Trucks

[TCinVA]

If one can find injury reports that insurance companies use it is a much better indicator of "crash results"

Some years ago when I paid attention to crash tests they were based on the vehicle hitting a solid barrier (not another vehicle) and the result was based on the outcome. At the time I believe the Suburban was "average". However my friend in the insurance business said the injury rate was very low for Suburbans because most often it was a battle against other cars not solid barriers.

Testing may be different today. I would take a F150 (if survival was the only criteria) over a Maverick myself cause physics......

So, on that note:

A couple of weeks ago I was on the deadliest stretch of highway in my county doing 60 MPH (speed limit is 55) heading to the range to do some practice for upcoming classes.

A Honda CRV in front of me decided that they were very suddenly going to turn left through one of those median pass-throughs that are only supposed to be used by police vehicles. They were going 60, saw it, thought "I TURN NOW!!!" stomped the brakes and made a hard left.

I don't claim to be an angel behind the wheel, but I had left plenty of room in front of me in case someone made that kind of fucking stupid play because that's exactly the kind of dumb shit people do on this road...which is why it has such a high rate of accidents.

Unfortunately the 26 foot Penske box truck behind me (fully loaded with commercial AC units...10,000 + pound load capacity on those things and the whole thing probably weighed easily 30,000 pounds) did not leave enough space. I had to get hard on the brakes to keep from smashing into the CRV and as I was doing so I realized that the truck behind me was going to rear end me. I got slow enough where I could avoid the CRV that was now turning out of my path. Once I was sure I wouldn't be bumped into it I let off the brake and gunned it. That shifted the weight and gained me a little forward momentum before the impact. One of the benefits of serious training with firearms is that it gets you used to thinking in fractions of a second to do useful things that help you out.

Getting hit in the ass with a vehicle that weighed probably 5 times what my 2014 F150 weighed produced quite the hellacious BANG. I had four cups of Chick-Fil-A unsweet tea in the vehicle (I was thirsty and it was a hot day) that exploded on impact covering me in liquid. This got into my OODA loop for a moment and made me think that I've torn a femoral artery. I'm bleeding to death and my med kit is trapped in the back of the truck. Then I remembered I had one in my driver's door pocket so I could get to a TQ. It was about this time that I realized it was a cold liquid and therefore unlikely to be arterial blood. And then I realized it was the tea, and then realized I've just been involved in an accident at speed on a very busy road and there's a whole bunch more traffic coming up on my ass, and I'd better get this heap somewhere where I wouldn't be hit by yet more too-fast, to-inattentive dipshits. Luckily the truck was still fully functional and I managed to get to a church parking lot a few hundred yards away.

The tailgate was wiped out, the bumper was folded in on itself so hard that you couldn't have fit a cheap taco shell in it...but I thought it would be repairable. And thankfully it wasn't an illegal driving that truck. (Massive problem in my area) The driver had a CDL which meant he had actual insurance.

It wasn't until I took it to the collision place that I learned how bad that impact was. (The truck seemed to drive just fine.) The bed was destroyed. The Decked system and bed slide I had in the bed took a chunk of the impact and were destroyed. The bed hit the cab so hard that it bent the cab at the rear corners, and the cab itself was bent. The doors all opened and closed properly but I learned that was only the case because the frame had been bent so badly that it torqued the whole truck sort of catty-cornered.

The collision guys looked it over for about 5 minutes and gave a minimum estimate of $28,000 to fix just what they could see. Total loss achievement unlocked.

My neck is sore, but I walked away from that accident feeling no serious pain.

Had I been hit by that same vehicle in my Accord, I'd likely be in a wheelchair.

So if you have to be in an accident, getting hit in something that has weight and a real frame in a place where all that can take the punishment is highly recommended.

Of course now the truck I bought specifically to haul heavy shit and go sketchy places with is dead. (Along with the Ranch Hand I had installed literally 3 weeks ago, the 10 ply tires that were brand new, the suspension upgrades....fucking assholes) And I need a new truck.

The truck market is stupid. I got paid more than I bought the truck for by thousands of dollars. I paid $15,000 for it. Profit! ...except to buy an identical truck without the topper, the Decked system, and bed slide is now a minimum of a couple of thousand more than the $21,000 payout.

So now I'm shopping used trucks.

I ended up with the 2014 F150 (5.0 engine) because it belonged to a friend who was going adventuring around the country in a mobile home. I had no trouble buying it because I knew how he cared for the vehicle. It was completely rust free, properly maintained, and I'd ridden in and driven that truck multiple times before. Easy decision. I didn't have any particular desire for any specific truck, but after realizing I was going to end up with that one I did a fair bit of research on the F150 in general.

