2 years I got a new Tacoma 4wd extended cab for $25.8k. I think you could actually do better than that these days with the new generation.

hcoles,

My son is runs the gas heavy line (gas engines and all rear ends) for one of the largest Ford dealers in the nation, it’s located in the DFW area. They have Chevy, GMC and Toyota dealerships within half a mile with the Dodge house a couple of miles away. The techs socialize across platforms.

On the gas truck front all except one drive Chevy/GMC with a LS based engine. The one exception is my son has a Dodge Hemi that is lowered and on bags, he accepts more maint. and electrical issues. It is noted when a Ford with a mod motor or eco boost (even with 3k oil change intervals) goes past 125k when a Dodge chassis (engines last) gets into the same range or Toyota gets past 175 w/o major electrical problems. They have Chevy/GMC w/LS engines past 300k and a couple in the 400K range.

All I’ve talked to agree the in descending order for electrical trouble shooting the order goes Chevy/GMC toss-up Ford and Dodge with different areas of issue and Toyota last in terms of build itself due to number of issues.

On the diesel front the consensus seems to be that their was a sweet spot in the Chevy/GMC from about 10-12 years ago that had no issues. The rest of the techs that drive diesels address issues up and accept ongoing maint.

S/F, FOG

they might have LS engines with 300k but I'll bet not the AFM versions which is all you can get for the past decade in a 1500.

Thanks FOG. In fact I have a 2006 5.3L Tahoe without AFM with 4spd. auto. I haven't owned a smoother, quieter engine. I get 20mpg on trips. All that's needed is throwing in water pumps, plug wires, plugs, alt./etc. every so often e.g. every 50k miles. Not worth going to a 6 speed and AFM for ? 2 more mpg. One additional repair because of the AFM or trans. could easily wipe out fuel savings for the life of the vehicle. The other thing I like about the 2006 Tahoe is it doesn't have odd behavior, e.g. AFM kicking in and out.

locals are all buying toy's in the last few months 5 on my block the big ones
only two are work trucks

prices on pick-ups are nuts
buy a beater and beat on it esp if 4wd is used

Agree the 5.3 is butter smooth. Had it in a 2013 suburban. Turned off AFM. Still ended up eating oil. But I looooved that motor for how it made power. You can get a afm delete with regular lifters.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If it's not being used for pulling I don't know that brand really matters. If this is just a commuter truck you shouldn't have to work on it enough to care about the mechanic. Keep good oil in it. Keep clean air filters in it.. Drive it. Most of the issues seen are peripherals. I'd bet most issues seen in today's trucks are caused by an owner using the truck for something it simply isn't designed to do.

from what I see the bigger the pickup
the less likely to be carrying a load
the 2 ton dual wheels trucks are always empty !
while the 1/2 ton ones are more likely to be overloaded

when i was in Lubbock the hunting guide had a NICE F150 with the ecoboost. brand new. i had other things on my mind at the time, so i did not get a chance to ask him about it. he did tell me he leveled the ride by raising the front a bit. and added mud-terrains. anyways, it was the first time in my life i "put a pin" in the F150 option.

yesterday, i did that "build and price" thing on the FORD website. clicking 3.5L ecoboost, forced me into something that looks like a RAPTOR. is this the case? cant i get the 3.5L in the Limited or something less..KAPPOW!

I'm certain you can get the 3.5 in various trims. XLT has some great options.

You can get the 3.5L Ecoboost in all sorts of trim options. There's also the 2.7L Ecoboost if you don't need the towing power of the 3.5L. Raptor is bad ass, but that's a lot of money for a truck.