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View Full Version : Crew cab Pickup owners.........



Joe Tonich
02-19-2006, 2:56 PM
My Caravan's tranny just took a dump and since LOML and I were thinking about getting a new vehicle.................

We need a crew cab as we have 2 boys (11 & 12) that will be growing soon and this will be what will pull our camper on vacations. My question to you is what make/model do you have and what you like/dislike about it.

Thanks,

Joe

Steve Ash
02-19-2006, 3:12 PM
Joe, I have a 2001 Chevy 4WD short box that has the back seat that folds up for putting stuff back there like furniture and I hauled a drill press back there too. The seat folds down so 3 people can ride back there. I had the same thing in a long box quite a few years ago and did not like the turning radius with it, but the short box turning radius isn't too bad.

I like mine and wouldn't be without it...I also have a regular cab 1994 4WD GMC that has served me well over the years but I like the extra room (in my 2001) for extra people and cargo that gets hauled from time to time.

Frankie Hunt
02-19-2006, 4:26 PM
I have a 2004 Ford F250 4x4 diesel super cab. Tons of power. Great fuel mileage, 22mpg mixed driving. Very comfortable. I have 2 sons one is 16 and the other is 17. They can fit in the back with no problem. The truck is big enough to handle about anything you could throw at it in terms of pulling. Large fuel tank, I can go 500 miles on a tank. Visibility is excellent. I am a very happy owner. My last truck was a short bed standard cab. This one drives a little differently. It has a better ride, better on the highway too. Its a tad harder to park, but not bad, just different.

Dont take this the wrong way. This is my opinion only. YMMV as they say. We (me and my wife) went with another couple in their truck. It was about an hour trip each way. They had a Dodge 1500 4x4 crew cab, either a 2004 or a 2005 not sure which. We rode in the back and the other couple were in front. Our backs hurt for several days after that trip. The rear seats were soooooo uncomfortable. They had no lower back support. The back of the seat was too verticle also. You couldn't give me that truck if I had to ride back there. Perhaps the seats would fit someone else better. Perhaps they would be ok for the kids. The back of my truck rides much better! Again, I am not knocking anyones truck. It was just a bad fit for me. He is thinking about trading because of fuel mileage. He has the big v8 and gets around 12mpg.

He pays at the pump, I paid up front with the cost of the diesel motor. Its cheaper with a gas engine until around 60k miles, after that its cheaper for the diesel. (depends on mileage, cost of motor, cost of fuel, etc) Its hard to beat the diesel when you pull things. The F250 has the size, weight, muscle and brakes to safely pull most campers.

The only negative thing about my truck, and this is about vehicles in general, is the cost. Dang things are too expensive. My last truck was a 1994 F150 and I traded it in on this one a 2004. I had the last one for 10 years, I hope to get 20 out of this one.

Frankie

Jim Becker
02-19-2006, 4:51 PM
If I were going to buy another pickup, it would be another Tundra, no question. But you also have to consider your towing needs if your camper is large. (The Tundra's towing capacity is pretty high, however) The folks who build these things in Indiana do a wonderful job!

Thomas Prondzinski
02-19-2006, 5:12 PM
Joe
I have a 2004 Dodge 1500 crew cab,overall good truck,15,000 miles ,mileage about 12 avg. Have only gotten about 15 hwy. Yeah it's got a Hemi.


Tom

Brian Hale
02-19-2006, 5:18 PM
Frankie, i thought those fords had a 35 gallon tank?

Joe, how big/heavy is your camper and and how often do you drag it places? For a lot of use a diesel is the way to go but for ~1,000 a year it may not be worth the extra $5K-$6k.

I've got 190,000 on my '96 Dodge Cummins 2500 and I'll be buying another one in 2-3 years. We have a Lance 11'9" truck camper and average ~18mpg highway ~15mpg city. Super dependable truck.

Brian :)

John Pollman
02-19-2006, 8:37 PM
I've got a 2003 GMC Sonoma Crew Cab 4x4 and I love it !

