Looking for opinions - Ford f250/350 v10 gasser vs chevy 1500 v8 gasser

[dtimms]

I just sold my 01 F250 V10. I loved that truck and the engine. It was a regular cab and with a kid on the way, we needed an extended cab. A friend of mine found me a good deal on a 05 Chevy 1500 extended cab. It has 97k miles, runs good, nice to drive, pretty good fuel economy (15mpg). The funny thing is my wife and I both miss the old V10. It rode like a tank, was bare bones basic truck and got pretty bad gas mileage (10-12). We have a pretty light truck bed camper that we use for ski trips, bike trips and just general camping. I use the truck as a driver to trail heads and around town. I only put about 6-8k miles a year on a truck. Now that you have the backstory, here is my question.

We really want to do a Baja trip about a year after the kid (Fall 2017ish) is born and maybe do some other Mexico trips. I know you can take any vehicle you own and have a great trip. My concern is the 1500 is too light duty to have a safe/reliable trip to Mexico. I am planning on a leveling kit, overload springs in the rear and then do the known issues fix on the Chevy. Would I be better off selling the Chevy, finding a V10 250/350 for trips like this than modifying the Chevy? Have any of you done Mexico trips with a Chevy similar to mine? I am nervous not having the solid front axle. I am nervous about the electronic 4x4 in the Chevy also. I did a lot of work on my old Ford so I knew how to fix and work that truck. I have never owned a Chevy before and all the electronic stuff scares me. On my Ford, I had replaced all the ball joints, shocks, hubs, brakes, even replaced a spark plug. I just scratch my head at this new truck. Anyway, I know this is the internet so just give me your opinions and personal experience. Thanks everyone!!

 

[tgreening]

If you're going to buy something, buy what you like and makes you happy, instead of settling for whichever one is the best deal. There's more to a good deal after all than just the best price.

If it were me (again) I'd buy the Ford hands down. The V10 is a solid long lived engine with generally reasonable maintenance costs and I will take the simplicity and durability of a solid axle rig any day of the week over ifs, especially for off road work, and if there's any possibility of future modification.

I'd also ditch the idea of extended cab and go for the crew cab. Kids have a nasty habit of non-stop growing and most extended cabs aren't comfortable for much of anything except tool boxes and small kids. I wouldn't wish a trip back there on any mid to full sized human.

Every truck I've owned since the mid 90's has been a crew cab and not once have I ever wished I'd gone with the extended model. The ability to haul at least 4 full size people in comfort makes a truck soo much more useful. Long bed crew cabs turn off a lot of people because of the length, including me, so I always opted for the short bed versions. I never ever had an issue wishing I had that extra 18" of bed length. Not once. Unless you need to haul a lot of junk in your bed, a lot of the time, it's not likely to be an issue. Full size 4x8 sheets of anything just need a down tailgate and a couple straps. Or install an aftermarket bed extender. Those are handy in the stowed position with the tailgate up.

Why do people get suck bad mileage out of their V10s? I've not had one that I couldnt pull down 14-15 (highway) without breaking a sweat, with an all time high of 17. I drove like a nancy and did everything possible to get that mileage, so it was far from reasonable as a constant, but I got it.

The rest of personal opinion is given the choice I'd take the F350. The difference in cost is usually marginal and you'll get somewhat better load capacities, and if you have plans ever of going to slide in camper route you'll want that. They can get heavy quick.

Anyway, those are my opinions. I like the Fords and will take the gas models over any other brand, bar none.

 

[p nut]

I agree with above regarding crew cab. Especially with a new born. Number of times, on a long trip, my wife had to sit in the back with the baby to feed/entertain/etc. It would've sucked with an ext cab. Doable but not ideal.

 

[dtimms]

I hear you guys on the crew cab. For us, it has a pretty large back seat and will last us for 5-6 years. In reality we will get another truck when the time comes. My big concern is the front end and electronic 4x4 engagement. I have only had 3/4 ton trucks with solid front ends and manual transfer case. I feel like the engine has more than enough power and is simple enough to work on/be reliable. I am wondering if there is a way to make the front end and transfer case as reliable as possible?

As for mileage in my old V10. I live at 8500' with lots of passes and weather to deal with. I can see getting better mileage if I was at sea level and flatter terrain. I have got 15 mpg once on a trip. I was driving 65 with a stiff tailwind. Anyway, it is an amazing motor. It replaced a diesel and for my use I would never go back to a diesel. Thanks for the opinions, those are all good things to think about.

 

[kraven]

I think you'll need the 3/4 ton gear to do it and endure all the weight you're carrying and terrain you want to cross. I can double stamp the crew cab thing, since you have a kid on the way. I just have dogs. So, my quad cab suicide door Dodge is super duper. If I had a kid I'd want a real rear door and real back seat.

 

[dumprat]

X3 on he crew cab. We had an extra cab 04 SD F250 and it marginal and a pain to get car seats in and out and booster seats make it impossible. Kids feet end up jammed against the back of the front seats unless you are 5'2" tall.

Have an 09 F350 with the 5.4 and with the new plug deisgn and some relatively easy fixes it should be a solid truck for years to come. And the kids love the extra room.

 

[tgreening]

Never had any issue with the electronic shift on the xfer case. The trouble you will run into is locked up hubs if you don't cycle them now and again, and once they seize up there's no practical way to unfreeze. The auto-lock will still function in this case, but the manual lock will be gone.

I'm not sure how you're leaning on the Crew cab vs extended but I would REALLY reconsider if you're thinking extended. The seat itself might be "big", but as mentioned baby car seats take up a lot of space, and it should never be mounted sideways which a lot of extended cab systems would force you to do.

