Chevy steel bed vs. Ford aluminum bed

[michal1980]

You spoke about "quality" though, which is why I disagreed.

I also need to amend my earlier comment. I did some research and the "ATP" (average transaction price) on both GM and Ford trucks are only a few hundred dollars different. GM and Ford truck sales have been really close recently too. I guess it comes down to how you need to option your truck. For me, GM's offering was cheaper for my needs.

a few hundred dollars more per truck x millions of trucks per year = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

 

[Zivic]

Keep an eye on that frame then

My only point is Toyota has had a history of rust problems too in the past. None are perfect, or ever will be. All brands will have some history of something wrong at some point. Pick your favorite and be happy, but ripping into brand X because of a rust problem at one point in their history when favorite brand Y had just as bad (or worse!) rust problems in their history is kinda lame.

wasnt it the tacos that had the frame issue?

Toyota is FAR from my favorite brand. I simply stated their Tundra allows me to have a configuration in a half ton that no other brand offers. in addition, it tows as well or better than any half ton I have experienced. You talk about frame rust, but in reality, doesn't affect the particular model I favor. The 5.7 is thirsty, but a solid engine..

now keep in mind they lease out VERY well due to their high residual values. even then market value still usually exceeds the residuals at the end of the leases I have had... not something I could say for the other trucks I used to lease.

you buy your truck, I'll buy mine.... this furthers my original point that the commercials are BS on both sides. I laugh every time I see/hear"military grade"in a ford commercial... what a freaking joke; military grade LOL.... and then a chevy's slogan, "like a rock"... yep, that pretty much sums that truck up

 

[Pacfanweb]

Sorta anecdotal. But if you wanna ignore actual numbers and ratings, I'm sure thats what GM expects from their buyers.



I've pulled maybe two 3v 5.4s for timing chain issues. I've lost count the number of 5.3s I've swapped because of lifters or just straight blown up. But that is pretty anecdotal, I'll just say I strongly disagree if you claim Chevy is more reliable.

The Ford motors have oiling issues. Dealers see them all the time.

 

[Subyman]

a few hundred dollars more per truck x millions of trucks per year = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

First off, there aren't "millions of trucks" per year. And secondly, that is the transaction price not the profit per truck. There is dealer's take, transport contracts, manufacturing costs, R&D, factory upkeep, blah blah. The point of that number was that the average price sold to the customer is very close, not thousands a part.

 

[Subyman]

They are essentially the exact same turbos that have been used in Europe for close on to two decades. Just because they haven't been widely used in the US doesn't mean anything. In addition, you've got a WHOLE lot of semis (like all of them) running turbo diesels long distance.

I hate the 5.4L modular. Had one in my truck:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfKvau5AimE

I know far more about them than I ever wanted to - and I'm an engineer on the engine line =).

The 5.0 is a great motor. Love it.

Chevy's 5.3 had problems too though. Look at the tgw 3 years in service.

Ouch, was that valve damage on your truck? 5.0 is a great motor, physically large motor too. Side by side a small block GM, its massive. 5.3L has been great so far, wish the truck had a bit more aggressive exhaust from the factory so I could hear it a bit more under throttle. A friend that has the 6.2L had to have 2 injectors replaced. Not sure what went wrong, he's a farmer so I wouldn't be surprised if it was bad gas (lives in the boonies.)

 

[Wuzup101]

I plan to buy one of the new fords in the near future (as soon as a dealer has open allocation for a '17 or '18 raptor). Line-x should protect the bed from anything I throw at it. Who uses metal toolboxes anymore lol.

In reality all of these commercials have to be taken with a grain of salt. You know that the "other side" spins everything towards them... it's just marketing.

 

[Subyman]

I plan to buy one of the new fords in the near future (as soon as a dealer has open allocation for a '17 or '18 raptor). Line-x should protect the bed from anything I throw at it. Who uses metal toolboxes anymore lol.

In reality all of these commercials have to be taken with a grain of salt. You know that the "other side" spins everything towards them... it's just marketing.

New Raptor looks awesome. Post up some pictures when you get it.

 

[SparkyJJO]

wasnt it the tacos that had the frame issue?

Primarily yes, but shortly after they were recalling some Tundras too. Originally it was "officially" the crossmember could rust, break off, and drop the spare in the road, and possibly bust brake lines, but apparently there were a number of complaints about the entire frame rusting pretty badly too, and some instances of suspension mounts rotting through and breaking before the trucks were even 10 years old. Toyota eventually started replacing some of those frames, but I don't think they ever did a buyback like with the Tacomas.

The Tacoma debacle dwarfed it by far though.

 

[Zivic]

Primarily yes, but shortly after they were recalling some Tundras too. Originally it was "officially" the crossmember could rust, break off, and drop the spare in the road, and possibly bust brake lines, but apparently there were a number of complaints about the entire frame rusting pretty badly too, and some instances of suspension mounts rotting through and breaking before the trucks were even 10 years old. Toyota eventually started replacing some of those frames, but I don't think they ever did a buyback like with the Tacomas.

