Truck rant. And don't know what to do.

[N80]

Background: I have been a Nissan guy since 1984. Brand loyal all the way. And I've had great cars and trucks along the way. Then, in 2003 it was clear that I needed a full sized 4 door 4wd pick up. Nissan did not make one at that time so I bought a new Ford F150 Super Crew. I was never real happy with it. Steers like a yacht. Bounces and wobbles like a '75 Cadillac Fleetwood. Braking is always questionable. Rear window leaked from the get go. AC went out, to the tune of $1000, with only about 50k miles on it. Fit and trim in the interior is a joke. I still have it. It is my farm truck. Beat to heck but still running and I love it for that.

I replaced it about 4 years ago with a 2015 Nissan Titan 4 door Pro-4x model that I bought used with low miles. It has been an absolute turd. I love how it tows and it has great torque. Steers well. Brakes okay. But, transmission had to be replaced because it would roll away in 'Park' and would frequently not allow the truck to start because it 'thought' it wasn't in 'Park'. Entire head unit/nav had to be replaced because the volume and several other switches quit working. Its got a cacophony of squeaks and rattles. I mean bad. The interior trim is garbage. The five speed tranny always up shifts waaay to soon and downshifts waaaay to late. "Tow Mode" does not help with that. The heater switch failed which I fixed myself. The rear diff is leaking. The ride is terrible on anything but smooth interstate. The trim on the driver side window doesn't fit and there is constant wind noise in my left ear. Now the blend doors for the heat and AC have gone bad and my wife and I just rode home from dinner in an expensive truck freezing because of no heat. Because of the nav/head unit being in the way the entire dash has to be removed to replace the little electric motor and lever that moves the blend doors. This has been a known issue with these trucks since 2005 and still is on a 2015.....kind of like leaky rear windows in Fords. The cost of repair? $1000.

So this was the last straw. I have to get rid of this thing....and I usually keep cars until they die or get killed. Am I bashing Nissan? Yes, I think so. But, I've been a loyal customer since 1984....I've owned 10 of them and still have an Infiniti coupe that I love. My track car is an old 350Z. So maybe I have the right? Did I just get a lemon? Maybe. Doesn't matter. I've lost my faith in them.

I know that asking what brand of pickup to buy is probably worse than bringing up politics or religion but at this point I don't even have any idea where to look. Maybe I need to subscribe to Consumer Reports but in years past they did a lousy job of evaluating trucks because they always compared them to cars.

I will buy used. I need 4 doors, 4wd, minimum towing capacity of 8000 pounds. Toyota has always had the quality reputation but also the price tag to go along with it. I'm interested in brand neutral advice. And I know someone is going to tell me they have a Titan that has 600,000 miles on it, gets 40 miles to the gallon and still has that new car smell. I guess that's unavoidable.

I will certainly look at Ford and I did when I was looking to replace my F150. Two things turned me off from the Ford 1) I'm not interested....at all...in the V6 Eco-Boost. 2) It was almost impossible without a VIN to tell the exact towing and gearing specs and trim levels on Fords at that time and even then it was questionable. So I gave up.

Anyway, open to sage advice. And thanks for listening to the rant. I feel better already........but that might be the bourbon.

 

[jyoutz]

Background: I have been a Nissan guy since 1984. Brand loyal all the way. And I've had great cars and trucks along the way. Then, in 2003 it was clear that I needed a full sized 4 door 4wd pick up. Nissan did not make one at that time so I bought a new Ford F150 Super Crew. I was never real happy with it. Steers like a yacht. Bounces and wobbles like a '75 Cadillac Fleetwood. Braking is always questionable. Rear window leaked from the get go. AC went out, to the tune of $1000, with only about 50k miles on it. Fit and trim in the interior is a joke. I still have it. It is my farm truck. Beat to heck but still running and I love it for that.

