Ford F150 or Toyota Tundra or ???

[Chester]

The days of Toyota being more reliable than the rest are gone. Just about everyone has caught up or gotten close.
Engine wise the Ford Ecoboost motors are very popular for a reason. An F150 with the 2.7 EB has plenty capacity for your boat and will get significantly better fuel mileage than the reliable but dated Toyota engine.

[SnowTexan]

I have an ‘18 expedition with the ecoboost. Zero problems with power, 4x4 is adequate for ramps so far and driving in unplowed mountain snow. Having the covered rear seats is nice for keeping kids from having to ride to town in the bed like it’s 1972 and as an added bonus it rides better than any truck i’ve been in. If i was looking for a truck truck right now i’d probably go diesel. Tundra vs F150 though, I dont think you can go wrong these days. Most modern trucks are pretty damn reliable. Fords feel comfortable to me, i can drive a long time with little fatigue and theres plenty of space to store all the things i haul around. When Not towing i find mileage acceptable for a full size SUV (low 20’s if you drive conservatively). The layout of the manual shifting controls is absolutely terrible. You have to fumble with it on the center console and it is not intuitive. This is not a problem for soccer mom suv drivers. It’s bordeline idiocy for people who drive mountains, tow heavy loads, or otherwise need/want control over shifting. I hate not being able to rock a 4wheel drive if stuck (electric dash mounted shifting knob : no thank you), but thats become pretty standard for any automatic transmission. I know I dont have an f150 but the expedition is pretty similar. The preset driving modes are actually pretty good, tow hooks are in the right places, visibility is ok once you learn the vehicle. I put things like wet dogs, muddy kids, dead deer, and stinky canvas tarps with fish on them in my luxury SUV and keep it about as clean and maintained as a person who does these things could be expected. By that i mean if it wasnt reliable I probably would have killed it by now. That said, best vehicle I ever had was a slightly lifted 2wd tacoma. Good luck

[Karl Konecny]

Thanks for all the responses! I will test drive both trucks. On the ford, I hear a lot about the eco-boost 6 cylinder with turbo. Does anyone have experience towing with that engine?

[DayBreak]

Karl,

I can only speak from driving a friends F-150 ecoboost from Oregon to Bellingham, Wa. With 4 people and all our gear we averaged 21 mpg and the 36 gallon fuel tank gives you great driving range. The engine has the sound, feel and performance of a much larger V-8 engine but with better fuel economy.

Hopefully Colby towing C-Traveler (25 Cruiser) will chime in for towing performance on his new F-150 with the ecoboost.

[westward]

I have owned both, though of course not all engine versions of the F-150.

Toyota for basic build quality and durability of systems (switches, electric motors, locks, etc.). And the Toyota 4.7/5.7 is a gem of an engine. The Tundra is a major gas hog, both towing and non-towing.

Ford for fuel economy, tow capacity, modern technology, engine choices, and ability to scale up interior comfort if that's an important consideration. The F-150 is Ford's flagship vehicle and they try to put their best effort into its success.

I believe 200K miles is very realistic for either with regular maintenance, and closer to 350K for the Tundra. The Ford might be more prone to repair d/t their increased use of technology but still pretty reliable.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

[little wing]

Try a Silverado with trailer tire pressure/temperature sensors and a boat mounted camera, both shown on the vehicle's display. Add to that the in-dash trailer brake controller and you're living fat city.

[T.R. Bauer]

The Chevy 1500 is a good truck and a good value, but the 5.3 is underpowered compared to the competition. And to get the 6.2, which is gem, you have to spend a small fortune. But you do get hand made leather seats with gold inlays crafted by someone with an accent! Also, and this is personal opinion, the new ones are really ugly. It's like they were trying to be really ugly. BTW, not buying that Toyota is superior engineered to the Chevy or the Ford trucks for even a second as all of them with go 250,000 miles and probably much further with a responsible and conscientious driver.