The Tacoma debacle dwarfed it by far though.

you know how many spare tires I have seen fall out of GM trucks? LOL

We had a guy that bought produce from us on the farm. Always had 1st gen 4runners and pickups. I always gave him crap about driving them.. small 4 bangers and he should by a 'real' truck.. anyways, he always joked he could literally drive them till the frame rusted and broke in half... which was upwards of 400k miles and then go get another and drive that till it rusted in half.

this was at the same time I had a similar vintage chevy silverado that ate up 2 engines and 3 trans in less than 100k miles...

I have had some POS fords as well.

in all seriousness, the best trucks I have had for legitimate reliability on my farm... im talking no maintenance, no oil changes, sitting for 5 months every winter and starting right up are 93 and older Dodge pickups with the 318. Awesome trucks. The next best are the straight 6 fords. the v8 offerings from Ford and GM have proven to both be kind of POS, save for the one 1991 XLT that I pulled from a salvage yard about 6 yrs ago. that thing has 4WD issues, might only be running on 6 or 7 cylinders, drivers side window doesn't go down, tail gate is a pain in the arse and constantly eats up wheel bearings, but it always starts and run

-- I should take some pics of my fleet of beater trucks

I get what you are saying that no manufacturer is perfect and you pick your poison in relation to which brand select.
that kind of speaks to the whole point of this thread. in and of itself, the steal vs aluminum is no way to base your purchase decision on whether you take home a chevy vs ford.

 

[rancherlee]

you know how many spare tires I have seen fall out of GM trucks? LOL

We had a guy that bought produce from us on the farm. Always had 1st gen 4runners and pickups. I always gave him crap about driving them.. small 4 bangers and he should by a 'real' truck.. anyways, he always joked he could literally drive them till the frame rusted and broke in half... which was upwards of 400k miles and then go get another and drive that till it rusted in half.

this was at the same time I had a similar vintage chevy silverado that ate up 2 engines and 3 trans in less than 100k miles...

I have had some POS fords as well.

in all seriousness, the best trucks I have had for legitimate reliability on my farm... im talking no maintenance, no oil changes, sitting for 5 months every winter and starting right up are 93 and older Dodge pickups with the 318. Awesome trucks. The next best are the straight 6 fords. the v8 offerings from Ford and GM have proven to both be kind of POS, save for the one 1991 XLT that I pulled from a salvage yard about 6 yrs ago. that thing has 4WD issues, might only be running on 6 or 7 cylinders, drivers side window doesn't go down, tail gate is a pain in the arse and constantly eats up wheel bearings, but it always starts and run

-- I should take some pics of my fleet of beater trucks

I get what you are saying that no manufacturer is perfect and you pick your poison in relation to which brand select.
that kind of speaks to the whole point of this thread. in and of itself, the steal vs aluminum is no way to base your purchase decision on whether you take home a chevy vs ford.

I'll agree with you on the 300-6 six, I drove 2 past the 300k mark with no engine work besides plugs/ignition. What, I think, will show up as a longevity issue with these new trucks is the Direct Fuel Injection fouling valves. Ford Eco-boost, and 14+ GM 5.3L are already seeing this issue. Many low mileage engines with quite a bit of buildup in the intake pockets.

 

[SparkyJJO]

DI is a whole nother beast. I've read about these carboning issues from almost everyone. I think what it is boiling down to is the traditional PCV system - which introduces crap into the intake in the first place - just does not work well with DI engines since there isn't that fuel wash on the valves and such to keep them cleaned up. I think PCV is going to take a rethink to avoid the buildup on the intake runners and valves, but I don't know what the proper solution will be.

 

[Jumpem]

Chevy simply needs to catch up with Ford. One vehicle will rust. The other won't.

 

[leper84]

DI is a whole nother beast. I've read about these carboning issues from almost everyone. I think what it is boiling down to is the traditional PCV system - which introduces crap into the intake in the first place - just does not work well with DI engines since there isn't that fuel wash on the valves and such to keep them cleaned up. I think PCV is going to take a rethink to avoid the buildup on the intake runners and valves, but I don't know what the proper solution will be.

Auxiliary injectors to periodically wash the valves would be the only common sense OEM solution. I swear I've heard about it before but never seen it with my own eyes. All they would need is some tiny little half sized injectors to spray periodically at more than cruising throttle; I doubt it would decrease fuel economy much.

A catch can like the LS* guys like to run between the PCV and intake would help. Wouldn't completely keep the valves clean and would require periodic draining. You could add a serviceable filter in but that's one more thing consumers wouldn't service; I'd also be worried about how much that would restrict flow from the crankcase and what impact that would have on seals and rings.

 

[Pulsar]

Chevy simply needs to catch up with Ford. One vehicle will rust. The other won't.

There's a reason they haven't.

Ford bit off a huge chunk of investment bringing their Aluminum bodies to market - because a lot of shops simply don't have the correct tools and knowledge to fix aluminum bodies. Ford's being the guinea pig. In fact, they spent a large sum of money outfitting places with the right tools.