I replaced it about 4 years ago with a 2015 Nissan Titan 4 door Pro-4x model that I bought used with low miles. It has been an absolute turd. I love how it tows and it has great torque. Steers well. Brakes okay. But, transmission had to be replaced because it would roll away in 'Park' and would frequently not allow the truck to start because it 'thought' it wasn't in 'Park'. Entire head unit/nav had to be replaced because the volume and several other switches quit working. Its got a cacophony of squeaks and rattles. I mean bad. The interior trim is garbage. The five speed tranny always up shifts waaay to soon and downshifts waaaay to late. "Tow Mode" does not help with that. The heater switch failed which I fixed myself. The rear diff is leaking. The ride is terrible on anything but smooth interstate. The trim on the driver side window doesn't fit and there is constant wind noise in my left ear. Now the blend doors for the heat and AC have gone bad and my wife and I just rode home from dinner in an expensive truck freezing because of no heat. Because of the nav/head unit being in the way the entire dash has to be removed to replace the little electric motor and lever that moves the blend doors. This has been a known issue with these trucks since 2005 and still is on a 2015.....kind of like leaky rear windows in Fords. The cost of repair? $1000.

So this was the last straw. I have to get rid of this thing....and I usually keep cars until they die or get killed. Am I bashing Nissan? Yes, I think so. But, I've been a loyal customer since 1984....I've owned 10 of them and still have an Infiniti coupe that I love. My track car is an old 350Z. So maybe I have the right? Did I just get a lemon? Maybe. Doesn't matter. I've lost my faith in them.

I know that asking what brand of pickup to buy is probably worse than bringing up politics or religion but at this point I don't even have any idea where to look. Maybe I need to subscribe to Consumer Reports but in years past they did a lousy job of evaluating trucks because they always compared them to cars.

I will buy used. I need 4 doors, 4wd, minimum towing capacity of 8000 pounds. Toyota has always had the quality reputation but also the price tag to go along with it. I'm interested in brand neutral advice. And I know someone is going to tell me they have a Titan that has 600,000 miles on it, gets 40 miles to the gallon and still has that new car smell. I guess that's unavoidable.

I will certainly look at Ford and I did when I was looking to replace my F150. Two things turned me off from the Ford 1) I'm not interested....at all...in the V6 Eco-Boost. 2) It was almost impossible without a VIN to tell the exact towing and gearing specs and trim levels on Fords at that time and even then it was questionable. So I gave up.

Anyway, open to sage advice. And thanks for listening to the rant. I feel better already........but that might be the bourbon.

Half ton or something heavier?

 

[Jstpssng]

It seems like you found out why the previous owner sold it. You've had good luck with Nissan/Datsun throughout... I wouldn't throw them under the bus for one bad ride.

 

[deserteagle71]

The truck you want doesn't exist yet.

I'm closing in on 80 years old and have had a lot of trucks in my time. They ALL have problems, if not sooner then later.

 

[N80]

Half ton or something heavier?

Half ton.

 

[N80]

The truck you want doesn't exist yet.

It might not exist now but I know for sure they did in the past because I owned them.

Three previous Nissan trucks. All stellar. That is not to say they were perfect or never had any issues.

So I don't think I'm being unrealistic.

 

[N80]

You've had good luck with Nissan/Datsun throughout... I wouldn't throw them under the bus for one bad ride.

In general I think that is sound advice. What worries me is that a few years after the new Titans came out, maybe 2018, there was a 4 page spread in Car and Driver (or one of those) detailing the fact that they never got to review their brand new $65,000 top end Titan HD because it was in the shop the whole time. I've never seen an article in one of these magazines beat up a vehicle so badly and all they did was document the shop visits, time in the shop and the cost of those repairs if they had not been under warranty.

Maybe Nissan has sorted out those issues. I don't know.

My daughter and her husband recently bought a used F150 4 door 4wd. I think it is a 2021. They are happy so far but it has only been a few months. I'll drive it some time soon.

 

[jyoutz]

Half ton.

I actually think that the big 3 and Toyota all make good half tons now. But the heavier trucks are where we see larger differences between brands.

 

[N80]

Question: The Fords and I'm sure most of the other brands come with different diff gearing. What I'm seeing in most of the v8 Fords is 3.31s.

Is that what I want?

Typical use for my trucks is short drive to work every day. Down to the cabin about an hour away every weekend. Occasional long distant trips. Towing, car trailer, tractor, two horse trailer 5-6 times a year. I use it off road down at my cabin but most of the rough dirty work goes to the old Ford farm truck.

 

[Dftodd]

My GMC Sierra is the most comfortable truck I've ever owned. Has the turning radius of a school bus. But then, every crew cab truck I've ever driven has the school bus turning radius.

I'm not a fan of Ford. The seats tend to press into my kidneys

And dodge had the hardest seats out of the bunch. 3hrs into a 14hr drive to Denver and it started feeling like I was sitting on a park bench.

