Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Best new off-road truck?

MAy have to buy a new truck here in a few days and haven’t looked at trucks in a long time (6-7 years)
I need a true off-road capable truck (ground clearance, lockers, power to weight, etc)
Been running a old body style 2003 four door Tacoma with e locker and it has been great for the past 7 or 8 years
What would you guys recommend in today’s lineup ?

2nd gen Tacoma........

'12-15 are good years.......

popular & available......sellers market though

sold our clean '05 DC SB TURD w/183K on it for $15300 in January

Do you need anything more full size & more balls ?

Toyota has to be bringing out the new Tacoma next year and if you can wait i doubt you'd be disappointed. If you have to buy now interest rates on new may make it real attractive and Tacomas are actually being discounted in some markets.. if not new, Tikkanut has some real solid advice.

Yes - if you can wait - the automakers are feeling a Covid-19 squeeze right now.

March saw the average price financed on a new vehicle hit 34,000 - or 5k more than it was a few years ago and the average term over 70 months - the longest its ever been.

A TON of automotive parts and supplies move through the supply chain via inter-modal means. March saw those shipments down just shy of 70% - good indicator of where the makers will be here shortly. Toyota closing their plants till end of April.

If you're financially stable and can really swing things - there should be quite a few deals to be had as the economic situation deteriorates.

Tacoma or did you mean Tundra the Tacoma was updated 2016 Tundra hasn't had a major update since it came out in 2007.

Tundra or Tacoma depending on room and what your pullin

Ford Raptor if you want a REAL off-road pickup truck 🤠

Tacoma is due for an update not a refresh like 2016. Tundra may get the same. the tacoma is just like the 4 runner and technology has moved forward on them. Toyota makes great vehicles but they tend to ride them and refresh them longer since it's more cost effective. I have to think 2021 may be the year but knowing Toyota I'm probably wrong. Read the reviews on them and the four runners and you may see how they keep using the "TERM dated" in evaluating them........that's not a knock on their reliability since they build what works. But it is an indicator that the auto writers won't give them as much ink and those 3-8 page articles with lots of pictures and praise and pointing out features sell lots of vehicles.

I'd be looking at a 2nd generation Tacoma, I'd pass on the newer versions. Assuming off road performance is more important than towing or hauling.

The Ford Raptor checks all of the boxes in a 1/2 ton, but those things are expensive. The bells and whistles aren't worth what they are wanting for those to me.

From a purely off road perspective I'd have to look at the Jeep truck. Not sure I'd buy one, but I'd at least research them.

I have a Ford Super Duty with 35" tires, 4" lift, ARB Lockers front and rear and 456 gears and it is a great truck for pulling a trailer full of ATV's down a rutted 2-track muddy road.

When I think of off-road I think smaller is better and a Toyota Tacoma with lockers and good suspension will go many places that my truck will just not fit. If you do not have to tow get the small truck.

I'm a frugal Toyota shopper.......wife's DD.....

replaced the '05 Taco with this '11 Lexus GX 460 Premium w/95K on the clock

After a few continuing mods....not quite a truck.....but damm close......

It's badged the Toyota Landcruiser Prado 150 across the pond......

FORD e-lock, long travel front suspension,great clearance and POWER....With a cab with head,leg and shoulder room.

I'm going to the dealer here soon to see what I can get for trade in on my '12 Power Wagon on a new one. Might not get a chance at 0% interest again. What I like about the PW is anything I'd do to a truck it already has it, and it's factory warranted.

I would second the power wagon. Full lockers front and rear, electronic disconnect swaybar for more articulation than any other truck available plus big enough to do any real hauling until you get to diesel territory.
The raptor is built for go fast offroad and the power wagon is built for rock crawling, hill climbing, etc with a 3/4 ton payload.

