New pick up opinions

I'm considering getting a new truck(maybe good used) and would like some opinions. I want decent mileage but aren't sure if I want a full size 1/2 ton or a Ranger size truck. I don't want to spend $30,000+. I'm thinking with a 1/2 ton I can still pull my bobcat trailer around the odd time I might need it and could sell my high mileage 3/4 ton saving on insurance(only 1 vehicle). A 4 cylinder Ranger will get the best mileage but a 4 litre Ranger is worse than a V6 1/2 ton for mileage. I could get a 4x4 Ranger for about the same price as a 1/2 ton though. There are times when I could certainly use 4 wheel drive.

A friend who's a Ford mechanic(diesel tech) says the 3.7 litre seemed gutless to him but the 3.5 Ecoboost has been very impressive for mileage, power, towing and reliability. I'm not partial to Ford so opinions on GM and Dodge are welcome. Apparently Dakota's don't get very good mileage and I've heard the same about Canyons. Don't know about 1/2 ton mileage. Just looking for some opinions from people who have some experience with the new trucks.

First whats the combined weight of the Bobcat and trailer? Add that to the weight of the truck and make sure you are going to be legal. I know a guy by Foley MN who got nailed pulling his Bobcat with a 1/2 ton pickup 2 years ago. Over the gross max weight listed by Ford. Cost him $750 plus a new 3/4 ton truck.

From what I know the GM's and Fords, except for the Echoboost engine are about the same in MPG and towing. The Echoboost is supposed to be fantastic! On the other side Dodge 1/2 ton trucks ain't looking so good. The Hemi engine isn't fairing well with buyers except for the hot rodders. Couple I know have a 2010 model. Now she's mad cause she wanted to stay Gm but he just had to have the Hemi. According to him "it isn't too bad"....according to her they cannot pull an amuminum 2 place horse trailer empty in OD on the flats of ND and only get about 9 while doing so. Loaded with 2 horses they get about 5....if they ain't bucking a head wind according to her. His response to questions about how the thruck is "isn't too bad".

Now this is a for what it's worth reply.

Rick

I love my Chevy. But, if you are going to actually pull anything, I'd tell you to get a 3/4. You can get away with a smaller mill, and you don't need a 4.10 rear. A 350 (6.2L?) won't kill your mileage, and give you plenty of drag. But the biggest problem you'll have is whoaing the thing. The brakes and springs are much heavier on the 3/4 vs. the 1/2. None of them are cheap, but you'll get much better service out of it if it isn't overwhelmed to begin with. And you can upgrade a 3/4 to a ton by taking it to the spring shop and adding a few leaves if it's too soft.

And you can take that from a milk truck driver--

I"m partial to the Dodge lineup but my experiences with the Dakotas(5 of them) haven"t been the best.

The 3.9L V6 will run a long time but I found them to be slightly lacking in power. Maybe I was expecting too much of them? Mileage was consistently in the high teens.

Four of my Dakotas had the 3.9. Two of them(my favorite setup) were extended cab, AT OD, 2 wheel drive. This configuration was the best performer in terms of adequate power and mileage. Two more were 5 speed, 4x4(one standard cab, long box and one extended cab, short box) and both seemed under-powered by a fair margin.

Only one Dakota had the 5.2 318 V8, AT, 4x4, standard cab, long box. Plenty of power but the mileage sucked.

I just bought a "95 Dodge 3/4 ton, 5.2L 318 V8, AT, extended cab, 2 wheel drive($800). The tag under the hood says rear axle ratio is 3.5(3.55?) and the engine runs about 1500 RPM when driving 55 MPH. All my Dakotas ran about 2000/2100 RPM at 55. Maybe this will actually get better mileage than my Dakota V6?

My ex father-in-law has a 2003 Dodge 3/4 ton, 4x4, Hemi, auto. He"s owned this truck for several years and is very happy with the power. Mileage is fair as long as you keep the gas pedal off the floor. It has around 80,000 miles on it and has been quite dependable. Only reason he"d sell it is because he wants a 4 door truck.

I have no personal experience with the EcoBoost but have heard many good reviews of it.

Hope this helps.

Anthony

The cost of a mid size pickup and a full size is not much different. The fuel mileage is not much difference unless you get a 4 cylinder and then towing would be out.

