Why My Truck Sucks

one of the best trucks ever made were the 67-72 f-250 ford pickups,,built like a tank,but drank fuel,{back in those days fuel was .65 a gallon,,not a concern}you could make a entire honda with one of those 3/4" thick ford door hinges back in the day,,remember the old watermelon farmer movie, charles bronson,jumping the truck like dukes of hazard. now that was a real truck you will never see again.too bad they are almost all scrapped by now.
I remember those rigs well a friend had one which he did a jump in mimicking that same movie. In those days shotguns were carried in window racks his went off in a dumbass incident so he drove around with a hole blasted out the side of it .
 
I’ve driven a number of Fords and Chevy/GMC for work. I’ve had far more issues with the Fords.
 
one of the best trucks ever made were the 67-72 f-250 ford pickups,,built like a tank,but drank fuel,{back in those days fuel was .65 a gallon,,not a concern}you could make a entire honda with one of those 3/4" thick ford door hinges back in the day,,remember the old watermelon farmer movie, charles bronson,jumping the truck like dukes of hazard. now that was a real truck you will never see again.too bad they are almost all scrapped by now.

Of course $1 in 1970 is worth about $6.19 today, so that $0.65/gallon gas was the equivalent of $4.02/gallon in today's world. Gas has never been cheaper than it is.
 
2009 F250 with the 5.4.
My luck with the 5.4 has been horrible. Timing chains, Throttle body, Just about every sensor has failed. Needs a new camshaft, currently at 110k. Right now I get about 10-11 MPG (probably because of the camshaft issue). Before that i was around 13-14 MPG. Rusts super easily. Multiple hub assemblies. The locks just quit working recently. I’ve only owned it for a few years now, but it’s paid off and I can’t see it going anywhere. Trucks are too expensive nowadays, and I fear that anything in my price range would just be buying somebody else’s problem. All of that has happened within the last 15k miles.
I am pretty hard on my trucks and expect a lot out of them, but I feel like the repairs are excessive. I rarely tow anything with it and when I do I take it easy. I’ve learned that l dirt roads are hard on trucks, and I’m probably on dirt more than pavement. And when I’m on dirt or pavement I have a lead foot.
I will say though, doesn’t burn or leak any oil, transmission is strong and it’s been great on tires. I just wish it had a different engine. I also LOVE having vinyl floors. Every truck I own will have vinyl floors. Makes hunting in the mud much easier.
 
I purchased a new F250 extended cab 4x4 gas in 2017. I drove everything I could find and it took me about 6 months to make a decision. My needs are different than yours since I tow a 6600 pound travel trailer and haul an 800 pound quad plus a lot of gear when I go on longer hunts. My 2004 5.4 F150 had 135,000 miles and I never did anything other than normal maintenance. It didn't handle the weight of all of the gear and the travel trailer like I wanted so I went to a 3/4 ton truck. I only drive about 6,000 miles per year and I have 11,000 miles on the 2017 F250 right now. It is way better for towing than the F150 was but I think most newer trucks have been built to tow better. I didn't like the new Chevys I drove because the computer systems were over the top and I struggled figuring them out. I didn't like the Ram for a variety of different reasons. The Toyota and Nissan dealers wouldn't return my calls or give answers to questions I had.
I approach buying something new a little different than some. I start with a basic work truck and add what I think I need or want. My truck is gas and not diesel. $10,000 more for diesel when in the next 10 years my truck might be driven 70,000 miles didn't make since to me. The gas engines seem to have less issues so I went with gas. I have manual hubs and a manual transfer case. Hard to find but I think more dependable. I got the simplest radio/computer I could so even I can understand how to turn on the heater and the radio. I have been very happy so far except for the stupid low tire pressure alarms. The thing rides like any other 3/4 ton 4x4 which for me is too rough when you are off road. I air down and ignore the idiot lights when I need to.
 
I’ve driven a number of Fords and Chevy/GMC for work. I’ve had far more issues with the Fords.
I worked for a company for while that had a fleet of 10 or so 1 ton trucks with utility bodies. All were Chevy's with the 6.0 gas and two were the Ford diesel that everyone had issues with 6.0? Those two Ford's were being worked on more than being used for work, turbos, egr, oil cooler, head bolts, sensors, they regened all the time... It was a joke. My cousin had a f250 with the same motor, he sent me a picture of it in a shop with the cab taken off to change out a gasket or seal.
 
I really like everything about my 2018 f 150 except the headlights sucked so bad I had to change bulbs and the tailgate has a gap so wide I can’t keep everything in the back with the topper on from accumulating an inch or so of dust per mile driven on dirt
 
I worked for a company for while that had a fleet of 10 or so 1 ton trucks with utility bodies. All were Chevy's with the 6.0 gas and two were the Ford diesel that everyone had issues with 6.0? Those two Ford's were being worked on more than being used for work, turbos, egr, oil cooler, head bolts, sensors, they regened all the time... It was a joke. My cousin had a f250 with the same motor, he sent me a picture of it in a shop with the cab taken off to change out a gasket or seal.