I, too, am still drooling for a Ram Power Wagon. My local dealer sells several of them a year here. But..... the Tacoma has the highest resale value of anything in this area, the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mtn. Range. Jeep Wrangler is No. 2 BTW.
I would say it would depend on what you really need it for. I know lots of people with Tacos and none are unhappy. In a full size half ton, I'd do a Tundra. With either, I'd get the Pro versions, not the TRD versions. Just a bit more for off road use.
When it comes to Jeep Wranglers, a lot of locals own the Rubicon version. I don't. I could have, but I'm not into real rock crawling. The Rubicon Trail is not my thing. I hunt desert mulies. With a True Trac in the front, I can drive the softest, deepest sand I've ever encountered w/o ever bogging down. And it will climb anything anywhere near safe. That's why I have the Willys Wheeler Package on my Wrangler Sport.
Over the years I've learned that 4WD's are very expensive to buy and maintain. The really tricked out ones sometimes don't even work as well as a stock item if you understand how to use one. E

I drool every time I see a Power Wagon as well!! Raptors are quite common around here. Doubt very many of them have ever been more off road than a two-track across the prairie! LOL But, when I see a Power Wagon, hey, that guy is serious! One vehicle not mentioned yet, since these boards are pretty much taken over by the ToyBoys, but gets very high ratings in all the tests, is the Colorado ZR2. Sounds like one heckuva great ride. Me? I don't do much off roading anymore. More into luxury rides in my old age, which is why I drive a Denali. Reminds me of a friend of mine from Casper, after he bought a new Ford diesel, his teenage son asked why he didn't get the off road package, he replied "because the only time I go off road is when I'm having a wreck!" LOL But, were it me, and I decided I needed a HD off road ride, it would probably be a Power Wagon. Just my ramblings, carry on. Good luck however you proceed!

I’m kinda leaning toward a Tundra
Looks like the new Tacoma’s have a few complaints about them

Haven’t bought new in years
How do Toyota dealers deal now days
What percent should they come off msrp

Factory new trucks?

My company buys 3200ish pickups a year

Best Is the Raptor. I've had a 2014 and now have a 2018.

Second, by a LONG shot is the 2019.2020 Silverado Trail Boss.

Next the ZR2

Distantly next the Power Wagon

3rd Gen Tacoma Sucks.

EVERY Gen of Tundra has sucked.

Anyone who says different doesn't "use" a truck...

City folks bragging about their adventures are a hoot...

I drive a civic to work but my toy is a 2017 Power Wagon. No complaints.

Best is like most things, awful subjective. A Raptor doesn't have the payload or towing capacity to do much, but can go really fast on rough roads. I'd be interested in the GMC AT4 if they weren't a million dollars. And I'd have to put an aftermarket winch on.

Looks like a pimped out mini van on steroids...

I just bought a new Tacoma after a couple of years of looking. If I had plans to do serious off roading right away I would have gotten a TRD Pro. They had one I could have gotten for a little over $41, 000 with the buys you can get right now on new ones.

That said, I wanted to get another smaller truck for around town that would haul grandkids so I bought a new 2020 Tacoma TRD double cab V-6 Auto last week. I really like it. We got it for $35,000 and change. I wanted good off road capability and excellent traction characteristics for sand and mud. The thing that sold me on it was the crawl control. It also the e-locker of course. It has some options that will take me some time to get used to and I am not sure how much I will use it off road until I know it better and test it. It will get stiffer leaf springs, skid plates, jacking points and a canopy right away. Until I get rid of the '98 the 2020 won't see much serious off road use. Consumer Reports says they are dated but reliable. So am I.

I still have a 1998 Tacoma V-6 extended cab 4x4 (that won't wear out) and is set up pretty well for off road. We also have a 2013 Tundra Rock Warrior that is going very well. I have owned a 77, 81, 94, and the 98 in Tacoma and HiLux form plus the 2013 Tundra. All but the 77 were 4x4's. My hunting buddy has a 2010 Tacoma TRD and loves it. My youngest boy inherited the 94 and has sinced owned 2006, 20011 and now has a 2015 TRD. He wredcked the 2011 or would still have it. Based on our experiences I saw no reason to get anything else.

