Older Rig with upgrades vs Newer Truck near stock?

[TroySmith80]

Hey everyone — I’m looking to make the jump from a Land Rover LR3 to a pickup, and I’m trying to figure out the smartest way to spend my budget.

Would I be better off buying an older generation truck (2005-2012) and putting some money into upgrades (suspension, etc.), or stretching for a newer one (2013-2018) that’s basically stock and maxes out my budget?

My use is a mix of daily driving and recreational trips. I want to optimize ride quality for camping road trips and light off-roading. I've found that if the lady and kids are comfortable, then we all get to have a much more enjoyable time chasing down fun remote areas, instead of organized campgrounds in easily accessed busy areas. Most of my outings are on Forest Service roads in the Northwest — plenty of rough gravel, rocks, and washboard — but occasionally I’ll hit some mild technical terrain. The most difficult trails i've traveled mostly turned out to be things that i wouldn't do again, knowing what i know now.


I’ll usually be carrying:

• Two people, a pop up topper like Hiatus or similar, and camping gear, or
• Two adults and two kids (12 and 7) plus a 6x10 converted off-road cargo trailer.

So I’ll be near max payload for a half ton fairly often.

Leaning toward 12th or 13th gen F150

Would you recommend:

• Saving money on the purchase and putting that into suspension upgrades and accessories, or
• Spending it all upfront on the nicest newer stock truck I can afford?

(Pic just for fun — from one of the more “technical” moments on a camping trip a couple years back!)

 

[bartheil]

No expert advice but. A newer truck can always be upgraded later on when more money is available.
There is only so much you can upgrade on an older truck before becomes prohibitively expensive.

 

[Sparse Gray Hackle]

If it were me, the newer F150, preferably with low mileage and the 5.0, would be my choice. The Fx4 package is quite capable.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I'm beyond sick of payments, I get that side of it.

Living where I live I do like the aluminum F-150's, its hard to find a steel crew cab that still has rockers. It is a matter of opinion but I also think the interiors got a massive upgrade in 2015 as well.

Avoid the 3v 5.4 like the plague. I don't know what the 04-10 generation is number-wise but it is dead to me. I went from a 2002 to a 2016 and just totally bypassed that hot mess lol. Some people will say they are not that bad if maintained or whatever but they can just sit there in their wrongness and be wrong. Deep down they know they are wrong and someday I hope they can find peace in that, admit it to themselves and move on.

Whatever you do make sure to snag one with a factory rear locker, they are pretty common. FX4 isn't really much, some tinfoil skidplates and a sticker really especially if you are shopping used and are going to replace the struts/shocks.

I'm used to my little Ranger offroad so my F-150 is far from anything I would want to offroad, for a dd/farm truck tow pig it does great though. I have the 5.0 which has good power for what I do.



We did run up to the black hills this past summer and it did great. Nothing super overlandy but cruised at 85 with ease and the 6.5' bed holds a lot of gear. Had room for the fridge on the rear floorboard. We did run some gravel which I would say is roughly on par with I have been on for forest service roads in Texas and Kentucky. Two adults and two kids (5 and 3mo)

No expert advice but. A newer truck can always be upgraded later on when more money is available.
There is only so much you can upgrade on an older truck before becomes prohibitively expensive.

Its kind of a wash. Buy the older truck you can afford to upgrade now or make payments for 5+ years on a newer one and upgrade it when you can afford to after it is paid off and is the same age the older truck is now...

 

[Gravelette]

Another vote for the newest, lowest mileage 5.0 F150 you can find in your price range. Capable, comfortable and not a lot of "upgrades" needed. Options can really suck the payload so check the door sticker payload.

 

[TroySmith80]

thanks for the feedback so far. Not a single vote for using more of the budget for upgrades, that's interesting. The aluminum bodies are appealing because they come with an incre payload capacity due to the decreased curb weight. Out here in the northwest we really don't have any rust issues. I'm in the high desert side of Oregon so we don't have salt or much rain, our vehicles tend to last forever here.

