1/2 ton engines to avoid? Engines to pick?

[Cumminsfan]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

For what it is worth, I picked up the Consumer Reports Auto Issue. The F-150 gets an overall score of 72. The Ram 69 and the Chevy 52.

The bigger trucks all score in the low 50's as they ride rough and burn alot of fuel.

The F-150 with the Eco-boost 2.7 litre engine I have read, is really a nice truck/engine combination. Somehow Ford is getting a lot of power out of that engine. Fast Lane Trucks showed it towing 7,600lbs up the Ike Gauntlet and saying it had a lot of extra power.

The same magazine that didn't like the Corvette because it didn't have a back seat.

[tuffr2]

Those old cars / trucks were junky rust buckets with weak frames and bad carbuarators. They would not start in a cold drizzle.

Today's cars and trucks are way better than the junk I use to drive.

[bross]

Originally Posted by Cowpie1

One of the things that made vehicles like the 1979 Ford Bronco such a desired item back when I had one. Good 'ol solid front axle with quad shocks, not this cushiony, wimpy stuff like it being put out now. That Bronco rode like a lumber wagon and I really liked the vehicle. 351M and a 4 speed manual. it just had a tough time weathering several years of the Alaskan interior it had to go thru. If vehicles could talk, it probably would have cursed me out for taking it there in '82.

When I was 17 and working on my uncles farm, he had one of these...


drove 2 of my cousins out to the lake one day and were doing a little off roading, across a field, with tall grass, at about 30mph. Due to the tall grass I couldn't see where the farmer had driven his tractor across the field in the spring to dig 2 drainage ditches with his tractor tires, at least a foot deep and spaced perfectly so that both truck wheels dropped into both ditches.

So after hammering my 2 cousins heads against the steel roof of the truck when the front wheels hit the first ditch, then doing it again when all 4 wheels hit both ditches, I thought I had killed them both. Because I was holding the steering wheel I managed to keep myself from hitting my head, and was laughing uncontrollably. Fun times, but I'll take my new F-150 over that old F-100, thanks.

[Cowpie1]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

Those old cars / trucks were junky rust buckets with weak frames and bad carbuarators. They would not start in a cold drizzle.

Today's cars and trucks are way better than the junk I use to drive.

How far back is "those old cars"? My 1979 Ford Bronco started up every time in the Alaskan interior. The only time it every failed me in any way was when the heater fan motor froze up and wouldn't work till I got it in a heated shop and then it worked from then on. Oh.... that day we had a daytime high temp of -56F. But it still started and got me to work. Just had to stay bundled up and the windows cracked to prevent fogging the inside up.

I never had any problem clear back to the 1966 Chevy C10 I owned and the 1972 Chevy Nova I had. The first car I bought brand new. Frankly, I think I have been blessed with a lifetime of reliable vehicles. Ford and Chevy primarily.

[tuffr2]

Those old trucks with flex in the frame where the gap between the cab and the bed would vary by about an inch as it went bouncing down the road.

Trucks were easier to work on because there was more room underneath to change the starter.

Junk vehicles in my mind were anything built earlier then 1980. They would still rust out but in 1980 throttle body injection was used. In 1984 true fuel injection was starting. I bought a new little Toyota truck that was fuel injected.

I would say that an aluminum F-150 Will last 25 years or more. Probably 20 years for a Ram or Chevy.

It will be interesting in 40 years how many 2015 F-150's will be on the road.

Two things, will the paint stick to aluminum F-150's and will these trucks ever rust?

[Bob_C]

Does plastic rust?

[tuffr2]

The other trucks adding plastic composite will help fight rust. But mildly interesting how many old Saturn's are still on the road. Seems there are not many.

[Desert Flyer]

On Saturns, the body was still unibody steel with inner body panels. Only the exterior panels were plastic. Remember those commercials with shopping carts bashing into them in the parking lot. Impressive at that time.

[Canarado]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

Those old trucks with flex in the frame where the gap between the cab and the bed would vary by about an inch as it went bouncing down the road.

Trucks were easier to work on because there was more room underneath to change the starter.

Junk vehicles in my mind were anything built earlier then 1980. They would still rust out but in 1980 throttle body injection was used. In 1984 true fuel injection was starting. I bought a new little Toyota truck that was fuel injected.

I would say that an aluminum F-150 Will last 25 years or more. Probably 20 years for a Ram or Chevy.

It will be interesting in 40 years how many 2015 F-150's will be on the road.

Two things, will the paint stick to aluminum F-150's and will these trucks ever rust?

Nope...it will be a rare occurrence to see any current pickup on the road in 25 years. Parts only need to be available for seven years and if any particular part has a short production life (for whatever reason) there's no guarantee jobbers will pick up production of replacement parts. Example would be Ford Thunderbirds of the 90's and Ford changing the v6 engine continuously...no parts meant they were hard to keep on the road. Look how fast the three big manufacturers are doing updates to their pickup models

[runamuck]

Originally Posted by Cumminsfan

The same magazine that didn't like the Corvette because it didn't have a back seat.

gee, a truck that rides rough and burns a lot of fuel...how will they ever sell those? seriously, because the millenial generation never goes outside and orders whatever they need from amazon, pickups are probably an endangered species.

[Chargerman]

Actually 1/2 ton trucks today ride quite well. IMHO the best today as far as ride is the Ram with the air suspension. I doubt that they are an endangered species. Best selling vehicles for all of the big three and once you get away from the city most young guys want to drive a pickup.

[tuffr2]

I think years ago trucks were 'work' trucks. Not sure when that changed to luxury trucks. Mid 2000's maybe. When they added 4 doors to trucks they off as a family on the move mover.

Was reading that the new F-150 with the 2.7 litre eco-boost is as quite as luxury cars. In 2011 I had a F-150 Lariate with heated/cooled seats. I drove that truck 1,000 miles more comfortably than any car I have owned including a Lincoln Mark 8 and a Lexus LS 400.

Now these trucks are getting close to the same epa mileage as the luxury cars.

There are more bells and whistles to add to trucks now. Yikes, they now cost more than a luxury car.

[SteveNSue]

We picked up an 2013 E-250 to replace our 1993 E-250. Decided to replace the 93 since we just couldn't get the air conditioning to work without frequently refilling the Freon. Long story short. The 2013 E-250 had a 4.6L V8 that got 17 mgp on the highway and ran strong but not the thunderous roar that the 93 5.8L had when you stepped on it.

After we picked up the 2013 we purchased a 20 Ft toy hauler that stretched the towing capacity of the truck. We had two years of towing, over 14,000 miles, but it was clean that the truck could handle the load as far as suspension and brakes but not engine nor transmission. On our last trip across Oklahoma and Texas, against a head wind, we drove in second gear and 4,000 rpm and got 5 mpg. Our worry was reaching a point where the transmission would drop out or throw a rod at those higher rpm's.

We thought long and hard about what truck configuration would meet our requirement for more power and hauling capacity without undue expense. Unfortunately, it didn't appear to be an option.

We traded both trailer and truck in for a 2017 Jayco 24L MB Sprinter with the 3.0 MB diesel. We will be making that same trip in a couple of months and will let you know.

Safe travels all......