I have had no issues with any of them. I also had Dodge, Ford and Chevy full size trucks during the 90's and 2000's. With the exception of a 1994 Chevy Silverado 4x4 3/4 ton I replaced at 20 years of age with the Tundra I had no luck with the others and do not plan to ever own another Ford or Dodge 4x4.

The new ford ranger is supposed to have locking differentials and a few feature that seem to go after the tacoma TRD market. Thats what I saw in commercials. Not sure if that would be on the radar for you. Maybe they are still using Mazda components,

A good friend has 2017 or 2018 Raptor with the 10sp/3.5 Ecoboost combo. It is an amazing machine on and off road.

The thing that blew my mind about it was when we towed a 20 or 22 foot enclosed trailer full of wheelers and camp gear from OK to CO with it elk hunting a couple years ago. That little gas turbo coupled with the 10 speed is a formidable towing rig. It had no issue whatsoever pulling the passes and got over 13mpg for the trip.

That is what I would guess to be the most capable off the lot 4x4 available today. I

You guys touting the Power Wagon as the best off road truck realize than the thing is still a Dodge, right?

LOL!

Certainly isn't bragging rights, but at least it's not jap.

Or a Ford.

People love the taco's and I need to drive one to see if I like it.

My wife was looking at a Rav4 so I jumped into a taco at the dealer... hit my knees on the steering wheel and put my legs straight out and low to the floor.I'm not sure I would like that for my my 5 hour drives and wearing heavy winter boots in MN.

I imagine its what you get used to, but I'm used to my full size pickup and room for bulky clothes.

The tacos have a good reputation so my brother and I keep contemplating getting one for trail bombing though

Toyota has just extended their plant shut downs in KY at least another 2 weeks, into May. Fiat has as well.

If you can wait - deals are to be had once they open.

Drove a tundra today
Seems like a nice truck
Had plenty of power with the 5.7 and pulled hard with 4:30 gears
Gonna need that 38 gallon tank though

I nearly got a Taco as a 'run around' vehicle. Was wanting something smaller and handier than my crew cab Super Duty diesel. Like you, sat in one, and said 'nope'.

Bought a 2020 Tundra in late August. Couldn't be happier with it. It isn't as nimble in town as a Taco would be, but its better than my big Ford is. Only a few thousand more than a Taco, minimal fuel mileage loss, and I get the advantage of more cab room, more bed room, and more payload.

I can't be too much different than the majority of you guys having owned a 4wd for most of my adult life. Now that I've gotten a little gray around the muzzle, my idea of fun isn't winching my 6,000# truck out of two feet of mud, repairing a broken axle, replacing an ignition module in the middle of nowhere, scratching the hell out of a new truck or repairing sheet metal. Been there and done all that. It is a pretty hopeless feeling to be miles from any help with a disabled vehicle that you are depending on to get you back into civilization. I've wrecked my dirt bikes and had ATV's that failed, but those were not my primary means of getting back home. I like a nice capable 4wd as much as the next guy, but there is a limit to just how much off road stuff that most of us will actually use. The proliferation of wilderness bikes, dirt bikes, ATV's and UTV's tells me that a tricked out off road 4wd SUV or truck isn't a necessity.

I don’t drive a Raptor or lifted and tricked out anything. But I do demand some off-road capability, I won’t settle for a truck that doesn’t at least come with locking differential and Low Range let alone a 2wd.

While I agree that buying a $50k truck and bombing around like it’s a rusted out beater isn’t for me. I also don’t have a UTV, ATV, or dirt bike. And if I did it would be difficult to carry 5 10’ surf rods, a bait bucket, rod holders, cast net, chairs, ice chest and other gear down to where I catfish. Sometimes off-road capability can be utilized without destroying your rig.