Those mid 2000 Chevys with the 6.0 liter are damned good pickups. Suck on gas though.
 
My truck sucks because I take it stupid places...really tho my 09 silverado 1500 5.3 gets driven on absolute crap roads about 75% of the time and it's been an extremely reliable ol girl. Only 120k but no major issues yet...knock on wood.
My only complaints are the damn tire sensors and the door locks have a mind of their own. I found this out 2 years ago as my buddy mike and i parked the truck and walked to go look over a ridge and glass for elk a really long ways from anywhere and as we glassed my truck went "beep beep" and locked itself with the keys in the ignition. Fun times...
 
Mine's a 2006 w/ 120K miles on it, the AC doesn't work, the oh-shit handles have busted off already & it's got the turning radius of the USS Kittyhawk, but also this.
I thot you drove a prius???
 
Ive been working on trucks for 30+ years and have seen alot,,I have no faith in fords anymore except they provide me a decent living.nothing like the old fords of the old days.
curious what you drive now and what you would buy next.
 
I have a 2000 toy Tacoma trd w 252k almost perfect miles on it,,only a radiator,timing belt and a water pump on my 3.4 v-6,,{seems incredible to me} and a 2004.5 dodge ram 2500 w the 325/600 cummins diesel,only 92 k with only a fass fuel pump upgrade.I will never buy a ford again,,i work on hundreds of them a year for a living,,ford has cheapened there product up so much it is a joke!!sorry ford guys.there are flaws in a lot of new rigs not just fords these days,,they enginer the problems in so you have to take them to the dealer and get bent over.
 
I wouldn't trade my dodge for even a brand new one,,maybe my Toyota will only live about 100 k more or so,,i will buy another Toyota when I have to,,maybe a 2004 or so with a 4.0 v-6.
 
My truck sucks because it cost a lot, but it is, by far, the best truck I've ever owned or used or even ridden in. It is a 2016 F150, and unlike dan above, after having both the 5.4 and the 2.3 Ecoboost, I'll take the latter over the former every day, and twice on Sundays. Both engines were used for on and off road work and towing up to 7500 lbs at interstate speeds +9. Both got the job done, but one did it with less strain and less repair and less gas than the other.

The 5.4 engine block was replaced under warranty, while the 2.3 has had no problems whatsoever and no oil consumption either. The 2.3 will out pull, out accelerate, and use less gas than the 5.4, while being more reliable. It isn't even close.

But, hey, that's just me.
I have the 3.5L ecoboost in the 2016 f-150. It is the FX4 offroad. This engine has almost as much torque as my 7.3L powerstroke had. I can haul 10k with it. I pulled a heavy steel Morgan 3-horse trailer with tackroom half way across the country and didn't even know it was back there. Well, except when my 3/4 ton warmblood stomped her feet, then I did. The back sets in the cab are very spacious, thick and comfortable. My wife likes the moveable pedals and she really likes driving it.

The down side is the box is like a coors beer can. I dented it when loading wooden fence posts. Never had that problem with the steel box. The wiring insulation is made from grain. I let the truck sit outside for a month until the garage got unpacked. You guessed it, the rodents ate the wiring. I had to have it towed away. Not under warranty so had to pay $1,000 to get it fixed. Android auto display didn't work with my phone and ford wanted big bucks for the upgrade. Apparently the later models have that upgrade. If you take it offroad, it is possible to catch a rock at an angle and deploy the side step for the box. Trying to get the mud out of the wheel wells is almost impossible. I thought about getting another truck, but I couldn't find anything close to the f-150 that fit my needs. I looked at every other truck out there.
 
I have an almost brand new Chevy 1500 as a company vehicle. I think I just hit 20k miles. People always talk about how good Chevys ride... not this one. I don’t know if it’s the short wheel base of the smaller cab and short bed, but it is the worst riding truck I’ve ever been in.
The F-550s that the linemen drive aren’t much worse riding.
 
I currently drive a Chevy 2500 4x4 double cab, with the 6.0 gas engine, and the main reason I do is because the last one I had made it to 398,000 miles, and I pull a trailer 5 days a week. 3/4 ton suspension sucks on rough wash boarded roads, but that’s just something you have to live with.
 
I wouldn't trade my dodge for even a brand new one,,maybe my Toyota will only live about 100 k more or so,,i will buy another Toyota when I have to,,maybe a 2004 or so with a 4.0 v-6.

Toyos have been good to us, very reliable and low maintenance. The only reason I got rid of the Highlander we had was due to the need to be able to carry more gear and haul an occasional light trailer. Almost bought a Tundra but got a great deal on a Ram instead.
 

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