Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Best 1/2 ton 4x4 truck on the market?

Isn't that the truth? All of them are getting boxier and boxier. Yuk.

At the end of the day, Ford, Dodge, Chevy, Toyota; any could be a lemon. That being said, in my experience, and based on most reliability surveys I have seen, the most trouble free trucks in general are Toyotas. I am on my 3rd Toyota truck, and 2nd Tundra. My Tundra Crew Max is 6 years old, and I've done nothing except maintenance on it. It hauls a family of 6 around, tows my 5K trailer up and down the mountains, does an admirable job off road, and hauls lots of junk. The 5.5" bed is a little short, but is deeper than any of the competition. It can hold a surprising amount of stuff. The back seat is more comfortable than any other crew cab I've been in other than a Dodge Mega Cab.

I've had Fords and RAMs. My Ford was on transmission #3 at 70K, not good. The Dodge was a diesel and was a good truck, but after 100K miles I felt like I needed a new truck for my Cummins engine as the rest of the rig was falling apart!

I don't like the 2014 Tundra looks-wise, but I think it is the best 1/2T on the market. Personally, I am holding out for a 3/4T Diesel Tundra.

I sold my 4Runner so I will let you guys know what I decide to get

If it were me I'd hold out for a tundra with the Cummins, only a year away. A 5.0L cummins with 300 hp and 500 lbs of torque will be perfect add good fuel mileage and it's the best combo.

I'm looking at an 06 double cab Tundra now. Those 4.7 liter V8's are bulletproof and they hold their value really well until the newer diesels get the kinks worked out of them. I also want to make sure the mileage is what that claim.

That's the course I'm taking now, it just takes finding the right truck

Holy crap... that is news to me!

I had one and it's the best truck I've had to date, including the 2011 Ford F-150.

Mine was an 06 with a 5sp/auto, 4x4. It was a great truck and I'd like it back. I got $14k for a trade with 96k miles on it and a dent in the rocker. Won't do that with most any other rig.

They will have to revamp their design considerably to handle that engine. The Tundra is already fairly low in the payload category and adding a 300+ pound heavier engine will cut it to where it barely is able to hold a thousand pounds in payload.

At this point the Toyota "diesel" has only really been reported by Ward's Auto. It has not been confirmed by Toyota. The Nissan Titan will have this engine. Apparently RAM considered it as well but could never get decent fuel economy out of the 5.0 Cummings engine.

The 4.7 V-8 is powerful way beyond its size. Mine's in Toyota's 1st Tundra, a 4x4 2000 xtra cab.

The 2UZ-FE is one of the best engines ever built IMO

[quote=BuzzThey will have to revamp their design considerably to handle that engine. The Tundra is already fairly low in the payload category and adding a 300+ pound heavier engine will cut it to where it barely is able to hold a thousand pounds in payload.[/quote]

That's a fact with all the half tons really. The weight of a diesel, even a small one will mean they really have to beef up that front end and probably the drivetrain as well. My biggest question is what is a diesel used for in a 1/2 ton. If you want to pull or haul a lot get a bigger truck. Most people aren't wrapped around the axle about super high mpg's on a truck to start with and contrary to what some post, the several diesel's I've had didn't get that much better mpg's than a gas motor under usual driving conditions. Sure they last longer, that I will agree but only at the much higher cost of maintenance not to mention they sure won't be giving them away so expect to spend a chunk on that "option".

I am sure Toyota will figure out any suspension changes needed. And it is official, I know a couple guys that work at the tundra plant here, the contract has been signed and it's something they're all excited about.

They will have to figure out a whole lot more than suspension. As it stands their truck is at the ass end of the pack on fuel economy. 10 years ago truck MPG was a non issue, today it's becoming a powerful selling point in the half ton market. As I was saying earlier the reports were that RAM could only muster low fuel economy numbers with the 5.0L Cummings engine - apparently 21-22 mpg unloaded. That's not any better that gas burners from the big three and we all know that diesel + additive is already at least 20% more expensive per gallon. Is the drivetrain going to be able handle it or will it require a redesign, again more weight to an already heavy truck? It's a reasonable assumption that a transmission designed to handle 400# of torque coming at relatively high RPM could be inadequate for a diesel motor reported to produce 500-550# of torque across a much broader range of RPM.