[Chester]

[PaulNBriannaLynn]

[quote="T.R. Bauer"]The Chevy 1500 is a good truck and a good value, but the 5.3 is underpowered compared to the competition. And to get the 6.2, which is gem, you have to spend a small fortune. But you do get hand made leather seats with gold inlays crafted by someone with an accent! Also, and this is personal opinion, the new ones are really ugly. It's like they were trying to be really ugly. BTW, not buying that Toyota is superior engineered to the Chevy or the Ford trucks for even a second as all of them with go 250,000 miles and probably much further with a responsible and conscientious driver.[/quo

We're towing our 22 cruiser with a 2016 GMC Sierra 1500 these days. The 355 horses seems more than enough for us. One nice thing about that engine is it shuts down half to run on 4 cylinders when going down the highway. That gets us 19 - 20 mpg usually on trips. Its also a very comfortable truck for long trips. I needed a windshield washer pump last summer, I went to NAPA and the new pump was 15 bucks. Try that with an import and get back to me.

Ill preface this by saying I'm a big Toyota fan, and have had and loved a corolla wagon, as well as a couple land cruisers. But Toyota has not kept up with the pack on MPG with the Tundra. That iForce v8 was awesome when it came out in 2007, and they made it bigger in 2019, but it didn't improve mileage. It's still a really nice truck, and I seriously considered a used one, but the low MPG was a big turnoff compared to its competitors.

Anyway its a lot like modern outboard motors these days. They are building them well enough now you probably cant go wrong with any of them. Its more a matter of which flavor you prefer.

[little wing]

[hardee]

Not a truck, but should have been:
My 84 Toyota Tercel 4WD Wagon. 860,000 miles and still going when I sold it.

Harvey
SleepyC

[T.R. Bauer]

Wow - that's a great Tercel! A friend of mine works in Anchorage and his driven his Silverado to work and back each day for nearly 20 years. The last time we talked about it, his truck was at 600,000 or so miles and the only major thing he has replaced is the transmission. The truck still looks great and he would drive it anywhere. I'm not really impressed much with making 200,000 or 300,000 miles as just about anything will do that these days, but when you crack 500,000 it is a wow statement for sure!

[dotnmarty]

[hardee]

[MikeR]

Lots of great points made here. Earlier in life always considered myself a Chevy guy, but in the last 10 years have had a couple of Fords and Toyotas....

2003 F250 w/ V10 - purchased w/ 210,000 miles from a buddy- never any engine problems and it was very reliable.

2007 F250 diesel- inherited from dad w/ only 70,000 miles- perhaps most unreliable vehicle I’ve ever owned but then again it was the infamous 6.0 L so I quickly traded that in. Both F250s had a plethora of annoying little electrical issues and both felt “cheap” compared to previous Chevys and other vehicles I owned, though both were about 10 years old at the times I owned them. Swore never to own another Ford thanks solely to the 6.0 experience.

2012 Toyota RAV4- purchased new from a Toyota dealer- maybe worst car and worst dealership experience, long story but that car was probably a lemon and I swore never to own another Toyota again as a result. BUT...

That 2007 F250, traded it in on a 2019 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off Road (from a different Toyota dealership!), so far LOVING it, keep saying will be the last truck I ever buy. But it was not bought as a tow vehicle, it’s more like my version of a Sunday-driver sports car. Ear-to-ear smile every time I drive it. It’s no Tundra but a buddy has a Tundra and and has towed some big heavy loads, says power is fantastic.

Regarding the GM 5.3L - my 2003 GMC Sierra 1500 4wd 2-door w/5.3 drove like a muscle car, towed a 21’ Trophy with ease, and when not towing had to try not to burn rubber at every light- fun truck and “underpowered” is the last description that would have come to mind. But then again that was in 2003.

So as to which truck to buy- maybe flip a coin? And then get the 4wd version for sure!

-Mike