Quesion on quality of new chevy truck?

I don't have a whole lot of experience with trucks, but AFAICT Chevy/GMC are actually pretty good, and much better in quality than Chevy cars. I'm not a big fan of Ford trucks but mostly because of their awful Twin-I-Beam front suspension (yeah, it's been a while since I've driven one.) I've heard that Dodge is a little more problematic than Ford or Chevy. So Chevy is probably a safe choice if you like it.

I did log a lot of seat time in some Chevy/GMC prototypes about 6 years ago (previous generation to the ones being introduced now) and they were fairly pleasant to drive, although the one weak link was the locking differential, they were easy to destroy.

GM seems to be putting all its eggs in the truck basket for some reason.

nate

The same reason Toyota has been putting more of its money into new trucks and SUVs. Greater profits per capital investment. ;)

mike

Get the Duramax Diesel

My last truck was a 1999 K1500 with the 5.7 liter V8. I only put about

85,000 miles on it but never had any major issues. Just the normal brakes, serpentine belt, plug wires, plugs, cap and rotor, battery and cooling system flush. The only part that did fail was the alternator, just a few months before I traded it in. That's all that I invested in it after I bought it. It was a pretty good vehicle.

I traded it in on my current truck, a 2006 Silverado Z71 with the aluminum

5.3 liter V8. So far so good, I have 5,400 miles on it since June. I don't expect to have any issues other than general maintenance.

Brian

On Fri, 29 Dec 2006 13:59:51 -0500, Dad-x-2 got out the hammer and chisel and etched in the wall:

Well, I'd say you probably won't go wrong with a Chevy or GMC (twins) 1/2 or 3/4 ton truck. I have an '06 avalanche, with only 5000 miles and have had only one very minor issue. (I haven't even bothered with the dealer.)

I had a '95 GMC Jimmy for six years and 150,000 miles with very minor problems. (Most related to a faulty injector design from '94, which was fixed in '97.)

On the Ford side, I've heard only good things from my friends who own F-150 an F-250 models. Nothing wrong with them either. I personally like the styling and comfort of the GM trucks over the Ford trucks.

Well, I have a good friend who recently turned in his '95 T-100 for an F-150 after 272,000 miles. However, neither of us bought a new Tundra, simply because they didn't "feel" right.

On Fri, 29 Dec 2006 22:07:02 +0000, Edwin Pawlowski got out the hammer and chisel and etched in the wall:

I want one!!! :P

6.6L, 360 HP, 600+ lbs/ft torque...drool....

Ford finally ditched that horrible front end design some years ago.

I've herd the Duramax is a Jap Engine from Isuzu, and they have problems like the 6.0L Powerstroke with head gaskets. I've also read that the Duramax and Powerstroke are light duty engines, while the Cummins is a more heavy duty engine. I got a friend thats got a 93' Ram 350 with the Cummins Diesel with 350,000 miles with no problems. If I were you I would take a look at a Dodge with the Cummins.

Edw> > Just wanted to ask what would be the best truck to get and

The Cummins is a great engine. Shame they put it in a Dodge.

According to

Duramax engine is assembled in Moraine Ohio. Now, it may be possible that Japan bought Ohio recently but I didn't see anything in the newspaper about it.

More information at

the Duramax engine is assembled in Moraine Ohio. Now, it may be possible > that Japan bought Ohio recently but I didn't see anything in the newspaper > about it.

The design is by Isuzu and it is built in a joint venture plant in Ohio.

One of the benefits of the Isuzu-GM tie-up was that Isuzu knows plenty about modern diesel engines and GM knows little about them. When GM sold off it's part of Isuzu recently Toyota picked up the pieces to get their hands on Isuzu's diesel expertise and capacity.

Stay tuned!

John

I used to drive a 2001 Silverado pickup (half ton) with a car dolly for my work delivering cars for a company. It had the smallest V8 that they put in the Chevy trucks. I'd have heavy Impalas or Buick LeSabres on the dolly, and the Chevy pulled them fine/easily. Plenty of torque plus the truck looked great and was fun to drive.

A diesel would last a lot longer and have more torque. I'd recommend a Dodge Ram with the Cummins if you want a diesel. I had a friend who used one to haul a car carrier. It had like 450,000 miles and never had been opened up. Might be overkill for your application. You may never have to tow 15,000 pounds or need the engine to last for half a million miles! That's why resale value is so good for Rams with Cummins in them.