Need new-to-me truck feedback

[MuscleRodz]

I have to quit driving my 454 1 ton crew cab daily before I send another oil man's kid to college. Budget reasons eliminate anything new. (Must keep working on toys). I have always driven Chevy but I am considering a Dodge Quad Cab pickup. Does anybody have one or anybody know any horror stories regarding them. Any other suggestions for a different truck?

Mike

[Steve Chryssos]

No horror stories, but just last night, I traded my big honkin hemi quad cab Ram for a small turbo Audi A3 with DSG paddle shift. Bad time for me to buy a car, but the Ram's fuel bill was killing me. So I traded payments. I was gonna trade the Ram for a Magnum RT with "employee discount". But it turns out, all the dealers are trying to make up their discount by banging you on the trade-in. Trade in value at every Dodge dealer was $13K. Employee discount was $3K Trade in value at the Audi dealer was $16K. Hmm..

I love that truck, but I got tired of dropping $100 per week on fuel. 400/mo!! That's a whole other car payment. If mileage is your primary concern, pass on the Ram. The only other problem I had was front brake rotors. I had the factory "Dubs". The flywheel effect from the heavy 20" wheels kept warping the front rotors. Other than mileage and front rotors, great truck. It will be missed.
/Steevo

[Bill Howell]

Ditto the same issues Steve stated. My brother owns one and gas mileage is not one of it's strong suits. Front brakes have always been an issue with the newer Dodge trucks.
Gas mileage is always an issue, especially when prices jump as they have lately, however, don't get caught up in that "I need better mileage " game until you sit down and do the math. You can buy alot of gas for the cost of another vehicle. You will only save the difference in mpg between the two, but the new one will still require gas visits. If you are simply trading payments like Steve said, it is one thing, but if your present vehicle is paid for, I would just buy the extra gas if I had no other issue with the vehicle.

Now may be the time to explain to the little lady how you really need to buy a motorcycle to save gas money-LOL

[eldogg]

i might look into a gear vendors overdrive unit. there only about 2500.00 and thats alot cheaper than payments. you can expect about 20% better mileage. every one i know with a new full size truck only get about 14mpg at best. good luck
eldogg

[mdprovee]

I have a quad cab, nice truck, great door for getting the little ones in the car seats.

Terrible gas milage, last time I checked 14 mpg all freeway. A little ruffer ride than the chevy.

Mike

[jy211]

my pops has one. Has had no issues. I have a Magnum RT, love it....takes $40 of super to fill it up and I can drive on that tank for almost 2 weeks....I just try not to get into the pedal too much...

[MuscleRodz]

Bike would be cool, but it don't haul the trash and 3 almost teenagers. My crew cab gets about 10-12mpg and its $20 everytime I need to go to the city which is every day. I am right there with you Steve paying $100 or more a week for gas.

I have given though to a Gear Vendors unit. But with 220K+ miles on the truck, I think its time to move on. Truck is paid for which right now is the only good thing.

I have a 95 Camaro I could drive but it has lived in the shop for the last few months. It is also 200K+ on mileage and needs to be sold before it quits completely.

I am trying to hold out till I get the '69 Blazer done but I just don't know if I can wait that long. I expect it will be at least tthe end of the year before it is finished. Any other ideas?

Mike

[Foudie]

A liitle more expensive but what about a crew diesel? Lots of power and good mileage. I have a V-10 4X4 crew with 35" tires and am lucky to get 10 mpg. My dad has a 04' Powerstroke 4X4 and gets about 16 mpg. My friend's wife drives a diesel excursion 2wd and gets close to 20 mpg on the freeway.

[PSV]

I don't think you will gain much going to a newer fullsize truck. The gas milage on them will be in 12 to 15 mpg range. My brother in-law has a 04 hemi crew cab and gets 13 mpg or less depending on his driving habits. I had a chevy 1500HD 6.0 and it averaged 13.5 mpg. I traded it in for a 3500 dually crew cab duramax and am getting 16 mpg around town. My sister just bought a 2500 crew cab duramax and went on a 800 mile round trip this weekend and got 17 mpg and this truck only has 1200 miles on it. For milage in a big truck you have to go with a diesel, but you definately have to pay for it initially as they are much higher in price than gas powered trucks.

[USAZR1]

I've been looking at a GMC 1500 crew cab with either 4.8 or 5.3 engine. Either engine will get close to 20mpg on the highway.
Our grocery getter is a 99 Suburban that easily gets 18mpg on the highway. Since I sold my 91 Chev ext cab a few months ago,I've been wanting a new truck but am now coming to the conclusion that I really don't need one. My El Camino can do light-duty hauling,in a pinch.

