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Lehi, UT
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Titan1
12/4/2018 3:47pm
12/4/2018 3:47pm
Edited Date/Time
12/12/2018 4:28am
I'm looking for a used half ton truck ('14 or new).
What are the best trucks?
Is the Ecoboost all its cracked up to be? Is there a difference between a '14 ecoboost and a '15/'16 ecoboost?
Does anyone here have any real world experience with them (any brand)...good and bad?
At most I'll be pulling a double axle enclosed trailer, with a few bikes in it.
Thanks for the input!
What are the best trucks?
Is the Ecoboost all its cracked up to be? Is there a difference between a '14 ecoboost and a '15/'16 ecoboost?
Does anyone here have any real world experience with them (any brand)...good and bad?
At most I'll be pulling a double axle enclosed trailer, with a few bikes in it.
Thanks for the input!
with a lot of weight towing it feels like it is overloaded pretty easily. i have airbags but just not a real solid feel.
as for a daily driver or ripping to St.George for the weekend with bikes in the back it's probably the most comfortable truck i've ever ridden in. i love it.
my '12 is paid off and i was thinking about trading it for a brand new 3/4ton diesel, but i might keep mine for a daily driver and get a used 3/4ton diesel for towing. i really love the truck.
The Shop
The chevy 5.3 is good but I'm not a huge fan of the cylinder deactivation. The torque converter unlocks when it changes, and the random rpm jumps bugs me. Also the side mirrors on the Chevy suck. The colorado has better mirrors.
Ford has a floor shifter and ram has the effing dial. Idk what's so wrong with a colum shifter?
The Toyota gets piss poor gas mileage, and you can ask newmann about the backseat storage lol
Couldn't tell ya much about the nissan.
The TuRD PRO Tundra is a pretty amazing truck. Amazingly expensive for as few electronic gadgets as it has, which is one of the things that attracted me to it. Not the expensive part, but the fact that it is not overloaded with a bunch of bullshit that one doesn't really need in a truck. It has a backup cam which I like, but no backup sensors, no lane assist with buzzing seats, no blind spot monitors, no memory seats, steering, pedals or mirrors. No stupid leaky ass panoramic roof(Ford), It did have leather seats, a plus over all the easy to stain fabrics everyone offers today but the plastic steering wheel was cheap and the replacement Platinum Edition leather wheel I bought was over $500.00 with my discount. It runs good, really good, handles good and stops good. The cab is big, lots of rear seat room. The rear floor sucks, steps up under the rear seat and has no storage under the seat...none. With the step up in the floor it sucks with the seat folded up for putting stuff on the floor. The seat doesn't fold forward so zero storage behind the rear seat.
And don't get me started on the midget bed. I love the truck, but they really missed the mark on a handful of items. I waited for years to buy one in hopes of a 6 1/2 - 6 3/4 foot bed on the crew max but they still don't offer it. And even though the 13.9mpg sucks, the fucker does run good...REALLY good. And it sounds good too. But that takes into Alta thread territory.
It's kinda ugly if that means anything to you.
Bought a 2018 Chevy LTZ around 6
months ago. The only reason I went with Chevy is because the dealer sold me a truck with a 46K + sticker price for a even 32K. I was going to get another Ram or a Ford but I could not pass it up. After driving the Chevy for 6 months I now realize why it was discounted heavily. 5 years newer than my Ram and to me it’s less of a truck. 2018 and it still requires a key??? No wonder GM is having trouble
I’d go with Fords or Rams. Not sure if the Tundra can match those trucks in ride comfort. I’m just going by what my friend has....his Tundra I think is a 2016, the ride seemed more harsh than the American trucks
Forgot about mileage figures. My Ram with the massive power and this Chevy with the 5.3 V8 are getting about the same numbers. High teens around town and usually around 22-25 on the highway. I do drive very conservatively with the gas pedal. Except with the occasional burnout with the HEMI I am pretty light footed. Does wonders with the MPG
Lots of F150 and now 250/350 sunroof horror stories.
i'm looking at buying between 40K and 70K miles...so if that's a common issue that would steer me away from a Ford. I don't want to pay $20K-$30K for a truck and then have to replace the turbo in a few years.
Talk to me about your Ram 1500...what kind of mileage? How does it tow?
I was very unimpressed with the Chevy 5.3 when I test drove it. It just didn't have any get up and go compared to the 5.0 ford and 5.7 Ram. If your going with Chevy I would recommend the bigger V8 (I think its a 6.2).
Toyota will be most reliable and best resale but the design and engine is dated. Also the MPG is worst if I recall correctly.
Also remember there is a V8 option with Ford in the 5.0. Obviously the 3.5 Ecobost is the top engine but the 5.0 isn't as far behind as people think. Check out Youtube for comparisons of the 5.0 vs 3.5EB - Its .25 mile and towing time are really close to the EB.
https://www.ksl.com/auto/listing/5137790?ad_cid=7
Pit Row
5.3 1500 And am very happy. Key features That outperform other brands
Ride quality
AWD and 4x4 on the fly knob. Get a lot of rain where I live and when conditions get slick it’s a simply turn on dial.
Ent system syn is much better than any fords I’ve been in.
Full size crew cab with a 6.5” bed this was the biggest deal breaker for me.
I don’t believe anyone else offers this??
Bumper steps are lovely.
Cargo lighting without ignition on is the tits.my brother is very jealous.
I have the bench seat up front , I much prefer this set up.
Oh yea, 60,000 miles and no visits to the dealer...
Both my brothers trucks are newer and have been in to see the dealer a few times..
I’m sure someone else has a story of chevs with problems and fords with none.. so I’m just adding some weight to my side of the scale.
IMO its better than the Ford 2.7 Ecoboost, the Chevy 5.3, the Toyota 5.7, and the Nissan 5.6. I would rank it a hair below the Ram 5.7 hemi, and a notch below the Chevy 6.2 and the Ford 3.5 Ecoboost.
The only other truck I was really considering was the F150 and personally I wouldn't be worried about going with the 5.0 over the ecoboost.
My son has a Ram 1500 with a really strong V8. I like it but couldn't tell you how reliable it is. He could destroy a Sherman tank with a rubber mallet.
And the 5.0 ford is a great engine. Just not a fancy turbo 6 like the 3.5
Being that you're in utah I assume you live at elevation right? The 3.5 ford might be the best for ya then. Sea level the turbos arent as helpful as they are at 5k feet
We repair a lot of damaged steel bedside panels where bumper ends get bent in. We replace almost all Ford aluminum bed panels for the same damage.
Keep full coverage insurance on it...
Reliability and re-sale value were some of my most important considerations. Getting a good deal on a used one is tough though so I buy new and enjoy the first half of the trucks life. (my last one had 185K on it when I sold it) It's hard to argue with the Tundra's reliability record.
Love the Toyota for towing in fact it drives better with something behind it if that makes sense. I pull a 26 foot 5000Lb dry weight toy hauler to the races and a 6x12 enclosed trailer to track practice. Has a confident safe feel while pulling.
Day to day gas mileage is lower than Toyota claims, I get 13.5 average and 9-10 with toy hauler back there.
It may sound old fashioned but I also like to support companies that support MX and SX. Toyota has done so as long as I can remember.
Have fun truck shopping!
Then...
I went and drove this truck last night...and my decision got much tougher....it’s not is as good of condition as that dodge (still in great condition though...not as many bells and whistles either...but I like the longer bed for sure)). It is a very nice truck as well. Those turbos sound awesome! And it’s the truck I always pictured myself buying.
I am going to be making a tough decision today.
https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId…
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