which 1/2 ton

[BadIdea]

I'm looking at an '08 tundra crewmax, sr5, 5.7l, 4x4. Probably will do a lease and I think toyota has the best rates. This is what I'm looking for in a truck.

safety
towing
reliability
mileage

The ford's seem underpowered and chevy's styling is losing me.

[Lumadar]

Plan on using it like a truck? Don't get the Toyota.

If you just want a "big car" knock your socks off.

www.truthabouttrucks.com

That Toyota frame is a JOKE. Watch the flex video

[MattZTS]

you cant just look at power numbers for trucks. theres alot more involved than that. you have to also take in to account when they see max torque. also which is more stable with a load. you have to take a lot into consideration.

[MattZTS]

Originally Posted by Lumadar

Plan on using it like a truck? Don't get the Toyota.

If you just want a "big car" knock your socks off.

www.truthabouttrucks.com

That Toyota frame is a JOKE. Watch the flex video

those are really informative actually. i love that ford does that now.

[David Anderson]

dad just bought a supercrew 4x4 f150. So far, hes put 2500 miles on this truck, towed his boat over 500 miles combined, and really ran it hard. Overall mileage has been about 17.6mpg combined according to his dash. Not too bad for a 4x4 pickup that tows his boat like it isnt there.

[BadIdea]

To me that's just a really well done ad. I'm sure Toyota and Chevy could produce something similar.

One friend switched from a F150 to a comparable Tundra and says it's better for towing (same car and trailer).
Another friend has had nothing but problems with his 04 F150 (transmission).

I guess I haven't heard of anyone going from a ford or chevy to a toyota and regretting it.

[ZX3autoxtasy]

My girlfriends dad has had 2 new F150's...





and DAMN. We have pulled some crazy stuff with that. Loaded some crazy stuff, and hauled some crazy stuff.

It had 2 Huge 1300CC jetskis on a trailer, and 2 standup racing jetskis in the bed, along with 5 people and all out gear in the truck.

Pulled just like a champ.

[zx3joe]

Also be realistic about what you need. If you are only going to tow 5,000 lbs. then you don't need a truck capable of towing 10,000+ lbs. All you will be doing is spending a lot more money for no reason. Some people insist that they det the biggest truck possible. The bigger the truck the higher the initial cost along with more fuel and more cost for maintainance (look at the difference in the size of the brakes between an F150 and an F350).

My Dad just bought an '08 Silverado 5.3l 4X4. We tow a 5,000 lb boat (our truck will tow 7,500 max) with no problem. We have averaged about 16 mpg but on one long trip, 200mi round trip, we got 18.5 mpg. We could have gotten the 6.0l and 4.10 axel ratio which would have given us a max tow rating of 10,500 lbs, but why.

We have always bought Fords in the past, but we did not even consider the F150 because the seats are VERY uncomfortable.

[MikeyP]

If you buy that Tundra, just make sure you don't sit on the tailgate.

http://www.bodyshopzone.com/editoria...y_problem.html

Toyota designed the tailgate to support only 200lbs, and recommends not driving with it in the down position. The Tundra was also recently kicked of Consumer Reports recommended buy list.

[orionlion82]

Originally Posted by zx3joe

Also be realistic about what you need. If you are only going to tow 5,000 lbs. then you don't need a truck capable of towing 10,000+ lbs. All you will be doing is spending a lot more money for no reason. Some people insist that they det the biggest truck possible. The bigger the truck the higher the initial cost along with more fuel and more cost for maintainance (look at the difference in the size of the brakes between an F150 and an F350).

My Dad just bought an '08 Silverado 5.3l 4X4. We tow a 5,000 lb boat (our truck will tow 7,500 max) with no problem. We have averaged about 16 mpg but on one long trip, 200mi round trip, we got 18.5 mpg. We could have gotten the 6.0l and 4.10 axel ratio which would have given us a max tow rating of 10,500 lbs, but why.

