Stay with the Big 3 or venture to the Far East? Work truck content

So I am currently in the market for truck that will be used for work on a daily basis, but will also be my second vehicle. I currently am running my 335i from Milwaukee to Waukegan, IL (N. Chicago suburb) on an almost daily basis, and although the Bimmer gives a valiant effort, it sucks as a work vehicle and struggles to fit in on a construction site.

Since this will be my second vehicle I'm not looking to break the bank so I've set a max budget on $14k but am realistically looking to only spend $10-$12k. I do get mileage and other vehicle allowances for using it for work so that will help offset the cost. At the same time I still am looking for something that I will be using on a day-to-day basis and am not looking for a beater either. So far from some searching i see that for that price range I can get myself into pretty much any early to mid-2000s full size truck.

For whatever reason I am partially biased towards Ford, but I am open to anything. I have used Ford and Chev's for work vehicles in the past and none have had any major issues. Even the dreaded 5.4s have made it well past 200k in work trucks that were driven hard and put away wet for their entire life. Both seem to drive well, tow well and aren't too terrible on gas.

My queston for the GRM brain trust is how are the other full size trucks? The Ram and Titan are intriguing since they make the most power out of the group, and also seem to be the cheaper of the options that I have seen around, with Ford being next cheapest and the Chev at the top of the price range. Any issues with these that I should be aware of before looking into them? Also how are the Tundras? I know they came out with the current body style in 2007 and that engine and truck seem nice, but are out of my price range, but how are the older ones? If I am remembering correctly they are a little on the under powered side of the full size truck spectrum.

As always the feedback is much appreciated.

One werd: Ferd!

How much are you looking to spend?

I'd look at an Explorer. Anyone know what kind of mileage will the 6 speed auto get with the 4.6 V8/4X4? Or the Sport Trac.

I was just coming in to say Sport Trac.

Some car - some truck. I am not sure if it is enough "truck-like" for your wants. It seems that they are overlooked but offer a good compromise along with a cheaper way to get into a 5 seat "truck"

In reply to RossD:

16-19 highway.....pending gear ratio. My parents had the 3.73 set and it consistantly turned in 16. The 4.0L v6 returns about the same, which is funny. The worst thing is that sport tracs are holding their value quite well.

To clarify, I'm looking at something in the $10-$14K range, unless I find something cheaper that has lower miles. It seems like you have to spend that much to get a truck with less than 150k on the clock.

In reply to RossD, I've kicked around the idea of an SUV but I think a truck is still more practical. I do tow some stuff for work (heavy aluminum work boat, encolsed ATV trailer), nothing am Explorer couldn't handle but I would rather a 1/2 ton truck. I also like the convenience of a bed. Put the bikes and motorcycle in it, put an engine or trans in it, etc. I guess I'm willing to pay extra for a bed.

Ideally I would like a NISMO Frontier crew cab with the 6-speed manual, but that doesn't exist. And for a comparable year mid-size truck you can get into a full size truck that offers more room, towing, bed etc.

05-06 CC Chev/GMC in 2wd is about your price range right now and is a lot of truck for the money. Depending on engein/rear end you are looking at a 19-22mpg consistently highway cruiser that can haul/tow with the best of them.

The Frontier was also rebadged the Suzuki Equator.

Different grill but mechanically, all Nissan.
You might find one cheaper and overlooked. At the time, a lot of the Suzukis went into rental car service. Suzuki was selling them cheap to the rental companies to keep their numbers up. The rental companies typically only took the 4 door version so many Suzukis are 4 door.

The GM twins will give you the best mpg. Other than that, practically anything from anyone will do what you require.

About the Toyotas - it depends which generation you're looking at. The first generation (2000-06) isn't a full size, more like 5/8ths. Nice enough truck, I ran one for a while. It was working hard when asked to tow across the mountains and Kansas with a big headwind and an enclosed trailer. Never gave a problem, but was working hard.

The boss has one of the current generation, while I now own a 3/4 ton Ram diesel. The Tundra is a truck for non-truck people, it's more of a car in a lot of ways. That's good or bad, depending on what you want. Perfect for him, wrong for me. It's a full size for sure and will handle our two-car trailer, although I'd much rather be in the Ram in that situation. I personally find the current Tundra to be a bit awkward in terms of size and torque, but that's because I'm not a fan of gas engines in full size trucks.

With older trucks, especially those used to tow race cars long distances, I like the prospect of being able to walk into any auto parts store and have parts in stock at fair prices if anything goes wrong. Given that, I prefer the Ford and GM

Keith Tanner wrote: About the Toyotas - it depends which generation you're looking at. The first generation (2000-06) isn't a full size, more like 5/8ths. Nice enough truck, I ran one for a while. It was working hard when asked to tow across the mountains and Kansas with a big headwind and an enclosed trailer. Never gave a problem, but was working hard. The boss has one of the current generation, while I now own a 3/4 ton Ram diesel. The Tundra is a truck for non-truck people, it's more of a car in a lot of ways. That's good or bad, depending on what you want. Perfect for him, wrong for me. It's a full size for sure and will handle our two-car trailer, although I'd much rather be in the Ram in that situation. I personally find the current Tundra to be a bit awkward in terms of size and torque, but that's because I'm not a fan of gas engines in full size trucks.

The 2wd V6 first gen trucks had a propensity for chugging gas like a big block carb'd gas 1-ton dually and eating transmissions.

