I’ve had several trucks for almost 20 years. By far, the most reliable that have taken more abuse with ease were the first generation Tacomas, which are sadly not made any more. Only reason I sold the latest (an ‘03) is because my son’s car seat wouldn’t fit in the back seat. Despite it’s smallish size, I hauled everything with that truck, took it off-roading and even did a couple of 4-diamond rated off-road trails without even knowing about their rating til afterwards. That little truck was unstoppable and unbreakable, and I wish I still had it.
I now drive a ‘15 Tundra. I considered the newer mid-sized Tacomas, but when I realized they were almost the same price as a full-size Tundra, I went with the Tundra. Despite being a Toyota, it was once rated the most “American” of all the trucks, with more American parts than even the domestic brands. Don’t know if that’s still true now, though. It’s also assembled in Texas. So far it’s been reliable with 50K miles on it. Mine has the bed that’s slightly longer than 6’ (maybe 78”?). I’ve easily hauled all kinds of stuff with it. The 5.7L engine is a beast, but it guzzles gas. It averages 14.2 mpg with mixed city/hwy, but that’s with slightly bigger 33” all-terrains. But I knew mileage would be bad when I got it, so I’m not complaining. My only complaint about it is its size. It’s a behemoth compared to the older, smaller Tacomas I was used to. But it’s no more bigger than the other 4-door fullsize Chevys, Fords, Dodges, etc. The main problem with these big trucks is that their long wheelbase makes it harder to off-road in narrower, forested trails compared to Jeeps and older smaller Toyota pickups.
I have no experience with any of the newer domestic brands. I’ve had a fullsize ‘86 and a ‘93 Bronco and also used to drive my Dad’s half-ton GM van back in the 80’s and 90’s. The Broncos, which were similar to the F150s of that time, were a bear to work on and modify compared to the jeep and Toyotas I used to work on. I went through 3 transmissions and a transfer case with them. Seems like most stuff was difficult to get a wrench on, and lifting their front suspensions were a hassle because of the twin traction beams. Drilling through their thick frames was also a chore, and they still managed to bend somehow when my brother-in-law last fourwheeled the ‘93. It was a love-hate relationship with those fullsize Ford Broncos, but their reliability issues made me wary of Ford trucks. Of course, those were much older models. Don’t know how the newer Fords hold up. Never had any problems with my Dad’s half-ton GM vans, but those were older models, too. Don’t know anything about the Dodge or Titan trucks.
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Originally Posted by jeep45238