I can't speak to the Toyota's. I haven't ridden in a Toyota pickup since my buddy got rid of his mid 80's model in the early 90's

 

[herm0016]

had 2 Sierra's, an 09 and a 15. loved both. bought the first new and put 100k on it, only issue I ever had was leaky transmission cooler lines and had to replace the half shaft seals on the front diff. all under warranty, not a big deal either way for both items. the 15 got a new front diff because of bearing noise but I bought it used at 60k and I believe it was a commercial truck in Canada before I got it. maybe a road crew supervisor or something? so could be due to using 4x4 for its whole life. no other issues. I am not easy on it, have towed 7k lbs across the country and max load of boulders out of the mountain's, (could have been over GCVW) sheep over lots of mountain passes, skiing, slide in camper in the mountains and all over Utah etc. I really don't think the quality difference between the f150, the tundra and the GM trucks is very much. I do believe the 5.3 is the best engine out of the 3 and there is nothing wrong with the rest of the GM drive train either. I have 125k on the 15 and don't see any reason to upgrade.
The GM trucks also drive so nice compared to all the others. Easier to drive and more comfortable than a 4 runner, even compared to an outback. My mother in law borrowed my truck, a 6.5 bed crew cab that is just over 21 feet long and she was very intimidated at first. when she came back, she said it was easier to drive and had better visibility than her 4 runner, gets about the same gas mileage too.

Nissan is totally discontinuing the titan, so I really think that should be out. i drove fords working in the oil fields for 12 years. not impressed. my company (a very large company) switched to GM for fleet and has had a huge reduction in maintenance cost on the 1 ton diesels, of which we have hundreds of across the country.

oh yea, Ram... I don't know, they are super nice inside. not much experience with them and FCA builds mostly terrible stuff now.

 

[jyoutz]

had 2 Sierra's, an 09 and a 15. loved both. bought the first new and put 100k on it, only issue I ever had was leaky transmission cooler lines and had to replace the half shaft seals on the front diff. all under warranty, not a big deal either way for both items. the 15 got a new front diff because of bearing noise but I bought it used at 60k and I believe it was a commercial truck in Canada before I got it. maybe a road crew supervisor or something? so could be due to using 4x4 for its whole life. no other issues. I am not easy on it, have towed 7k lbs across the country and max load of boulders out of the mountain's, (could have been over GCVW) sheep over lots of mountain passes, skiing, slide in camper in the mountains and all over Utah etc. I really don't think the quality difference between the f150, the tundra and the GM trucks is very much. I do believe the 5.3 is the best engine out of the 3 and there is nothing wrong with the rest of the GM drive train either. I have 125k on the 15 and don't see any reason to upgrade.
The GM trucks also drive so nice compared to all the others. Easier to drive and more comfortable than a 4 runner, even compared to an outback. My mother in law borrowed my truck, a 6.5 bed crew cab that is just over 21 feet long and she was very intimidated at first. when she came back, she said it was easier to drive and had better visibility than her 4 runner, gets about the same gas mileage too.

Nissan is totally discontinuing the titan, so I really think that should be out. i drove fords working in the oil fields for 12 years. not impressed. my company (a very large company) switched to GM for fleet and has had a huge reduction in maintenance cost on the 1 ton diesels, of which we have hundreds of across the country.

oh yea, Ram... I don't know, they are super nice inside. not much experience with them and FCA builds mostly terrible stuff now.

Dodge Ram has continually received awards for the quality and capabilities of its trucks within the past decade.

 

[N80]

The thing that is putting me off from the Fords right now is that I digging and digging trying to find out the towing capacities of the various 2020 and 2021 versions are and it is almost impossible to tell. Even on the F150 forums there is utter confusion even when trying to buy a new one. Trying to get the towing specs on a used one would be just about impossible. Just trying to find out read diff gearing is driving me nuts. I have a hard time understanding why Ford does this. Three different levels of towing packages the contents of which are totally confusing. Multiple diff gearings with no rhyme or reason why and for what purpose and virtually no way of telling what a vehicle has on it without the original window sticker.

At this point Ford is out, again, unless someone somewhere can show me a fool proof way to know what one of them can tow. The used car salesmen are useless in this regard.

As far as GM and Dodge, well, you know how it is. You build up prejudices based on family and friends preferences. Growing up we were Ford people. My in-law who is a farmer switched from lifelong Fords to Dodges. Had 2 or 3 of them and nothing but trouble. My son-in-law's surveying company has had good long term reliability with Suburbans. But he only drives Fords. My best friend recently had a Suburban that required engine and transmission replacement. He ditched it for an Excursion.