I was at the Toyota dealer's place a week ago, they had a TRD Tundra in the showroom. Nice truck, stickered at 50K, but dealer add-ons had it up to 71K+


. I can easily remember when you could buy a house for that, AND have money left over for a damned car, besides. No sale................

I thought I was overdoing it a bit when I paid 28K for my Frontier back in '16, still do, to some degree. 71K for a pickup? Nope.

Bought my house for that 5 years ago.

Like you I have owned 4WD vehicles since I was 22 years old, and I am 68 now. I have had Toyota FJ40 LC, two CJ5, a CJ7, 4Runner, 1986 full size Bronco, a couple of Subaru's that the wife had and now has a Highlander, and my 2002 Super Duty. I also have been there and done as far as winching, digging, repairing, etc. and I try to avoid that at all cost today. My offroading is very mild compared to my younger years, but I do want to get home so I do require good off-road performance.

Now when I was a kid, back in the 60's, I tried my best to get my father to trade the old 1954, and later a 1957, 2WD truck for a 4WD since we liked to hunt. His response was always "A 4WD JUST ENABLES YOU TO GET STUCK IN MORE INACCESSIBLE PLACES", of course he had me and my brother to ride the rear bumper to get up muddy hills, to dig out of mud and snow, and to install chains so he could go to work. Looking back on it he may have had a point.

My son has a 2019 Ford Ranger Lariat with the FX4 package. To my mind it has the best combination of size, powertrain, and off road performance of any truck out there. It's a foot narrower than an F-150 so will fit tighter trails. It has good ground clearance. The FX4 package gets you an electronic locking rear differential. It comes with decent all terrain tires (Hankook ATM). Everything underneath is well tucked in and protected. The crawl control system is amazing, much better than what Toyota offers. It has 4 wheel disc brakes (Toyota's still using archaic drum brakes in the rear). It has a 7500 pound tow rating. My son gets up to 26 mpg highway with his truck. It has power to spare.

How much weight is it rated to put in the bed?

No offense, but the OP said truck in the title, I don't see the Rangers, Tacos, et al as a truck per se. But that's just me.

That's exactly the reason I'm keeping my clean one owner/garage stored '02 Chevy 2500HD w/123K miles...pd $31K in '02

Another reason my last two vehicles have been pre owned with under 100K miles....both Toyota/Lexus of course

Yes he did say truck, but he also said his current vehicle is an 03 Tacoma, so it seems possible he may be looking at a similar size/capacity vehicle. Last new truck I purchased was an F250 crew cab diesel - definitely a truck, but a new Ranger will go places off road that the F250 won't.

You are 100% correct in my opinion: "Best is like most things, awful subjective.", and I would have answered differently were the question does it, per your reply: "have the payload or towing capacity to do much, but can go really fast on rough roads."

The question was:


Again, we buy 3.200 trucks a year...I personally have bought 5 in the last 18 months...

I stand by my answer...
Should the question change...my answer "may" as well...

Don't doubt it at all. Truck convos are difficult online as some call a 4Runner or an AWD minivan a truck just because they can get it up a nasty road and toss a deer in the back.

What kind of abuse do your trucks go through that the Raptor is king? Ratio dirt to pavement for example. No flies on them, just wondering. I've driven a couple, but Ford ergo' s have always left me cold. Has your company tried any Rebels? I was tempted by a used one when I got my wifes pickup a couple months ago, but I didn't realize they had the adjustable airbag suspension. Fugg that. But seems like it'd be a close competitor for the Raptor, at least on paper.

If I had the money to buy an off-road pickup(and not a work pickup..)...


Ford TREMOR....feel the thunder!

Seen a promo video for them. Saw a Ford I kinda wanted to buy.

Dude, you really ought to buy one in 350 and report back. You really do deserve one. Treat yourself man!

Do it Sam. Local guy here just bought a single cab 1ton with a bale bed, has the 7.3/10sp combo. He has already proclaimed that there are NO more diesels in his future.

Gruff, local dealer had one in stock, I think it was crowding $70K, ain't happening!