I have driven a friends Chevy 1/2 ton(2wd) with the 4.8 small V-8 in it. It is a nice driving truck He gets fair mileage and pulls a skid steer trailer a little. He has a short bed and says it handles the trailer fine.

350 is a 5.7
6.0 6.2 different engines completely

As you know you will not get good mileage with any pickup. I think your best bet woould be a GMC or a Chevy 1/2 ton with a small V8. I think the GMs get a little better mileage overall than the Fords and the Dodges are the worst.
Also, the Rangers are being discontinued.

A good friend of mine just bought a new F-150 with the Eco-boost. I think it is a 3.7 liter engine.
He paid under $30k new, no ford employee discount either. He has 4 door cab, 4WD too, short box, just about all loaded I think. Sticker price was $36 I think.

My new Ford Escape is a 4cylinder XLT package, the only things it doesnt have are heated seats and sunroof and that in car/truck phone thing that runs off the radio. $23K. I couldnt swallow buying another GM car/truck after the bailout BS.

gun geru, if the engine is the Eco-Boost then its a 3.5L. The 3.7L is a low end V6, not for pulling. The 3.5 EcoBoost has 365 HP and 420 ft.lb. Torque. And the torque curve is much flatter: has high torque rating at lower RPM, much better than the GM 5.3L, the Dodge 5.7L, or the Toyota 5.7L. Tom

If you are going to tow a skid steer much I would look at a 3/4 ton. It will last a lot longer than that 1/2 ton when you start towing. If it were me going with a 1/2 ton I would buy a half ton with a small V8 at the least. You can still tow with it and it will get about the same milage as a small truck. I'd probably go with a GM if it were me. I don't know much about the ecoBoost thing. I've never seen a Dodge or a Ford gas burner that got good milage. I will say I have been driving a 2011 Dodge 1/2 ton for about 3 weeks now while another truck is in the body shop. It is a 4 door short bed 2wd with a 4.7 V8. Nice truck on the inside. Ugliest dodge ever made on the outside. I've put 1500 miles on it. Milage has been 17.5 going to work and back. Driving in town and back roads only it dropped to 15.5.

Thanks for the info.
I couldnt remember the Liter displacement of the engine.
I will likely never own another full size pickup again. Gas prices will never go down to under $2 gallon.
I used to have an F-150 with the 4.9 liter inline six. It averaged 18 mpg all around. I sold it 9 years ago. It was a 1992 model. Gulp, Gulp, Gulp a gas sucking pig.

I have owned everything over the last several years. The best by far that I ever owned, is a Toyota Tundra. Properly equipped, will pull 10400 lbs.

I sure would like to know what dealership is selling 4 door, 4 wheel drive, loaded, eco-boost f-150s for under $30,000. My neighbor just got a firm price on that truck (only 6"6" bed) of $43,000.

I was impressed with the towing ability of the Dodge 4.7 as compared to the much more powerful 5.7 hemi. The hemi however, was just like a stallion wanting to get out of the pen.

They are pretty popular and have been around for quite awhile; an excellent choice. I was happy with both pulling trailers on the farm and my boat. Other thing I liked about Dodge was the 4w disc brakes, big brakes on my half tons...double pistons on the front wheels like some 3/4 trucks use.

If I were pulling a bobcat I would go with the bigger engine. My mileage was in the 16-18 range on both vehicles, country driving and some off road engine running which obviously diluted the mileage.

I have been running Dodges since I bought a used 318 in '84 then an '88 Ford 5 liter, and then in '98 the 360 pushrod Dodge, then the '05 4.7 and '07 Hemi. On the 3 Dodges the only replacement parts I needed was an air conditioner seal on a dash fitting on the '98, a fuel sending unit on the '05 and a turn signal switch on the '07. I traded in the later two this April; the '98 went to buy the '05. The Ford had numerous problems and qualified for the paint recall and emission system recall and also had bad sending units in both tanks and something else I don't remember.

I traded both Dodges this spring for a Chev 4.8 half ton because I wanted to consolidate vehicles and wanted a dealer near the house....bow tie was closest. I like it; not the same old GM I ran from years ago, and even though it is only a 4.8 push rod engine with no fancy valve timing and all, it has had a lot of engine tweaking (factory design changes) and likes to peg the tach too, if given the chance. Pulls my trailers just fine with the 4 speed auto with the tow/haul function...Dodge has the better brakes.