I will never buy another pickup without the crew cab. The only thing I don't care for is the mileage. It's got the 4.3L Vortec V-6 which is a great little engine but for a truck that size it just eats a little too much gas. I only average about 14 mpg in the city when I'm not pulling my work trailer around. I did take it to North Carolina this past summer and got about 22 mpg on the highway which isn't bad at all but most of my driving is in the city and pulling my 6x12 cargo trailer or my 17.5' Bass boat. It's a strong little truck that has plenty of power but I'm almost sure that I could get the same mileage with a full size half ton V-8. But when I bought it I just couldn't pass up the deal I got. It's pretty well loaded and the sticker on it was $27,595 I think but I got out the door for only $19,005. I'm sure the cost of a full size crew cab 4x4 with the same equipment would be WELL over $30K. Unfortunately they discontinued the Sonoma after '03 and it was replaced by the Canyon. I don't care much for the Canyon. The interior looks cheap compared to my Sonoma. Even my wife likes the Sonoma. Whenever we travel, we take the truck instead of her '02 Saturn because the truck is much more comfortable.

If you've got the means, go with a 4x4 crew cab. You won't be disappointed !

Just my .02

John

Bill Simmeth
02-19-2006, 9:15 PM
I have a Ford F250 diesel Super Cab (4 door) and highly recommend it. Before this I had a Chevy Silverado crew cab and liked it a lot, but didn't care for the crew cab door configuration. Having true rear doors makes a big difference.

Whatever you do, seriously consider buying an American brand. Too many American pensions and health benefits are at stake. Buy a Japanese brand and the profit dollars go to fund Japanese pensions...

Frankie Hunt
02-19-2006, 11:08 PM
Frankie, i thought those fords had a 35 gallon tank?


I think it's a 29 gallon tank. I can go 600 miles on a tank, but usually get fuel a little after the 500 mark.

My first truck was an 87 f150 with the 300 inline 6 motor. It had dual tanks. I really liked that. I would run one tank down and then switch to the second tank. I would then fill up the first one at my convience and repeat the process.

My second truck, the 94 F150, had the same 300 inline 6 motor. However this one only had one gas tank, and it was small. I could only go about 250 miles and it was time to start thinking about fuel. I hated that. It seemed like I couldnt go anywhere without stopping for gas.

Although I did like that motor, now it would be very hard going back to a little, itsy bitty 4.9 liter motor after experienceing the 6.0 liter power stroke! I now have twice the power and a 50 percent increase in fuel mileage.


Frankie

Bob Johnson2
02-20-2006, 8:17 AM
I've got a Ranger 4wd (4th one), don't even think about one of these half trucks in your situation.

Gas mileage, 17mpg highway, unloaded, downhill, in the summer, with wind.
Back seat not for people, the kids are grown so it works fine for me.
Too small for towing anything over 2 or 3k, even with the 4.0. Bought the tow pkg but the engine is still too small. Needs air shocks.
Roughly the same price as a full size, or at least they were during the rebate wars.
Works great as an around town truck, if you put a cap and or rack on it.

Curt Fuller
02-20-2006, 8:34 AM
If I were going to buy another pickup, it would be another Tundra, no question. But you also have to consider your towing needs if your camper is large. (The Tundra's towing capacity is pretty high, however) The folks who build these things in Indiana do a wonderful job!

Amen! Best vehicle I've ever owned.

Bill Grumbine
02-20-2006, 8:53 AM
Hi Joe

I've been driving extended cab and crew cab trucks for 16 years now. We did the very same thing, made the pickup truck the family vehicle. When the kids were real little, the extended cab was fine. As they got older and bigger, we went to a crew cab with four full doors. I make specific mention of that because it seems some people think that an extended cab with four doors counts as a crew. It doesn't. I had two crews, one an '88 2WD Chevy and the other a '96 4WD Chevy. I would never buy a 2WD truck again. Both had the 8' box, and neither turned tight or got good gas mileage, but you aren't buying it for that, right? :D

Both trucks had great payload capacity, towing capacity, etc, but at least with the newer one, Chevy cheaped out and put the same brakes and clutch on this truck that they put on their half ton trucks, which meant that I spent a ton of money on both. As the kids got older (and we bought a Suburban) we started using the crew cab less and less as a family vehicle, and I went back to the extended cab. We very rarely had to put all three back there, and now with one out the door and one in college, it is rare that even one rides back there now. I still have the 8' box.