We have always bought Fords in the past, but we did not even consider the F150 because the seats are VERY uncomfortable.

yes, but the reason people buy trucks with higher load ratings that they need adds durability.

the rule of thumb is 25% more rating, and it lasts 25% longer.
if im gonna "work" the truck its gonna be a ford or chevy.

fords were king for a while and the last 15 years chevy was the better truck. last 5 or 10 years ford came back and they are both equal.

and then the goofy toyotas showed up.
those are "play" trucks, nothing serious... you think ford and chevy would use so much steel in the frames if the diddnt know what they were doin?

toyota thinks matchsticks are fine if they turn a profit?
mmmhmm.

buy an american truck to do a truck's job, like towing.
if you jsut want to tool around, get a golf cart.

[zx3joe]

Of course you would not want to buy a vehicle that is rated to tow exactly how much your trailer weighs. Hence the reason we have a truck that will tow 7,500 but we only tow 5,000.

As an example of my original point: My neighbor has a 14' alluminum boat that weighs 600-700 lbs. He wants to get a 20' C. Dory that weighs about 4,000 lbs. Before he does he wants to get a Tundra that will tow over 10,000 instead of using his Tacoma that will tow 6,500 because he does not think it is enough. He has got a 2,500 lb cushion with his Tacoma, that is only 60% of its rated capacity.

Keep in mind that when a manufacturer rates a vehicle to tow a certain amount, they have a cushion built in there as well. If they rate a vehicle to tow 7,500 then that vehicle has to be able to tow 7,500 up a steep grade on the hottest summer day at a high altitude with the AC on. Are there people that will do this? Probably not, but they have to engineer the vehicle to do this.

Again, be realistic about what you need and go from there.

[PIRANHA]

I was just in the market loking for a new 1/2 pickup, and what i did was test drive everyone and then made my desicion upon what i was gonna use it for, gas mileage, comfort, style, and price (in no particular order) I ended up getting a 2007 silverado and i can't begin to say how much i enjoy this truck. It's much different than some of the older Chevy trucks in terms of toughness and ride quality. It tows like a champ and i recently got 21.5 MPG highway with it. and yes its a V8 a 6.0L to be exact. I'm not telling you what to buy i'm just saying to go test drive all of your options before choosing one. There is stuuf ford has that chevy or dodge or nissan or toyota dont have but what those videos dont tell you is the stuff that they do have that ford does not have. Don't take someone elses advise go find out for yourself.

Dont for get you have many options.

Nissan Titan
Ford F150
Toyota Tundra
Chevrolet Silverado
Dodge Ram 1500

Also rember that there are different trim levels of each truck and compare apples to apples. My choice was diffuclt, but i'm not biased to any manufacturer i just wanted the most bang for the buck. Hope this helps, its just my .02


LAZ

[David Anderson]

my grandpas 07 chebby 4 door has rear drum brakes. Kind of strange for a 34k truck.

[MattZTS]

my mom has a ram 1500 hemi. let me tell you the hemi does nothing for a truck that big. it feels like its got no balls especially with the bed loaded.

[whiteboyslo]

1) what kind of tow capacity do you need?

2) how often will it get driven?

3) how many passengers do you need to be able to carry?

4) does it HAVE to be new?

don't get suckered into the machismo wars of having to have the biggest and baddest truck out there. just get what you need.

if you only need a truck part-time, i could recommend several good used trucks that will do the job just fine and sove you a couple thousand.

Mike

[ZedX31485]

My buddy's uncle just picked up a new Crew Max Tundra with the 5.7L motor.

Makes my uncles 2005 F150 feel like a V6 Ranger....

That Tundra can pull HARD. 380 horse/400 torque

[BadIdea]

I'm looking to tow 5-7k lbs, probably 10 weekends a year. I would probably drive 12-15k miles/year and need room for 5 people. I've sort of ruled out a cheap daily driver because then I'd end up with 3 cars and parking is an issue. I want to lease so it would be new, plus I want the latest safety.

I did price out the chevy ltz with the 6.0l so I should probably go take a look at it.

[whiteboyslo]

Originally Posted by BadIdea

I'm looking to tow 5-7k lbs, probably 10 weekends a year. I would probably drive 12-15k miles/year and need room for 5 people. I've sort of ruled out a cheap daily driver because then I'd end up with 3 cars and parking is an issue. I want to lease so it would be new, plus I want the latest safety.

