Why I switched from a Tacoma to an F150

[Over The Silent Planet]

? Prisoner of the moment. A 1999 Ford was at one time, a relatively new tech, new gen truck. Folks scoffed at those as well. That goes for every gen in every make. There are always those “they don’t make’em like they used to” crowds.

Old trucks are cool. New ones are better in just about every which way. Efficiency, power, safety, etc. Reliability, too.

You’re right about the 99 Ford. It was new tech at the time. It has also largely proven itself. I come from a long line of Ford only people. Extended family included. Older Fords (like late 90s to 2011ish) in my experience lasted longer with fewer issues. Were they less powerful? Sure. Fewer features? You bet. But man, the things newer Fords struggle with (poor design hanging the turbos off the exhaust manifolds in 1st gen EB, cam phasers in the 2nd gen, 10 speed shifting, all the little software and electronic bugs that keep you going back to the dealer to deal with, etc), I just have very low tolerance for that.

On the other hand, my grandpa has a 2000 F350 short bed SRW that I hope he’ll sell to me one day. He’s been pulling a 40-ft 5th wheel with it all over the Southwest. Incredible truck. Not the smoothest ride from the solid front axle. But it is widely agreed to be the best diesel Ford ever made. I’d love to build it out a bit and put a slide-in camper on it.

It’s all about your needs vs what you’re willing to tolerate. I totally understand why @Oscar Mike Gulf Yankee is hanging onto his old Ford. In 10-15 years, we’ll see if I want to trade my trusty old truck in, too. As it is, I don’t need to pull over 8k, and I’m not willing to tolerate going back to the dealer for stupid crap. That’s why I chose a Toyota whose drivetrain is proven and hasn’t changed in 15 years.

 

[Oscar Mike Gulf Yankee]

Well, I really didn't mean to turn this into a pee on Toyota thread, but whatever floats the boat. If I had made the mistake of buying a Toyota in "99, I'd probably be keeping it as opposed to buying an anything new truck. But, I didn't, I bought a Ford and still glad I did, not saying others are bad just saying, I'll keep my Ford.

 

[calicamper]

Toyota is the largest auto manufacturer in the world. They make their money selling economy cars and cuvs. Ford put all their chips in on trucks and SUVs. At this point I would rather buy a truck from a manufacturer whose all in on trucks.

The reliability ratings are kind of hard to read into. Last time I looked there was a higher percentage of Tundras still on the road at 10 years than f-150s. This is just my thoughts so take it with a grain of salt. I don't think it's necessarily reliability/durability. I think it comes down to two things. Ford sells a ton of fleet trucks and fleet trucks see a lot of miles. Those fleet trucks can make it to 250k miles but not 10 years. I also think that because Ford used to have such deep discounts people would buy them when they couldn't really afford them and therefore neglect them. While those trucks may be more problematic in the long run that may have more to do with lack of maintenance. In other words a higher percentage of people who buy Toyota's new maintain them better because the initial price is often higher. This is based on my experience shopping for used trucks. Or it's all BS and I'm wrong ?

Actually I’m pretty Sure VW group is larger than Toyota. Toyota definitely isn’t the largest world Auto maker.

 

[tacollie]

Actually I’m pretty Sure VW group is larger than Toyota. Toyota definitely isn’t the largest world Auto maker.

I'm pretty sure Toyota passed them last year. Even if they didn't they are a close second. Toyota did over $100 billion more than Ford. They also sold almost 5 million more vehicles than Ford. Toyota is a much bigger company than Ford. My point still stands They didn't get there from selling trucks. I would rather buy a truck from a company that is all in on trucks.

 

[calicamper]

[

I'm pretty sure Toyota passed them last year. Even if they didn't they are a close second. Toyota did over $100 billion more than Ford. They also sold almost 5 million more vehicles than Ford. Toyota is a much bigger company than Ford. My point still stands They didn't get there from selling trucks. I would rather buy a truck from a company that is all in on trucks.

Yeah and the number games have been changed by Tesla. I see Ford being the first Legacy Automaker to shift to a Teslaish like model to drive stock value like Tesla has.

 

[tacollie]

[



Yeah and the number games have been changed by Tesla. I see Ford being the first Legacy Automaker to shift to a Teslaish like model to drive stock value like Tesla has.

They are well on there way with their lack of parts availability. I don't even try the dealer anymore. Last time I did they sent me to Advanced Auto Parts?

 

[calicamper]

They are well on there way with their lack of parts availability. I don't even try the dealer anymore. Last time I did they sent me to Advanced Auto Parts?

Yeah thats a larger issue mainly chip manufacturing which was a known issue for a long time. No secret. Its such a big deal Ford is going into making chips on its own. Funny enough this isn’t new. At one point Ford was the biggest engineered glass manufacturer in the US possibly the world all started by its inability to get windows for its cars.

 

[tacollie]

Yeah thats a larger issue mainly chip manufacturing which was a known issue for a long time. No secret. Its such a big deal Ford is going into making chips on its own. Funny enough this isn’t new. At one point Ford was the biggest engineered glass manufacturer in the US possibly the world all started by its inability to get windows for its cars.

I needed vacuum seals for the front hubs, wheel bearings assemblies, u joints, and a locking hub. They didn't have any of it and couldn't give me a time frame. Advanced had it all except the wheel bearings. I got them at Partgeek.com. Everything was Motorcraft or Spicer. Honestly it probably saved me 50% in hindsight so it was a win.

