Know anything about trucks? Mechanics?

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redwing_al

http://www.homebrewmania.com/
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I will be in the market for a good used truck.. I will have a $20,000 budget in cash. What am i buying?

I need 4x4, I would like a V-8, Don't need 4dr, but could used room behind cab.

I currently have a 2003 F150, but after 2 rear-ends in it, I'm leary about Ford - however, motor is still strong and I do like the truck.

I have heard that there are certain years of certain trucks that you should certainly stay away from, and I've heard there are some trucks that cost a fortune in maintenance -as one guy told me, they had to almost pull the cab to change the spark plugs and tune it up.. --- ain't nobody got time for that!

In any case, if you know about trucks, those that are proven and still able to maintain; what late model truck do you buy with your 20 Grand?

Make:
Model:
Year:

why:

thanks in advance, I want to start to begin research..

Cheers:mug:
 
Toyota
Tundra
mid-00s before they got enormous

Mine is an '06
 
Yea lots of people knock Ford but my 97' F-150 XLT runs great, probably need an oil change in the rear-diff ( long story, don't ask, not the trucks fault :D ) but the only persistent issue is it eats up exhaust manifolds. Currently on my 2nd set and I'm thinking that within a few years I'll be swapping them out again. Not going to go stock though, going to try to get something that resists corrosion as that seems to be the bit that kills me. At the end of the day it is all about knowing the make enough to know what is going to go on you (for me anyway). That's why I'll be sticking to Ford, I know what breaks and how to fix it :D

As to what to get, the tail end of the 1997-2004 Ford F-150 or F-250 could probably be gotten for well below what kind of cash you've got so I'd bet you could get quite a bit newer with your budget, 20K is a lot of cash to play with so I'd start skimming Kijiji, show up offering cash and haggle, never know what kinda deal you can swing.
 
I'd shoot for a 2006-2007 LBZ Duramax in the old body style. That will last you a long time. Strong motor AND strong rear-end. You could find one for 20k since you don't need/want 4 door. The only thing to do aftermarket to keep it going down the road is a slight mod to the transfer case. You'll see it referred to as the "pump rub fix." If you are somewhat handy you can do it in an afternoon or a shop can do it for a couple hundred bucks.
 
ya, I could drive anything. Reliability is key to me, LBZ might be too much. Turndra is is interesting, Another Ford would be okay.
 
Ford is fine. If you get a V-anything you should not have to pull the cab to change spark plugs. At least I can't picture why that would be. Actually, any engine in a TRUCK shouldn't be a problem as they never have a transverse engine (The BANE of changing spark plugs in a V motor!)

Some Dodge (RAM) trucks are great, but I think Ford has the better overall quality.
 
Realized I never actually hit 'submit' on a reply I had typed up to this.

Long story short, my father and I have driven nothing but GM trucks since 2002. I've owned 3 myself, a 2001 and 2006 Silverado, and now a 2012 Sierra, all purchased used. Dad had a 2000, 2003, 2005.... and then I've lost track. I think the 2005 was the first one he bought new, and he has traded approximately every 14 months since then. All of them except one or two have been Silverados.

My 2001 and 2006 trucks, I owned for a combined 12 years and put a combined 240,000 miles on them (Each had between 150,000 and 160,000 miles on the odometer when I traded them in). The only serious problem I had with them was the '01, at about 130,000 miles. I had stopped to help pull a van out of the ditch in a blizzard; hooked the strap up to the front recovery hook on my truck and shifted to 4LO. Pulled the slack out of the rope and PING! Sheared the "Reverse Reaction Shell" -- the part of the transmission that holds 2nd, 4th, and reverse in. Cost $700 for a partial rebuild of the transmission. At around 140,000 miles, the catalytic converters got plugged up and started choking the engine (another $700 fix). Other than that, zero mechanical problems with either of the drivetrains. The '06 did have a wheel bearing go out 150 miles from home once, but crap like that happens.

Dad trades at an obscene rate (the salesman he deals with LOVES him), but in that ~14 month window he keeps a truck, he puts between 60,000-75,000 miles on them. Extrapolate that over the last 12 years, and the two of us have put over a million miles on GM trucks. The couple things I mentioned above are literally the only significant problems we've had. I'd buy another GM truck in a heartbeat -- it's my intent to drive my '12 Sierra for about 3 years and trade it in for a new Silverado (only because I can't afford to buy a new Sierra Denali like I'm driving now)


On the flip side, I drive a 2008 F150 for work. I. HATE. THAT. TRUCK.

Build quality SUCKS - you meet a semi on the road and the entire hood flexes and shakes because there's not enough bracing under it. Shut any of the doors, and the entire door skin trembles because once again... no bracing. Steering wheel audio controls? Who needs those.... let's use FIVE BIGASS BUTTONS for the cruise control. Oh, you shut the truck off? You've got to turn the cruise control ON again, you can't just press "SET" and be done.

