New Truck Opinions
 

I'm looking to get a new truck soon. This truck will be my daily driver and tow vehicle. Boat is a 2016 Supra SA. The information I have is that the dry weight of the boat and trailer is 6900 pounds. Currently driving a 2010 Tundra Crewmax. Here are the trucks I'm considering.

Option 1: 2017 Ford F150 3.5 Ecoboost supercrew 5.5 ft bed
Pros: Easiest to park and drive around town, lower maintenance costs, lower price, highest 1/2 ton tow rating
Cons: Lowest tow rating, horsepower, torque, and wheelbase

Option 2: 2017 Ford F250/350 Powerstroke crewcab 6.75 ft bed
Pros: Diesel for towing, tow rating, torque
Cons: Largest vehicle is harder to drive around town, maintenance costs, price

Option 3: 2017 Chevy/GMC 2500/3500HD Duramax crewcab 6.5 ft bed
Pros: Diesel for towing, tow rating, torque, doesn't seem as big a F250/350
Cons: harder to drive and park around town, maintenance costs, lower quality interior and fewer features than the Fords

Any thoughts on these... ?

Everyone will tell you that you must have a diesel which isn't true. Yes, you will sacrifice fuel economy when pulling your boat with the F150. How often and how far do you pull and do your really care about the fuel economy? Do you really need to be rolling around in a diesel the rest of the time when not using your boat? The other argument will be breaking power. Upgrading your trailer breaks to electric over hydraulic would give you better breaking power than a diesel to begin with and would still be less than the upgrade to owning a diesel in the first place.

Personally, I tow 20 minutes relatively flat ground to the lake and back on the highway and a couple trips a year up to our summer house that is a 2 hour drive wiht some long steep grades (8%). The F150 has no problem pulling up any of the hills what so ever and barely loses speed. Sure, I burn a half tank driving 2 hours but I don't really care. My 14 EB F150 does the job very well, no complaints. In heavy traffic or emergency situation yes, I wish I had better breaking power and would like to do the trailer upgrade. Now the other 6 months of the year when I'm not pulling a boat or driving around for work a diesel would be absolute over kill for my needs.

I just traded in my 2011 F150 ecoboost supercrew with 5.5 foot bed for the new 2017 3.5 ecoboost suoercrew with the 10 spd and 5.5 bed. The 2011 did great towing my 06 xstar and my 16 Axis A20 but this new motor with the 10 spd is a beast. 375hp and 470 torque. I don't have any experience with diesels but I know the F150 will be getting a powerstroke in 2018.

The F150 will be your best investment. Lower initial cost. Better everyday fuel cost per mile. Better ride and overall comfort. Will easily tow your Supra.I've previously owned a F250 Diesel and presently own a 2015 F150 with a 5.0 liter motor. I average 20 mpg mixed driving in the hill country of Texas. I averaged 21 mpg traveling from Texas to my previous home in Richmond Va. 1500 miles and lots of mountains at 75 to 80 mph most of the way. On flat highways I get 23 mpg. At 60 mph.

Too many F150 fans. Put a supercharger on your Tundra and you'll be golden. >500HP >500 torque; gas mileage will go down a bit but you won't have to pay that new truck price.

But a new Ford super duty why the hell not! You really think there's much difference parking a 150 and 250? How long you plan on owning it? What's the resale on a diesel vs half ton?

I sell both trucks for a living and I just got a 17' 3.5 ecoboost tontow my a22.
You are well below the tow rating of the f150. If the truck has max tow and is a crew cab, you have a 11,600lb rating.
However, you will still need to run airbags if you want to put a leveling kit on.
You will like the ride of the 150 a whole lot more than the super duty.
If you need the 6.5' bed, order a 150 with it! And make sure it has max tow.
The f150 is just a way better daily driver than the super duties. The height of the new super duties are also way above the f150's.

The super duties do have their place though. If you tow a tow hauler as well, that is more of a super duty category. Believe it or not, a average 23-25 foot tothauler creeps up to 10,000+ pounds quick. They also have the option for the trailer mounted camera if you have the rear cab camera.

Whatever truck you get, just make sure it has the rear tailgate step. You'll will be bummed out on the cost of it, if you were to want to add it later.
In the end, it really depends what you will end up doing with the truck. Think later down the road on what you might being doing in the future.
I hate telling people that they have negative equity in their trade in when their lifestyle changes and they need to upgrade.

If you have any questions on ford products, shoot me a PM.

