Considering Moving to an HD Truck

I was stepping through the process with my wife and it does seem like a bit of a pain in the ass. We will keep the 4runner and it is capable of towing a medium-sized boat, but I would prefer not to caravan - especially if trips are more than a couple hundred miles. Definitely good information to keep in mind when making future purchases. I appreciate it.

 

Jump now. I went to a powerboost f150 from a 19 tundra. Way higher payload and towing. Got 8k more than I paid for it, and paid msrp for the Ford. Will never go back to overpriced outdated technology. F150 runs great. No issues. Bunch of my friends have 250s. The 2022 f250 will have the same sync 4 as my f150. It’s perfect

 

As much as I love so many things about my Tundra, it is a bit disappointing that it has none of the bells and whistles of some of the other trucks. That ecoboost is fun to drive.

 

My next truck will be one ton and done...OP....do it

 

dude it’s wild. I live at 5k feet elevation, and before when I’d have to floor the tundra to get anywhere, I now barely tap the throttle and it’s off to the races.

 

Don't go by the strong opinions on this site, do more research. You'd think a Toyota forum would have unbiased info on 3/4 or 1 ton truck that Toyota doesn't offer but there is a strong anti-Ford sentiment here. The truth is Ford is by far the best choice in the HD truck world, little anecdotes on this site notwithstanding. If you're only going to keep it for a few years and not put a lot of miles on it, sure, any of the big 3 will do just fine but if you're planning on keeping it a long time and/or putting more than 60k miles on it then Ford is the 4 letter word you want. The other two will just lead to a lot more 4 letter words circling back to "I should have bought the FORD!"

 

Just went through the same thing. Drove all 3 3/4s in the gas and diesel varieties.

Didn’t like the gmc interior, and ifs on a 4wd hd scare me. (I was at the dunes this weekend for Father’s Day and watched one eat a tire rod, granted the driver was being a tool but definitely reassured my feeling on them). The 6.6 seemed powerful but the tranny was a little lazy.

I never planned on buying a Ford because I had bad issues with my 2012 and 2013 power strokes, but the 7.3 interested me. Actually really liked the truck the 6.7 is stupid fast. And the 7.3 drives great. But something about the trucks felt cheap. Maybe light is a better term but overall they seemed like good trucks.

I ended up in a ram though (21 so no cp4 issue) it rode the most comfortable and you can really play with trims to get exactly what you want. I was able to get the tech package, surround Veiw camera with the 8” screen parking sensors front & rear with blind spot and still get a cloth interior with a front bench. The 6.4 felt good with the 8 speed, not as good as the 7.3 but was very strong. The SO Cummins and 6 speed was what I ended up with though. The Cummins feels like it has a lot more low end than the other 2 diesels even though it technically is the lowest output of the 3. And the exhaust brake on the Cummins is light years ahead of the other 2, at least what I could tell with a test drive. I can say that pulling 12klbs down hill last week I was able the set cruise and the exhaust brake did all the work. I never touched the brakes and the truck always felt in control. I was able to get a premium for my tundra and still work 3k off msrp so I would say I got a fair deal. My same truck probably could have been closer to 3-7k cheaper in a normal market, but my tundra would have been off about the same so it worked out.

If you made it to the end of all that, here is some pictures just to cleanse your mind of my ramblings.

 

I only read you initial post. Late to the party with no time to read every post.
Buy the Duramax with ALLISON 1000 transmission.
I’m a guy who tests transmissions and I’ve found the 10R140 lacking (extremely). Allison transmission is SO MUCH BETTER.

 

This is exactly what lead me to sticking with what I know best and got my 2018 tundra in March. I don’t get great gas mileage towing but I don’t tow that much. I really like the F250 but they’ll also be redoing the interior in 2022.

 

The Allison 10L1000 has the same internals as the 1000 (6speed) with the PTO inside the bell housing for “Live Drive” like the Ford. The Allison will handle more hP and Torque than any Ford product. It’s the oil pump in the Ford that has computer controls that limit output pressure, as well as smaller friction discs and separator plates that limit the Ford tranny.