And the ride....sweet mother of all that is good and holy, the awful ride.... You feel every. single. bump. in the road. My '01 and '06 Silverados were the Z71 Off-Road package, with the stiffer suspension, and 10-ply tires, and it rode like a freaking CADILLAC compared to my work truck.


Our new work trucks are Rams; I don't have one of those yet (Oh, how I'm looking forward to the day I can get rid of this Ford POS...). I've driven them a couple times, but not enough to get a good feel for them.

Give me the choice, I'd buy a GM every day of the week. Ford and Dodge would be a toss up, but I'd probably lean towards Dodge. And I'd avoid anything else.
 
I should add: Both the '01 and '06 trucks were bought for between $20-25k. The '01 was a program truck, purchased in spring of '03 with 27k miles on it. The '06 was purchased in '10 with 53k miles; both of them were fully loaded.

The Denali I'm driving now is a '12, purchased in spring of '15 with 58k miles. Original sticker price was over $45k, dealer had it on the lot for $33k as a GM Certified Pre-Owned truck. (Gets you 12 months/12,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty, plus free maintenance for 2 years)
 
+2 for the Tundra.

I have a 4Runner with 180,000 miles and still looks/runs like new. Good luck with that kind of reliability with Ford or Government Motors.
 
@psylocide, it might be a Canadian vs. American difference but up here there are no small number of Ford trucks like mine (97' F150, same body between 97' and 02', maybe up to 04' can't remember now) still on the road, not as many as the newer models of course but quite a few and mine has >180K miles on the odometer and I don't drive as much with my current job. One thing I'd love to see (I work in science, hard numbers are always something I look for) would be how many vehicles (by model and make) are still on the road that were produced by year. Someone's gotta be keeping track of this somewhere between all the bloody forms you need to fill out for vehicle registration and insurance.
 
My dad drove a 2000 F150 into the ground. Almost 300k. I only know because that was his goal and he was posse when he finally had to break down and trade it in. By the same token, my grandfathers 92 GMC is still ticking, and he doesn't change oil, only the filter, and adds a quart every thousand. His dad taught him that. He tried to teach me that, but I'm too punk rock to listen to grandpas.
 
Around here, people who pull heavy loads every day for a living run Rams. Friend has the new Ford aluminum. Like any other Ford, with over drive locked out for towing, sucks gas big time.
 
In the end, if you do not tow or truly heavy haul, all of the big three and both Japanese brands make great trucks.

If you tow more than 7K#'s regularly, the Allison tranny is almost a must.

If you carry heavy loads near the max of a 1/2 ton, the Ram air-ride suspension is nice but might be too new still. It means flat ride loaded or empty and squats on the highway for better ride and fuel economy.

The Hemi with cylinder deactivation is about the most efficient large V8's in real life.

GM seems to have the most "reliable" secondary systems (the crap that nickel and dimes you after the first five years) and the 6.0 is an excellent balance of HP, Torque and fuel economy especially with the 6-speed.

Nissan Titans are the unloved truck and have a significantly lower resale value so you can get a newer truck.

Toyota's V8's are also impossible to to kill and everything else will be equally as reliable but pretty darned bland.
 
dkwolf is pretty spot on with his assessment of Ford. I bought a brand new 1991 F350 and by 1998 it had 90k miles and was on it's 4th transmission! I traded that in on a new 1999 GMC 3500 and drive that until 2014 and 460k miles! Only minor repairs needed; 2 water pumps, distributor drive, and ignition coil. I sold that to a friend of mine who is still driving it for work and loves it! I will never buy another Ford. I replaced the GMC with a Ram 3500. Have 40k on it and no problems...
 
dkwolf is pretty spot on with his assessment of Ford. I bought a brand new 1991 F350 and by 1998 it had 90k miles and was on it's 4th transmission! I traded that in on a new 1999 GMC 3500 and drive that until 2014 and 460k miles! Only minor repairs needed; 2 water pumps, distributor drive, and ignition coil. I sold that to a friend of mine who is still driving it for work and loves it! I will never buy another Ford. I replaced the GMC with a Ram 3500. Have 40k on it and no problems...

That's great, but the Ford is now over 20 years old. ANY make of car have have problems here and there along their lifespan. It's just going to happen.

I've seen my fair share of issues with all kinds of vehicles. Hell, I bought a Durango knowing the odds were good the tranny might give out and the ball joints were a maintenance item!

I think the OP is more interested in hearing about modern trucks, not something made back in 1991...
 
I see the truck d*ck swinging contest travels even to the homebrew channels haha.

To the OP go out find the trucks and drive them all see what you like and go from there. All this anecdotal evidence of how many miles my truck is going, and I hauled 20tons for over 6 miles before the tires have out but don't worry them gm rims still held up and got me there, it just muddies the water for you.