One more comment that will probably get me in trouble with some. I do not really care whose pension I am supporting or not supporting. When I spend this kind of money on a vehicle, I want it to work! :mad: There are a lot of things I like about my '03 Silverado, but the thousand plus dollars I have already spent on out of warranty repairs is not one of them. I will always need a full size truck for me, myself, and I, but next time it comes to get a new one, I am going to look real hard at the Japanese trucks - unless the American ones have come back up to par that is. I am tired of design defects that span several years worth of vehicles because GM figures it is cheaper to ignore it than fix it.

Bill

Gary Herrmann
02-20-2006, 2:38 PM
2005 Tundra Double Cab. I don't tow much, so you may need to look at capabilities there.

If you can wait, surf for the 2007 Tundra Double Cab. Supposed to be almost a foot longer with a 5.7 liter commercial truck engine and tranny as well as a bunch of other enhanced features.

Kevin French
02-20-2006, 6:36 PM
'04 Dodge 3500 Quad SWB w/aCTD & a 4.10 rear end. The ONLY thing I would change on this truck would be to get it in a STD Transmission.

40k miles on it with no problems, 19 mpg.

Pulls my 32', 12k+ lb 5th wheel with no problems.

Ken Fitzgerald
02-20-2006, 9:31 PM
Joe......I tow a 9,000 lb trailer with a 1990 F-350 Ford, 4x4, 460 ci V8, 5-speed manual transmission, 4:10 rear end. 11 mpg....loaded, unloaded, it doesn't matter. I bought mine used and even though my youngest son drove it for a work vehicle for a year after I bought it, I have only put 8,000 miles on it. I couldn't justify $35,000 for a new vehicle that I knew wouldn't be used that often. I spent $10,000 instead.

If you want longevity........those Toyotas are hard to beat. I bought a used '86 4-Runner. Drove it for over 16 years. It had 163,000 miles on it when I got rid of it. My wife makes long trips alone, occassionaly to visit grandkids and I began to worry about her well being in that vehicle so ...we traded it and bought a new Honda.

If towing is that important........those 3/4 and 1 ton pickups are hard to beat. They won't get extremely good mileage but there's little they wont' pull or carry?

Good luck with your decision!

Dan Oelke
02-20-2006, 10:14 PM
Joe
I have a 2004 Dodge 1500 crew cab,overall good truck,15,000 miles ,mileage about 12 avg. Have only gotten about 15 hwy. Yeah it's got a Hemi.

Tom

Wow - almost the same here - 2004 Dodge 1500 Quad cab short box w/ Hemi. Just turned 40k miles tonight. Get only about 9-10mpg in cold weather w/ short trips (LOML drives it just 4 miles to work and back). I have seen up to 16-17mpg on longer trips. Probably averages about 12.

Love the truck - but not the gas it drinks.

We have two kids - 9 & 11 and they actually prefer the older more beat up Dodge Caravan we have for long trips over the truck. Even if the truck has nice seats and such, they don't recline and they don't have their own lights in the back seat for evening/nightime reading and game playing. Depending on how much luggage, etc we have, the kids will sometimes split up with one in the way back seat and one in the middle. That helps reduce the bickering some too. However, at 160k miles we don't use the Caravan for pulling the pop-up trailer when we go camping, because I don't trust the transmission to take the load. One of these days that will need a replacement - and I need to figure out what that is.

Eddie Watkins
02-21-2006, 9:52 AM
I have a 2005 GMC 1/2 ton crew cab w/ towing package and 5.3 liter V8. Occasionally I pull a JD 4300 tractor with Frontend Loader and box blade or rotary cutter on an 18' trailer. Total weight of tractor and trailer is around 8000#. With the towing package it pulls fine but I only get around 13 mpg when I'm pulling it. Normally I get a little over 18 mpg. THe truck only has 7100 miles on it and mileage does seem to be improving. I also have a 10' trailer that I use for my lawn mower that weighs about 1200#. With trailer around 2000#. You can't tell you're even pulling it. The bed is only 5.5 ft long but it will haul plywood fine. I wouldn't trade the shorter bed for the inconvenience of the longer bed because I use it 90% of the time like a car and I do have a trailer to haul longer things. If I were going to pull the tractor much I would probably go to the 3/4 ton and possibly a larger engine though the engine doesn't seem to be underpowered with the tow package rear gearing. The way I use my truck, it works for me.

