OLD TRUCKS VS NEW TRUCKS

[wander2039]

I’m only 44 but old enough to remember square bodies new. They weren’t grand back then but better than what we had before. GPA bought a brand new 85 with the v6 that thing rattled. Similar to today all the trucks today are pretty darn good, most vehicles are. I’d trade our Dakota for something newer if I used it more often. Transmission and ride… terrible. The 05 Chevy Express with the 6.0L/4l80e is still ok but wouldn’t mind the 6.6 and newer transmission, old one have to downshift manually. Sometimes is good to go back for a bit but be glad you can come back and forward.

 

[GMBoy]

Wow I did not expect the thread to go so far and deep lol.

 

[LDB]

60's and 70's trucks are even better for just a great truck.

 

[ls1mike]

One thing to consider is time. That 1989, is or could easily be doing the job, after 36 years of being on the road.

I agree that the newer trucks, (as you know I had one for personal use), do the job better. They have more power, better cooling systems, bigger brakes, and so on. I am impressed with the newer style intake "internal snorkel" setup.

But the truth is, that people were doing the exact same thing in their pickups 30 years ago....hauling big trailers, hauling construction equipment. Some of those gmt400 truck still do it today. I see it regularly in Charlotte. Many Gmt800s, and many newer 6.6 gmt whatever they are now.

The older trucks were victim to emission regulations and were very underpowered because of this. The legendary GM 454, was severely affected by these new restrictions on emissions, and of course, manufactured did not know how to keep the power up, and the emissions down. I think they have it dialed in now.

I agree the 2006.5 is probably the Pinnacle of the trucks, coupling near perfect drivetrains, great material selection, and proud manufacturing.

Who is to say whether these new 6.6 truck will be on the road in 30 years, and i am sorry to say, of thing continue how they are going, we will likely not be able to see.

One thing that I think is the achilles heel of these new trucks is the electrical/electronic systems. Wire sizes are to an absolute minimum, for cost and efficiency. Sure the sensor goes out here and there, or a connector breaks, but the whole harness? One of my friend has a land scaping business. not to long ago, he got stuck in some mud on a site, the rear axle was sunk. Some back and forth, someone finally helped him out. On the rear axle is a wiring harness, part of the system that tells your brake pad wear percentage. In pulling through the mud that harness got torn out. Not sure of the extent on how much had to be replaced per dealer, but it was to the tune of 2700$ to fix. All for a system that really adds no real value to a truck.

Real truck people dont need a sensor for brake pad wear.

Point is, there is a bunch of stuff we dont need on these new things.

Would you agree?

I don't disagree with not needing all the extra tech, I don't care for it but Skynet is here. The other stuff is matter of opinion and I'll just agree to disagree.

 

[cptbarkey]

My neighbors 2019 ram got totalled from a hail storm. He lives about 100yd from me. My 25 year old dodge got a few new dents and a new windshield, it was already cracked from rock hits.
Not a fan of new trucks.

Today I hauled a wood chipper in my Ram, if the guy in the telehandler had dinged my truck I would have giggled. I wouldnt have turned purple with rage and speed dialing the insurance company.

Later I loaded 2500(?) lbs of limestone with the tractor and dumped it straight into the bed and didnt blink an eye.

Today's brand new trucks are not trucks, they are man jewelry.

 

[burbguy82]

I don't disagree with not needing all the extra tech, I don't care for it but Skynet is here. The other stuff is matter of opinion and I'll just agree to disagree.

Really, to your point, the newer stuff has some juice. My opinion would be totally reverse if you could just get a truck, that is a truck, not a symphony on wheels. That is where I draw the line between "better and not better".

Really, time will tell.

In the movies Skynet loses. HAHA

 

[Dinoburner]

Had a 6.2 with 6 sp auto from a 2011 camaro installed in the 77 in my sig. Best of both worlds hopefully.

 

[4WD]

Exactly what happened when my paid for 2017 was totaled. Well sort of. Picked the truck up Pre "C" as you say and got a check for more than I paid for it.