Btw, if you have questions on pricing, feel free to message me too

Yeah man, unless you need to tow 10k+lbs you don't need the 3/4 ton, the F-150 EB will do it just fine. I'd definitely recommend the 6.5ft bed if you can find one though.

Now if you can wait, they are coming out with the F-150 V-6 diesel in summer 2018 that should be getting 30mpg highway. It will have move torque than the EB and better gas mileage, and I assume it will slot in price between the EB and an F-250 gas. It's supposed to be a modified version of the Land Rover V-6 diesel, and that's only a $2k upgrade when ordering those, maybe it'll be less in the Ford.

The Eco boost guys are gonna say its the best there is and will hang with the duallys 1 tons .. lol

I feel like most of the big newer wake boats are heavy enough to justify a 3/4 ton truck gas or diesel .

The maintenance of todays diesel trucks isnt much more then gas and the mileage makes up for some of that .

I would never buy a Ford diesel we take care of a government fleet of 10k vehicles and every Ford diesel we have has had major or catastrophic failures unless it just doesn't get used at all . From head gaskets to lunched turbos and everything in between . The last good one was the 7.3L.

I don't think you can go wrong with a Dodge or GM . Id try to find a Duramax with the Isuzu based engine . The newest version is all GM and we all know they dont have the best track record designing diesel engines . lol

I love the 3.5 Eco and it will tow your boat just fine. Towed my 2016 SA all over the state just fine and through the mountains. Tons of power. Of course a diesel will do it as well, so just go with what you really want, but if your question is will the ECO do it then the answer is yes easily.

One thing to add. With an EB it's either eco or boost....not both.lol. If you keep your foot out of it they can be pretty good for fuel mileage. When the turbo's are spooling your eating gas though. I have heard the new F150's are even better than my 14 for mileage with the 10 speed transmission as noted above.

Totally depends how much you tow. I tow roughly 2-4 hours per weekend depending on which lake I'm headed to. I owned a 2011 eco boost and it pulled my mojo okay but the towing mileage sucked on the interstate. Switch to a 2016 duramax last summer and it is a world of difference. Hardly can tell the boat is back there compared to the 1/2 ton. I feel like I tow enough to justify the diesel. The 3/4 ton feels safer and should last longer as I am not pushing it very hard pulling a boat that weighs much less than what it is rated for.

Isn't that the truth. aluminum body looks like **** if you look at it wrong.

tell me more about a s/c Tundra!

You can get a supercharger installed on the Tundra at the dealership and retain the manufacturers warranty.

I've enjoyed the Tundra. Toyota has significantly updated it since it's introduction in 2007. That is why I was looking at the F150.

It seems towing my boat is with a 1/2 ton is getting close to the limit with people and gear. That's why looking at the 3/4 and one ton trucks. Most of the large gas motors are not better than the Tundra or 3.5 Eco motors. That's why looking at diesel.

just bought my 2nd tundra. lot of truck, pulls my 23' just fine.

I was mostly kidding about the SC, OP clearly wants a new truck and unfortunately Toyota discontinued the TRD supercharger after the 2015 models so you can't get them anymore. Well, you can buy an aftermarket kit but the original TRD ones, if installed by a dealer, were included into the vehicle's original manufacturer warranty (and any official toyota extended warranty, if you bought one).

I bought a 2015 Tundra intending to put a SC on it eventually, but then they discontinued the kit so I bought one of the last in-stock ones from a dealer. Had it installed and it's great. The truck screams. And I'm happy because if something goes wrong, it's covered under the extended warranty. It ups the HP from stock ~380(?) to 504. It's great for towing although my boat isn't that heavy (Axis A20). Rear suspension is soft on this though so if you tow a lot you still need to install some air bags I guess.

I sort of swore off Fords after I had two trucks with the crappy two-piece spark plugs that would break while trying to remove them. (100k plugs that would break even if you tried to replace them early!!!) Paying $900 to the dealer to replace spark plugs was just pathetic. Then burned again by the exploding cam phasers; fixed that, sold it, won't buy another Ford :( These are severe design flaws, not just failed components. Replaced the F150 with a brand new Ram 1500 and had this severe gas pedal vibration all the time (made my foot go numb) and it would vibrate worse whenever the cylinder deactivation kicked in. It also shifted stupid, it was always up and downshifting at the wrong time, making going uphill really annoying; the automatic transmission in that thing sucked bad. There were also quality issues with the dash, where some of the knobs were loose and wobbly and rattled, issues with the paint on the outside which required body work on a new truck. I got pissed and traded it in when they told me that the gas pedal vibration was normal. Gimme a break.

