Best drivetrain of the big 3?

[Ducky's Dad]

Why are you not considering the Ford Ecoboost? I am looking at the 2015 F150s for a work truck and although have only test drove one around the block once, my reading on the 2.7 and 3.5 Ecoboost seems very favorable.

My view: EcoBoost is unnecessarily complicated to achieve performance of a small V8, and I keep my trucks a long time, so expensive repairs are something to avoid. If you change trucks every few years, it will probably become someone else's problem. I don't want aluminum body panels, again because repairs are very expensive. Those panels are designed to be replaced, not repaired, so big bucks if you bend one.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

I actually didn't notice that you didn't list a price or year range. Old used, I'd say 2001-2006 GM, 5.3/4L60E is one of the best truck engine and trans combos, gets high teens in mpg, dead reliable, parts are cheap and everywhere.

I second this!!! The Chevy 5.3 is a damn tank and parts are cheap! I have never heard on one dying and I have been around some abused trucks.

FWIW: I am a first gen tundra owner. While it's a great truck and freakishly reliably, it really is only 7/8th of a full size truck and bolt on upgrades are pricey and becoming harder to find.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

I don't want aluminum body panels, again because repairs are very expensive. Those panels are designed to be replaced, not repaired, so big bucks if you bend one.

Thats the insurance companies problem ;-)

 

[Ducky's Dad]

Thats the insurance companies problem ;-)

No, it's your problem because they set premiums based on cost of probable repairs. And then once you have a claim they raise the premium even more to cover their butts. Insurance is legalized racketeering.

 

[kylekai]

Awhile back I called my insurance company and asked about insuring a new Ford 150, expecting them to say it's very expensive due to the aluminum now used. But I was surprised when they told me the price; it was about what I'm paying now on a Chevy truck. I asked why so (relatively) low, and they said because of the trucks 5 star safety rating and other factors.

As for raising your rates after an accident, I found that to be true if the accident is your fault. My wife was hit by someone running a red light recently, and it totaled her Mazda. The insurance company gave us a fair price for the totaled Mazda, and our rates didn't increase. But once I backed into a pole, damaged my bumper, reported it to the insurance company, and then they did raise my rates.

Lots of factors to consider.

 

[Ducky's Dad]

Lots of factors to consider.

Been there, done that. Don't trust them as far as I can throw them. I have worked for companies that sold insurance, others that were the insurers, and have purchased hundreds of millions of dollars (premiums, not coverage levels) of insurance over the course of my career. They will get you, one way or the other. The only real way to beat them is to self-insure.

 

[p nut]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. To address couple of things: I'm not against EcoBoost, but knowing turboed engines, I would rather not keep up with the maintenance required. Same goes for diesel. Do I really need one if I'm not really going to be towing much?

Seems like a lot of you have had good luck with Dodge. That's one company that I haven't had many dealings with. Had a '98 Grand Cherokee back in the day, which was a fun vehicle. No big issues at 130k miles when I sold it.

 

[bdp1978]

I'm on my 2nd Ram in a row. Both have been Hemi/6 speed combos. My '07 I ran to 155k with heavy use hauling a 24ft boat. All it ever needed were front struts. I'm at 19,000 miles now on my '14. I get 19mpg in the city and 23hwy and it pulls the boat like its barely even there and handles like a car.

 

[65 scout]

No, it's your problem because they set premiums based on cost of probable repairs. And then once you have a claim they raise the premium even more to cover their butts. Insurance is legalized racketeering.

With the cost of labor by far most panels would be replaced rather than repaired no matter what the material.

I'm in the farm belt and you can't swing a dead cat without hitting an F150 with 250k on the original drive train and a set of replacement balljoints. For the most part ALL of the big three make good stuff and can be serviced at any mom and pop shot in the country. I am NOT a fan of Ford's 4.2 V6 but i've seen more than one in a full size van loaded with tool with 350k. In my area I just don't see as many gas burners of any other mage with those kind of miles on them

 

[rayra]

I actually didn't notice that you didn't list a price or year range. Old used, I'd say 2001-2006 GM, 5.3/4L60E is one of the best truck engine and trans combos, gets high teens in mpg, dead reliable, parts are cheap and everywhere. If you're looking for new, I'd go F150 with EcoBoost, just take the claimed mpg with a grain of salt, most people I know with the truck average more like 15-16mpg mixed.

