Need truck advice

PolkThug

Looking at used trucks, 2wd, v8, extended cabs, 1997+. They will most likely have around 90k miles already on them.

I think I've got it narrowed down to the Dodge Ram 1500 or Ford F150.

Any experiences, opinions, what to look for?

Thanks

BaggedLancer

Don't quote me on it but I heard dodge trucks are notorious for transmission problems and weak frames.

My dad has always had chevy trucks since the early 90s and never had any problems.

My cousins have always used ford trucks since the early 90s and never had problems.

When looking at a used truck, always try and find out if it had been previously used as a plow truck....if so there could be transmission strain and other hidden problems.

Diesel trucks get the turbo's checked to make sure the owner always allowed proper cool down, etc.

I'd say Chevy or Ford and basically decide on whatever you find based on price and condition.

exalted512

I say go with chevy. My last GMC has 199000 miles on it before we sold it. Only problem it had the entire time was the master cylinder and ac clutch. Cant ask for much better reliability than that.
-Cody

ND13

What kind of price range are ya wanting to stay in?

bobman1235

Oh boy! Another Ford vs Mopar vs Chevy fight!

IanD

Go for the Ford. Our Dodges never went the same distance before falling apart as the Fords did. For the heck of it, check the resale values of both trucks. That should help you make up your mind.
BTW, I drive a Nissan

Jstas

Trucks are trucks dude. You know that. What it comes down to are two things.

1.) Does it have the features you want at a price you want to pay?

2.) What was it's previous life?

As mentioned already by BaggedLancer, if it was a plow truck or used exclusivly as a tow-mule, you'll want to know that because there will be driveline problems. You'll also want to look at what kind of company it worked for if it was a commercial vehicle. Construction companies are very hard on suspensions and drivelines. Contractors like plumbers, electricians and HVAC guys will do alot of work at construction sites and often have to use the same vehicles for hauling loads a tad heavier than they should.

If the truck was used for commuting then you want to know highway or city miles. If the truck was used for emergency response like first-responder or a cheif's truck for the fire department, that's important too. All this kind of info wil give you a good idea of how this vehicle spent it's life before it was sitting on this used car lot.

You'll want to check for things like water in the oil. Just stick your finger inside the filler cap and look in the PCV hose. White goo? There is a problem. It might just be condesation from sitting so long but it could be a leaky gasket. Check the exhaust. If it is still dripping large amounts of moisture at operating temps, you might have a problem related to that water in the oil. Smell the exhaust, don't huff it, just take a sniff of the odors. Does it smell rich? Might be a bad O2 sensor. Does it smell lean? You might have a fuel problem or it needs a tune-up. Is the smoke gray or excessivly sooty? Indicative of other problems. Take it for a ride. Does it make alot of noises? Are the bumps harsh? Does the truck wallow in a turn? If it does, that's evidence of worn rear springs which could be evidence of previous over-loading.

Check tires. Are they wearing evenly? An alighment is prrobably due but alot of trucks, especially 4x4's can show signs of bad bearings up front from simple tire wear patterns. Look down the side, does the rear axle line up with the front axle? I've seen many vans and pickups riding down the road crooked from accident damage or a bent axle that couldn't be aligned properly.



Otherwise, the typical problems that plague most trucks are apparent. The Fords are good because if the mod motors are taken care of, they will last for at least 250K miles. You need to make sure that any TSB's and recalls related to the cooling system was taken care of though. I've heard of trans problems too. Idle air control valves tend to kick the buccket frequently too. For the most part though, the problems I have heard with the Fords has been related to wear items like brakes and belts and such. Most of the problems related to that have been of dubious distiction because it's hard to be sure that the repair work was done properly.

The Dodges have alot of the same issues. Nothing really drastic or unexpected. I've heard of some complaints with windshields and interior fabrics but nothing worth mentioning. Other than that stuff, keep in mind that trucks are heavy and hard on driveline and suspension components. They are also expected to do much more work than regular cars. Consequently, thier problems can be vastly different and sometimes more expensive to fix. If you go with a truck from any one of the big three, you are unlikey to have any really serious problems. Just make sure you look the truck over well and interrogate the salesman on the history of the vehicle. If there are documented service records, even better! If it's a private sale, be as through as you can. If you have a mechanic buddy with a shop, see if you can stop by with the vehicle in question and have him check it out for you. Mechanics have a trained eye and usually loads of experience. What might look like something serious to you might end up being nothing worth worrying about to them. But an expert opinion is always better than taking a gamble of something you are unsure of.

ben62670

IanD wrote:

Go for the Ford. Our Dodges never went the same distance before falling apart as the Fords did. For the heck of it, check the resale values of both trucks. That should help you make up your mind.
BTW, I drive a Nissan

I have heard this same exact story from many companies that have fleets. They bought the Dodges for the power/price/looks, but the reliability isn't there. Especially tranys. The gas millage sucks on Dodges, I don't care what the EPA stickers say. Myself and my friends all worked the Fords and beat the snot out of them. In the long run the Fords last the longest. A lot of the older fords start running a little funny, but they just don't die! My Chevy friends stopped picking on our Fords a long time ago.

Ben

wodom1

ben62670 wrote:

I have heard this same exact story from many companies that have fleets. They bought the Dodges for the power/price/looks, but the reliability isn't there. Especially tranys. The gas millage sucks on Dodges, I don't care what the EPA stickers say. Myself and my friends all worked the Fords and beat the snot out of them. In the long run the Fords last the longest. A lot of the older fords start running a little funny, but they just don't die! My Chevy friends stopped picking on our Fords a long time ago.

