Truck Shopping

[ODB]

I won’t buy anything but a Toyota.

 

[TheBootBowhunting]

My first truck was F150. I’ve owned GMC Sierras since. They were reliable, and no real complaints but I never was wild about any of them. Till I bought a Tundra TRD.

The Tundra is a different story. It’s not close how much I like the Tundra compared to the others. Reliable, powerful, 4x4 - downside is gas mileage (you tundra owners - push the tow haul button without towing, unleashes full Tundra power). I do have the larger capacity gas tank so I get about 425 miles per tank. I have Dick Cepek Extreme Country 33x12.5’s on it so that doesn’t help.

But the crew max cab is cavernous. Hunting out west, you can’t beat the space. With the seats up I had 3 Rubbermaid containers, bow case, a yeti 65, cases of water, extra sleeping bags, etc all just in the back of the Tundra - and I still had a good bit of space. Only thing I had in the bed was a 165qt cooler. It’s absurd how much space you have in there.

 

[The Ri Guy]

Colorado ZR2 Diesel -- I have the Ext. Cab w/Long Bed, but the Crew Cab w/Short Bed is probably better for most folks.

Plenty of reviews online of these little 2.8's making it 300-400k Miles without issue, there are reports of the emissions system having issues, and I have had that but warranty repair and a couple days in the shop took care of it. Low 30's on the highway, can go anywhere.

Absolutely love it.

 

[Don Qui Puncher]

I have an 18 4Runner it’s the first non truck I’ve ever owned and it’s time to go back I miss having a truck. I’m looking at 13-15 power strokes or tundras. I was just looking locally 15 super duty with 143,000 asking 41, seems crazy. I wish the tundras had the long bed with the big back seat

 

[bloom1gr]

I am in the service contract business and I can tell you when it comes to claims the Toyota Tundra has fewer issues than GM, Dodge and Ford, however when you do need to repair the Tundra it’s not cheap.

I own a 2019 Tundra bought it new and I have just over 27,000 miles on it. I really like the ride on the freeway, the room in side is amazing and solid power. The one downside is the truck bed could be a little longer. I hear people complain about fuel economy, I get about 17 MPG on the highway and combined MPG about 14 five or take a mile


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I've been building a Tundra and a Silverado on their websites today (getting everything I'd possibly want) to check out pricing and performance, with the Chevy coming out a fair bit less expensive with quite a bit more flexibility in packages. Of course, this won't tell you which is going to be a more reliable option, which would be most important. What's the word on these newer Silverados that you have any knowledge on?

 

[Howiemoth]

For a 2019 and newer you're still going to be paying too much for a truck. I'd look older and spend some time looking for exactly what you might want for the right price (in cash).

Seen some nice early teens King Ranches out there, lot of truck for the $.

 

[Howiemoth]

Seen some nice early teens King Ranches out there, lot of truck for the $. Spend on the fun not the getting there.

 

[bloom1gr]

Seem like you ought to start with what you need a truck for and go from there? Hauling? Camper? Wife & Kids? Wheeling? Rock crawling? Trails? Grocery getter? Daily driver? Something you can turn wrenches on? Full of gadgetry? Needs in 5 years... those sorts of things.

Nothing at the moment for hauling, but we've discussed the possibility of a smaller camper in the future. Right now it'l be primarily used for work around my property and handling the mountains in this area while out hunting - not huge but some steeper climbs. I'm personally not a big gear-head, and really don't care for all the newest tech/gedgets because I probably won't have much use for them.

 

[Jpdhunter]

What part of Oregon are you in? I am on the southern coast, and drive 2020 Ram 2500 w/Cummins longbed its a great truck, I have been a fan of the dodges coming from a gmc. I have had 95’ Ram Cummins, 2012 Ram Cummins and just got the 2020.

The reason I ask about your area is the big city’s are designed for crew cab long beds, parking can suck, streets are narrow. If you are used to driving one it’s no big deal, coming from a jeep might be a learning curve. Smaller truck may be best if you are in one of the larger city’s and not planning on towing much.

look at the Lithia dealers they are everywhere and have the best discounts and easy going staff. Bought 2 of my 3 dodges from them.
Good luck hunting.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

2016 Tundra owner here. I really gave the F-150 a hard look but wasn't gonna let a couple grand keep me from getting what I really wanted. I purchased a certified used and I'm happy.

I think the newer tundras (2018 and up maybe) have TSS problems. These are the sensors on the grill and I really don't know much more than that. Hopefully someone can chime in that owns one. I think it's more of a nuisance than anything. I also think they did away with the transmission cooler in the newer trucks (2019 and up).

I also have a 2006 Tacoma that has been a real solid truck. 231K miles and no issues. I do my own maintenance on both.

There was a recall on the 2018 and newer to replace the sensors. I got mine done last summer.