So hard to know. So hard to get past the anecdotes and lifelong prejudices.

Might just have to bite the bullet and go Toyota.

 

[jyoutz]

The thing that is putting me off from the Fords right now is that I digging and digging trying to find out the towing capacities of the various 2020 and 2021 versions are and it is almost impossible to tell. Even on the F150 forums there is utter confusion even when trying to buy a new one. Trying to get the towing specs on a used one would be just about impossible. Just trying to find out read diff gearing is driving me nuts. I have a hard time understanding why Ford does this. Three different levels of towing packages the contents of which are totally confusing. Multiple diff gearings with no rhyme or reason why and for what purpose and virtually no way of telling what a vehicle has on it without the original window sticker.

At this point Ford is out, again, unless someone somewhere can show me a fool proof way to know what one of them can tow. The used car salesmen are useless in this regard.

As far as GM and Dodge, well, you know how it is. You build up prejudices based on family and friends preferences. Growing up we were Ford people. My in-law who is a farmer switched from lifelong Fords to Dodges. Had 2 or 3 of them and nothing but trouble. My son-in-law's surveying company has had good long term reliability with Suburbans. But he only drives Fords. My best friend recently had a Suburban that required engine and transmission replacement. He ditched it for an Excursion.

So hard to know. So hard to get past the anecdotes and lifelong prejudices.

Might just have to bite the bullet and go Toyota.

If you are concerned about towing capacity, Dodge Ram will serve you better than Toyota.

 

[dodge man]

I own a 2017 F150. All brands can be a pain to figure out the towing specs. If you dig deep enough, you can figure it out. Keep an eye on the payload, you want a payload closer to 2000 pounds than 1500 pounds. It’s easy to eat up all your payload when towing.

The newer Fords have a 10 speed so even with 3.31 gears, the first couple of gears pull well. Mine is a 6 speed, 3.55 gears, and I bet the overall ratios work out better in a newer truck with 3.31 gears and the 10 speed.

You can capture a window sticker and post it and the door jamb sticker with the payload and I can ballpark the towing rating.

 

[milkman636]

I’ve owned GMC, Ford, and Dodge 1/2 tons. They’ve all had their specific quirks, but they’ve all been good to me. My current daily driver has been my best though. It’s a 2007 F150 XLT 4x4 that I’ve had since it was new. It has the awfully rated 5.4 V8 that just keeps on going for me. It’s less than a 30 mile round trip, but I still drive it to work every day after 15 years. I’ve changed the spark plugs, wore out a couple batteries, replaced brakes, belt, front and rear pinion shaft seals, both front hubs, both front strut assemblies, and tires. Other than that I’ve followed the maintenance schedule very strictly. And, I still use it to tow an 8500 lb load occasionally. She’s rusty and not much to look at any more, but the durability I’ve experienced from this one has me leaning hard towards Ford for the next 1/2 ton truck. That being said, I also own a ten year old Chevy 3500 that’s been great for me too. I think the domestic truck makers produce pretty good products.

 

[DieselBound]

Clearly, brand loyalty is not (no longer) a good strategy. I'd been watching Nissan a bit a few years back and saw how they (corporate) were really struggling. Unstable internals means poor focus. I was a bit curious to their truck offering with a Cummins engine; reviews seemed to reveal that they were more novel than practical given the cost (i.e. lacked value). One has to do one's research, thoroughly: or, one can gamble one's money (perhaps away).

Regarding engines, I'm a diesel guy and would only have a diesel in a truck, so comments on gassers isn't something I'd be qualified to comment on; BUT, my truck mechanic praises the V6 Ecoboost: he owns a diesel performance shop, so he, as am I, are partial to diesels. Ford had early issues with these engines and they seem to have been resolved via different oils (and subsequent engineering changes over the years).

When I was considering a newer truck I boiled it down to a 2014/2015 (I think I have the years right- maybe 2013 through 2015) GMC Denali 3500 Duramax. I currently have a 94 Dodge with a 12V Cummins (which is obviously one of the greatest engines ever produced): didn't want to go away from a Cummins, but I struggled with the rest of the Ram package (suspension/steering issues seem to be built-in!). I'd never liked GM products, and vowed to never own one: have owned a Dodge and a Ford (with diesels; neither produced by Dodge or Ford!). Ha ha! Things change! I once said I wouldn't have a diesel car and now that's all I drive and ever want to drive (MKIV VW TDIs): lusting after an old Merc with and OM606 turbo, for fun.