 

I’ve also Tested AISIN transmissions in the Ram 5500 (AS96). Basically the same 6 speed as the Tundra but with a PTO aperture. I’ve never had to rebuild an AISIN. I’m tired of rebuilding 6R140’s. I have had to rebuild an Allison 1000 once.

 

What Ford discovered is that the lower fluid pressure they capture from the Torque converter equals an increase in fuel economy.
Toyota prefers equipment longevity to fuel economy, hence our dreadfully low 12mpg’s.
The Ford tranny controls contribute to the higher mpg’s but lead to a much shorter life.
Allison doesn’t program to vehicle mpg, they program to transmission life. But, Allison uses a lot of needle roller bearings which make them louder.
AISIN transmissions are still programmed to deliver full pressure, gas mileage be damned.
My preference would be to reinforce the Tundra frame and rear axle to handle whatever towing requirements you have.

 

If you weren’t going with a 5th wheel I would disagree on the 6.6 gasser being a dog. Personally I think you are in the diesel category. I will say GMC has the smoothest riding HD truck. That’s why I bought one

 

If your plans are to tow, especially a 5th wheel, then you are making the right move. The Tundra is a great truck, but it's just not built for what you need. Kudos to you for seeing that instead of being one of the "It tows the shuttle", "Payload is an overly conservative suggestion at best", "This truck is built like an HD" fact deniers. I'm not a fan boy so it doesn't upset me when somebody uses their kidney and upsized their rig to fit their goals. I'm happy for you and I want pics when you get that 7.3, so don't go ditching the forum just 'cause you made the right move!


One question, if you plan to eventually tow doubles, why not go with an F350? Honestly curios, not poking holes.

 

Yeah, my Dad said the kidney one a lot. Never in a negative way either. It was always a "Good job using your kidney" when you did stuff right. When something was done stupid there was WAY more profanity. Like, "Christmas Story working on the furnace" kind of profanity.

When I priced them (things may have changed) there wasn't a major upcharge going to a 1 ton over a 3/4 as long as you were keeping the same engine. Personally, I view the extra dollars as a cost savings, because I have zero desire to mod an HD truck.

 

One of my former co-workers had the same experience with his K2 Duramax and 15k lb fifth wheel...

 

I figured Ford and gm exhaust brakes worked good while towing but unloaded you can barley tell they’re there.

another note if your planning on a 5th wheel I would definitely be looking at the 1 tons. Or at least not a ram 2500. The payload for my ram is 2200lbs that’s not a lot for a 5th wheel. Ram 3/4 ton are 10k gvwr but you can get 3/4 ton Chevy 3/4 up to 11,300 gvwr or Ford’s up to 10,800 I believe which really helps with payload.

 

I think the anti-Ford on here comes from many of us having more experience in Ford's than in Tundra's. Me personally I've got about 5 times as many miles in Ford HD's than any Tundra. Ford drivetrains are solid - only had one transmission that would jump out of gear the odd time (I don't count emission issues against Ford, they all have them), but you get the same interior and electricals in the HD's as you do the F150. And my biggest pet peeve with them - the vacuum lines to engage the front hubs freeze up so easy, meaning the dash switch won't engage the front hubs. Getting out in the mud to engage 4x4 when you need it really sucks - damn near every single truck in our fleet had that issue; and that's well over 100 trucks.

They all have issues - Rams can't keep front ends in them on rough roads, GM is definitely behind on interiors. I'd say they're all equal, and all a very good choice.

 

The trailer and boat combo I'm looking at will still fall well under the 17k tow capacity. I am open to the F350 as well, just having a hard time finding either truck configured the way I want. I will definitely go with the F350 if I can find it, but I think the 3/4 ton is suited for my needs.

 

On paper usually, a 1 ton upgrade is like $1500. I actually got mine for like $350 because the incentives were better on the 1 ton. $350 for 800lbs-1000lbs more payload was a no brainer. 4248lbs of payload on my GMC 1 ton gasser

 

Based on the feedback from this thread I have changed my build to an F350. Price is nearly identical.