1/2 ton shoot out!

[BulletOwner1]

So, remember I said that if I bought another truck I would get the 3.5 again? Well, I did! Discounted 13K. End of model year and end of month. Many more trailering years to go.

Let's face it, we all have our preferences, but each manufacturer is putting out decent stuff. Each with their pluses and minuses. If they didn't build good trucks they wouldn't be in business very long. I just happen to be in Ford's camp. My brother-in-law loves his Dodge's. (We won't talk about the times I've had to rescue him in my Ford ) And my nephew likes his Chevy's. What you gonna do?

[JRTJH]

Richard,

That's a good looking truck. What color is it? It looks like stone gray (sort of light brown).

[blubuckaroo]

Towing a 5th wheel or travel trailer is different from towing other loads like boats and car transports. The higher center of gravity and large surface area of an RV needs different considerations when selecting the tow vehicle and equipment.

We had a Tacoma (rated to tow 6500 pounds) that towed our 3000 pound travel trailer, 12' U-Haul, and even a car transport with a small car without any issues. But, when we bought our new 4700 pound Passport this year, we found that while the power was adequate, it felt like the load was pushing us around a bit on curving downgrades. So, we switch to a 1500 Silverado.

Now I draw the line at half of the tow rating when pulling an RV, no matter what the RV and car dealer try to tell me.

On the other end of this decision, there are those that think a 3/4 or 1 ton is needed to tow their small travel trailer and jet ski. That's ridiculous!
Your decision should be made on honest thought about how much you'll be packing, and how often you'll be doing this towing.

So, here's the before and after...
Oh, and by the way, I just loved that little Tacoma Truck! And it matched the blue on our Passport too!

[BulletOwner1]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Richard,

That's a good looking truck. What color is it? It looks like stone gray (sort of light brown).

Thanks. It's the color called Magnetic. Dark gray. We wanted the Stone Gray color but couldn't come up with one with the options we wanted. Magnetic was our second choice.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by BulletOwner1

Thanks. It's the color called Magnetic. Dark gray. We wanted the Stone Gray color but couldn't come up with one with the options we wanted. Magnetic was our second choice.

We just bought a new stone gray Edge, my truck is "caribou" which is just a tad bit darker than DW's new Edge, so now we're "bookends" according to the neighbors. I'm amazed at the technology advances from 2015 (my truck) to 2019 (her Edge). It damn near drives itself, starts/stops at red lights, steers to stay in the middle of the lane and adjusts speed while the cruise is on automatically. We didn't get the "self parking option" but that's about all it's missing.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by {tpc}

So I wrote up a long post yesterday and I got kicked off the forum before I could post it and it was gone.

So the condensed version. I believe that any new/newer truck should get 9-10 mpg towing, whether it be 5000 lbs or 6500 lbs. 6500 lbs just doesn't seem that that much load to me. If my truck was getting 5-6 mpg I would be concerned.

My f150 2.7 pulls my 5k trailer (weighed) great. I average around 10 mpg towing but have seen as high as 12 under the right conditions.

Any of these newer trucks, gm or ford can cost upwards of 72k based on how they are equipped. My old tahoe msrp was 45k and when i saw a new one at the auto show similarly equipped its sticker was 82k. My f150 msrp was 52k. The prices on these things are outrageous across the board imo. The tech has advanced and they perform a lot better but the cost has surpassed that imo.

The tahoe that I had was loaded ltz 2007. The one I saw was loaded ltz 2016. Same 5.3 engine with cyl deactivation, albeit probably upgraded some as the early ones had some issues, but essentially the same thing.

Fwiw, I didn't even look at the fords until someone on this forum suggested it, and I'm glad I did. I am hoping the aluminum body means no rust, but it probably means something else we don't know about yet. I may or may not stick with it, but as far as price goes, GM couldn't even get me close to where I needed to be for features and price point, and thats with GM employee discount. Though I did use Ford employee discount.

Is that 2.7 a 4 cylinder?

[{tpc}]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

Is that 2.7 a 4 cylinder?

