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robbie95
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Hey fellas, been driving the comanche as a daily driver for the past 5 years.. It's kind of bittersweet because I won't be driving her every day, but the good news is, I'll be able to finally put her in the shop and get all the rust fixed! With that being said.. What kind of full size trucks are you guys driving? I was looking to stay with Chrysler products and pick up a dodge, but I've also heard great things about the Tundra. Only have 10-12k to work with, but I imagine that is enough to get me into something decent without having a car payment. Would love to hear your guys thoughts on a reliable full size truck.

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I'd go with a silverado. Toyotas are nice but at least in CO they pull a premium. Personally I don't think they are worth it but that's just me. Can't go wrong with a 350 and everything else driveline wise is solid. They are fairly cheap for parts and easy to fix. Dodges are nice but depends on the years. 

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1 minute ago, Smokeyyank said:

I'd go with a silverado. Toyotas are nice but at least in CO they pull a premium. Personally I don't think they are worth it but that's just me. Can't go wrong with a 350 and everything else driveline wise is solid. They are fairly cheap for parts and easy to fix. Dodges are nice but depends on the years. 

Yea, toyotas are very expensive over here too.. I actually looked at a 08 silverado but it had the 4.3 in it... bummed me out, was a nice truck and good price, but I'd rather have a v8.

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For 10-12k you should be able to pick up a cherry first gen tundra or a decent second gen.

 

Toyota would be my first choice. Current daily is an 02 tundra, paid $4k for it last year. Its was a smokin deal.

 

Chevy would be second, because of the big 3 they seem to have the best track record.

 

Then Ford

 

Then Dodge.

 

You have a really good budget to work with, no matter what make you choose you should have bo problem finding a really nice, low milage truck.

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You'll get a lot more Dodge for your money than you will Toyota, that's for sure. Around here that budget only gets you a Taco unless you want a miled-out 2wd Tundra and there aren't many of them either. 

I kinda like the Dodge trucks in our fleet. Honest trucks that don't pretend to be something they're not, and they get the job done. No particular reliability advantage over the others but much more random stuff fails, I don't think I've changed the same component twice on different trucks. The guys running the Dodges are much harder on the trucks judging by the body damage they collect, and for the most part they keep taking the beatings. It seems like the Dodges accumulate more miles than the others too on crews with multiple brands of trucks so I guess I'm not the only one who likes them. Only thing I don't care for is the dial shifter thing on the half-tons.

Our Fords are either blingy or let you know you've got the poverty spec, and if you're the sort of person who does their own wrenching, Ford seems to be actively combating anyone other than dealer mechanics working on them because almost everything I've had to deal with was buried deep under other parts. You also have to like Fords to like them, because all the controls seem to be put somewhere ergonomically dumb, seating positions seem awkwardly upright, etc, and holy hell that door chime is obnoxious. Nothing particularly untoward stands out on the reliability front, although we do see electronic and wiring issues more frequently and the f250s really seem to love eating suspension and steering components. 

The GMs are somewhere in the middle... not super nice, not awful, without being obnoxious like the Fords or with as much character as the Dodges. Forgettable really. The oldest trucks in the fleet are all Chevs, which might be because we end up with more of them. They seem more prone to the interior coming apart, but they don't seem to have many major issues and nothing that has gone wrong has been particularly memorable because it's usually a pretty straightforward job. Things that fail tend to also fail on other trucks more so than the Fords. The one thing that is memorable is we've encountered a bunch of situations where you order parts and get the wrong ones, not because they were mislabelled or anything but because GM inexplicably and seemingly at random installed a different set of parts on some trucks that aren't compatible with parts from the other set, but with no particular indicating factors as to which set they fit.

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It’s going to depend on whether you need a hauling truck, tow vehicle, off-road capability or fuel economy with passenger space.
There is a reason almost every GM truck with digital dash is pulled in the junkyard.
On Fords, the 5.4 is alternately praised or cussed (spark plug/coil vacuum issues and the wrong auto trans cost me $5,000 to replace in a truck I bought for $500!)
That dial shift Dodge has on the dash nearly got me killed when a swing gate was closing and I nearly got skewered because it won’t reverse directions or shift if you slam on your brakes and in the dark it can be confused for the heater fan control or radio volume.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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10 minutes ago, Pete M said:

 

are they problem prone? 

From what I’ve been hearing a lot of people don’t like it and it seems like the battery enjoys dying early in its life. There’s been times at work where customers come in because their “fuel saver” battery will be dead and it would not be in stock here at the dealer. Chrysler can’t seem to keep the special battery stocked unless the dealer orders them on the side from elsewhere. But they are only on certain Jeep vehicles equipped with the pentastar 3.6 and fiats. 

 

So they are not terribly problem prone, just that battery likes to die

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are you talking about the engine shutoff thingie?  I'm referring to the 4-cylinder operation on the freeway.  sorry for the confusion. :doh:  my folks have both in their '16 Durango and we've bypassed the shutdown feature for good.  But 24mpg on the highway is kinda nice for a 360hp beast :D 

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4 minutes ago, Pete M said:

are you talking about the engine shutoff thingie?  I'm referring to the 4-cylinder operation on the freeway.  sorry for the confusion. :doh:  my folks have both in their '16 Durango and we've bypassed the shutdown feature for good.  But 24mpg on the highway is kinda nice for a 360hp beast :D 

Lol, oops.  yea I am. No that shouldn’t happen on the freeway at all. Just at times when the vehicle isn’t moving. 