Looking around at the options, I'm not seeing many that are appealing from a pre-owned standpoint.

GM/Chevrolet is out because their AFM defect rate is so stupidly high that I don't think it's a good idea to risk it.

My dad has a 2016 RAM 1500 and it drives remarkably well for a truck, but the Hemi motors also have significant problems related to their valvetrain. (I really don't want to buy a truck and then spend another 3-5 grand replacing cams and lifters down the line)

Tundra prices are beyond stupid. As an example, in mid-2020 a friend of mine ordered a last year of the old style Tundra at mid-trim for $43,000. I'm seeing Tundras six years older than that with 90,000 miles going for $45,000. That's just stupid.

It looks like I'm going to end up back in an F150, although probably a 13th generation truck. Ideally it will be a truck with less than 50,000 miles on it for a 5.0L model or less than 30,000 for a 3.5 EcoBoost because motherfuckers don't change their oil and I don't want cam phaser issues at 75,000 miles.

TL/DR version:

I got fucking smashed, but I'm OK because I was in a big vehicle. And now I need another truck and despite never being a truck guy or a Ford guy, I think I'm kind of hemmed in to another F150 because Toyota is basically crack, GM is subject to a class-action lawsuit, and RAM is fucked too.

Gas prices may be starting to bring truck prices down a bit.

I've only been looking for a couple of weeks, but I'm seeing some softening in the market as well. I expect that continued stupid gas prices (high gas prices, gun control, inflation out the ass, shortages of everything...SO much better to be governed by "adults" now) and the reality of the recession we're in will push truck prices down further in the next 6-8 months. Which is why I'm happy to keep my powder dry right now and not immediately buy. I think prices will come more my way by somewhere between 3-5 grand.

The trucks I'm looking at now that are stickering for ~ $35,000 will be closer to stickering at ~ $30,000 in a few months...or so it goes in my brain...due to a combination of gas prices and enough new inventory to get more trade-ins on lots.

I'm willing to wait. And in the meantime if I run across the deal I'm looking for I'll be ready to buy.

[BehindBlueI's]

I would not be terribly concerned with RAM, if you can hear it at cold start and there is no tic, it's probably fine. The occasional hemi does eat a camshaft, but low idle time and good synthetic oil seem to decrease the odds dramatically.

The surest way to kill desire for any truck is to read a forum about it...

[Nephrology]

So, on that note:

A couple of weeks ago I was on the deadliest stretch of highway in my county doing 60 MPH (speed limit is 55) heading to the range to do some practice for upcoming classes [and got rear ended]

Sucks. I hate that feeling. The drivers where I live are so terrible that I've just learned to treat every trip on the highway like a boxing match. Ain't catchin me slippin.

Sounds like you'll at least not be out much for a new truck but agree. I am glad my car is paid off with <50k on the odometer. Going to drive that thing until it's eligible for collector plates.

[LittleLebowski]

TL/DR version:

I got fucking smashed, but I'm OK because I was in a big vehicle. And now I need another truck and despite never being a truck guy or a Ford guy, I think I'm kind of hemmed in to another F150 because Toyota is basically crack, GM is subject to a class-action lawsuit, and RAM is fucked too.



I've only been looking for a couple of weeks, but I'm seeing some softening in the market as well. I expect that continued stupid gas prices (high gas prices, gun control, inflation out the ass, shortages of everything...SO much better to be governed by "adults" now) and the reality of the recession we're in will push truck prices down further in the next 6-8 months. Which is why I'm happy to keep my powder dry right now and not immediately buy. I think prices will come more my way by somewhere between 3-5 grand.

The trucks I'm looking at now that are stickering for ~ $35,000 will be closer to stickering at ~ $30,000 in a few months...or so it goes in my brain...due to a combination of gas prices and enough new inventory to get more trade-ins on lots.

I'm willing to wait. And in the meantime if I run across the deal I'm looking for I'll be ready to buy.

Newer 5.0s are more problematic than Gen2 3.5s. So long as you’ve a 3.5 under 60k miles, Ford will fix the cam phaser problem for free. The 5.0 is close to the 3.5 on paper until you throw in altitude, weight, or towing; the torque curve on the 3.5 is ridiculous and those turbos laugh at altitude where the conventional engines wheeze. The 3.5 is less complicated and easier to work on than the 5.0. I researched the fuck out of this before buying my 2018 3.5 XLT supercrew with Max Tow.

I just asked our mutual friend and professional grade mechanic friend JV about “when did the problematic 5.0s start?” and he said “2018”, but he honestly thinks the issues were around before that. Also, the cam phaser thing is more about noise than anything else. How many catastrophic cam phaser failures have you read of?