So, lotta good vehicles out there. I think if you get one that has obvious signs of being cared for, rather than signs of neglect it should serve you very well, regardless of brand.

Mark

The reason that Chrysler Corp. went bankrupt, is
because of all of the cars and trucks that they
had to recall, or buy back, because of the
"Lemon law"!

Truck, IMO Best 1/2 ton truck I have ever owned and still do! 97 F150 Supercab,longbox, 4X4, 4.6V8, OD-Auto, with 3:55 gears. Mine got 15/16 mpg up and down the highway all day long! not trailering, when we still had Non-Ethanoled gas! A little less since that is what we have now! But the truck has 338000K miles now! Some work and go on and the weak get left on the side of the Road!
The newer F-150 will do that and some towing on a semi-part-time basis is adequate, I have pulled a bobcat before,They pull like a lead-sled! if you want more a snappy response Get A Diesel! The Ford will turn out the work just Do not look at the mpg that much. If you want MPG Get a Government Motor Corp. truck.
When the work begins then the GMs get left behind!
Later,
John A.

This friend of mine told me that he paid $28 or 29K. He could be pulling my leg. That is a nice truck for under $30k. I will ask him again what he paid, without being too rude.

I would buy an old IH chassis (tough as nails) and shoehorn a 2 stroke Detroit diesel into it, for a real truck.

P.S. Why did you ask? You know before hand that all you will get is, here is what I have, it is best, I have good judgment, made right choice. What did you expect? Here is what I have, it is a P.O.S., hope you have better judgement than me and don't make stupid decisions/choices that I do.

I bought a 2011 Ranger. Wanted to use it for retirement travel as well as farm usage within it's capability, so fuel mileage was a top consideration. For suitcases and other stuff it had to be an extended cab, and although wanted 4WD it wouldn't be used enough to justify the mileage penality nor cost/maintainance. So went looking for a 4 cyl, 2wd, extended cab, factory "Reese" hitch with an automatic (ladies input). Dakota was out since offered only a V6. Drove a Ranger, Colorado and Tacoma. Toyota was the first choice. Performance was noticably better and it was well designed/constructed. But it was considerably more expensive and ultimately decided it wasn't a good enough value. The second choice was the Colorado. We found one and were ready to sign the papers, when Ford introduced a significant Ranger rebate and would buy your old vehicle for $1000. Thus for comparable vehicles the Ranger was $5500 lower than the Tacoma and $2500 lower than the Colorado. Although the Ranger bed was the smallest, worst performing (by only a slight margin compared to the Colorado), and didn't have the highly desired third door access to the extended cab, we decided it would be a Ford. Saved a few more dollars by finding a stripped 4 cyl, extended cab Ranger which had the two required options, CD player (for traveling) and automatic. Brought it home for $16K. Do wish it had a sliding rear window. Highway mileage averages 25 mpg at 60-70 mph, but this does require a somewhat gentle foot. If you want to use cruise control and insist on maintaining your speed traveling steeper inclines, you will see that regress. In my opinion not enough power for reqular towing unless you have patience. I only use mine to occasionally tow the zero turn mower, the four wheeler, or more frequently, trailer some firewood. Works OK at that level. If necessary could tow an empty wagon, and perhaps a small tractor such as a JD LA or AC G. But I didn't buy it for frequent or heavier towing. I wouldn't consider a V6 version of the smaller trucks if you are looking for more towing power or improved highway performance. The small truck V6's aren't that fuel efficient. Would suggest jumping to a half ton and seriously consider a Ford 150 with the V6 ecoboost or perhaps look at a Tundra. Since no 4WD, thought it prudent to purchase snow tires for winter use. Bought 4 aggressive snow tires and rims so they could be rotated. It was tough to get a tool box that would work and still allow the desired room to haul the four wheeler if didn't want to trailer. Finally bought two Better-Built tool boxes from Northern Tool & Equipment. The boxes were modified and frames built which laterally attach them to the front bed floor. Spent $600 but it looks great, and gives good access. A secondary benefit is that the boxes can easily be removed from the frames and stored when staying overnight in less desirable areas.