It would make a terrible work truck, you'd need a step ladder to access the box....





Kid, we were looking at a twin to the one your local guy bought. Reg cab, SRW, 7.3 gas, hell the sticker on it was $48k, that idea was now also been put on pause.

I have one of those, it's my company truck. It will go almost anywhere I point it. I use it in the appalachain basin in the gas patch. I will say that it is a tight fit for me. I'm 6'3'' tall. The alternator is low on the engine, right behind the right side front tire. It left me stranded in the woods at 21000 miles. That and the cab room are my only complaints. We also have two off road tacomas. The ranger is a better truck in every way.

Before buying, look at the air dam below the front bumper. Almost every new truck has one that is low enough that it will just barely clear curb in parking lots.

I have 2109 Chevy Duramax, Silverado,supposedly with an Off Road rating. . Dodge and Ford had the same deal. My old 98 Dodge had smaller one and it was easy to remove.No so with the newer trucks.

Then if it is diesel with Chevys at least, The DEF tank does not have much clearance for off road either.

As for Toyotas. I am on my 2nd Tacoma. Great truck, but the wheel base is narrower than a std truck and when you go down a two track, only one wheel is in the track, the other side is up out of the other track

test drove a gas tremor f350 awhile back....it had the old man step in the endgate , but the bed was so stupid high me at 6' 4" couldnt hardly jump onto the step

had the factory gooseneck hitch in it , but I do think your trailer would always be running uphill ....LOL

Didn't GM change the location of the DEF tank? That is one of the reasons I went with the RAM over the Chevy, but I think it has been changed.

Most goose necks can be adjusted to bed heights. My 2019 Chevy is higher than my old Dodge was.No problem though


Did not know that. I should have waited a year then. I went with Chevy because Dodge shortened their short box. My slide in camper which fit my old 98 Dodge would have stuck out the back of the new Dodge beds. Always a trade off I guess, but at my age, I don't do much off roading. I use my two mules if that is called for.They are the original 4wd

That's what I thought after I bought the RAM. Not only did GM change the location of the DEF tank, but also made the cab bigger. Another reason I went with the RAM. I fit in it it better at 6'4".

sure , you can adjust the neck , but you are going to have to keep a minimum clearance of the snout over the box


which means on anything built as high as the Tremor , your trailer will be riding at an angle.......

I like to have a little bit of positive set to my goosenecks and tounge pulls. The 22 ft Flat bed I have rides fine with my 2019 Chevy . About the same as it did in my 98 Dodge.I am not familiar with the Tremor though.

The big coal mine over the hill always bought ford, they live in mud 6-8 months a year. Loggin outfits around here run ford primary, Toyota second. All the hound hunters run Toyota. I wouldn’t even look at dodge personally, Chevy/gmc are light built pavement pounders, couple loggin outfits tried em for crew busses, frames and suspension didn’t last long... I’ve ran nothing but Toyota since I was 16, my choice by miles...

I wouldn't say my Chevy Duramax 2500HD is pavement pounder with a 23,000 GCVWR.

That’s cool saddle sore, as long as your happy man..

What would make the Power Wagon so far down on your list? I haven't been in one very much (I drove an older one at a dealer that was a used piece of crap though), but always thought with all they offered they would be just the ticket unless you had to go fast.

Made the choice

You won't be sorry, got its charcoal twin

Does that have a 4 ft bed? Looks pretty short

THAT is a sharp looking truck. The bed is 5 1/2 feet, but it's pretty deep and more useful than you'd think.

My Tundra is still running strong after being bounced around offroad and on logging roads for 12+ years. As someone else stated, you see an awful lot of Toyotas offroad in the Pacific Northwest.

Nice!

I had a tundra for about 15 minutes. They are a nice pickup, just not for me.

Pretty fun to drive as it’s got 380hp and 4:30 gears
Hopefully it’ll tow a boat pretty good
I do know it makes the traction control work pretty hard in the first few gears if you get on it

Nice looking truck!