 

[kenmac]

You may want to do some research before you purchase a dodge.
They have had problems with the 5.7, and the 6.4 hemi.

We just rebuilt my son's 6.4 hemi after 115K miles. They have an issue with lifters that fail, and eat the camshaft.

When we rebuilt his engine, we deleted the MDS system, and went with after market lifters, and camshaft. new lifters are non MDS.

I also own a dodge. But it's a 5.9L Cummins with 135K flawless miles

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

The government buys whatever is least expensive and meets specs. So, we get a mix of trucks from the big three. So far no Nissan or Toyotas even though in theory they meet the Buy America standards. Everything is low trim level, the government banned power doors in the sixties, and paid extra to get them deleted after they be came standard, until they disappeared completely, and they couldn’t get them.

So, over the last decade I’ve had all three and put a bunch of miles on them. Fifty/fifty mix of highway and gravel/dirt roads.

13-years ago I had a 1/2-ton Dodge, then a 3/4-ton Chevy, and my current truck is an F450. The fleet manager complained to my boss that I was carrying a bunch of stuff I didn’t need, and overloading the 3/4-ton. I was on vacation, so they took my truck to the scales, and yes I had it overloaded. So they went to the shop and unloaded it. My boss decided that I needed everything on the truck to do my various work tasks. So, I now have an F450 with a utility bed.

I’ve had the F450 for about a year, and 14,000 miles. So far it is the favorite. Doesn’t ping on the lowest cost fuel at the pump, (which the bean counters say we have to use, doesn’t matter what eh manual says, and doesn’t matter that it pings). Seats are comfortable, the ergonomics are good, I’m 5-10, and keep the seat about a third of the way back from the front.

It is holding up well. The guys who work for me have had F450s for five years, and the only thing we have had to repair or replace on either of them is shocks, and tires. They are at around 60,000 miles. So the guys get new rigs this year, and theirs go into the seasonal fleet for one or two years.

I’m working another five years, and unless something drastic happens, i think I might buy the current rig, when it comes up for auction, which should be about five years from now. Kind of depends on which program gets it as a summer vehicle after I get the five years or 60k on it. The Recreation folks get lots of miles but all on maintained roads. The Timber folks less miles, but on logging roads, and the summer kids can be really rough on vehicles. The biologists thrash rigs Driving where and how they shouldn’t. Range is good on trucks, they tow a horse trailer to the end of good roads, then ride their horses. I think they would ride the horses everywhere if management would let them.

The worst truck I ever had was a Ford. But the fleet manager at that employer was buying rigs at the end of the model year production, with “no color preference”. I ended up with an F250, extended cab, in Baby Chit Yellow, with three colors of interior from three trim levels. Gray vinyl drivers seat, a blue leather passenger seat, and a tan cloth rear seat, and tan interior panels. They could not have saved enough on the purchase price to offset the hit they had to take when they sold it.

 

[Diggin It]

Never had a pickemuptruck. Always cars, currently a 95 Taurus wagon. Carries lots and lots of stuff, hauls a small trailer fine, but not much more. Been having a number of problems, but it's paid for and it runs most of the time.

Looking casually for something, but would rather have enclosed than open. Suburban, Bronco, etc.

Thing that caught my eye above was mention of a Dodge 3500. Neighbor has a dually (don't know the year) and was helping me haul something on a 16' trailer. On the way back, just a few miles from home, it lost drive in anything but low. Stopped, checked fluids, started out again. It would go until the first shift, then nothing. Limped home the last few miles at 5 to 10MPH. Truck had 80K or something. Had a guy come out to reset some codes, ran OK for a mile, then quit again. Had a rebuilt trans put in it which quit a few weeks later. Had another put in and so far it's been running.


I can't afford that kind of thing. I can't afford much of anything, so whatever I buy has to be all but trouble free. I don't care about styling, I care about running. I need operational and trustworthy, not gizmos. Both of my cars have heat, neither has air. I don't spend enough time on the road to really need either, but it must run without leaving me stranded as both of mine have in the past.

I gotta have something, but it's gotta run without flaw. Yeah, I know, they don't make it.


Ramble off.