This is always an interesting debate. Here's my 2 cents. In the last 7 years I’ve owned an 2001 F-250 Super duty extended cab, a 2003 F-250 Super duty extended cab and a 2004 F-150 super crew. All of them have been good trucks, well one big problem with the 01’.
Before these I had many years of Chevy’s and GMC pickups and vans, ½, ¾ and 1 ton, 2wd and 4wd, automatics, standards, straight 6’s, V-6’s, V-8’s and diesel’s, single and dual wheel. Come to think of it, the last car I owned was a 73’ Monte Carlo with the swivel bucket seats with a 350 with a Quadjet. It was the longest, heaviest, worst fuel consuming car I owned but one of my favorites. Like driving the living room Lazy Boy down the rode. I much prefer to drive a pickup, even on long trips we always take the truck.
I had always had good luck with all of my older Chevy’s and Jimmy’s. I went to Ford in 2001 because I wanted a heavier work truck and at the time GM didn’t have a “Super duty” type line and their designers seemed to be pushing toward a more car like ride. The torsion bar front end suspensions didn’t seem to be holding up very well in terms of plowing, at least from what I had heard at the time. Again this is back in 2001.
My first F-250 SD was an XLT package with the plow and towing group with a 5.7 V-8. A little under powered for a truck rated at 8800 GVW. The truck was great in the snow, ran well on the highway and was fairly plush on the interior but rode like a truck. After 34,000 miles the engine developed a knock and was replaced. They never did figure out the problem but the new motor was fine till I traded it at 80K. It was one of those vehicles that seemed to have a target on it and I was hit 3 different times.
The F-150 had the smaller 5.4 V-8 with a 6’ bed and was also an XLT. Ran fine although the motor sounded funky but again it ran fine. This truck rode really good, handled well on the highway and had a lot of interior room. 4 door cab. Handled everything I put in it but I needed a plow truck. This motor/truck combination was pretty good in terms of power.
The 2003 F-250 I now run has a V-10 with 360HP. It is also an XLT. It has the plow and towing package. It is by far my best truck yet. The V-10 seems to be a real nice fit, power to weight ratio, for this truck. Plenty of power, it cruises at 85, 90 with little effort. Good acceleration, pushes snow without any problems, it has a leaf spring front end so it rides harder then the new ones that are coil over. It has manual locking hubs with a floor shifter for the transfer case. I trust this set up better then the vacuum assist, a little more work to get out and lock the hubs but normally it shouldn’t fail.
I love the Ford Super duty line but don’t care for the front end styling of the 08’s. Now that GM has been in the Super duty arena for a while I’m sure they make a good truck too.
I honestly believe that both Ford and GM make good trucks, I like the Ford for a more truck like feel, harder ride for a work truck. IMHO…
Ed
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Topic: What kind of truck - Pros & Cons? (Read 17470 times)