Pretty color. But man toy has to change it's design

Sounds like it's going to be rough on fuel.

Are the Duramax General motors diesel engines made by Isuzu? I know they were a few years ago.

2016 was the last year they were made by Isuzu. GM has made them in-house under license since.

As I said above, we are in the top 5 on the ENR top Contractors, and the top 5 in Mining Equipment Giants. The divisions reporting to me in my working life were predominantly heavy civil construction, upstream and midstream Oil and Gas, and O&M for OGC and Power. We'd buy trucks, assign them, maintain them, and at 3 years (fully depreciated) or 70,000 miles (if more than 3 years) assess if they were worth tripping or keep and make job beaters. Until the big ecoboost Life Cycle cost on Fords was the best by a large margin...Life Cycle being purchase,operating costs insurance, Fuel Oil and Grease, Maintenance, Tires and Repairs, Depreciation, and Disposal Recoup (ie sales).

We bought a few dozen Raptors for O&G pipeline integrity, drilling and well monitoring. They were simply flawless, with most miles offroad...BUT...the Z71's were as well, for 30% less. So, I guess to answer your question, the Raptor, in the records I have on a couple dozen is cheapest in T&T and Repairs, IOW, the ones we have simple wouldn't break...and...the 500+ BHP and factory Baja Race level suspension were things of beauty, but the buy-in, Operating Costs, Insurance, FOG made it not worth it...

SINCE then, Chevy has taken over. The aluminum bodied ecoboost trucks have skyrocketed in O&M, T&T, and "particularly" repairs...we've had more "totaled" accidents in the last 4 years than in the previous decade...

And, simply, despite the fanboy "I had one" or "I had two" Tundras have never on a life cycle cost basis measured up...simply fact...and we built and maintain the Toyota testing grounds and get them cheaper than most.

As to the Rebel...I can't comment from a company standpoint since we opted the equivalent Chevy in 2019 because initial purchase was 20% less, and we've been too thrilled to change.

Funny thing, though...my Dad and sister both got supplier pins from me and bought Rebels. They have been great, and "near" enough the equal of my 2 LT Trail Boss on the ranch that if they were cheaper life cycle (AND THE ELECTRONICS WEREN'T SO BUGGY!!!) I'd consider one....

Just what I posted above: Life Cycle Cost. IME they are GREAT trucks, just cost more at buy-in, cost more to feed, maintain, operate, insure, but don't bring enough at disposal to recoup. If performance vs cost is an overriding factor I'd definitely look at one...or the Raptor.

Is it new or used? Just curious because the TSS package usually comes with blacked out wheels to match the blacked out badges, door handles, mirror caps, etc..

Yep, that is a problem with these "Offroad" trucks, they cost a lot.

Thanks for the sharing Journeyman.

Sorry to get sidetracked, but could you comment on 3/4-ton trucks, 4x4 in particular? I'd imagine your company has info on that class of truck as well?

Thanks,

Jason

Congrats on your new truck! Hope yours is as good for you as my '16 has been.

Nope.

DMAX of Moraine, Ohio is a manufacturer of Diesel engines for trucks. Originally a joint venture between General Motors and Isuzu, the formation of DMAX was announced in December of 1998. General Motors acquired full control of the venture in 2003, including all engine designs. The company's Duramax V8 has been extremely successful for GM.

It’s new
Had black 20” rims with Goodyear’s on it and I got them to trade out for 18’s with 275/70/18 10 ply Toyos

Good idea, 20" rims do not belong on an off-road vehicle. My truck has 35" tires on 16" rims so I have plenty of sidewall to absorb blows from rocks and the additional sidewall aired down allows more surface area of rubber to contact the ground and conform to the rocks encountered on the trail.

I hate the look of 20's on trucks/SUV's........

Good call on both rim size and tire brand.

Id like to go 17s, if I get another set of rims for my truck, but only certain 17" rims fir over the brakes on the Tundra.