I have been a Dodge truck guy since my first truck back in the early 90's. That being said I now own an '04 Chevy Suburban. I think I am now a convert. The truck is eevrything and more than I expected. I don't tow really heavy, or often, but it does everything I want it to do. It is so smooth on the road as well, but that could be due to the coil springs all around, and the plush feel of the interior. Mine is 2wd, and was fresh up from TX a few years ago when I bought it cheap due to people around here thinking that 4wd is an absolute necessity. It is not. Score for me. So far the truck with 130k+ has been trouble free aside from an 02 sensor, window lift, and a rear parking brake adjustment for an inspection. The fuel mileage is really much better than I thought it would be, but by no means great unless you figure how heavy this beast is. I can get around 20mpgs around town if I drive like an old lady, but it is tough. My kids like it as well, and when faced with a choice between it, and my wifes Sienna they always choose the 'burb.

FWIW, I bought my wife an Explorer back in 2003 (V6 4.0, 2WD, 5 Speed Auto) and it has delivered 17.0 city / 20.5 highway on 87 octane over the course of its 160,000 mile life. It’s the only ‘mercian car I’ve ever bought and I admit being really concerned that I’d regret it later at the time. Anyway, I love that thing…it has been drop dead reliable and has well exceeded all of my expectations.

You really have to drive them all, and see which one you like the best. There is not a bad truck in the bunch, they all are much better trucks then the previous generations. That said, I really like my Titan. In my opinion, it was the best overall truck out there when I bought it in '04 by a significant margin. While the other trucks have their strengths, the Titan does everything well. Here's how I'd rank them...

1) Titan. Best drivetrain, best features, best towing, best off road, 2nd on interior, mid-pack on exterior styling. Weaknesses- not very many configurations available, not as common (could be a plus, but would be harder to get parts for.)

2) Ram- Great drivetrain, close to the Titan. Better on paper, 2nd in the real world. Titan is much torquier, and a bit faster. Best exterior. Very good handling. Can get a crew cab with a 6ft bed, the the cab is noticably smaller then the Titan or F150.

3) F150. Nicest interior. Down on power, up on weight. Nice exterior styling. Well built, but pays for it with weight. High tow rating, but doesn't like towing as much as the Titan or Ram. Probably a better truck then the Ram, but the Ram is a lot more fun, which puts it ahead on my list.

Chevy/GMC. Noticeably behind all of the others. Feels like a much older truck (which I believe it is.) The LS in these trucks gets out run, out hauled, and out towed by the Titan and Ram. Every one I have driven felt and sounded like the steering column is breaking loose. The exterior styling is simple but nice, and it does make for the best looking lowered street truck (pre-facelift Chevy's). We had one at work that went 300k miles with just the most basic of maintenance, and a new intake manifold. The one that replaced it has been horrible, nothing but problems. Buy it if you like the look, or plan to heavily mod the stock LS1. Otherwise, the others are much better trucks.

?) Tundra. I don't know where to put the previous gen Tundra. If you want the Camery of not quite full sized trucks, this is the winner. It doesn't pretend to be a big, tough truck. That is as much a strength at a weakness. This is a very good all around vehicle. Better then the others at bring a car (which is what most poeple do with their crew car trucks most of the time), not as good of a truck. This truck would probably be your favorite or your last choice, depending on your needs.

In reply to Boost_Crazy:

Was that based on the same years as your Titan? If so, a lot has changed in ten years. But I agree, drive them all.

In reply to Appleseed: Yes, based on the mid 2000's and the OP's price range.

RX Reven' wrote: FWIW, I bought my wife an Explorer back in 2003 (V6 4.0, 2WD, 5 Speed Auto) and it has delivered 17.0 city / 20.5 highway on 87 octane over the course of its 160,000 mile life. It’s the only ‘mercian car I’ve ever bought and I admit being really concerned that I’d regret it later at the time. Anyway, I love that thing…it has been drop dead reliable and has well exceeded all of my expectations.

Sounds about right, the awd/4wd really murders their fuel economy on those. Still reliable for sure. The only problem my parents had with their sport trac was a manufacturing flaw with their composite bed delaminating. Ford actually sent an engineer down to look at that one, and it had a new bed within a month.

something I want to bring up. What kind of work? Depending on who you work with, will they react badly to a truck from the Far East?

Bobzilla wrote:

Keith Tanner wrote: About the Toyotas - it depends which generation you're looking at. The first generation (2000-06) isn't a full size, more like 5/8ths. Nice enough truck, I ran one for a while. It was working hard when asked to tow across the mountains and Kansas with a big headwind and an enclosed trailer. Never gave a problem, but was working hard. The boss has one of the current generation, while I now own a 3/4 ton Ram diesel. The Tundra is a truck for non-truck people, it's more of a car in a lot of ways. That's good or bad, depending on what you want. Perfect for him, wrong for me. It's a full size for sure and will handle our two-car trailer, although I'd much rather be in the Ram in that situation. I personally find the current Tundra to be a bit awkward in terms of size and torque, but that's because I'm not a fan of gas engines in full size trucks.

The 2wd V6 first gen trucks had a propensity for chugging gas like a big block carb'd gas 1-ton dually and eating transmissions.

Every one I've driven was a V8 4WD. I remember it being about 18 mpg mixed, and 9-10 when towing an enclosed trailer. The V6 would be working pretty hard in that truck for sure.

My brother in law just bought a new F150 with an Ecoboost. I've been giving him a hard time about finally getting a proper truck with six cylinders and a turbo - there are a LOT of Cummins in the parking lot at family gatherings And my 2500 quad cab diesel 4WD is no longer the smallest truck in the family!