I did price out the chevy ltz with the 6.0l so I should probably go take a look at it.

the chevy is getting great reviews. aesthetically, i prefer the GMC, but that's more money.

you could get away with the 5.3 and 3.73 rear with that kind of towing no problem. it'll also get you better fuel economy with their displacement-on-demand system. remember, with towing, it's more about the rear end ratio than anything else. hell, even the 4.8 would do the job if the rear was geared right.

Mike

[navlys32]

Originally Posted by Lumadar

Plan on using it like a truck? Don't get the Toyota.

If you just want a "big car" knock your socks off.

www.truthabouttrucks.com

That Toyota frame is a JOKE. Watch the flex video

wow, ford should make commercials out of these videos, straight to the point and much better than the played out tundra commercials. Then again, the only thing the tundra has going for it is the powertrain. I was very impressed with the V8 when i got to drive my buddies tundra. Too bad it fails as a work truck.

[rskona]

If you are going to use your truck as a real "work" truck don't get a ford. Coming from having all the trucks at my job, are ford. 150-250-350-450(brand spankin' new too) honestly they suck. Their so called less part friction causing greater durability is BS(their online video).

We've had these things fail numerous times already within a year. Seats in the F-150 are trash, seats in the 250-350-450 are somewhat decent. They rattle like a can of marbles.Fan shrouds cut's into the plastic radiator. Power, well what power? The 4.8 in my silverado(no not a fan boi) does a better job than the ford V10.

My 2cents don't really matter but that's just my opinion(and mine alone) driving, servicing these POS. These "Ford's" are actually put to work so over the road things will probably be different ball game.

[Jared]

I am in no way a GM fan but if I had to buy a truck it would be a Chevy or GMC. For the two years I worked for my girlfriend's dad we would tow trailers with scissor lifts and 30 ft trailers full to the top with hundreds of 50 pound bags of insulation, and those trucks took a beating, on the highways and on construction sites, and never had a problem. Now, those were 3500 series, but still, until Toyota can make a proper work truck in that class, I wouldn't buy one of their smaller ones.

My coworker bought a GMC 1500 about a year ago and he has had zero problems. Yeah it doesn't have rear disc brakes, but oh well, it's a great truck otherwise.

[BLOWNSTANG]

The drum brakes are fine. The reason they went back to them is because they were having problems with the right rear caliper on the older ones.

[EggYolkBill]

It's funny to listen to people arguing over trucks. For every person whose had problems with a Ford there are just as many that will claim they have the same problems with a Chevy, etc. There are plenty of statistics that will show reliability, towing capacity, safety etc. The F150 has the best crash test ratings and highest towing capacity. The seats are very comfortable in my '07. I have the premium captains chairs. I personally dont like the new Chevy look at all but it's a great truck. The Toyota has a lot to learn but is certainly better than the last one and definitely has a nice powertrain. The difference in towing is the one thing that the specs don't show. The F150 with the 5.4 has most of it's torque available at a very low RPM. Something like 1500 rpm. That is what allows it to tow so well.

[zx3joe]

I think we would all agree that the Toyota trumps all with its 5.7l V8. But there is so much more to a truck than the engine. In fact, payload and towing capacities are based more on braking capability and as stated above gear ratio.

I will admit that as far as towing goes, Ford has the best engine characteristics. All of their truck engines are tuned for more low end torque than GM, Toyota, or Nissan. We used to have an '98 E350 with the V10. The van and all the equipment weighed just over 8,000lbs and we still able to tow our 5,000lb boat. The torque that engine made was amazing.

I really miss that torque, but our new 5.3 Silverado does just fine. It helps that the truck weighs 3,000lbs less. Going us some hills we are in a lower gear than we used to be with our van, but at higher rpms our new truck definately pulls harder.

Take the advice above and test drive all af them. Every one of those trucks are capable of diong what you want. You just have to figure out which on you like the best.

[Jared]

Also, doesn't Ford have some special trailer brake integration? Like the controller comes as an option so you don't have to add one aftermarket but I thought I remembered it doing something special that aftermarket ones don't normally do