A different question than what I asked originally, but related, is how much of a difference does aftermarket suspension make? I have had a number of vans and SUVs, most recently an early 2000s Yukon, before going to the Land Rover, and I was really impressed at how much better the air suspension on the LR3 rode on bumpy roads compared to any of the other vehicles i'd owned. It really was noticeably better. After that, when i ride in someones pickup, it feels jarring and I don't want to go back to that.

I'm wondering if upgrading to Fox or Bilstein or Old Man Emu or something like that improves ride quality in a way similar that the air shocks on the Land Rover did, or maybe even better!

I know a lot of people are changing suspension parts in order to better handle the weight loads that they're carrying, but what I'm curious about is ride comfort. I guess i'm also assuming that a newer truck still will ride more like the older rigs i've had / ridden in, and not as cushy as the LR3. The LR3 also weighs around 7,000 lbs loaded up, so it has a bit of cadillac syndrome going on! if i get an aluminum F150, it'll be something like 1,000 lbs lighter than the rover, and a bunch larger, that's wild.

 

[Gravelette]

My 2011 F150 was very smooth and quiet. Tires make a big difference.

 

[SDDiver5]

If I am going to have my kids and my wife with me, I would go with reliability and safety over everything else.

5.0 over Ecoboost in my opinion.

 

[SDDiver5]

thanks for the feedback so far. Not a single vote for using more of the budget for upgrades, that's interesting. The aluminum bodies are appealing because they come with an incre payload capacity due to the decreased curb weight. Out here in the northwest we really don't have any rust issues. I'm in the high desert side of Oregon so we don't have salt or much rain, our vehicles tend to last forever here.

A different question than what I asked originally, but related, is how much of a difference does aftermarket suspension make? I have had a number of vans and SUVs, most recently an early 2000s Yukon, before going to the Land Rover, and I was really impressed at how much better the air suspension on the LR3 rode on bumpy roads compared to any of the other vehicles i'd owned. It really was noticeably better. After that, when i ride in someones pickup, it feels jarring and I don't want to go back to that.

I'm wondering if upgrading to Fox or Bilstein or Old Man Emu or something like that improves ride quality in a way similar that the air shocks on the Land Rover did, or maybe even better!

I know a lot of people are changing suspension parts in order to better handle the weight loads that they're carrying, but what I'm curious about is ride comfort. I guess i'm also assuming that a newer truck still will ride more like the older rigs i've had / ridden in, and not as cushy as the LR3. The LR3 also weighs around 7,000 lbs loaded up, so it has a bit of cadillac syndrome going on! if i get an aluminum F150, it'll be something like 1,000 lbs lighter than the rover, and a bunch larger, that's wild.

An F150 is going to have better road manners in stock form. Once you put on a level kit like Fox or bils, you'll lose some road manners for better off road. The absolute best suspension mod I have done, and people will back me on this, is removing the rear block and getting some deavers. Will cost you about 2k but worth every penny. With the level kit you can clear 315 tires with plenty of room to air down for the trail.

You cant really avoid the jarring in a truck, leveled or not.

You also likely don't need suspension right away. Like said above, the FX4 in stock form is pretty great. Plenty of clearance. You can fit 33's without a level.

 

[Antwon412]

I had a couple new trucks. They were fine. But I got tired of payments and I needed a hwavy duty truck for my new camper. I want a diesel, but definitely did not want the modern diesel problems.

Searched for a while and found exactly what I want. The third and Dodge ram with a 5.9 Cummins. No payments, handles my camper great and I get double the mileage I got on my other trucks.

Made a couple basic upgrades to it, new LED headlights, aftermarket radio, TPMS, and a couple of small things. It has all the same creature comfort I was used to on my new trucks.

 

[douglastic]

I hope you don't end up missing that LR3 too much!
I can't imagine what I will replace mine with when the time comes.