The Tundra isn't the best truck ever. The interior is old school, the ride isn't as smooth as Dodge or Ford, it's not made of soda cans, and the looks are definitely an acquired taste. But what I love about it is that it doesn't knock, rattle, leak, tick, smoke, ping, vibrate, shudder, wander, shift at weird points, turn off at stoplights, deactivate cylinders, etc. All the stuff I had problems with on my used Fords and new Ram; never been a problem on the Tundra. The only thing I've had to take my Tundra in for is a busted backup beep sensor (beeps when you get too close to something) -- I should have just looked behind the bumper, they said the sensor wire connectors weren't seated fully; 1 minute fix. I can't attest to long-term reliability since I've only had it for 2 years, but even just going to the Toyota Truck forums (vs. F150 and Ram forums), there are way less people coming in asking for help repairing this or that. Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself by writing this post.

yep stock hp is 380. 504 - now that would be fun!

I have an '07 5.7 with 150k miles on it and I have never had to do anything other than fluids at their proper intervals (knock on wood)....Towed that thing thru the Rocky mountains with a 9k trailer no problem.

Some states actually require you to register the Tundra has a 3/4 ton because of how beefy that thing is (the rear axle/brakes are HUGE..).....Toyota overbuilt the crap out of that truck because they were sick of the big 3 making fun of their first gen Tundra (rightly so though lol)

Your right about the toyota. I have the Sequioa and am currently looking for a new SUV. The sequioa has been fantastic in 100k miles. Nothing has broke. The only thing toyota needs to do is keep up on the MPG wars. Ford and Chevy do a better job there. I get about 15-16 mpg w/o towing at 80 miles per hour. My neighbor has the tahoe (same model year) and will get upwards of 20 (again not towing).

Sometimes you have to make the choice. I won't buy a tahoe or yukon after reading so many issues with those trucks. The pickups are no different really. From what i hear toyota isn't doing much with their models for 2018 either which is disappointing.

Im A huge Toyota fan too !! My dads was a Rock solid truck for 7 years and the new ones seem even more capable . I think there is a timing belt on some of them that would be costly to replace probably around 100k miles . But if I was going to over work a half ton it would definitely be a Toyota ...Hell I was pulling my Malibu skier with my 85 Toyota 4x4 for a while when money was tight right after I bought my house lol

Still a 3/4 ton truck fan though lol

Hmmmm, I'm going to buck the trend in this Toyota love fest. I have a 2105 Tundra and hate it. I've been looking to get rid of this turd months after buying it. Worst excuse for a brand new vehicle in my opinion. The stereo has crashed so many times, the brakes warped after 9000 miles, now again at 25,000 miles. The steering is so sloppy it can be hard for the thing to make a straight line, The shifting is horrible. It jerks and shudders all the time to the point passengers even ask what the heck is going on. I had a 2005 Dodge Ram that gave me no issues whatsoever after well over 100,000 miles. If it wasn't for the fact my Tundra is paid for with extended warranty and service plan I would have dumped it already. This will be my last Toyota. When I was married we bought a brand new Toyota Sienna that was a giant turd as well. This is my last Toyota. I'm not really certain how some of you guys are all aboard this Toyota cool aid train. Every experience I have with them is under built vehicles. Just my two cents.

What about the Titan XD? We are a huge Nissan/Infiniti family and was considering an XD when upgrade time came.

I have a 2016 3.5 eco and it does tow very well here in Colorado. With that said, you still cannot compare a gas engine to a diesel. The torque that a diesel puts out is absolutely phenomenal. If you have the extra cash, a diesel would offer better overall towing and high resale.

Just my 2 cents.

Dang dude sucks your trucks a turd Ive not heard to many people complain of the yotas but I'm not doubting you either . Im not into half tons what so ever I've had to many and apparently im too hard on them lol

Titan has diesel option now too

I'm my 3rd and never heard of anything like this either. I'd be all over the service dept with these issues, definitely not the standard for them. Have you mentioned this to dealership? Obviously something VERY wrong with your truck. Service dept say anything? would've taken it back personally.

Warping brakes: did your wife drive it with the e brake on? Only reason I ask, mine did and warped the rotors on my sequoia.

The smaller 4.7 engine has timing belt service at 90K miles. 5.7 engine has a chain.