No its a 6 cylinder.

[blubuckaroo]

Originally Posted by BulletOwner1

Let's face it, we all have our preferences, but each manufacturer is putting out decent stuff. Each with their pluses and minuses. If they didn't build good trucks they wouldn't be in business very long. I just happen to be in Ford's camp. My brother-in-law loves his Dodge's. (We won't talk about the times I've had to rescue him in my Ford ) And my nephew likes his Chevy's. What you gonna do?

Same with my family!
I've always preferred GMs because of their square wheel wells. Sure, I know, it's just a style thing. But now the new 2019 GMs have started using round wheel wells like everyone else.

[wiredgeorge]

Believe the 2020 HD Silverados have square wheel wells. I was kind of amazed at the 2020 Corvette. Looks like a Masserati or something. Probably would look silly driving a car like that plus would need a lift assist to get in or out.

[ADQ K9]

Here is something that is curious, What is the cost of safety? IMO this drives up the cost of vehicles almost exponentionaly (SP) Airbags, ABS, Cameras, Radar, TPMS etc. Pretty much all federal mandated. So who is really to blame for the high prices these new vehicles command? I know there are other factors involved but I think the safety devices are a big part.

[travelin texans]

Reading some news that all the big 3 auto maker unions may go on strike, so here comes another big increase in vehicle pricing.

[BulletOwner1]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

It damn near drives itself, starts/stops at red lights,

Yeah, that stop/start thing just about freaked me out the first time I realized what was going on. Not sure I like that. Might ask the dealer if there is a way to disable that. Probably not, it most likely is involved with the emissions so won't be disableable ( is that a word??? ).

[mwemaxxowner]

Originally Posted by {tpc}

So I wrote up a long post yesterday and I got kicked off the forum before I could post it and it was gone.

So the condensed version. I believe that any new/newer truck should get 9-10 mpg towing, whether it be 5000 lbs or 6500 lbs. 6500 lbs just doesn't seem that that much load to me. If my truck was getting 5-6 mpg I would be concerned.

My f150 2.7 pulls my 5k trailer (weighed) great. I average around 10 mpg towing but have seen as high as 12 under the right conditions.

Any of these newer trucks, gm or ford can cost upwards of 72k based on how they are equipped. My old tahoe msrp was 45k and when i saw a new one at the auto show similarly equipped its sticker was 82k. My f150 msrp was 52k. The prices on these things are outrageous across the board imo. The tech has advanced and they perform a lot better but the cost has surpassed that imo.

The tahoe that I had was loaded ltz 2007. The one I saw was loaded ltz 2016. Same 5.3 engine with cyl deactivation, albeit probably upgraded some as the early ones had some issues, but essentially the same thing.

Fwiw, I didn't even look at the fords until someone on this forum suggested it, and I'm glad I did. I am hoping the aluminum body means no rust, but it probably means something else we don't know about yet. I may or may not stick with it, but as far as price goes, GM couldn't even get me close to where I needed to be for features and price point, and thats with GM employee discount. Though I did use Ford employee discount.

That's the same way I feel about mine.

[Just chillin]

Better keep that thing under a warranty. We have a car in the family that does that. Can’t disable it. Eats batteries and starters. Had to have the engine and trans pulled out of it the other day to replace the flywheel because it broke a tooth off it. To the tune of about $3500. All because they think it gets better fuel mileage if it turns off at the red light. Good thing it was under warranty.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Believe the 2020 HD Silverados have square wheel wells. I was kind of amazed at the 2020 Corvette. Looks like a Masserati or something. Probably would look silly driving a car like that plus would need a lift assist to get in or out.

Ha! A few years back my son brought by a new Ferrari; mid engine, bright red with bright red valve covers under the rear glass, sounded FANTASTIC. He offered to let me drive it. Getting in was sort of curl up and fall in but getting out, with all the stiffness from so many surgeries, I had to literally reach out the door and put my hands on the pavement (it was "right there) and try to crawl out. Thanked my son, told him the drive was magnificent, but...there was no way in this world anyone would ever talk me into getting into one of those again.