[TCinVA]

Newer 5.0s are more problematic than Gen2 3.5s. So long as you’ve a 3.5 under 60k miles, Ford will fix the cam phaser problem for free. The 5.0 is close to the 3.5 on paper until you throw in altitude, weight, or towing; the torque curve on the 3.5 is ridiculous and those turbos laugh at altitude where the conventional engines wheeze. The 3.5 is less complicated and easier to work on than the 5.0. I researched the fuck out of this before buying my 2018 3.5 XLT supercrew with Max Tow.

I just asked our mutual friend and professional grade mechanic friend JV about “when did the problematic 5.0s start?” and he said “2018”, but he honestly thinks the issues were around before that. Also, the cam phaser thing is more about noise than anything else. How many catastrophic cam phaser failures have you read of?

Catastrophic, not a whole lot. But Ford dealers install an awful lot of timing chains, especially on the 3.5's. A lot of that is down to dumbass oil maintenance intervals, most likely. Even so, turbos are a complication.

I'm not against a second gen EcoBoost 3.5 because it seems like they worked out most of the issues from the Gen 1 engines. If I find the right setup with low enough miles I'll definitely consider it. Ford didn't start doing the AFM nonsense until the 14th gen trucks (2021 and up) on the 5.0's. Really either engine is fine with me if it's low miles because I'm going to run Amsoil signature in it from day 1 of ownership. I have zero interest in the 2.7 engines as those seem to be racking up a terrible reputation for reliability.

Another problem I'm running into over and over:

Damn near all the trucks are supercab configurations that leave you with a stubby bed. The STX I lost had the extended cab which was about right for what I'm doing with the truck. I'm not using the truck like a station wagon so I could use the extra foot or so in the bed instead of the cab.

[LOKNLOD]

The surest way to kill desire for any truck is to read a forum about it...

Truer words never spoken.

[Mitch]

Newer 5.0s are more problematic than Gen2 3.5s. So long as you’ve a 3.5 under 60k miles, Ford will fix the cam phaser problem for free. The 5.0 is close to the 3.5 on paper until you throw in altitude, weight, or towing; the torque curve on the 3.5 is ridiculous and those turbos laugh at altitude where the conventional engines wheeze. The 3.5 is less complicated and easier to work on than the 5.0. I researched the fuck out of this before buying my 2018 3.5 XLT supercrew with Max Tow.

I just asked our mutual friend and professional grade mechanic friend JV about “when did the problematic 5.0s start?” and he said “2018”, but he honestly thinks the issues were around before that. Also, the cam phaser thing is more about noise than anything else. How many catastrophic cam phaser failures have you read of?

Wait, just so I understand here are you saying Ford will fix these until 60,000 miles and then after that you’re on your own? Or if I buy a truck with under 60K I’m good until how long?

[mmc45414]

the torque curve on the 3.5 is ridiculous

This is what I think often gets discounted with the turbo motor. Peak torque on my older one is comparable to the peak on a 5.0, but at 1,700rpm, when you are just putting around doing nothing, it is ready to pull with almost 400fp. And the peak of 420fp is right there at 2,200rpm, when towing I use the little toggle on the shifter to hold it out of 6th gear, and I can go 70-75 and be right there, and it will hold speed without downshifting.

Even so, turbos are a complication.

Undeniably, but they are not the huge replacement expense I used to think they would be.

Another problem I'm running into over and over:

Damn near all the trucks are supercab configurations that leave you with a stubby bed. The STX I lost had the extended cab which was about right for what I'm doing with the truck. I'm not using the truck like a station wagon so I could use the extra foot or so in the bed instead of the cab.

Agreed, and the stubby bed is the most widely desirable one. I think the extended cab is another underrated option, if you do not have kids getting in and out all the time.

[Casey]

Really either engine is fine with me if it's low miles because I'm going to run Amsoil signature in it from day 1 of ownership.

I bought a new Tundra in late 2021 and I'm doing my own basic maintenance. So far, I've just been doing Mobile 1 during oil changes, but I plan on keeping this truck a long time, so I'd like to use the best fluids. Is Amsoil notably better?

[Crazy Dane]

So, on that note:


TL/DR version:

I got fucking smashed, but I'm OK because I was in a big vehicle. And now I need another truck and despite never being a truck guy or a Ford guy, I think I'm kind of hemmed in to another F150 because Toyota is basically crack, GM is subject to a class-action lawsuit, and RAM is fucked too.

That sux, glad you are OK.

A coworker was involved in a multi car collision last week when sum dude swerved into oncoming traffic to avoid a stopped car, totaled his 2020 Ram. I know he is negotiating for replacement cost and not NADA value. < hope that helps.