[Steve Chryssos]

If it's gotta be a daily driver pickup and gas mileage is a priority, probably the best solution is a 5 cylinder Chevy Colorado with the "Employee Discount". That seems to be the lowest "cost to operate" solution in a new truck.

At $3.00 per gallon, I think the days of using pickup trucks as commuter vehicles are unfortunately over. Get a car instead. Park your truck and ONLY use it for hauling.

Oh well.

[MuscleRodz]

If it's gotta be a daily driver pickup and gas mileage is a priority, probably the best solution is a 5 cylinder Chevy Colorado with the "Employee Discount". That seems to be the lowest "cost to operate" solution in a new truck.

At $3.00 per gallon, I think the days of using pickup trucks as commuter vehicles are unfortunately over. Get a car instead. Park your truck and ONLY use it for hauling.

Oh well.
Well if the "employee discount" was really that, I would be able to save about 40%. My neighbor just bought an '05 Ford with a sticker price right at $40K and with his brother's "real" employee discount, he drove it home for $24K and no trade-in. Still, I prefer not to have any payments. I will probably start looking at cars, but I haven't given up yet.

I thought about diesels. But I can't stand the smell. Plus diesel around here has been averaging .20 more a gallon, so I am not sure how much benefit the slightly better gas milage would be.

Mike

[Ralph LoGrasso]

If it's gotta be a daily driver pickup and gas mileage is a priority, probably the best solution is a 5 cylinder Chevy Colorado with the "Employee Discount". That seems to be the lowest "cost to operate" solution in a new truck.

At $3.00 per gallon, I think the days of using pickup trucks as commuter vehicles are unfortunately over. Get a car instead. Park your truck and ONLY use it for hauling.

Oh well.

So very true. It KILLS me to drive my Tahoe to work and school. Over the winter when gas as $1.99 it cost me $60 or so per week in gas. Now that it's $2.50+ for regular, I try not to think about the costs...

'96 Tahoe sport, 2 door, 33" toyos. 12-13mpg average city / highway.

Mike, I was going to recommend a Tahoe like mine for you, they're cool trucks, and are fun to drive. They're also pretty rare, especially the Sports. I had to buy my truck from Minnesota to find one! Seeing what you get for gas mileage though, I wouldn't recommend one. I don't get much better mileage.



P.S. Congrats on the Audi Steevo, I've got to check that sucker out!

[Steve Chryssos]

P.S. Congrats on the Audi Steevo, I've got to check that sucker out!


Oh, it's cool. Audi A3 Turbo Sport. .....Sorry to hijack.. I'll start a new thread.
/Steevo

[suh weet]

Yeah, same boat. F150 Super Crew 4x4 getting 13.5mpg. I may have to drive the Camaro more, it gets about 19mpg and it only has 4500 original miles.

[larknut]

Everyone's experiences are different. I for one am very happy and suprised with my '98 Silverado ext. cab. Then again i went from my 11 mpg. daily driver '72 Skylark (having to fill up every 3-4 days) to 17 mpg. in my truck. Not to mention having to run 91 octane in the lark. I just took a 5000 mile trip to Chicago and back using the Silverado. It was great cruising for 425 miles before having to get gas.

What it all boils down to is are you willing to sacrafice gas milage for the functionality of a truck. There are plenty of good, affordable, used or new cars and trucks out there ripe for the pick'n.

Think of this: if you end up getting a car what will you haul all of your car parts in?

alex

[race-rodz-inc]

how bout a used typhoon, decent mileage, room for kids, fun to drive.. could prolly pick one up for around 12k

[MuscleRodz]

I had a '94 ext cab Chevy and liked it alot. I don't really want another of that body style. I have had 4 including the crew cab. I know the 6.0 in the 2000+ don't seem to do very well on gas either, around 14 mpg.

Typhoon would be cool. Rare around here. Problem with that is no towing capacity.

My problem is I can't afford what I want and need at the same time right now. :banghead: If I could get a couple projects finished, I might have the extra resources so I can have my cake and eat it to.

Mike

[Andrew McBride]

Mike,

I don't know what kind of car/truck your looking for. I have had great luck with my 03' Z71 chevy 4 door p/u. I get right at 18 on highway which doesn't seem too bad to me. The truck has plenty of power, I have hauled cars, trucks with no problem and still gets pretty good mileage with a load. A buddy of mine has a 99' or 2000 chevy p/u with 2wd ext cab, but it has the 4.8 V8 and he gets anywhere from 470-500 miles on a 25 gallon tank.
If I was gonna go back and buy a truck it would be the duramax. One of our Duramax 4x4 crew cabs is getting 17.7 miles a tank on highway. If you are looking for a GMC, or chevy call up Randy Bowen in Chandler, Ok. we have bought quite a few vehicles in the past from him. They can beat anyone's price in the state.