I know about the Titan XD. Had a 2005 Titan that was okay. Wife does not like them at all. The XD takes 10.4 seconds to go 0-60 mph. That's too slow for me.

I assume there's sarcasm involved in that post? The 0-60 time is 7.4 seconds per Car and Driver which doesn't seem awful for a tow vehicle.

There are horror stories on all makes of vehicles. I say stick with the vehicle that treats you the best. I've owned 6 Ford Trucks. A 63,66,91and 97 F150's. Then a 2005 F250 Diesel and currently a 2015 F150 with the bullet proof 5.0. All of those trucks treated me well. The ride of the new F150's is far superior to the F250's. When you factor in the extra cost of the Diesel engine,Oil change cost,tire cost,maintenance cost and higher initial investment for the F250 model it's hard to recoup that even in 10 years. Don't waste your money on something you don't need. Get a platinum or a King Ranch F150 and enjoy the ride and conveniences in style.

My daily/tow rig has always been a F250-350 diesel. Current one is a 17 F250,obviously yanks my RZ2 with ease. My wife has a 17 Expedition with the 3.5 ecoboost and I hooked the boat to it and was pleasantly surprised how well it did. No complaints at all.

So many of these tow vehicle threads(rightfully so, it's an important topic). I think it boils down to what you are comfortable with. As long as you are within the confines of your vehicles limits then tow with what you are comfortable with. I don't think a diesel is necessary for 20-23 ft boats, but if you have a 24ft+ boat and are in the above 8K loaded down area that's when I start to get uncomfortable with a 1/2 ton. And it's not a power issue, it's braking and suspension that make me uncomfortable.

used to have a 5.0 F150. Now I have a 6.0 F250. Go with what you feel comfortable towing with

I have had long talks with my Toyota service department. Their first line of defense is that I modified my truck but then I tell them its bone stock....Its stock because I cant stand the idea of investing more money into this truck because I want to get rid of it already. Then they tell me its my driving but in over 100k miles with my dodge ram I never warped a rotor and I do a light city commute. Its also warped from having rotors turned without towing my boat so it eliminated my trailering. I haven't been married since buying the truck and I am the only driver. Now the front end is pulling like its out of alignment so its going back. I only drive on city surface streets. No off roading or anything.....I am so seriously disappointed. I've bought two new Toyotas and they have both been piles of crap. I just find it funny how I hear people talk down on Dodge but my Ram was the best vehicle I have ever owned. I abused that truck and it never gave me an issue.

Duramax- you'll never know your pulling a boat.

Oh that's my favorite line.

I drive a 2500 Ram Megacab with 1300 ft. pounds of torque and I can feel my boat.

Sure you can feel it, but it is a WORLDS difference between a 3/4 ton diesel and a 1500. I've had 3 boats, a Moomba Mobius LSV, a 2008 XStar, and now have a Nautique G23. I've towed all 3 boats with both 1500's and 3/4 ton diesels. While you can still feel the boat behind the diesel, it is nothing like feeling it behind a 1500. The 2 1500's I've towed with have been a Ram 1500 hemi and a 2015 Ford EB. The EcoBoost was better than the Hemi for sure. So if you (OP) have decided to go with a 1500, I believe you're best off with the Ford EB over the others in it's class (except maybe the new Chevy/GMC with a 6.2). The EB did struggle quite a bit with my G23 though. But I guarantee you won't find yourself wishing you had more if you go with a diesel. Granted, that's coming from my opinion and I do tow my boat 10-15 miles everyday and that includes getting on the interstate on an uphill grade for about 3 miles. I personally, have NEVER regretted going to a diesel from a gas 1500 and will NEVER be without a 3/4 ton (+) diesel again! It's just so nice to always have that power on hand when you need it.

I agree. Pulling the boat up the grade in 6th at 1400 RPMs is far more satisfying and comfortable than doing it at 4000 rpms in 3rd. I'll never buy a gas powered anything again. My wife also has TDI. Diesel is far superior in every way. Except maybe emissions.

I have a Ram 1500 4wd 24 mpg in town and 27 on highway. Pulls the boat like a champ. I had the 150 eco and mpg sucked 15 and pulled the boat fine but MPG sucked

Kind of ironic that everyone talks about the mpg when towing their boat but once we get to the lake we have no problem loading down the boat with 4000lbs of ballast and just ripping through fuel.:D

4 banger???

^^^ has to be the Ram 1500 diesel

True!