 

[calicamper]

I needed vacuum seals for the front hubs, wheel bearings assemblies, u joints, and a locking hub. They didn't have any of it and couldn't give me a time frame. Advanced had it all except the wheel bearings. I got them at Partgeek.com. Everything was Motorcraft or Spicer. Honestly it probably saved me 50% in hindsight so it was a win.

Yep when buliders are flat out they don’t really have time to find pull inventory and hand over parts that go into a new unit vs used. Issue for all makers of high demand stuff. If the Ukraine thing gets super ugly ie basically WWIII that will reset the crazy Buying spree people have been on since COViD made people crazy.

 

[Regcabguy]

Let me start off by saying that I’ve been a Toyota guy my whole life. My first truck was an ‘81 Toyota single cab; I built a rockcrawler ‘88 4runner, beat the crap out of a ‘90 Extended Cab and fell in love w/ my ‘98 Tacoma, which I had for well over 10 years....

So then why did I make the switch??

Click the link for my blog post:

Why the Ford F150 is better than a Tacoma | Dylan H. Brown

Let's cut to the chase: the Toyota Tacoma has not changed in 20+ years. This is why I made the switch from the Toyota Tacoma to the Ford F150.

dylanhbrown.com

Far less claustrophobic interior too. The F-150 interiors are cavernous.

 

[dylan.h.brown]

Well, looks like this thread got some good traction!! Fun to see the banter.

Anyway, I've got the build to a good place and just rallied it down the Baja. Maybe some of you would be interested in the final build in a video I just posted:


It's the start of a multi-part series, the rest of which I'll post on this thread here:

3 Weeks in Baja – Surfing, SUPing and Dirt Roading

Hey Friends, Just completed a dream trip of mine: The Baja. I vlogged as best as I could and am putting together a multi-part series, starting with "The Build." As I complete each series, I'll post it here. But for now, please enjoy, and ask all the questions you want!! Can't say enough about...

expeditionportal.com

 

[dylan.h.brown]

Hey-hey...

It's been a while since I updated this thread, and I have some serious updates:

First thing: I'm still VERY happy I switched for a half-ton. Specifically the Ford. Forscan is amazing and I can tweak all the silly elecronic stuff I want (and even adjust my speedo for bigger tires).

This post will be less of a continuation of why I still love my F150, and more of where I've gone w/ my build:

- Installed a Four Wheel Camper Project-M
- Upgraded rear leaf pack w/ two extra leafs, and reshaped OEM 2nd – this also allowed me to remove the OEM 1" block
- Installed Rocky Roads rock sliders / steps
- Replaced the 18" Fuel Shok wheels w/ '23 Ford Raptor wheels (17") – went from 275/70r18 to 285/75r17 tires

--- The deets and Why --

The Project Camper-M is a pretty amazing happy medium between a slide-in camper, a rooftop tent and a shell. For those of you that don't know, it comes w/ a king size bed, sits on the bed rails and leaves the truck bed to be a truck bed. It weighs roughly 400 lbs w/ no ad-ons. With my build out (an aluminum drawer, some camping stuff, and a HUGE battery bank to charge my electric motorcycles), I probably sit at 700lb as my everyday driver. Add 5 gallons of water, a motorcycle tray rack and my electric motorcycle, and I'm probably close to 1100 lbs all loaded up. Hence upgrading the rear spring pack. I now sit about .5" higher in the rear fully loaded and 1.75" empty (as my daily).

The wheels were somewhat impulsive, somewhat desired. I knew I wanted to go positive offset from my 0+ offset and was really looking at Method 705s in +20, but I couldn't justify spending $1400, plus fresh rubber. I was waiting for a bonus (or in my case to sell my latest documentary) before splurging. BUT, I found 5 brand new Raptor takeoffs for $600. Hard to pass that one up. I wrapped them in 285/75r17 rubber (about 3/4" bigger than my 275/70r18s) and they now sit perfectly flush with the truck w/ just a touch of poke. I no longer have to stress about spraying down my truck – and now camper – with grit and mag -chloride all winter long. The downside, it looks a little less aggressive.

I chose to try out Nokian Outpost AT tires mainly because they weigh nearly 8-12 lbs less per wheel than any other AT tire, and have been claimed to be VERY good in the snow (I'd hope so, considering they are a Scandinavian brand). I had Toyo AT3s before, and the first 20k miles those tires were awesome, the 2nd 20k miles, not so much. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise, they SUCK in the snow/ice. I mean horrible.

--- The future and where I'm headed ---

The plan is to build out the bed of the truck a bit. Buy some Ikea cabinets and line one wall. The other wall, I'd like to put in a low-profile RV couch. My hope is to keep most of the floor of the truck bed open for schlepping gear and tools. And really, that's it. Keep changing my oil, do the diffs soon and replace that damn leaky back Fox 2.5 at some point. I'm very happy with the truck and what all I can do with it!

Here's a quick snap of the truck from a recent pop-up day for the Terra Bikes (my electric motorcycle company):



See you guys on the trails!
- Dylan

 

[OVRLNDFX4]

It looks so good!!! Have the same camper and absolutely love it.

 

[phsycle]

Looks great. I’m seriously contemplating a Project M for my F150, as 90% of the time, I’ll be using the truck as a truck so I don’t want any permanent structure in the bed.

Pretty cool motorcycles as well.

 

[SDDiver5]

Looks awesome.

Any tips for learning forscan? I've wanted to adjust my speedo as well but forscan makes me very nervous.

Love the Gen 3 Raptor wheels and the project M too, I cant believe you found those for $600. Great find.