 

[rcintx]

I recently went from a 2024 that had payments to a 2016 I could pay cash for. From leather to cloth, fancy touch screen to dials. My initial plan was to make some upgrades after purchase but thus far I haven't found anything that needed an upgrade. I'll probably change wheels/tires when my rubber needs replacement and that could result in a very small lift. However, I've figured out that I only have one bucket of money and I can dip out of that bucket to put parts on or travel. My vote is travel unless the part is 100% a need and not just a want.

I had an F150 with a 5.4 many moons ago. I put well over 100k miles on it with no issues. My nephew still drives it on the farm with no telling how many (hard) miles it has now. YMMV but that engine was good to me. I have friends with a Ecoboosts that are great and some that have had major problems. I had to replace a 5.7 hemi with 160k miles on it. In other words, I think its just a bit of luck on how many issue free miles you can get out of any engine.

 

[SDDiver5]

I recently went from a 2024 that had payments to a 2016 I could pay cash for. From leather to cloth, fancy touch screen to dials. My initial plan was to make some upgrades after purchase but thus far I haven't found anything that needed an upgrade. I'll probably change wheels/tires when my rubber needs replacement and that could result in a very small lift. However, I've figured out that I only have one bucket of money and I can dip out of that bucket to put parts on or travel. My vote is travel unless the part is 100% a need and not just a want.

I had an F150 with a 5.4 many moons ago. I put well over 100k miles on it with no issues. My nephew still drives it on the farm with no telling how many (hard) miles it has now. YMMV but that engine was good to me. I have friends with a Ecoboosts that are great and some that have had major problems. I had to replace a 5.7 hemi with 160k miles on it. In other words, I think its just a bit of luck on how many issue free miles you can get out of any engine.

I had a 4.6L in my 98 and that thing lasted forever. 256k when I finally had to sell it. Rear end blew up for the 3rd time. Motor still ran fine.

 

[p nut]

It’d depends, in my opinion.
ie, I am all for comfort and good amount of amenities to keep the family happy. But I had several new trucks. They were nice and all. The Ecoboost had power for days. Smooth as butter on the freeway. But I didn’t gel with them for some reason.
Now I drive a 2005 Suburban. Well-maintained. 182k miles. Upgraded with 33’s and new suspension. Rides great, comfortable, and smooth as butter on the road. It lacks some power up the mountain passes but the family doesn’t notice it.
Plenty of room for kids and dog. Even an old dvd player (bought a big stack of dvd’s for $20 😂). It’s a fun adventure mobile. I trust it completely (knock on wood).

So I’d say, if you can get a well-maintained older truck, I’d use the extra money for quality suspension and tires.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

thanks for the feedback so far. Not a single vote for using more of the budget for upgrades, that's interesting. The aluminum bodies are appealing because they come with an incre payload capacity due to the decreased curb weight. Out here in the northwest we really don't have any rust issues. I'm in the high desert side of Oregon so we don't have salt or much rain, our vehicles tend to last forever here.

A different question than what I asked originally, but related, is how much of a difference does aftermarket suspension make? I have had a number of vans and SUVs, most recently an early 2000s Yukon, before going to the Land Rover, and I was really impressed at how much better the air suspension on the LR3 rode on bumpy roads compared to any of the other vehicles i'd owned. It really was noticeably better. After that, when i ride in someones pickup, it feels jarring and I don't want to go back to that.

I'm wondering if upgrading to Fox or Bilstein or Old Man Emu or something like that improves ride quality in a way similar that the air shocks on the Land Rover did, or maybe even better!

I know a lot of people are changing suspension parts in order to better handle the weight loads that they're carrying, but what I'm curious about is ride comfort. I guess i'm also assuming that a newer truck still will ride more like the older rigs i've had / ridden in, and not as cushy as the LR3. The LR3 also weighs around 7,000 lbs loaded up, so it has a bit of cadillac syndrome going on! if i get an aluminum F150, it'll be something like 1,000 lbs lighter than the rover, and a bunch larger, that's wild.

Everything seems to have a bit of chop in the suspension now, everything is sport tuned suspension so you can run the indy 500.

I'd drive mine anywhere. With a Bronco and a 40yo Ranger its kind of a hollow victory but my '16 is the nicest riding thing in our fleet.