast as you want up to the Mountains from Denver.

 

[109jb]

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

If you understood what he was trying to say, then you did not waste your time post this...

I believe I made it clear in my post as to why I was posting.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

Apparently some of you folks are enthralled with the Toyota and Ford commercials. Like the one where Ford would have you believe that the box being dropped into the bed of their truck really weighs 10,000 pounds! The ad states "with a force of 10,000 pounds". The box is actually empty. Force = mass x velocity. You do the math if you can determine the height from which it was dropped. If the box weighed 10,000 pounds the truck would be flat as a pancake and the box woud be in a gazillion pieces. And the Toyota gimmick with the two big I-beam pendulums is another exercise in timing rather than proving anything. Lastly, Consumer Reports is probably the last publication to rely on for accurate reliability information because it so import biased its pathetic. Perhaps you haven't heard or read about Honda's directive to its dealers that if a Honda is in for service of any kind and the dealer notices something amiss with the car they are to fix it and not tell the owner. While that may be very honorable, it skews the reliability numbers since the owner can't report a problem if he/she doesn't know it existed. And then there is Toyota who sidestepped the engine failure problem when they knew it was a poorly designed crankcase ventilation system problem. They tried to pin the blame on lack of maintenance by the owner. As for 6, 7, and 8 speed tranny's, stop by a tranny shop sometime and inquire how these "busy" transmissions are holding up when used for towing. Just a short time ago I saw a shiny new Mercedes SUV at the side of the road with a puddle of tranny fluid beneath it. It was towing a small cargo type trailer. A personal feeling I have is that when one buys an import they tend to take better care of it than they would if it were an American vehicle. Why? Because they get a finger wag from the dealer at sale time telling them be sure to adhere to the maintenance schedule or you void the warranty. And if a problem does come up, their attitude is -- must be a fluke whereas if the same thing happens to an American vehicle it's a piece of crap. As soon as foreign car builders have to deal with the labor issues that the American manufacturers are forced to deal with you will see a much more level playing field but that's a separate issue. OK -- I'm done.

 

[5280Hawk]

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

BTW i also own a 1983 Toyota LandCruiser that has 229,000 miles on the same inline six engine, and the last time it saw a Toyota dealer was in 1983.

Just trying to make a point about the proven reliability of Toyota trucks.

 

[triumphrick]

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

Silvertip, I gotta hand it to you. You bleed the red white and blue. And for whatever reason it seems to bother the bejeezus out of you that Toyota has a quality product.
My daddy fought in the war; I fought in the war and my son joined the Army when he didn't have to, so lets not question patriotism here. Seems to be a common thread from the "buy US" crowd.
GMC, Ford and Chrysler have all had more than enough years to get this reliability thing right. About the time you think they make something worthwhile, the next version is cr*p. It's all about the beancounters and not engineering.
I am Toyota connected. I bought my first Hilux in 1971. It was bulletproof and economical. Also, the domestics did not offer me a compact truck. That was their mistake. Having owned them for the past 37 years, and never suffering a transmission, engine or rear end problem, I came to rely upon them. I was the guy telling Consumers Reports my positive experience with these vehicles.
And that 3.0 Toyota v6 with the sludge problem? Just bring in sufficient evidence of maintenance and oil changes and you get a new short block. Period.
When my son graduated from high school he attended Toyota Educational Training. Guess what, he had to go to Manatee Community College to learn to work on Toyotas! They didn't want just grease monkeys. They wanted technicians who were more rounded and you had to acquire an associates degree. No domestic manufacturer does that.
Toyota just completed an 850 million dollar Tundra assembly plant in San Antonio Texas that employs American workers. And guess what, with the truck slowdown they didn't just close the plant and release people. They managed to keep giving every employee there a paycheck whether working or not.
Yeah, I hear you. Labor problems. Quality control issues. It's a shame that they are where they are. Back in 1983 Chrysler was given a 1.2 BILLION dollar bailout. GM's probably next.
None of that has anything to do with how good of a product Toyota makes, by Americans.
Also, wanna race? Our 5.7 factory supercharged 2 dr Tundra with 420 rear wheel hp will smoke anything you can put up against it. Come on down here with your factory domestic truck and let's have a go at it.

 

[mikeneal]

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

I have an 07 Titan and tow ~4500lbs with it. I have towed things my whole life so I feel like I have a good grasp on towing. (probably over 250,000 miles towing something, typically around 10k plus). Anyhow, I traded a F150 in on the Titan about a year and half ago and the towing difference is night and day.
The Titan platform is one of the best 1/2 ton platforms out there. The torque and transmission logic is heads and shoulders above the others you listed IMHO. I don't want to get into a urination contest with anyone, (these truck threads always do it seems). Test drive them all, if you are buying it primarily to tow something include that as part of your evaluation, it maybe great for groceries but not the best for towing etc. Bottom line is buy what you like. Consumer reports is biased and anyone in the automotive field will tell you that, you gotta dig deeper to really find out reliability issues. But really there are no real "bad " trucks, they all do things differently and you are the one making the payment.

