What Truck is Best Long Term?

[bneukam]

Originally Posted by nova 42qd

The CR results are from owner surveys - thousands of them. Probably not perfect but as noted a good starting point.



I have 2007 with a 5.7 liter. Isn't it the same engine but larger displacement as the 4.7? The 4.7 was the base engine in 2007.



Know a few people with 5.7 engines in Tundras and Sequoias, which is the same vehicle but an SUV. Never heard a problem with reliability. Likewise my mechanic says its a great truck...on the rare occasion it needs to be worked on.

The 4.7 is from the UZ family, while the 4.6 and 5.7 are from the updated UR family. Completely different including block.

The 5.7 UR has had way more issues, and early failure than the previous, including cracked blocks, and piston failures. Camshaft tower leaks are very common on these, with some having the issue before 10k miles. But yet they are still using the same sealant. This leak is hard to find, and many don’t know because it starts out very slow.
Yes, they can be reliable, but not always.

[theoldwizard]

Originally Posted by Jay D.

its not about welds its about 2 or3 layers of aluminum sandwiched together door skins hood skins box sides. longevity ONLY TIME WILL TELL they have already had some problems. with corrosion starting in places well again time will tell.

Typical aluminum that is not touching any other metal oxidizes very slowly. The metal that Ford uses is a unique alloy that has a unique coating (Alcoa patented) applied while the sheet metal is coiled. All of this reduces oxidation.

Ford completely redesigned their stamping process, cleaning, priming and painting process to maximize the life of these body parts.

Are they perfect ? No. But they will out last steel in winter salt conditions by many, MANY years. Lets compare notes in another 10 years.

[tuffr2]

Aluminum works well with the Airstream because I believe the shells of those trailers last 50 plus years.

There are probably alot of 1970 Airstream trailers where the shell is still good

[Jay D.]

back to the Tundra I just went one a 250 mile trip to pick up a car. as leaving town I got behind a T/T, an Airstream looked all of 28'. I followed this for 70 miles on a curvy two lane highway at speeds 60-70mph. the wife and I commented on how wide the Airstream looked and how smoothly it was towing, like an arrow. even when large truck would pass. I couldn't see what was towing it enough to determine what it was. they did have their hitch set up good as the truck and trailer were setting just about dead level. we finally got to the freeway and I followed for a few more miles at just short of 70mph. they would hit dips in the highway and it would porpoise a little but nothing abnormal. I finally pulled out and passed them, and LOW AND BEHOLD IT WAS A CREW CAB TOYOTA TUNDRA TOWING IT. i'm not a Tundra fan so just my 2 cents.
Jay D.

[Desert Flyer]

New Tundra is coming out a little more than 1.5 years from now as a 2022. It will have a 3.5 liter turbo V6. No more lumpy V8.

https://www.autoblog.com/2020/03/24/...oduct-roadmap/

[Jstamm2001]

I love my F350 6.7L - used to drive a tundra and never going back.

[MPG2750BH]

Originally Posted by Jay D.

back to the Tundra I just went one a 250 mile trip to pick up a car. as leaving town I got behind a T/T, an Airstream looked all of 28'. I followed this for 70 miles on a curvy two lane highway at speeds 60-70mph. the wife and I commented on how wide the Airstream looked and how smoothly it was towing, like an arrow. even when large truck would pass. I couldn't see what was towing it enough to determine what it was. they did have their hitch set up good as the truck and trailer were setting just about dead level. we finally got to the freeway and I followed for a few more miles at just short of 70mph. they would hit dips in the highway and it would porpoise a little but nothing abnormal. I finally pulled out and passed them, and LOW AND BEHOLD IT WAS A CREW CAB TOYOTA TUNDRA TOWING IT. i'm not a Tundra fan so just my 2 cents.
Jay D.

Alot of those airstream guys use Propride or Hensley hitches , the cost of those TTs what's a 3k for a WDH.

[patriot07]

Originally Posted by bddadles

Buy nothing less than a 3/4 ton. As someone said earlier it is not possible to buy to much truck as you can see from my picture.

Tell that to folks who have to commute when gas is $4 a gallon.

[patriot07]

Originally Posted by tbiscuit

thank you all for great insight! Lots to think about- still kind of torn between 3/4 ton and maybe a Tundra (love the reliability), but I have all the info I need now and time to mull it over, so thank you!!!

My dad had a Tundra before recently upgrading to a Ram 1500 with the Hemi. The Ram pulls better, is much nicer inside, was cheaper, and gets better mpg. The Tundra has the Ram beat in reliability if you look at the numbers, but I've owned 2, my neighbor has had 5, and this is my dad's first, and none of us have ever had a single major issue. I pulled the same trailer with my dad's Tundra and both mine and his Ram and there is no contest.

As for the rest of your choices, I personally wouldn't buy a 3/4 ton. If you were not commuting at all or commuting far enough for a diesel to get to operating temp, then I'd buy a diesel and not look back. They pull hard and do it all day long without breaking a sweat on the type of rig you're talking about. But the 3/4 ton gassers are really poor options IMHO. I wanted so badly to buy a Ram 2500 with the 6.4 Hemi a while back but the more I looked at it, I just couldn't do it. Ended up buying a 1500 with the 5.7 and I'm thrilled with it. Pulls the trailer great and gets 20 mpg when I'm not towing. Cost $15k less than a half ton, so it's not really a big deal to upgrade later if you decide to go that route. A 3/4 ton gasser gets you all the bad stuff of a 2500 and the bad stuff on a 1500. If you're going to go 3/4 ton, buy a diesel and hope the short trips don't hurt you, or don't buy one at all.