Who's Making The Best Half Ton Truck???

[Freakingstang]

1999. Same truck up through 06, the 07's are differant from what I hear.

 

[sawinredneck]

I am not sure what year they changed. I will give them this, they have the best GAS engine going right now! Still won't own one. I hate the fact that my next one will likely be a Dodge, but thats going to be a 3/4-1 ton, so it's not relevent here.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

No major problems other than rear brakes.

It has withstood the test of me beating the snot out of it for the last 6 years..I'd buy another in a heartbeat (pun intended) lol.

I have had problems with my silverado. The ummm, parking brake is lame and, umm thats it!


I beat the snot out of mine with regularity, my favorite trick is blowing off tuner cars and older camaros.


Sometimes I think the ricers think I missed a shift with the revs these newer Vortechs get up to, the main thing I would like to change would be to get a Power programmer to raise and firm up the shift points, and get some helper springs for stunts like this.

Comfort, class, power, the Silverado is the way to go!

 

[NYH1]

I am not sure what year they changed. I will give them this, they have the best GAS engine going right now! Still won't own one. I hate the fact that my next one will likely be a Dodge, but thats going to be a 3/4-1 ton, so it's not relevent here.

sawinredneck, you got a PM!

 

[rb_in_va]

Now on another topic: ASE certification doesn't mean ****, it will get you more pay but hands on/experience blows those tests out of the water. I know many techs that have certs and can't work on a car. As a tech. I have taken a few but only when it gets slow(not many times as I stay busy). An experienced service manager knows when he has a good tech. no matter what a peice of paper tells him.

My neighbor is a mechanic, and he said the ASE test is computer based, and you just take keep taking it till you pass. He's not impressed with the cert, so he hasn't bothered to pursue it.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

he was just as busy when he worked at Toyota and GMC/Chevy dealers as he was when he worked at Chrysler dealers. Warranty and service work included.

Of course he was. Any dealership that can't keep their mechanics busy will lay them off.


A better check is to ask independant mechanics, not dealer mechanics.

 

[Peacock]

Of course he was. Any dealership that can't keep their mechanics busy will lay them off.

Not totally true. A flat rate tech like myself costs the dealer nothing when not making money.

I make more hours working for Honda than I did at the Ford dealer. Honda have more problems? Not by a LOOOONNNNGGG shot. More maintenance and better customers. It's laughable how much better Honda the corporation takes care of it's customers.

My experience on trucks is based on my Ford dealer experience and that of hundreds(thousands?) of used cars of all makes. IMO, GM makes the most reliable of all trucks.

The Cummins, btw is the most overrated of the diesels. We do on average 1-2 pumps per week....at over 2k each.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Thanks for that correction. I didn't know dealerships used flat rate.


Good insight on business vs. quality of product. There are obviously a lot more variables to consider.

 

[BIG JAKE]

I love my half ton chevy. It rolled over 202K miles this weekend. No major problems other than rear brakes. There has been some general maintence, but that is expected at 200K...

It has withstood the test of me beating the snot out of it for the last 6 years..I'd buy another in a heartbeat (pun intended) lol.

I would like to have a 3/4 ton HD or 1 ton with the Duramax in it, though. This has been the beefiest half ton I have owned. I really should have a 3/4 ton at the minimum and this truck has taken it share of abuse and come back beggin for more.

You won't be sorry with a D-max. Talk about comfort. My truck has 119K-no issues. I had the same luck as you with my half ton GM's. I really should have had a 3/4 or 1 ton for what I was doing to those trucks but it never hurt em'.

 

[BIG JAKE]

Who is???

Whichever one the girl comes with-Oops, I shouldn't say that I'm married!

 

[bytehoven]

I hate the fact that my next one will likely be a Dodge, but thats going to be a 3/4-1 ton, so it's not relevent here.

That's what I bought in January, a Ram 2500 Quad Cab SLT. I test drove both the 1500 & 2500, to see if the ride was softer on the 1/2, which it was not.

I prefer the solid front axle on the 2500 over IFS on the 1500. Many 1/2 ton trucks have the IFS.

There was no really fuel economy savings with the 1500, and the cost was only slightly less.