 

[cmcpherson]

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

Apparently some of you folks are enthralled with the Toyota and Ford commercials. Like the one where Ford would have you believe that the box being dropped into the bed of their truck really weighs 10,000 pounds! The ad states "with a force of 10,000 pounds". The box is actually empty. Force = mass x velocity. You do the math if you can determine the height from which it was dropped. If the box weighed 10,000 pounds the truck would be flat as a pancake and the box woud be in a gazillion pieces. And the Toyota gimmick with the two big I-beam pendulums is another exercise in timing rather than proving anything. Lastly, Consumer Reports is probably the last publication to rely on for accurate reliability information because it so import biased its pathetic. Perhaps you haven't heard or read about Honda's directive to its dealers that if a Honda is in for service of any kind and the dealer notices something amiss with the car they are to fix it and not tell the owner. While that may be very honorable, it skews the reliability numbers since the owner can't report a problem if he/she doesn't know it existed. And then there is Toyota who sidestepped the engine failure problem when they knew it was a poorly designed crankcase ventilation system problem. They tried to pin the blame on lack of maintenance by the owner. As for 6, 7, and 8 speed tranny's, stop by a tranny shop sometime and inquire how these "busy" transmissions are holding up when used for towing. Just a short time ago I saw a shiny new Mercedes SUV at the side of the road with a puddle of tranny fluid beneath it. It was towing a small cargo type trailer. A personal feeling I have is that when one buys an import they tend to take better care of it than they would if it were an American vehicle. Why? Because they get a finger wag from the dealer at sale time telling them be sure to adhere to the maintenance schedule or you void the warranty. And if a problem does come up, their attitude is -- must be a fluke whereas if the same thing happens to an American vehicle it's a piece of crap. As soon as foreign car builders have to deal with the labor issues that the American manufacturers are forced to deal with you will see a much more level playing field but that's a separate issue. OK -- I'm done.

Well, as the owner of 2 Ford trucks and a Lexus car, I could not agree less. The foreign cars absolutely blow away anything the US has to offer. The story that I most like to tell people with this attitude is about Harleys and Honda Goldwings. Both bikes are assembled in the US of a combination of domestic and imported parts, anyone care to guess which bike has more parts manufacturered in the US, that is correct, it is the Honda. And, in my opinion, it is the labor unions in the US that are at the heart of all the problems that plague US cars.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

And a recent Chevy owner had over a million miles on his pickup. It had been serviced at one of the quick lub places. I forget how the deal went down but as I remember the engine was torn down for inspection. Just today I drove through the back lot at my local Chevy dealer and there were five 1993 - 1995 Suburbans back there -- all had over 200,000 miles on them which by todays standards is not a big deal. Properly taken care of any current vehicle should go 200,000 miles without any serious issues.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

Please point out where I bashed Toyota. I merely pointed out that when selecting a vehicle, for heavens sake look past the stupid commercials. Trying to convince someone that the vehicle they own or hope to own is a mistake is a waste of time. When was the last time you talked to someone who absolutely hated their new vehicle. Most people drive what they drive because they had good service that brand. My father in law was a trucker (bulk fuel rural delivery) and had driven Chevy trucks exclusively. For what would be his last truck he decided he'd try a Ford. The Ford dealer told him what a piece of crap his Chevies were and that's were the negotiations ended. He bought another Chevy. Stupid move on the part of the sales guy but it brings to light that people stick with what works for them. I darned near bought a Camry my last car but I ended up with my Impala and never looked back. I'm 68 years old, have owned more cars than most people on this board will ever dream of and they generally are traded at 150,000 miles. Not because I have to but because I can afford to and I want to. I've owned nearly every major brand and I can honestly say the only vehicles that have ever left me sitting were NON-GM cars and than includes a few imports. Why is it I should drive a four banger to get the same or worse economy than I can get with a roomier, more comfortable car with a V6 that runs on either E85 or regular fuel and at less money. As for buying American, you bet I will support American companies. And just because many parts for an American car come from other countries is not an issue for me because it is the profits that remain here. That unfortunately is not the case for the import manufacturers. Yes, they do provide jobs here. But those jobs could have been with American companies were it not for the unions that had a strangle hold on the auto industry in this country and why the American manufacturers have to deal with a $2000 list price penalty. So how do you make up that difference -- you tell me. Unfortunately, those folks are now finding out the err in their thinking. I supppose that will raise the ire of the union folks out their but isn't it interesting that the only unions that are increasing membership are GOVERNMENT related.