I had to sell my Cherokee because the car seat would not fit in the back behind someone. My wife's swat had to be all the way forward and practically straight up. We ended up with two in car seats.It was a no go in every way. The CC F-250 had plenty of room for both AND an adult passenger back there.

Altitude, yeah. Didn't consider that. I'm at around 1000' give or take, with no significant variation around these parts.

 

[onemanarmy]

If you know the Ford truck and V10 so well, just buy one of those.

 

[dtimms]

I already bought the Chevy. But after driving it for 3 months I miss my old truck. I have used it with the camper a couple times and it drives great. I am getting 15 with my camper in it. I am just concerned if we go on a Mexico trip, it might not hold up? Before I bought it, I put my friends 5 and 3 year olds in the back seat and it worked out fine. Pretty easy actually. I do hear what everyone is saying about the CC though, they have a lot more room. Is there any 1/2 ton Chevy/GMC guys out here who have beefed up the suspension/truck to do some rougher trips like Mexico/Baja?

 

[adam88]

If you liked the 2001 V10 you had, then definitely go with a 2005-2007 F250/F350.

The 2005+ V10 has huge improvements in virtually every way. For starters, it is a 3 valve design which doesn't suffer the same spark plug problems as the previous design. It also has a much stronger front end, better riding with the coil springs, better transmission (torqshift), better body design, better interior, etc.

There are definitely people who are "huge" fans of the V10. They swear by them over the diesel, and I can't say I disagree. The *only* bad thing about the V10 is the fuel mileage. But if you factor in the extra cost of a diesel upfront + extra maintenance costs, I think a V10 wins out, especially with fuel costs so low lately.

Do NOT go with a 1500 truck, especially a chevy. You will be incredibly disappointed if you're used to the F250 with a V10. It's no where near the same level of truck.

 

[rayra]

Far too much being made of the whole thing. You aren't going on a rock crawl with a 1yr-old, 1000mi+ away from home, are you? It will be fine. Exercise your 4wd frequently between now and the trip. Service everything. The only thing I'd have any concern about is long-term condition of the trans if you don't know its maintenance history, and even then it's a minor concern. Just don't go jumping it around in 4WD with your foot on the gas.
Besides all that the only other thing I'd be concerned about is the spindly 1/2" dia tie rod ends. And there's an inexpensive fix for that.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B2AEMXI...=UTF8&colid=QWZ1BSZYG6VW&coliid=IV05DBK1TYUVG


Our '05 Tahoe has 165k on it now, drivetrain's a champ (should be same as your pickup, 5.3/4L60E), hell it's still on the original brakes. Almost all highway miles. I'd drive it anywhere.
Likewise my '02 Sub, 122k mi, same drivetrain.

 

[IdaSHO]

Do NOT go with a 1500 truck, especially a chevy. You will be incredibly disappointed if you're used to the F250 with a V10. It's no where near the same level of truck.

agreed, on all counts

 

[ZMagic97]

As someone who is familiar with both trucks, I'll throw in my thoughts.

It seems like a few people here think pretty low of the GM trucks in comparison to the V10 Fords. I have no issues with the V10 Fords, but I really enjoy both of my GM trucks.

I have an 06' 4 door Sierra 1500 (build thread in sig) that I love. I too was nervous with IFS and electronics, but I have had no issues with either.

IFS: my JK had a solid axle and for years I thought that was always the best thing. However, I proved myself wrong. The IFS on my lifted GMC made it seem like a Cadillac and the JK a Flintstones car. While the components are subject to leak from a seal here and there, I find the ride quality much nicer and no less reliable.

Electronic transfer case: I have never had an issue with it. Most trucks these days all have electronic transfer cases. Neither the electronic or manual is indestructable.

I see the tie rod sleeves were posted above: I have them and feel it is a good investment.

Added weight: try a Hypertech tune for better MPG and transmission shifting. Nice little tool. If the 4L60E seems to work too hard, I would suggest gears.

You may see people talk very poorly on the 4L60E. It is a weak point...if you're towing loaded trailers uphill at 75mph all day and beat the snot out of it. If you treat it decently, it'll last. Both my trucks have the stock trans at 130K and 160K miles with no issues.

Conclusion: with some research, time, and work I believe the Chevy will make you happy. I hope this helps!

 

[dtimms]

Thanks everybody for all the info. I am going to do a little work to my Chevy and over time I will see how I like it. I really like that I bought a truck with under 100k miles for around $11k. If I want to go back to the V10 (esp 3v), in my price point I will be getting a lot more miles. For the Chevy, I will add a leveling kit, new tires, overload springs for the camper, that tie rod thingy, and some of the other mods and see how it does. It is good to get some GM peoples opinions and also some Ford guys opinions. I really don't care about brand of truck, I just want it paid off and to work. So I guess I got both for now and will rock what I got and see what breaks. Once I start my build, probably post it up here. The camper rebuild has already started, need to document that also! Thanks everybody and if anyone has anything more to add, would be glad to hear it!

 

[ZMagic97]

I forgot to add (for towing and payload) that a couple years ago I sold my 97 Z28 Camaro to a fella in Missouri who towed it back with an Avalanche (1/2 ton truck). I talked to him when he got home and said it handled the whole drive very well and had no issues.

Also, if you are ever too afraid of 4L60E issues, mine went limp last year from a blown solenoid. There are two (same part #) and are about $70 for both from a GM dealer (best deal for price and time is dealer..no joke). I also added a deeper trans pan for cooling. Has a port for a temp probe, but I haven't added it yet.

The "bigger and better" way is a 4L80E swap. Not a direct bolt up...but not bad.

Again...any questions, shoot them my way.