3/4 Ton Truck

That's why I have a Tunny

 

Ditto!

 

My dad has a 99 F250 with the 7.3L PSD with 300k and the neighbor next door to him has a 95 F350 with over 450k and an 02 excursion with almost 300k. Torque converter has been replaced in all 3 and the transmissions have all been rebuilt at least 1 time. They both spent a lot on parts for longer reliability of the drivetrain - larger capacity oil, transmission, and diff pans, secondary filters for oil and trans, gauges to monitor everything. They order and split a pallet of locomotive oils every year, do blackstone tests. My dads truck has continuous rust on the entire frame, paint is shot, trim pieces fell off, interior is shot, but the engine has not had any major issues.

 

Thanks for all the great feedback everyone! The gas vs diesel debate is an interesting one. Since I live in the PNW there are a lot of hills to climb while towing. It just seems like the gas HD trucks don’t have much more power than my Tundra, appears like it wouldn’t be much of an upgrade other than the increased payload. I know it’s a $10k increase for the diesel but all of the diesels also appear to have a better transmission than their gas counterpart, appears to be a double upgrade. Just seems like a struggling gas engine will put more strain on an already inferior transmission.

My biggest concern with the Ram is the overall reliability, which just took another hit today. One of my co-workers bought a Ram 1500 Laramie about a month ago (not an HD Ram). This morning he had to get a ride to work because his reverse stopped working, acted like it was in neutral. He always gives me crap about being a Toyota fanboy, his first words to me this morning was “you were right Aaron, you were right”. GMC is in the lead....

 

I would be hesitant buying a brand newly design 7.3 gas power would you guys?

 

Ford hasn't had many particularly reliable engines in the past and a brand new engine from any manufacturer would give me pause.

 

do u guys think if Toyota ever produced a diesel truck (which I doubt) it would sell well?

 

Not sure. There are a bunch of guys here who would buy one but buyers of heavy duty trucks seem to be very brand loyal.

 

exactly my point. I love Toyota & pretty loyal to the brand but feel that theyre lacking compared to the other manufacturers. I really think if Toyota got into HD's or upgraded their trucks overall, it would be a game changer

 

I was actually impressed by that 7.3 watching that video. I did a look at GM's site though and they only offer the 6 speed with the 6.6 gas. I think if they offered a 10 speed or even their 8 speed it would have done much better with the better gear ratios as well as better axle ratios 3.73 imo are too high for a 2500 with max towing package. Ram has a 4.10 and Ford a 4.30 with their gassers. That being said I do not think it would have changed the outcome the 7.3 will still probably beat it.

 

I've driven the Ram 6.4 and Ford 6.2 - they are less powerful by the butt dyno than the Tundra 5.7 (GM 6.2 has been the best gasser, followed by Ram 5.7 then Tundra 5.7). Ford 6.2 with 1000-1500 lbs in the bed and pulling 2 sleds is full throttle to do 60 mph up 6% grades, that is absolutely worse than the Tundra can do. I would imagine the new GM 6.6 gas would be in the Ram 6.4 range, maybe into the half ton power group - but still behind the Ford 7.3. The extra weight of the HD trucks really hampers how well they pull even if their ratings are better than the half ton engines.

 

I know what you mean, the drivetrain on our Tundras feel built tough almost like 1/2tonHD, just missing tougher axle and suspension. Similar to older silverado 1500hds.

side note, when i was shopping for a truck i was stuck between Tundra or a 2500 ram 5.7 hemi. I almost bought the hemi but i was
Unfamiliar with the Hemi “ticking
Noise” which i later learned is
Normal in Hemi engines?

 

Any particular reason you need to maintain 60 mph up a 6% grade with a load? Semis don't.

 

You consider that amount to be a load? That's only 3k lbs extra between the payload and the trailer. A car can tow that much, I sure as hell would expect a pickup to easily be able to do that. I know any mid level and above half ton can easily do it, so I don't think I'm asking too much for an HD truck to not be full throttle to do it.

OP has already said the lack of power in the Tundra is why he is looking to move up to an HD truck, so I provided a real world experience in showing how powerful a Ford 6.2 gas engine is.

 

I can vouch for the 6.2 v8 ford gas, i had one for a government truck. I was impressed, definitely wont be as fast as a tundra but itll be a good 3/4 ton work horse.

 

1 ton. Go big or go home.

 

Personally I can’t, my company’s vehicle allowance program doesn’t allow 1 tons.

 

No, I'd be fine with it.

They do, and there's a reason they don't sell the diesel Hilux and LC70 in the states. The kind of diesel pickup that Toyota wants to make would not sell in the U.S. market.