Only you know what you like and this isn't the 1980s where build quality is suspect all the big manufacturers do very well is designing and building a truck and 20k will get you one that will last you for a long time.
 
That's great, but the Ford is now over 20 years old. ANY make of car have have problems here and there along their lifespan. It's just going to happen.

I've seen my fair share of issues with all kinds of vehicles. Hell, I bought a Durango knowing the odds were good the tranny might give out and the ball joints were a maintenance item!

I think the OP is more interested in hearing about modern trucks, not something made back in 1991...

I bought the Ford NEW in 1991...owned it 8 years. Bought the GMC NEW in 1998.. Owned it 15 years! The Ford was sold because it was a POS! The GMC was sold because I was tired of it. The OP was looking for a used vehicle! I think the info is relative! The reason Ford is #1 is they are CHEAP! It's all about price for fleet buyers.
 
I bought the Ford NEW in 1991...owned it 8 years. Bought the GMC NEW in 1998.. Owned it 15 years! The Ford was sold because it was a POS! The GMC was sold because I was tired of it. The OP was looking for a used vehicle! I think the info is relative! The reason Ford is #1 is they are CHEAP! It's all about price for fleet buyers.

We can agree to disagree. I think what the OP is asking for are opinions of trucks in the range of years he is thinking about purchasing.

I'm guessing here, though.
 
You won't get better than a diesel. I'm a ford fan all day however, buy a 2006 or newer gmc/chevy duramax with the 6 speed allison! My dads has almost 300 on it and has never had an issue ever other than batteries. However I have a 95 f150 with 265k on it and it is in great shape. My brother has an 05 f150 and it has over 300k on it and he didn't drive it easy.
 
Buy this, don't buy that, they suck, nu-uh they're the BEST! I had one with 8 MILLION miles on it before I had to change the oil!!! I ran it for another 2,000,000 before I just got bored with it and drove it over a cliff. THEN I traded it in for a new one. :p

They all build good ones. They all build bad ones. Some took government money (and never paid it back). Some did not.
 
You won't get better than a diesel. I'm a ford fan all day however, buy a 2006 or newer gmc/chevy duramax with the 6 speed allison! My dads has almost 300 on it and has never had an issue ever other than batteries. However I have a 95 f150 with 265k on it and it is in great shape. My brother has an 05 f150 and it has over 300k on it and he didn't drive it easy.

I feel I have to concur. A guy at work had a Ram and he ruined it. The next owner (another guy at work) rebuilt the motor. Oil was awful. He said he must have never changed the oil.

The first owner bought a Duramax and it's been real good for him.

I've heard good things about the RAM diesel, but I don't have any personal experience. Diesel technology is a bit different from when I was young. I thought the maintenance guy at work was joking when he ordered more "exhaust fluid"!
 
I feel I have to concur. A guy at work had a Ram and he ruined it. The next owner (another guy at work) rebuilt the motor. Oil was awful. He said he must have never changed the oil.

The first owner bought a Duramax and it's been real good for him.

I've heard good things about the RAM diesel, but I don't have any personal experience. Diesel technology is a bit different from when I was young. I thought the maintenance guy at work was joking when he ordered more "exhaust fluid"!

:off:
Oh man... don't get me started on that crap. Someone is going to die because the EPA refuses to grant an exception to emergency vehicles. The engine going into 'regeneration mode' during day to day driving is an inconvenience... it going into regeneration when an ambulance is running lights and sirens to the hospital is going to kill someone. A lot of ambulances are going back to gas engines specifically because of that.... But fire engines don't really have a choice, a gas engine isn't cut out for the work we need on fire apparatus - and the engine going into regeneration in the middle of a structure fire, where that engine is what's driving the pump... Let's just say life is going to get real interesting for the interior team, real fast.
 
We can agree to disagree. I think what the OP is asking for are opinions of trucks in the range of years he is thinking about purchasing.

I'm guessing here, though.

Engines and transmissions last several design years so even though my 1991 was a bit old they used that tranny until 2004 or 06. And I was a little pissed off that I payed $12,000 in tranny replacements (Ford payed for the first one) for a $17k truck. Ford can go to hell! And I know how they stay in business...selling extra trannies and parts that GM designed sufficiently in the first place.
 
I
:off:
Oh man... don't get me started on that crap. Someone is going to die because the EPA refuses to grant an exception to emergency vehicles. The engine going into 'regeneration mode' during day to day driving is an inconvenience... it going into regeneration when an ambulance is running lights and sirens to the hospital is going to kill someone. A lot of ambulances are going back to gas engines specifically because of that.... But fire engines don't really have a choice, a gas engine isn't cut out for the work we need on fire apparatus - and the engine going into regeneration in the middle of a structure fire, where that engine is what's driving the pump... Let's just say life is going to get real interesting for the interior team, real fast.

Ding ding ding.....at least it isn't still a stick.
 
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