Ben

He's right about the gas mileage sucking on Dodge's. My 4.7L V8 in my '02 Durango gets 12.3 MPG on my 18 mile commute and I've never gotten better than 16.9 on the highway. I've never had any maintenance issues with it though, and I'm at 77k miles. I've been happy with it and the 4.7 L is a quick engine -- 235 HP & 295 torque. If I were you, I'd lean towards an F-150 though. I drove a '96 F-150 with the 4.9L I6 for years and it seemed unstoppable, plus I've always liked the looks of the F-150's the best.

Demiurge

I love our F-350.

shawn474

My dad has a Dodge and brother a Ford - I say if it's between them go for the Ford. The Dodge has been in and out of the shop for years - the Ford basic maintenance only and runs like new. Both were cared for in the same way.

However from my experience I wouldn't count out the Silverado or Sierra (GMC version). They are good trucks especially for the money. Just my experience though.

Shawn

markmarc

I live on the edge of farm country and I know many of the farmers. their trucks get a hell of a work out every day. About 70-75% are Ford's, and most of these guys keep their trucks on average of 250K miles.

PolkThug

Thanks fellas. The collective knowledge of the forum rocks. F150 probably works out better for me anyway since my Mustang tuning shop can tune the F150 also.

Systems

PolkThug wrote:

Looking at used trucks, 2wd, v8, extended cabs, 1997+. They will most likely have around 90k miles already on them.

I think I've got it narrowed down to the Dodge Ram 1500 or Ford F150.

Any experiences, opinions, what to look for?

Thanks

Okay we bought a Dodge Ram 1500 new in 1995 when they changed the body style. Its a 4x4 short box with the 360 and an automatic. We put 98,000 miles on it, hard miles. My wife pulled a horse trailer all over the country with it and pulled a tandem trailer hauling vehicles around the state. It had been run off the road a couple of times due to icy conditions, didn't wreck it but bounced it around pretty bad, been buried up to its frame in mud and pretty much had crap rodded out of it.

I then sold it to my sister and shes been driving it since and they just love it. The only major issue I had with it was the intake manifold gasket went bad but they had a recall on it anyway so wasn't too big of a deal. And as far as the mileage goes my sister is currently getting around 17 with it.

We also own a 2001 Dodge Diesel 4x4 with an automatic and am in the process of putting a Banks kit in it. We've had zero problems with that one. And I am running an 02 Dakota for my work truck. Have had zero problems with that one also.

So my recommendation is Dodge:)

Polkersince85

Ford.

Come down to GA and get one, good prices and no salt.:)

(might be some beer spilled on the seat)

RuSsMaN

Another Coke vs Pepsi thread, great.

I'll take a Dr. Pepper.

Systems

Oh, and I drink Diet Pepsi:)

Toxis

I vote Toyota.

BaggedLancer

How about a nice international cxt?

Perfect size

PolkThug

Toxis wrote:

I vote Toyota.

I'm test driving a Tundra tonight. Oddly enough, they appear to have more American parts than my new Mustang.

PolkThug

RuSsMaN wrote:

Another Coke vs Pepsi thread, great.

I'll take a Dr. Pepper.

I've got a case of Dr. P stashed in my cubicle.

scottnbnj

f150online is a pretty good resource. if you end up with a ford it might be worth checking for the ford shop manuals (dvd) on e-bay. i got it for my 06 350 for something like $30 a couple of months ago.

http://www.f150online.com/forums/index.php

)

beardog03

Noel (ND13) is in the business...listen and learn...

If it`s between dodge and Ford F150...I personally would take the Ford

Dennis Gardner

I have a '04 Dodge 1500 Quad Cab with the Hemi and couldn't be happier. 20MPG at 65MPH, 15 around town if I stay out of the throttle which is pretty hard as fun as it is to let the engine run out.

PolkThug

No F-150 for me, there are way too many people that have blown out sparkplugs, which Ford didn't issue a TSB on, but corrected the problem on the '04 heads. ('04+ is out of my price range)
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/ford_spark.html

I'm test driving an '01 Tundra right now. ( it has the same American made content as my Mustang, 65%)

VR3

PThuggy...

Weren't you downing me a few months back about liking the Tundra???

Japan brotha - designed there, all built here.

ben62670

PolkThug wrote:

No F-150 for me, there are way too many people that have blown out spark plugs, which Ford didn't issue a TSB on, but corrected the problem on the '04 heads. ('04+ is out of my price range)
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/ford_spark.html

I'm test driving an '01 Tundra right now. ( it has the same American made content as my Mustang, 65%)

Its amazes me to see that many complaints when I have never heard of anything like that. What I would really like to know is were the plugs ever changed in those vehicles. Any aluminum head is very easy to strip with a spark plug. Cross thread it slightly or over tighten it like most people do, and that may be the cause. Like I said I've heard a lot about Dodge tranies, but I have never heard of plugs popping out. With this info I would have no second thoughts about buying another Ford . I have owned 9 of them, but I certainly would make sure the plugs are changed properly.

Ben

PolkThug

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote:

PThuggy...
Weren't you downing me a few months back about liking the Tundra???
Japan brotha - designed there, all built here.

Yep, I said something like "a **** truck, wtf!"

So far, the only thing I don't like on the Tundra is the brakes seem kind of weak for how big the truck is.

brettw22

My brother in law has a Tundra (fairly new though) and that thing has been a great truck. He's only using it really as a commuter truck though so I don't know what kind of work you're needing it to do.

PolkThug

brettw22 wrote:

My brother in law has a Tundra (fairly new though) and that thing has been a great truck. He's only using it really as a commuter truck though so I don't know what kind of work you're needing it to do.

It has to be able to pull my Mustang to redneck cities all over the US.

Yeah, my uncle is in the used trucks business and the Tundra is his favorite truck.

karpiel666

+1 for the toyota. Anything bigger I would go with ford.