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15 hours ago, Smokeyyank said:

Toyotas are nice but at least in CO they pull a premium. Personally I don't think they are worth it but that's just me.

 

That's the case everywhere.  About the only advantage of it is they're easy to sell when you get sick of them, even with major problems.  I don't see it being worth the up front premium for that though, as I find you typical could buy two or three directly comparable domestic trucks for the same price.

 

I'd probably buy a GM, but I'm biased since they're what most of the work trucks I've dealt with were, and I have an 04 1500HD (fake 3/4 ton with the 6.0L) and it has done me fine for how much I used it.  I've also seen the 4.8/5.3 trucks take some terrible abuse and get decent fuel economy doing it.  Beyond that, I rank Dodge and Ford fairly evenly, but honestly feel all of the trucks (domestic and foreign) available now are fairly comparable assuming you avoid the known bad apples, so I'd let price/condition/features dictate the decision far more than the emblem on the grill.

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My 2014 Ram 5.7 Hemi has the cylinder de-activation (Eco mode) feature that shuts down 4 cylinders when cruising at light load.  It will go into Eco at 70-75 MPH on flat sections.  It does not have the auto engine shut-down when stopped feature.  I understand that cars/trucks with the auto shutdown also have a setting that disables it.

My choice will be Ram when/if I replace this one.  The dial shifter took a short time to get used to, but it hasn’t given me any problem.

I’ve got 130+K miles on it and so far I’ve replaced the original battery, the fuel pump (actually only the fuel level sensor failed but replaced pump as insurance), and the front brakes are getting close to replacement.

Previously drove GM trucks and had long service life and reasonable reliability but my Ram rides and handles much better.  I’ve had other truck owners comment on the ride/handling/comfort.

Above opinion is based on personal experience.  Your ownership experience may vary based on geographic location, climate, road/highway conditions, vehicle mission and driving style.

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As a Ram Jeep dealer tech, we havent seen a lot of issues with the cylinder deactivation. I have replaced a few of the solenoids over the years, but its a random thing. The dial shifters in the half ton trucks means it has the 8 speed trans, which has been a pretty good trans so far. The extra low gearing in first really peps these heavy trucks up, then the extra deep overdrive helps with milage. The trans fluid for the 8 speed is $40 a quart though, so theres that, but like I said there havent been a lot of common issues. I used to be a die hard Ford truck guy before my Comanche fell in my lap, I still like the old ones a lot, but after working on them for the lat 13 years in the dealership, a Dodge is all I would buy new or late model. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey guys, I know its been a while, have my eyes on a 99' f250 7.3 with 113k miles on it. Looks like its in good condition, gonna give it the go around tomorrow when I meet with the owner. I've heard good things about the 7.3 diesel.. What  are your guys thoughts?

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Would that be the international or the power stroke 7.3? 

 

Turbo?

 

I guess it doesnt matter to much. The 7.3, in either flavor, is well known for being damn near unkillable.

 

My brother had one with 450k on the clock, 85% offroad miles. His was non turbo.

It had a hard hard life, but always ran like a champ.

 

can't really offer much on the rest of the truck your looking at.

 

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15 minutes ago, Pete M said:

the 7.3 is the better ford diesel :L:  sounds like it could be a winner.

That's what I heard was just gonna check with you guys first. Was looking at a few others, but I would have felt bad using them as my work truck lol.. I need something I can kind of beat up on and not care too much.

 

18 minutes ago, ftpiercecracker1 said:

Would that be the international or the power stroke 7.3? 

 

Turbo?

 

I guess it doesnt matter to much. The 7.3, in either flavor, is well known for being damn near unkillable.

 

My brother had one with 450k on the clock, 85% offroad miles. His was non turbo.

It had a hard hard life, but always ran like a champ.

 

can't really offer much on the rest of the truck your looking at.

 

I'm pretty sure its the powerstroke, if it helps the engine was made by Navistar. Just hoping the bank lends for something that old if I end up liking it.

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21 hours ago, robbie95 said:

That's what I heard was just gonna check with you guys first. Was looking at a few others, but I would have felt bad using them as my work truck lol.. I need something I can kind of beat up on and not care too much.

 

I'm pretty sure its the powerstroke, if it helps the engine was made by Navistar. Just hoping the bank lends for something that old if I end up liking it.

 

 Check with a local credit union. Most times they are able to do a "cash for title"  loan. Tricky part is how to do it for a new purchase. It will require you to take out a personal loan to get the truck, then once you get the title in your name they can "pay off" the personal loan with the new car loan. I've done it a few times. Depending on your credit most times they will loan you the max NADA value. 

 

I can't speak to anything Ford as I've never/will never own one . People like them . They're going to be the cheapest trucks for a reason.  

 

 

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