[travelin texans]

[QUOTE=mwemaxxowner;357411]That's the same way I feel about mine.[/QUOTE

My new Jeep Wrangler has this start/stop feature also, drives me nuts. The biggest problem is in Arizona's triple digit temps when the motor shuts off so does the air conditioner & it's too damn hot to be without even for a few seconds.
The Jeep has a button on the dash that disables it. The symbol looks like this "@" but with a capital "A", but has to be disabled every time you start the vehicle.

[mwemaxxowner]

Mine has a button to disable it also. I'm not sure why people whine about it so much since there is a button on the dash to disable it. There are a myriad of ways to defeat it, each option with its own side effect.

If max AC is selected, it will not shut the vehicle down. It also will not shut off if the defrost is on, trailer is plugged in, amongst other things. I personally leave mine on and it doesn't bother me. If it did, I'd learn to push the button. 80,000 miles and counting. The 2.7 has been out with that "feature" since '15, and we're still not really seeing failures of starters or batteries, etc due to the A.S.S.

It doesn't save much fuel, but what it does do is save a minute amount of fuel under certain tests that when multiplied over the millions of trucks sold that has it, helps them with EPA stuff. I don't imagine Ford or anybody else really WANTED to invest the time and money to add something like this to their vehicles that most owners aren't going to love.

My coworker has a truck similar to mine, but a Chevrolet. He's not crazy about his cylinder deactivation, but like me he doesn't fret over it too much. It is what it is. I'm afraid that measures like this to save minute amounts of fuel aren't going away, but those technologies are still in their infancy. Hopefully it will continue to become smoother, and more effective at least.

[sourdough]

[QUOTE=travelin texans;357449]

Originally Posted by mwemaxxowner

That's the same way I feel about mine.[/QUOTE

My new Jeep Wrangler has this start/stop feature also, drives me nuts. The biggest problem is in Arizona's triple digit temps when the motor shuts off so does the air conditioner & it's too damn hot to be without even for a few seconds.
The Jeep has a button on the dash that disables it. The symbol looks like this "@" but with a capital "A", but has to be disabled every time you start the vehicle.

^^^^This. I was going to say that I had rented a new Grand Cherokee that went thru this terribly annoying process and found out it could be disabled by the button Danny mentioned. Maybe the other brands have a process outlined in their owner's manual? I would never have a vehicle with that in it. Not only is it extremely annoying and disconcerting, all I can see are endless pitfalls if it fails and nothing redeeming about it.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by BulletOwner1

Yeah, that stop/start thing just about freaked me out the first time I realized what was going on. Not sure I like that. Might ask the dealer if there is a way to disable that. Probably not, it most likely is involved with the emissions so won't be disableable ( is that a word??? ).

There's a button just behind the shift knob (rotary knob on the console) that you push to disable the auto stop/start. It only works for that ignition cycle, so it's going to become a part of the startup process, much like checking the emergency brake and putting the transmission in "D"..... I have "this morbid fear" of the light changing to green, me pressing the accelerator and nothing happening.... So, for me, I'm pushing the disable button every time I start the car. DW, on the other hand, thinks it's a neat feature. She stopped at the end of our drive, just to try it out.... Sheesh !!!

For me, auto start will stay a part of golf cart technology, not freeway technology

[{tpc}]

You can buy a thing you plug into the harness behind the "button" for about $100. All it does is "lock in" the off position regardless of ignition cycles. I have just got used to pushing the button and it doesn't bother me too much. Cyl deactivation on my tahoe was seemless feeling as well, but I don't miss the 16 mpg I was getting when I wasn't towing anyways lol. That was a old truck with lots of miles so I didn't fret much, and the newer ones are a lot better.

Other than having the start stop lock in on my truck, the only other thing i would wish for is a lock in on the drive mode. I realize that it pretty much only changes the tip-in for the most part, but if I want to leave in eco mode or sport mode, I wish I didn't have to push the button every time.