Gotta say this, from our personal experience. The 3 in my sig and a 99 Tahoe with the 5.7L. Pickup with the old 305 / THM350 combo. The four vehicles combined about 850k mi. Over half of that in the SUVs without any major trouble. All three of them in the 120-150k mi range on the original hardware and still going strong. All running the full gamut of hard driving high speeds, hot conditions, mountains, deserts, a little towing. All of them getting around 14mpg.

 

[Clutch]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far.

It is all in who you ask...you'll get several different answers. It is like "most" anything...take care of it, and it will last. My father-in-law is a Chevy guy, his last Silverado he put 250K miles on with very little fuss. He traded it in on a new one, since he is retiring next year, and wanted something with less miles to tour the country with.

Seems like a lot of you have had good luck with Dodge.

Not that you're interested in the EcoDiesel. Have a few buddies with it...love the mileage, hate the truck...in and out of the shop with nagging little electrical problems. One bud, has had his for 6 months and it has been in the shop for 8 weeks out of those 6 months. They had to replace the whole interior already, because of a faulty 3rd brake light gasket. He is close to using the Lemmon Law.

I am with you, don't want anything with a turbo. Fullsize I would go with a Ford or GM. Tundra and Ram aren't on the list. Tundra is too thirsty...the Ram, the gassers are probably alright, but all I ever hear is my Dodge buddies complain that theirs is always causing them trouble. Nothing major just naggin' little stuff.

 

[ABCanuck]

Not to sound ignorant but it seems almost too general a question. Even within the same manafacturer and drivetrain combo there can be such variance. For example, our '02 duramax was the best truck we ever had. Then we chipped it and it was even better. 430hp and 26-28 mpg (canadian). Bought an '04, which turned out to be quite possibly the worst truck we've ever had.

Sent from my SM-T700 using Tapatalk

 

[ZMagic97]

I second this!!! The Chevy 5.3 is a damn tank and parts are cheap! I have never heard on one dying and I have been around some abused trucks.

FWIW: I am a first gen tundra owner. While it's a great truck and freakishly reliably, it really is only 7/8th of a full size truck and bolt on upgrades are pricey and becoming harder to find.

I also agree with the 5.3. I have one in my 06 Sierra and it runs like a dream and I hear the new ones are just as great. I also have a 4.3 Chevy...that V6 has been around for a while and many of them are hitting high miles with zero issues.

 

[mccustomize]

I've had 11 Chevrolet vehicles (10 trucks) and they continue to have the least cost of ownership, which is important for me because I keep vehicles for a long time. I beat on my 03 and 04 daily and they continue to press on running as strong as ever. With that said GM does have some weak links that others have found, the 4L60 is arguably one of the weakest of the bunch, mine was replaced at 90k but ragging on your truck will do that. The 4l60 in my 04 is strong as ever at 117xxx and counting and that truck is full bolt ons/tuned.

The interior in both my 02 and 04 have not developed rattle or squeeks either, I cannot say the same for my buddies trucks of the same era from different manufacturers.

Just my experience FYI

Also I have been writing collision repairs for 8 years and doing bodywork for about 15, we repair more panels than we replace by far.

 

[Buliwyf]

Man, all the new half tons have new drivetrains. It's kinda tough to know for sure. But even for light trailers, I'm going to recommend taking a good long look at the HD F250's, 2500's. You trade some ride quality for better everything else (unless you go Carli or such).

Every mechanic I know prefers the Ford 5.0L to the ecoboost. Shame that you can't get a 2v 4.6L in the F150 anymore. That engine was bullet proof. I'd go Ford just to get the Al body. As soon as the Superduties go Aluminum, I'm trading my truck in. I like not having payments, but rust belt trumps that.

Dodge/Crysler/Fiat won't pay their techs a living wage up here, and the skill level of their techs now reflects that. So even if the truck is good, any problem is a permanent one.

Chevy has good engines, and my GM transmission woes don't apply to half tons. But I just don't like that truck much.