 

[ne7800]

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

ok this is what my truck does in is never used for pleasure is just works has140,000 miles original trans sorry no pic of it pulling the boat yet

 

[Xrider]

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

05 nissan frontier V6 towing 18 foot jet boat. barely feels it, dont even need 4x4 pulls it fine in 2wd drive.
01 ford with 4.2 V6 struggles like a old gramma! hate the design on fords too, hard to work on!

will never buy another domestic vehicle, had horrible exp. with them so far.

 

[Rayrock]

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

I have both a Dodge 1500 with the 360 magnum and two different Ford 150's one with a 302 and the current '05 has the 5.4 triton. The Fords pull so much easier at low RPM. Especially the Triton. I'm not sure what the rear gear ratio is but it's the Off Road version which could come with lower gears.

My Dad used to always say that you want a chevy engine for racing and a ford engine for pulling due to the length of engine stroke. A longer stroked engine will have more torque at low RPM which is what you want for towing.

Just a thought.



RayRock

 

[no1satguy]

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

I am sorry my truck is not in your list, I pull my 18.5 Bayliner Capri with my 2006 Tundra, lots of power.

 

[mrboat]

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

well, I am a mechanic and have some experience around some of those trucks your interested in. the Dodge has the most horsepoweer and tourqe, and in Iowa anyways its cheaper than chevy, even if you go up to the 6.0L. I am not at all for the Nissan truck, even though they seem to build good cars. You should get under one of those Nissan trucks and look at the rear diff, then compare that to the Dodge / Chevy. Its not even half the size!! You can't tell me that the dodge / Chevy isn't stronger. Chevy makes good stuff, but as I said before, the Dodge has way more hp/tq for the $$ ( if you are getting the 5.7 hemi )

anyways, just my opinion!

Let us know what you choose

 

[Scorpion 210 LTD]

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

Silvertip, I gotta hand it to you. You bleed the red white and blue. And for whatever reason it seems to bother the bejeezus out of you that Toyota has a quality product.
My daddy fought in the war; I fought in the war and my son joined the Army when he didn't have to, so lets not question patriotism here. Seems to be a common thread from the "buy US" crowd.
GMC, Ford and Chrysler have all had more than enough years to get this reliability thing right. About the time you think they make something worthwhile, the next version is cr*p. It's all about the beancounters and not engineering.
I am Toyota connected. I bought my first Hilux in 1971. It was bulletproof and economical. Also, the domestics did not offer me a compact truck. That was their mistake. Having owned them for the past 37 years, and never suffering a transmission, engine or rear end problem, I came to rely upon them. I was the guy telling Consumers Reports my positive experience with these vehicles.
And that 3.0 Toyota v6 with the sludge problem? Just bring in sufficient evidence of maintenance and oil changes and you get a new short block. Period.
When my son graduated from high school he attended Toyota Educational Training. Guess what, he had to go to Manatee Community College to learn to work on Toyotas! They didn't want just grease monkeys. They wanted technicians who were more rounded and you had to acquire an associates degree. No domestic manufacturer does that.
Toyota just completed an 850 million dollar Tundra assembly plant in San Antonio Texas that employs American workers. And guess what, with the truck slowdown they didn't just close the plant and release people. They managed to keep giving every employee there a paycheck whether working or not.
Yeah, I hear you. Labor problems. Quality control issues. It's a shame that they are where they are. Back in 1983 Chrysler was given a 1.2 BILLION dollar bailout. GM's probably next.
None of that has anything to do with how good of a product Toyota makes, by Americans.
Also, wanna race? Our 5.7 factory supercharged 2 dr Tundra with 420 rear wheel hp will smoke anything you can put up against it. Come on down here with your factory domestic truck and let's have a go at it.

Nice post- I agree with everything but the last statement! I think most of us with modded domestic diesel trucks will leave you in a cloud of smoke!

My truck only puts out 350 or so HP at the rear wheels but 670 lbs of torque. I have not run this one at the track but my buddy's equivalent ran a 12.6 quarter. And before you say it is not factory- yours is modded, done by Toyota, but modded!

 

[piratedude]

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

your forgetting one important factor- resale value!!! toyota's are unbeatable! also parts are cheap, easy to fix if they ever break. dodge suck for resale- u cant give em away...stick w/ a 4x4 tacoma v6 and u will be happy for a long time. ..do some research on how many miles people get on their trucks..amazing.

 

[cebu97]

Re: Help Me Pick A Truck

I was goin for the Titan, nice power, smooth, roomy........but way to many problems.........I think the year you stated they had bad brakes and Nissan had to come out with a brake fix kit.

Add one vote for .........a 96-98 12 valve Cummnins
(2500)