The 6.6L/Allison like your’s have come back down to earth again in the Houston market - Duramax not so much. I owned LT models from 1979 to 2018 and don’t dream of having any of them back.
OTOH - if I decide to buy another RV - see first line in my reply …

 

[Torrid]

Just an observation. My son has a 1985 C10 pickup. Pretty nice truck has factory AC, power windows/locks, Silverado trim level etc. Has the 350/TH400 combo and not a power house but gets the job done. Here is where I made a dramatic realization- went with him to get a round bale for my horses and first thing I notice is the truck rides decent (it is a 2WD) and the hood slants downwards making visability MUCH MUCH better then newer trucks with the huge hoods etc. I was like hey I love my RAM and Sierra Denali but this old '85 C10 does everything they do with better visability and almost as much comfort- just less bells, whistles and power. I could see everything on the road and parking was easy - guess that is why my RAM has front and rear park aids because you can't see anything!

They have weird visibility requirements in addition to crash standards that force modern trucks to be bigger and more unwieldy. I would also agree older trucks feel more useable. Those trucks just can't be made this way anymore.

 

[Torrid]

Kumbaya against todays $50,000plus pickups that ride better, have more power, payload and towing capacity and get 25mpg on the highway, and have much more creature comforts than those 40plus years ago that rode like a buck board, didn't have the payload, towing capacity, powerful motor of today's trucks and did not get decent highway mileage.
Nothing like nostalgia!

I still want to see a V8 truck that actually pulls off 25mpg. I did 21 at best in my 2017 5.0 F150 and was closer to 17mpg most of the time. Sure, it was great hauling a lot, but was useless as a highway commuter getting 17mpg at 75mph. If it got 25mpg I probably would still be driving it.

 

[4WD]

They have weird visibility requirements in addition to crash standards that force modern trucks to be bigger and more unwieldy. I would also agree older trucks feel more useable. Those trucks just can't be made this way anymore.

Indeed - crash testing against fixed objects has driven up the costs of all vehicles - but those with payload requirements are difficult to design and build safely - the physics being way different when compared to vehicle on vehicle impacts … Or light vehicles hitting a fixed object …
Many grades of steel plus aluminum in today’s LT.

 

[Torrid]

Today I hauled a wood chipper in my Ram, if the guy in the telehandler had dinged my truck I would have giggled. I wouldnt have turned purple with rage and speed dialing the insurance company.

Later I loaded 2500(?) lbs of limestone with the tractor and dumped it straight into the bed and didnt blink an eye.

Today's brand new trucks are not trucks, they are man jewelry.

View attachment 238173

Modern trucks can still do this, but very few do. I'm guilty of this. I rarely used my 2017 F150 as a truck. I didn't actually need it. It's why I don't have it anymore. I did like it while I had it though.

 

[CKN]

I still want to see a V8 truck that actually pulls off 25mpg. I did 21 at best in my 2017 5.0 F150 and was closer to 17mpg most of the time. Sure, it was great hauling a lot, but was useless as a highway commuter getting 17mpg at 75mph. If it got 25mpg I probably would still be driving it.

I got 25mpg highway mpg with two different trucks. A 2020 F150 w/the 3.5 and a Silverado 5.3 w/the ten speed. Here is the rub-no speed greater than 65mph.
Also-a quick google search shows that was a 6 speed in your truck. Both trucks I mentioned above are 10 speeds. Also-your 2017 did not have cylinder deactivation.
Trucks have come a long way since 2017.

 

[wpod]

I bought a brand new 79 Ford F150 with the 6 cyl and a three on the tree. It was a most pleasant vehicle to drive.

 

[Torrid]

I got 25mpg highway mpg with two different trucks. A 2020 F150 w/the 3.5 and a Silverado 5.3 w/the ten speed. Here is the rub-no speed greater than 65mph.
Also-a quick google search shows that was a 6 speed in your truck. Both trucks I mentioned above are 10 speeds. Also-your 2017 did not have cylinder deactivation.
Trucks have come a long way since 2017.

Cylinder deactivation has been a huge problem for reliability though. The weird compromises have made all vehicles less reliable. My GTI gets 35mpg+ without any of this trickery. I have many friends that have had cylinder deactivation cylinder 6 lifter failures in Chevrolet trucks. I had a 5.0 6 speed truck which was probably the last really reliable long term truck Ford has made. I got 21mpg at 60mph consistently though. I think it would have lasted me long term 200k miles, but it would have cost me a lot in fuel.

if I needed a truck I'd still be driving it. It was far from efficient though. I think it was the last of the solid, reliable ICE trucks though.