 

[taybou]

I just traded in my 2016 Tacoma MT for a 2021 DC 8ft bed Tundra. I loved the Tacoma, and thought I'd run it into the ground, however the 5ft bed ended up being a deal breaker. I put 75K miles on the Tacoma, and didn't do anything but oil changes and tires, and while it could have used a little more power, it was a great truck.

I went with the Tundra since it's really not changed in 10+ years, seems to be universally considered the most reliable truck, so I hope to have it for at least a decade. I went with the 8ft bed as the extra room is huge (3ft more than the tacoma). I run canopys on my trucks, the extra bed length will give me loads of room for a permanent dog crate, and sleeping setup for fishing and hunting.

The big advantage of the tacoma, was getting through and turning around on tight trails and forest roads, as well as parking in the city. That said, with the tundra I can easily put a bike in the bed to get into the same places, and still have way more space than the tacoma.

One thing to consider with a camper (slide in bed camper), the tundra payload is relatively low in comparison to most trucks in the class. Since I run a canopy, I knew going in, I'd at most run a trailer, but if I knew a camper was likely, I'd factor in the payload in my decision to a higher degree.

 

[Moserkr]

Will never get another chevy. Love jeeps but they break and are small. Ram 1500 was nice but I broke it a few times hunting, great on road truck. Never owned a toyota.

Upgraded to a ram 2500 diesel. No issues with either of my rams with a combined 125k mi’s (unless self inflicted on the 1500). I dont tow much, but I can if i want to and put a ton of gear in the bed. Fits 35” tires stock and has great low range gearing. Bet i get similar mileage than the toyotas too, and its 8500lbs. 16-17/20-21. Add 1000 lbs in the bed and the truck doesnt even know its there... then theres the resale value. Custom ordered it in 2018, pretty loaded, for 15% off msrp, paid $55k out the door. (Dennis dillon, ID). Current trade in value with 45k mi is $52,000. Private party is $54k.... If its a shit truck, then it sure holds its value well (jab at the yota boys). Oil change and filters cost me $200 once a year (every 15k). Any yota with a small trailer and bed full of gear will feel the burn up a grade or mountain. My truck would pass them into the wind, half asleep. Ford f150s are nice but way over priced.

All depends what you want and do. Rams are big trucks and can do big things. The advantage of a smaller truck is going down roads you fit on. Or if you dont care, you can smash through whatever. Yota’s are ok i guess, but peaked in the earlier gens. My wife wants a newer 4-runner and i think it would make her a great mall vehicle.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

You say tundra is outdated.
I say its wonderful i can still maintain it myself.

I get it - I love Toyotas. My wife will always drive one. They just don’t pull 5th wheels very well. I also hate the trade off between a crew cab and a 6.5 foot bed. I had 2017 Ram 1500 crew cab with the 5.5ft retarded midget bed and they are useless. Barely fit my dogs crate in there. So then I went to the double cab Tundra, which was awesome until my now teenage kids don’t fit in the back very well anymore and I am 6’5”, so I am not scooting my seat forward very far to accommodate rear sitting passengers. Wife said she wants a 5th wheel, so I was excited to use that as an excuse to get a diesel. I usually trade my trucks in right before the warranty runs out.

 

[Vandal 44]

I've been building a Tundra and a Silverado on their websites today (getting everything I'd possibly want) to check out pricing and performance, with the Chevy coming out a fair bit less expensive with quite a bit more flexibility in packages. Of course, this won't tell you which is going to be a more reliable option, which would be most important. What's the word on these newer Silverados that you have any knowledge on?

Not much information to share on the newer Chevy, The older 1/2 tons had major issues with carbon build-up on the rings that caused a major oil consumption issue (about $5,000 repair). The new Chevrolet Trail-Boss is a great looking truck, I just don't trust the 5.3 Liter. I have heard good things about the Chevrolet 1/2 ton 3.0 liter diesel, that little diesel engine is made by Isuzu and has been used in some many vehicle around the world.

 

[bloom1gr]

Will never get another chevy. Love jeeps but they break and are small. Ram 1500 was nice but I broke it a few times hunting, great on road truck. Never owned a toyota.

Upgraded to a ram 2500 diesel. No issues with either of my rams with a combined 125k mi’s (unless self inflicted on the 1500). I dont tow much, but I can if i want to and put a ton of gear in the bed. Fits 35” tires stock and has great low range gearing. Bet i get similar mileage than the toyotas too, and its 8500lbs. 16-17/20-21. Add 1000 lbs in the bed and the truck doesnt even know its there... then theres the resale value. Custom ordered it in 2018, pretty loaded, for 15% off msrp, paid $55k out the door. (Dennis dillon, ID). Current trade in value with 45k mi is $52,000. Private party is $54k.... If its a shit truck, then it sure holds its value well (jab at the yota boys). Oil change and filters cost me $200 once a year (every 15k). Any yota with a small trailer and bed full of gear will feel the burn up a grade or mountain. My truck would pass them into the wind, half asleep. Ford f150s are nice but way over priced.