Is it just an aesthetics thing? Both my F-150 and the wife's SUV have 20's and I dislike the ride immensely when the road gets lumpy. They probably are more responsive with more wheel and less tire sidewall, but I'm not a kid anymore and I appreciate a smoother ride. I sure miss the old 14,15,16,17 and 18" rims.

Around here feed pickups are probably the hardest working machines.

They get used and abused and put on a lot of off road miles.


I can think of about 15 Fords(F350's) with bale beds.

3-4 Chevy/GMC.

3-4 Dodge.


Ford pretty much dominates across the board regarding work pickups. BNSF, construction companies, utility companies, farm/ranch, etc., pretty much all Ford.

Dodge and Chevy might make a good heavy duty highway pickup but I don't think they hold up when you start pounding them off road.

Thanks for the info SamO.

My next truck purchase will most likely be a Super Duty. Right now, I have a 2017 Tundra TuRD, double cab. I like the truck just fine, and think it's a great 1/2-ton grocery-getter. The Super Duty would be used for harder work.

The Super Duty interested me for the reasons that you mentioned. Mainly, that they have a good reputation in the commercial-use truck world. From what I've gathered from some dudes running fleets, the Super Duty seems to come close to Tundras in terms of reliability and durability. To me, that is impressive as the use cases and duty cycles can be very different. The fact that the Super Duty trucks are held in such high regard, says a lot in my view.

In my last job, I hired a test engineer for my team that previously worked at Fiat-Chrysler. Since he was involved with testing RAMs and competitor trucks, I asked him what he thought about the RAM trucks. He said that he loved the Cummins engine (obvious?), but hated the truck built around the engine. He drives a Super Duty.

Jason

Jason, good luck in the search!

SamO,

Tremor with 7.3 has my attention, but the Tundra makes a good grocery-getter for now

J

Sam my local experience mirrors yours for heavy duty work rigs. All the power companies, oilfield companies, and probably over half of the feed wagons are 250 and 350 Fords.

The power company I work for has a pile of Fords with service beds and 6.2 gas engines. That’s what I bought because I saw how well they hold up and go off-road. Since 2011 they have cycled through hundreds of trucks and the major issues have been 2 transfer cases and one transmission, not a single engine related hiccup according to the chief mechanic. They change oil and filters at 5k intervals and the guys idle them for entire shifts and pound on them off the roads in line cuts and two tracks every day.

They bought two Rams a few years ago as a test to see how they’d hold up since they were a little cheaper at fleet prices. Stuck them both in the auction at less than 70k miles because they were constantly in the shop.

TheKid,

I also hear really good things about the 6-speed tranny in the Super Duty.

Jason

Wonder what it would cost to recreate a truck built this solid today.

Ford

I prefer a truck that rides a bit rough, solid slam in the doors, full box.

Now that's a cool rig! Man, those were great trucks. Always wanted to swap a 5.9 in a truck like that. Thought it would be a blast with a diesel a modern 6 speed manual.

Yep - with an Atlas II transfer case too for those that like as well.

Hell yeah! Might as well put a couple lockers in there as well. Talk about a cool rig. This talks almost as dangerous as talking cool rifle builds.

Cummins makes a small, 50 state legal diesel as a crate motor. Fred at Dirt Every Day has done a lot of work with it.

Long based jeep with one - lockers etc. Be neat but I'd prefer the old Ford pick up.

Mine's the cement gray TSS. Your voodoo blue was choice #2. Leveled the front, tinted the windows, added leather, and mild exhaust. Love it so far.

cement gray........nice

Jason, I can "kind of" reply to that. We long ago skipped right over 3/4 Tons to 1 Tons.
Life cycle cost made them the better deal.
F-350 is king in that application, and based on what I see in the Oil Patch and Mining, our competitors feel the same.
On my own ranch we are running F-350s for feed/spreader work, and Z71s for light duty.