The numbers sound very impressive on paper with power, but it's still a half ton truck with a half ton frame. There is only so much that can be (or maybe better yet) should be done with one. It seems to me that all the current motors from GM, Toyota, Ford, and RAM have just about maxed out the practical limits of towing / hauling with a half ton vehicle.

I hear ya, but I doubt very highly that folks smarter than me and you at Toyota haven't already hashed this stuff out. It's not like Toyota doesn't know how to put a diesel in every thing from a compact pickup to a Land Cruiser, they have been doing it overseas for years. They are pretty good at building chit that makes them money and people want, so I guess we'll see what the outcome is. I can't understand why no one hasn't done this already. I don't need the truck to win drag races, but good power both empty and towing combined with good fuel economy would sure be nice. It seems like the race has been to make 400+ horsepower while maintaining average truck fuel economy, instead of grunt with better than average fuel economy. Then again they do have to battle all the bullchit EPA regs with the low sulphur diesel fuel, so it will certainly be interesting.

You got it, we'll just have to wait and see.

Having recently been in the market for a truck, let's just say the choices, technology, and err Prices are quite a shock for a fella driving a 10+ year old truck!

I just don't understand why some of these manufacturers are getting carried away with torque when it comes to diesel half-tons. If you really need major towing ability, get a 3/4 or 1 ton.

The measure for a 1/2 ton should be the "bass-boat" test. If it has enough power to easily tow a bass-boat, then you're good. You don't need 500 lb/ft of torque to do that. The goal should be 25+ MPG for a 1/2 ton diesel, with enough power for the boat. The torque wars are killing the potential for mpg.

A bass boat is not the most common load a 1/2 ton pulls, bass boats don't weigh anything. There's lots of small to medium sized travel trailers,boats heavier than a bass boat, side by sides,4 wheelers,etc. but if you don't tow them on a regular basis and are more of a weekend warrior, there's no reason to buy a $50,000 3/4 ton or bigger diesel truck. Torque is what pulls a load that's why they are striving for adequate torque as opposed to the 400hp rating everybody has been trying to achieve which just allows you to move the load faster. I agree that 25 mpg at highway speeds empty should be the goal. Remember the older 5.9L Dodge 3/4 tons that got 23 mpg empty pretty easily before the gubbamint got involved and added all the EPA bullchit regulations, but it wasn't enough , they just kept making the motor bigger, and more powerful and now I have buddies that average 16-17 mpg in new diesels and are paying $.70 a gallon or more for the fuel. Its like we're going backwards with this chit.

Where I live you can't see what's in the neighbors' driveways. That's because the 'driveways' are long and hidden going into their ranch.

I hear ya. Same types of problems on my two 96 12 valve Dodge Cummins. Front ends can loosen up... new trackbar usually needed. Front brakes problematic until you get a handle on the problem. But they run forever and can pull a house.

You probaly will want to avoid logging in to this thread and reading it.

Sure the gov't hasn't helped but that old Dodge you are talking about probably had less than 200 hp. Now we have to have 300 or 400 or more hp and of course we all need 800 lb/ft of torque for daily driving. You are right, turning that motor way up is what killed mpg's. That said, by the time you pay for a diesel in a top end 1/2 ton you will not be much off and maybe over a 3/4 ton price. To me the suspension alone on a 3/4 will merit the few extra bucks. Besides, on most 3/4 you can get a gaser that will pull what the weekender wants and not do it too far behind a diesel in mpg's and a lot less in maintenance and fuel costs. Sure he won't win a race but that's not the point. Trust me, I drive a diesel and like it for the most part but I can't justify another one. When it's my time to get another truck, I figure a 3/4 ton with a gaser and just grit my teeth when I'm towning. A half ton just isn't going to be set up for hauling heavy stuff and most of us overload anyway so that's even more dangerous.