New England B.S. Thread

The only issues I've had with my truck (aside from the clunking suspension) have been from non-OEM stuff that I altered...I'm looking at you roll bar lamps.

Woke up to find someone linked their PayPal account to my checking account. Happy Friday!

 

Why the HELL am I working today... useless. I shoulda brought a bottle to work today.

Anyway, interesting story, maybe to some.. Last weekend I went ice fishing at Todd Lake in Bradford NH, it freezes early, good ice and is often one of my first target lakes. It's got a good 6 or 7 inches of ice and I could have brought my snow machine but decided to walk. It's a long walk and I'm out of shape, horribly, at the end of the day I'm dragging my sled back to the truck and the last part is a steep climb to the road. I use a chisel/spud bar on the ice, it's a really nice and light purpose built chisel that is extremely sharp. It' designed so that if I throw it at the ice as hard as I can it will go through 2" of ice, telling me it's unsafe. I only use it on the way out, obviously I know it's safe on my return trip, so it got stowed in the sled and must have fell out as I pulled it up the steep bank. I didn't realize until the next morning it didn't come home with me. It was early when I left and there were a whole bunch of fishermen there, even a lot of kids that were just out walking the pond so I figured it definitely was taken by someone. The bait shop I use is not far away and I decided to call them and let them know if anyone found a chisel, give me a call. Well apparently it sat there for the rest of Sunday, all of Monday and on Tuesday some kid brought it in to the bait shop and I got a call! Amazing. It's only like a $50 chisel but faith in humanity has been restored! I think he is a regular and when I go to pick up the chisel this afternoon I am going to buy the kid a bunch of bait. Good stuff!

Hope everyone had a good Christmas!

 

I need some input guys, I'm giving some serious consideration to trading the F250. I love the truck but the fuel cost is killing me. I knew all that going in and I've freely admitted the truck is overkill but what can you do. I found a half ton with all the towing goodies near by, it's a Silverado 1500 diesel. I've been watching the half ton diesel game for a while and this is the first one to get my attention, it actually seems to tow really well. So, what do you think? It gets 30mpg unloaded compared to my 13-14, towing mpg is actually comparable. It's smaller so I'd fit in parking garages and parking spaces again (not a huge selling point but does help) and it will ride a lot smoother. Otherwise, it's just another truck with better economy. Brand bias aside, what do you think?

 

If I'm not mistaken, there were a couple of years that the Silverado wasn't very good but generally I have heard nothing bad overall about them. Do your homework and check out YouTube for the "bad" year ones.

 

Have you done any math on the fuel price differences? Also more expensive maintenance? I don't think modern diesels are usually worth it, especially not in the mid-size truck game. That's just, like my opinion man.

Also, what is the loss on the trade? That could probably buy a lot of fuel.

Whats the MPG on a regular truck these days? Low to mid 20's? I think just a regular sized gas truck is your best bet. But you might have requirements I don't.

 

You know I'm exceptionally pleased with my GM half ton gasser. So much so that I will probably buy another one when the time comes. Can't speak of the diesels obviously but I have two buddies with GM 3/4 tons that are oil burners. One of them, his 2016 had something fail that was going to cost massive money to fix from GM- like $5k. IT'S A FREAKING 2016!!! A work around was to buy a tuner chip- one feature was it eliminated the specific problem he was having. Must have been an emissions problem? I just don't get diesels unless you really, really need them. I personally would do everything in my power to avoid buying a diesel, but that's me. They just are massive, massive money to fix when something goes wrong. 30mpg unloaded is pretty damn sweet though. Whatever they claim I would reduce by 20%, but you know that already.

 

How long will it take the fuel savings cost to recoup whatever financial hit you'll take?

If the breakeven point is something you're comfortable with, I don't see a downside. I'd just try and get some extended seat time in it to make sure you enjoy it.

EDIT:
@Bridge4 said it better, and sooner. Sorry I missed your post.

 

Easy day today. Was told to change trucks and go to Bedford, Ma town hall and take all their cardboard recycle .

 

No worries on my end!

 

Unfortunately, it’s a new truck and new engine so I’m venturing into no mans land... not a lot of history out yet on the new diesel. The rest of the new Silverado seems to be holding up well

I did the math on fuel cost alone. Using the optimistic mileage from my truck and EPA mileage for that one, I save about $2k/year. Maintenance is a little more expensive so figure I’ll save $1,500/yr all said and done. 3/4 ton, the diesel didn’t make much sense. It was a very expensive option, maintenance is much more expensive and the mileage difference doesn’t make it worth it for the fuel economy alone. This works because I’m comparing 2 different classes of truck. If I needed a 3/4 ton, it’d be one thing. I bought the 3/4 ton because I was not finding what I wanted in the half ton variety. Half ton gassers seem to be in the high teens to 20 mpg. I don’t really want GM’s 4 cylinder turbo of Ford’s small V6 ecoboost. They get better mileage but I can’t see that lasting long when towing. Chevy’s half ton diesel seems to be getting good mileage and is actually doing really well towing based on the reviews i’ve Seen. As far as the trade, i’m hoping to be within a grand or 2 at most for the trade. My truck was more expensive to start so it might actually work... lots of year end incentives also.