Scott Parks
02-21-2006, 11:54 AM
04 F150 Lariat Supercrew. Love it. Pro's: smooth, super quiet, powerfull, comfortable. Great for light towing and long drives. Cons: 14.5 mpg.

Had an 01 supercrew before, and loved it. Better gas mileage @ 16mpg.

Brad Schmid
02-21-2006, 12:45 PM
Currently, I have a 2002 F150 FX4 Supercrew with the 5.4L, auto, and towing package that I tow a 3800lb popup with. It does a great job towing, and I can load the bed with all the gear, 2 kids and dog in the back seat. Only thing I don't like is the 10-12 mpg I get when loaded (only about 14.5mpg normal).
http://bradschmid.tripod.com//sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/camper2.jpg

Before that, I had a 1990 F250HD 4x4 standard cab (302ci w/ 5sp manual) that I towed a 7000lb cabin cruiser with and it did a good job (gas mileage was about 8mpg).

Before that, a 1992 F250 4x4 diesel extended cab, and before that a 1979 F150 4x4 standard cab w/300-6.

Now that I've had the Supercrew, I love it. Will probably never go back to a standard or extended cab. I liked the diesel when I had it, but don't really need it under the current conditions. But, if/when we decide to get a 5th wheel RV, I will definitely go back to a F250 or 350 diesel, no question.

good luck

Hal Flynt
02-21-2006, 1:08 PM
I have a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad cab (not the new bigger one) short bed, 4x4 with the tow package.

What do I like? Power, yea it's a Hemi. Mileage is abot 16-17 at 70mph. Room for 6 adults on short trips. The larger cab may be better for longer ones.

Handling is awesome for a truck. I drove a Bonneville SSEi prior and this thing handles more like a car than truck.

I can carry full sheets of Plywood etc. with the tailgate down. I also have the fold out floor pan in the back which I use for everything small enough to fit in there.

I would do it again.

Dennis McDonaugh
02-22-2006, 6:36 PM
2003 Dodge 3500 SRW long bed with Cummins diesel. Great for towing our 12,000 lb 5th wheel and refined enough to be my every day driver. Likes-- plenty of power, good reliability, great gas mileage and better turning radius than similar Fords or Chevys. Dislikes--it rides rough empty and there is quite a bit of road noise at highway speeds. Air conditioning could use some improvement too, it barely keeps up here in south Texas.

Rick Reinsma
02-22-2006, 8:21 PM
Hey Joe
I work at the GM Truck plant in Oshawa Ontario . We are coming out with the completely new model in October .Should be coming out for public viewing in August. It will get better gas mileage then the 2006 model ,powered tailgate, looks like a cross between the Avalanche and Toyota Tundra, maybe you'll like it at least you will have the latest technology....Good luck

George Morris
02-22-2006, 11:07 PM
I am driving a 2005 chev. avalanche have 12000 miles on it 10 months old . Really love the ride and comfort in cab area seats 5 , Can hold 8 ' material 4 wheelers and small mower tractors in bed. ride is better then when we drove a suburban , gas is about 18 miles per on open road . George...

Chris Lee
02-23-2006, 8:32 AM
I have a 2004 Nissan Titan. Has the biggest back seat in it's class and it should be able to tow your trailer. I believe they come rated for 9000 lbs or so. The only thing I dont like is the bed is only 5 1/2 feet long. It fine 99% of the time though. After selling Ford Trucks for 3 years my family and myself were a little suprised to see me buy a Nissan, but after driving Chevy, Dodge, Ford and Nissan it was an easy decision.

Good Luck,

Chris

Chris Padilla
02-25-2006, 3:45 AM
I have a 2006 Double-Cab Tacoma Long-Bed on order...should get it in mid-March.

I've been toting around it the most reliable vehcile I have ever owned: my 1990 Toyota PickUp. I finally decide to treat myself to a new truck and I hope this one is as trouble-free and reliable as the '90 was/is!

Jim Becker
02-25-2006, 11:13 AM
I have a 2006 Double-Cab Tacoma Long-Bed on order...should get it in mid-March.

Gee...took you long enough! I thought you'd have that puppy last year sometime!!! :)