All in all, it seemed like a no brainer to go with the 3/4 ton.

I think it's a tougher choice deciding between a 3/4 & 1 ton and then spending the extra $5-6K on a diesel.

If I had better diesel fuel options in my neck of the woods, I might have been tempted by the Cummins. However, with only a couple of stations charging way more than gas, driving a diesel would be a big hassle and just as costly.

I test drove a couple of CTD 2500s and I could get used to driving a diesel.

I'm waiting to test drive one of the '07 Rams with the new 6.1 CTD and 6 speed auto tranny.

BTW... to answer the original question, the new Toyota Tundra being built to almost a 3/4 ton performance spec, might give it the edge over other 1/2 trucks. One big downside to the Toyota, they won't knock $10-12K off the MSRP like orther manufactures.

 

[huskydave]

I drive jap vehicles You can't kill em and they hold their value!

 

[Peacock]

...Toyota Tundra being built to almost a 3/4 ton performance spec, might give it the edge over other 1/2 trucks. One big downside to the Toyota, they won't knock $10-12K off the MSRP like orther manufactures.

In many ways the Tundra is built to lesser standards than all other 1/2 tons. Look closely at it's payload and towing capacity with different cab/bed combos. It is consistently lesser of a truck than the GM and Ford models.

BTW....the new Cummins is a 6.7L...:biggrinbounce2:

 

[2000ssm6]

Not totally true. A flat rate tech like myself costs the dealer nothing when not making money.

I make more hours working for Honda than I did at the Ford dealer. Honda have more problems? Not by a LOOOONNNNGGG shot. More maintenance and better customers. It's laughable how much better Honda the corporation takes care of it's customers.

That is very true. Most people think techs make good money. Many can but warranty work just kills our checks. When we don't turn wrenches, we don't get paid. The best place for a GOOD tech to make $ is a big city and a known good dealer.

 

[Peacock]

Not totally true. A flat rate tech like myself costs the dealer nothing when not making money.

I make more hours working for Honda than I did at the Ford dealer. Honda have more problems? Not by a LOOOONNNNGGG shot. More maintenance and better customers. It's laughable how much better Honda the corporation takes care of it's customers.

That is very true. Most people think techs make good money. Many can but warranty work just kills our checks. When we don't turn wrenches, we don't get paid. The best place for a GOOD tech to make $ is a big city and a known good dealer.

You said it. Nothing worse than spending the day making NOTHING!!!

My last 3 weeks have gone 65hrs, 44hrs and 33hrs. That's not a typical example, but shows people how it can be. I generally average right at 50hrs per week here.

 

[2000ssm6]

Yeah, I usually stay around 40-45 per week. Those 20 hour weeks are rough and the 70s are great. It is hard to determine how much you can spend when it goes from fast to slow in a snap.

 

[sawinredneck]

sawinredneck, you got a PM!

Replied, thank you!!

 

[NYH1]

Now on another topic: ASE certification doesn't mean ****, it will get you more pay but hands on/experience blows those tests out of the water. I know many techs that have certs and can't work on a car. As a tech. I have taken a few but only when it gets slow(not many times as I stay busy). An experienced service manager knows when he has a good tech. no matter what a peice of paper tells him.

I agree. My friend has both his ASE certification's and A LOT of hands on/experience. The last two dealerships he worked at he was paid half the dealer's labor rate. Example- if the dealerships labor rate was $50 per hour, he was paid $25 per hour. I don't know if this is common practice in dealership repair shops or not. He owns his own repair shop now and has been successful so far.

 

[Peacock]

I agree. My friend has both his ASE certification's and A LOT of hands on/experience. The last two dealerships he worked at he was paid half the dealer's labor rate. Example- if the dealerships labor rate was $50 per hour, he was paid $25 per hour. I don't know if this is common practice in dealership repair shops or not. He owns his own repair shop now and has been successful so far.

Not common at all. Around here a dealer rate is about 80-85. My hourly rate is nowhere near 40. Most guys around here top out around 25.

That was a common practice in the '60's and '70's though.

 

[rb_in_va]

Who makes the best half-ton trucks? Ford, Chevy or Dodge.











20-30 years ago!