Believe it or not, the Chevy diesel is blowing the EPA number out of the water. EPA is claiming like 24 but people are getting over 30 with it (and not hyper milers, just regular testers). The concerns about owning a modern diesel are still valid though...

If they make the trade work the way I want them to, I might not be at a loss all said and done so nothing to recover or a year max. Haven’t driven one yet so that might be the decider although my dad has always had Chevy’s so I generally know what i’m getting in to. It will certainly ride a lot better than the Super Duty! I wouldn’t mind being able to fit in parking garages again also. Biggest downside is I lose the accessories, the Diamondback Bed Cover is the biggest loss...

 

I like what you're saying here. BUT. Don't sleep on the v-6 ecoboost. Thing is fast and can tow like a fucking champ. I had one and towed 7k enclosed trailer from NC to MA twice and it didn't hesitate. I really liked the engine, just didn't like my doors not closing.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t knock the performance of the 2.7 ecoboost, just concerned about the longevity of it. They’re impressive little power plants and I know it will tow my camper just fine from a power perspective, that’s just a lot to ask from a small gas engine and I worry about it long term. I know the diesel is only a 3.0 liter but they’re just bred for that type of work (that said, the half ton diesels are only allegedly rated for 150k miles)

 

I had the 3.5. I guess if they would throw in or give a smoking deal on an extended warranty, but yeah for regular towing i might hesitate on the 2.7 too.

 

I am going to offer my opinion, be it popular or not....

First, had a 3.5 F150 for a rental when I blew my van up.
Yep, hauls ass. Not bad on fuel in street trim(not working). Also just... meh....

However, we had a whole fleet of these ecoboosts.
Operative word, HAD. Not a single one made it 100k.
Problems from turbo failures, 1 caught fire, transmission issues, blah blah.

There is nothing that could get me into one of those in a truck or van.
They SEEM to hold up under the normal grocery/commuter use of the typical f150. But, my personal experience with them in fleet use...

 

What do you have for the fleet now? My old 5.0 seemed pretty solid, how many of the issues you guys had were engine related vs just general Ford related (tranny, body, etc).

So what would your opinion be on the half ton diesel line up from any of the big 3? I like Chevy’s because it’s the only inline 6 and seems to be the best performer as a result.

 

Back to Chevy 1tons. 6.0 But, long wait, and pricey.
Looking the mercedes sprinters.
May be switching to service TRUCKS, since cab and chassis are pretty readily available.

I can feel the office out...but, no one has anything good to say about them....
I know at least a significant percentage was engine.
These things were under boost a significant portion of their use.
My Bro in Law runs a motor shop, and HATES the ecoboost(typical fuel usage in line my V10 ford, or 6.0 chevy, 10-12mpg).
But, he isnt thrilled with the 5.3 chevys either(AFM).

 

That statement is exactly what scares me away from small turbo engines in a big truck, the ones that are constantly under boost aren’t surviving overly well. I know I don’t exactly run my vehicles into the ground, usually at 100k i’m looking to trade, but i’d at least like to think the vehicle COULD last. And that mode of thinking leads me to keeping the F250...

The new 5.3 has the cylinder deactivation which i’m not thrilled about. I don’t recall if Ram does the same or does start/stop. Ford does the start stop but you can deactivate it pretty easily.

 

Got rid of mine at 57k miles, so you have a better long term experience

 

I can't speak for the Ram specifically, but, the Hemi in our Charger has cyl deactivation. Shuts 4 down. Only a minor delay between application of throttle, and all 8 firing. Fraction of a second.

There is no perfect truck.

We pick and choose what is best for us.

I like my Taco... But, so many little things, I get frustrated sometimes. Usually transmission/shift strategy related. But, I hate automatic transmissions, so stupid shit is magnified to me. Shoulda got a stripped down TRD OR 6MT...

In all honesty, if I had to start over again and keep an automatic, I would probably go back to a Frontier.
In 130k, only REPAIR, was a fan clutch.
Wasn't outstanding at anything, but, did everything pretty well.

Anyway, I am rambling while waiting on a show to get going....

 

I think you’re statement about there not being a perfect truck is spot on. It’s all weighing pros and cons for what we need as an individual (and personal experience with specific manufacturers).

I had a long chat with the Chevy dealer and the deal’s a no-go. They have an advertised price you can’t get to, not all of the promotions apply to get you there. That said, we’d be starting too far apart on what mine is realistically worth and their starting point to make it worth it. I’m not willing to lose that much in the trade. So, for the foreseeable future, the F250 is sticking around. I do really like driving it so it’s not a sad day at all really. But, as a consolation prize, my wife gave me the green light to get the Ferd’s windows tinted next week