Anyone have experience with Ford/Chevy full sized 4X4s? (Bring gas and matches, flaming begin) :)

I didn't grow up in a car family. My parents drove what they found at the lot. Most my dad did was change oil.

First truck in my family was my 96 Tacoma that I bought. I've never owned nor driven a Ford or Chevy truck... I just can't find a good value right now in a used Tacoma... I have to go through a dealership for my credit union financing...

What is the reality of buying a Chevy or Ford full sized 4X4 (I don't like the look of the Ranger or S10 at all). ?

Somehow every dealership and every private Taco owner wants near new prices for their 6 year old trucks and i"m getting fed up with this. it's also pissing me off that in newer years it's harder to find a manual transmission Tacoma... (2007 on)

 

Don't buy a Chevy unless you want to replace a trans every 150k. Or deal with abs, 4wd accuator, problems. Ford well Fuckers Only Run Downhill

 

Depends on the year you are looking for. But in all honesty I would rather push a chevy than drive a ford. The chevy will be more dependable and easier to work on that the ford. You only need like 3 sockets and a screwdriver to take the whole truck apart. I assume your looking at the f150. Biggest piece of crap on the road by far. The reason they are so popular is because they are cheap. You get what you pay for.

 

Just get a 1500 in 2wd with the 4.3. Those little fuckers are a tough cookie.

 

Yeah about the only ones that I don't work on every 3 weeks. That 4.3l is a heck of a motor. I've put them through some abuse and it kept going

 

The 4.8 and 5.3 might suck down 2 quarts of oil between fill ups but at least the spark plugs don't sheer off in the heads like that stupid 5.4 triton ford motor. If a company can't even make a spark plug I wouldn't trust them to build a god damn truck. Don't even get me started on the newer f150s and the electronic steering racks that fail everytime it rains.

 

Don't forget that damn lifter problem on the 5.3l active fuel management pile of junk imo. And the special cam gear tool for head gaskets that cost more than the job is worth on a f150. I wouldnt recommend either one to my worst enemy

 

I will say that the d max w/Allison trans is one hell of a truck though. Got nothing against that package.

 

I like to do some trail driving so need a 4X4. I am very (read brutally) hard on everything I own so the lifespan of any car I own is maybe 3-4 years... just how durable is the 1500 4.3?

 

Have you considered the Nissan Frontier at all OP? Just something as an often-overlooked alternative to the American brands that is a lot more affordable than a Tacoma.

 

I've honestly all but written off the Nissans... Know nothing about them. Do they have good transfer cases... Hi/Low etc...?

 

Kayak...I would recommend the frontier as a former owner. I drove a 05 AC NISMO 4wd for 10 years never had any problems with it. I hated to part with it, I bought it new for 4-5k less than the Toyota equivalent. Something to consider.

 

Do they have a high/low transfer case ? Did you ever do much trail work with it?

 

I never had any issues with transfer case although I didn't beat it up either....along the power lines and back roads to the camp during hunting season.

 

My buddy had a Nissan Frontier Access cab 4x4, it had 4Lo and 4Hi just like any other 4x4 truck. Gas mileage sucked because he was running 33s but otherwise he had no problems with it. These trucks along with the Xterra had poorly made transmission coolers built into the radiator that would leak and cause the "Pink Milkshake" at around 90k, I think Nissan fixed the problem in the newer models. Next to a Tacoma the Frontier would be my second choice for a midsize truck.

 

Had a 1500 years ago. It was dependable, however it sucked down gas like a tourist at Oktoberfest. Also worked at the Ford dealer for a while, and wold not drive one even if given to me. Chevy's are dependable, just be prepared to always have something broken or not working right that will be more of an annoyance than I have to get this fixed.

 

I bought a 2007 Chevy 1500 4X4 in 2010 with about 35k on it. I owned it for about 4 years and traded it with under 60K miles. So essentially it was "like new" condition right? In that time frame, I had issues with the EVAP pump system. I had to replace wheel bearings, majority of the steering components, and all the break lines rotted out and needed to be replaced front to back. There was probably more that I have since forgotten. I felt this was unacceptable for a truck with such low mileage on it. This was a pillow hauler so it wasn't beaten on. To many costly repairs for such a low mileage truck. It felt like it was in the shop every few months for something. I had the 5.3 V8 and 4 speed auto and averaged probably about 16 mpg. Id never buy one again..

 

Wow. I have a whole lot different experience than most of you. I have plenty of friends with 1500 5.3 chevys with minimal issues, they seem to run forever. There's a reason they made that truck, in nearly the same config for so long: it worked. I love the new fords, esp the 5.0 ones, but not sure how new you're looking to get... I had a nissan titan that I beat the shit out of, threw some coilovers/arms/rear shocks on and it was a beast. Terrible mileage, but lots of power. The trans started getting hot on me often, and the motor would too after the radiator cracked (common issue). I have a 2005 duramax now and the thing just flat works. I have 165k on it and other than some typical old age maintenance needs, it's been dependable as could be, even with a tuner on it running about 120+ hp often. Because of this, the trans slips when towing or if im not easy on the 4-5 shift, but it works enough to not want to bother with a $5k transmission

 

Are F150's really that bad?

 

with the exception of my 98 Tacoma I had when I was 17 and my 2013 Tacoma I own now, all I've driven was Fords. 89 Bronco II, 85 Mustang GT, 06 F250 I bought new (tow pig), 93 Mustang GT. Along the way I had an 87 Ranger, 94 Explorer, 92 F150 custom as beater cars. So maybe I'm a little bias, but Ive never had any major issues, I kept up on maintenance and my beater vehicles I bought cheap and got my moneys worth out of them then scrapped them or used them as farm trucks. I still drive my 92 F150 because its nice to have an 8ft bed and I don't have to worry about messing it up.

As I mentioned, I bought the 06 F250 SCLB 4x4 (5.4 gas) truck new, had 147,XXX miles on it when I traded it in on my '13 Tacoma. That truck never let me set, was reliable as hell just wasn't practical for me anymore. I towed a 20ft 14K gvw deckover with it a lot. Mostly hauling hay, farm equipment, 6.0L powerstrokes for friends, and numerous other shit.