 

[CKN]

Cylinder deactivation has been a huge problem for reliability though. The weird compromises have made all vehicles less reliable. My GTI gets 35mpg+ without any of this trickery. I have many friends that have had cylinder deactivation cylinder 6 lifter failures in Chevrolet trucks. I had a 5.0 6 speed truck which was probably the last really reliable long term truck Ford has made. I got 21mpg at 60mph consistently though. I think it would have lasted me long term 200k miles, but it would have cost me a lot in fuel.

if I needed a truck I'd still be driving it. It was far from efficient though. I think it was the last of the solid, reliable ICE trucks though.

Go over on goodcarbadcar.net and see how many half ton pickups were sold by Chevrolet/GMC combined. Yea-there are issues-but comparted to number sold....
I am not worried-I got a certified used-100,000 mile powertrain warranty-if I keep it that long which - I haven't kept any vehicle to 100,000 miles.
I was challenged on real world highway mpg-but somebody who is clearly not familiar with todays trucks.

 

[Torrid]

Go over on goodcarbadcar.net and see how many half ton pickups were sold by Chevrolet/GMC combined. Yea-there are issues-but comparted to number sold....
I am not worried-I got a certified used-100,000 mile powertrain warranty-if I keep it that long which - I haven't kept any vehicle to 100,000 miles.
I was challenged on real world highway mpg-but somebody who is clearly not familiar with todays trucks.
View attachment 238210

I get that, but literally every person I know with cylinder deactivation have had this cylinder 6 lifter failure by 60k miles. That's 4 people in my small circle. One decided to tune it out and disable the mechanical side of the cylinder deactivation after it was repaired and has tuned his truck to 430whp since then. The problem has not reoccurred removing the system and he's now over 100k miles. I believe in GM LS reliability because of their simplicity and have had a few. Giving up reliability for efficiency seems to be a weak trade off when GM is so bad at this. They don't exactly have a choice these days though. I was a huge GM guy for many years though. My last was a 2004 GTO. The fuel economy sucked, but it was a wonderful car. It was my daily until 113k miles. I loved every mile with it.

Modern must mean something less than 5 years old. Sure sounds like a lack of staying power and literal junk on 4 wheels. Take it personally though. They've got you on new truck purchases, hook, line, and sinker. Junk just to match emissions instead of actually making efficient vehicles.

I didn't know 2017 was out of date. The disposable nature of the modern market I'm sure. EVs don't last 5 years though.

For reference my 35+ mpg GTI that makes 300+whp is a 2018. No weird cylinder deactivation or 10 speeds to get there either. I don't even have the 7 speed. I don't have a problem with inefficient trucks though, it just wasn't the right vehicle for my use anymore. Making them less reliable for better efficiency is a horrible joke though. If I needed a truck these days I'd take a bit of a pause buying one with these weird emissions systems. I'd probably land on a 3.5 turbo Ford though if it had to be new. It seems like they've managed to flush this out though somewhat. The Chevrolet is probably more efficient while being less reliable. It sure wouldn't be a Chevrolet for me for that reason. If I actually needed a truck for towing even I wouldn't select an EV. These modern trucks just suck though.

 

[CKN]

I bought a brand new 79 Ford F150 with the 6 cyl and a three on the tree. It was a most pleasant vehicle to drive.

Unless you are in rush hour in a big city. Loads of fun then.....

 

[SC Maintenance]

Today I hauled a wood chipper in my Ram, if the guy in the telehandler had dinged my truck I would have giggled. I wouldnt have turned purple with rage and speed dialing the insurance company.

Later I loaded 2500(?) lbs of limestone with the tractor and dumped it straight into the bed and didnt blink an eye.

Today's brand new trucks are not trucks, they are man jewelry.

View attachment 238173

My dad did something like this back in the day. The tailgate came open and it put a big bend in it - wouldn't shut. My dad got out a big hammer and beat it back into submission. Then we got in and left.

Back when trucks were trucks.

 

[Just Dropped In]

As the owner of an old truck (92 Chevy), I do find myself looking for a newer truck. Still prefer regular cab w/6ft bed, so options are not good. Also, it seems newer trucks are having a lot of drivetrain issues that concern me (numerous brands). Having to fork out 35-40 grand doesn't help either.