I think that quite a number of people just have unrealistic expectations.

 

How is it that some are being unrealistic to want an HD gas engine to pull as well as a half ton engine or better? I haven't driven the 7.3 so I can't directly compare it to the Tundra - but any test I've seen shows it might finally be the engine to offer that. Other than that though none have met that expectation, and I have driven the 6.4 a bit and the 6.2 a decent amount. I've also driven a 6.7 PSD a ton so know exactly how those feel - and IMO if you're towing more than half ton ratings more than once or twice a year diesel is the only way to go. Sure the gas engine will get it done - but would you only use hand tools to tear apart and rebuild a car? I think most of us would all go for the impacts and other power tools.

OP was asking about getting more power - maybe the 7.3 is the answer, but the 6.2 and 6.4 certainly are not, and I can guarantee any diesel will satisfy them in the power aspect.

 

Whoa, whoa, whoa. This is something that your company is going to cover? Are you only going to be in it for a few years before you change it out again? If this is the case, Ram all day long. Most comfortable trucks and nicest interior I've been in have all been Rams. If it's only for a 3-5 year stretch before you move out of it and somebody else is picking up the tab for repairs, then it'd be an easy decision for me. I love the Cummins engines, and even Mopar can hold together through most of the warranty period.

 

Seen any numbers on the new GM 6.6 gasser yet? (I haven't bothered to check it out.) Or would it be a no go because of the 6 speed?

 

I've seen the numbers, but have not seen it out and around other than a couple Youtube reviews. 6 speed doesn't bug me if the computer uses it well. By the numbers it should fit between the Ram 6.4 and the Ford 7.3 - so would guess it would be comparable to how the half tons feel. I don't know if its something I'll ever get to drive though - don't see many GM's at worksites and I'll personally never do a HD gasser after driving them at work. For me I have no issue towing 9k lbs with a Tundra but if I ever needed more than that it would be diesel no question - the power is awesome but what's more impressive is the engine braking.

The only spot I see gas HD's fitting is a tiny window of max payload with zero towing. Things like a truck bed camper or whatever that puts around 3k lbs in the bed, more than what a half ton can handle. The 6.4, 6.6, or 7.3 would have enough power to handle that weight and not be constantly wanting more.

 

I can only speak for the HD trucks but Mopar and the build has been just fine to me. Original owner 2006 3500 w/217K miles and a lot of towing. I haven't had any more maintenance than I'd have expected from any of the big 3 HD trucks. Generally when I do a repair or replacement I go with Mopar parts unless there is something on the market that is a clear improvement. Mopar parts have done fine by me.

 

At least there are shops here that do emissions deletes.

I have a couple coworkers who drive HD gassers (one GMT-900, one K2) and my assumption was always that they have heavy trailers and short daily commutes but I haven't actually talked to them about it.

 

I’m holding out hope for the new 7.3. Is simple enough I think ford can get it right and preliminary reports seem to be pretty positive compared to other gas hd engines. I think they’ll be great for service trucks like ours that are always loaded down but hardly ever tow. And if Toyota doesn’t get significantly more payload in the next gen then I’ll strongly consider moving into one also.

 

I get an allowance and a gas card, they switched to this years ago instead on company vehicles. I am responsible for all other costs like maintenance and insurance. We can keep our cars until they are up to 6 model years old, technically I can keep my 2016 until the end of 2022.

The Ram has the best interior and I think they are the best looking HD. The majority of people I know that have purchased new Rams have also done the extended warranty. Just like my co-worker I wrote about yesterday with his 2020 Ram 1500 Laramie. He bought the truck about a month ago and got the full 5 year, 120k mile bumper to bumper warranty. Reverse stopped working and the local Dodge dealership can’t take it in until Tuesday. Now he will probably have a loaner car for weeks while they deal with it. Yes, he won’t pay anything out of pocket but how much is the inconvenience of dealing with this worth? Is a little nicer interior work it? Inderstand that this could happen to any truck but it just seems to happen to Rams more.

 

Ah I see the situation.

As far as your buddy's predicament, it is more than just the nicer interior to me. I cannot get comfortable in a GM truck, so they are out. I have a friend who is on his 3rd engine in his powerstroke, (his second motor died withing 12k miles) so I am kinda leery of the Fords. Might be a one off bad deal for him, but I have terrible luck too. If I were to go to an HD truck it would have to be a diesel, and I prefer the history I've had with Cummins on that one.

All these issues are the exact reason why I decided that I wanted the Tundra, and all my towing and payload would be made to fit the truck. You just can't find the same kind of reliability in the HDs as there used to be, and I can live with smaller trailers and multiple trips way easier than loaners for warranty work.