All depends what you want and do. Rams are big trucks and can do big things. The advantage of a smaller truck is going down roads you fit on. Or if you dont care, you can smash through whatever. Yota’s are ok i guess, but peaked in the earlier gens. My wife wants a newer 4-runner and i think it would make her a great mall vehicle.

What is it you have against the Chevy? Comparing payload and towing and price to the Tundra is coming up all Chevy for the '21 models. But obviously that isn't going to cover longevity.

 

[camping1601]

Half ton or down and Toyota gets my vote every time. I'll never buy another FCA vehicle unless something drastic changes with them. 3/4 ton Chevy in my near future.

 

[5MilesBack]

Loved a lot of stuff about the Tundra, but....the gas mileage sucks, it hasn’t been updated in almost 15 yrs - the interior is outdated as is the technology.

I would absolutely love a bare bones Tundra or Tacoma with manual transmission, manual transfer, manual windows and doorlocks, no navigation system or video screen, heat and A/C with sliding levers and a separate button for A/C, a larger windshield and windows, and still easy to work on ourselves.........just like my 32 year old Toyota. They would cost half as much, and probably sell twice as many.

 

[eltaco]

Drove my 2007 Tacoma for 190k mi with no major issues. Absolutely loved the truck but with a family of 5 we were outgrowing it faster than I’d like to admit.

Naturally, I started by looking at new Tundras. What I quickly learned is they looked basically identical to the 2007 I was getting rid of inside. Unfortunately, their lack of updates also came at a price premium, and the dealers seemed overly proud of them.

I started my search for full sized considering everything but Ram. For some reason, I just never considered them in the running. Once I finally gave them some consideration, I found the Ram 1500 was my favorite of the pack.

I got really lucky and made my purchase just before Covid hit the US. Inventory was high and pricing was phenomenal. I ended up purchasing at 28% off sticker price for a new 2020. While I don’t know if those prices will come back around for a long while, my out the door ended up considerably less than the other manufacturers.

Pricing aside, I’m extremely pleased with my switch from Tacoma to Ram at this point. I’m about a year in, so hopefully I share that same opinion 10yrs from now, but this is truly a better experience for ride quality, capability, tech, and creature comforts.

 

[Moserkr]

What is it you have against the Chevy? Comparing payload and towing and price to the Tundra is coming up all Chevy for the '21 models. But obviously that isn't going to cover longevity.

Glad you asked... had a ‘08 1500 silverado cc. 4 times it had an electronic issue where sensors in the throttle body, at certain temps, would cause a major malfunction. The malfunction would cause my engine to REDLINE IN DRIVE, catapulting me down the road with my foot off the gas. SIMULTANEOUSLY BRAKES FAILED!!! They were literally mush. I had to put it in neutral, turn the truck off, then on, and it would reset like nothing happened. Each time I took it in for the problem they just swapped throttle bodies, once in 3 secs right in front of me. Also had an independent shop look up literature on it written by chevy. Not enough people died from the issue to warrant a recall.... it almost caused accidents 2/4 times that could have easily killed me and others. On top of that the engine lost its #5 cylinder at 120k, and all the front suspension went bad at 100k.

Other than that lol, not a bad truck. Dad just had their new 1/4 diesel. Bought it for $45k, sold for $23k. Horrible resale, electronics were outdated. Now he has a new 2020 chevy 3500. His friend has a 2019 3500 ford. All diesels. I will say the new chevy and ford HDs have fancier electronics than my Ram. Fords have the nicest interiors overall and very smooth ride but you pay hard for it. But I didnt want fancy annoying electronic gizmos that can fail and cost more to buy/fix. Ordered my loaded ram with minimal fancy stuff on purpose and love it. Only regret is not getting a manual transmission while they existed, and maybe the megacab.

 

[Moserkr]

FWIW my sis now has a bare bones 2018 ram 1500. No issues for 80,000 mi and she is rough on trucks lol. Ill admit and most will agree - ram doesnt make the highest quality vehicles. But they dont make shit ones either. Kinda in the middle. Also not the most high tech or low tech, but above average. In general, very reliable from my experience. My other hunting buddy with a 2015 ram 1500 has had 0 issues in 100k. My BIL has a 2012 ram 1500 with 250k. No issues at all. My issue with the ram 1500 was self inflicted - i asked too much of it. Hard water crossing broke the electronic power steering. Also a small stick jumped up and popped my plastic tranny pan. Other than that i loved the truck and bought another one in a beefier version. Truck shopping is rough so take my opinions and experiences however you want. Hope you buy one you end up loving.