What do you love/hate about your tow vehicle?

[Simplewon]

Originally Posted by kjpapa

2001 Chevy 2500HD
8.1 liter gasoline
Allison, 4.10
Tow: Columbus 320RS

Love: This truck is made to pull, pull, pull; and stop, stop, stop. It is not a daily driver, but you could plow a field with it if you could afford the fuel. Smooth engine braking downhill and in city traffic. Outstanding brakes overall. I had to do the the first brake job at 145,000 mi.(original brakes).

Hate: Low fuel mileage coupled with small fuel tank requires careful trip planning. Also GM has discontinued this motor and it is no longer offered in pickups or ClassA motorhomes.

I bet you do love that truck. Wish mine had that engine. Easliy upgraded to mega hp if needed but no need.

Love my truck also even though it's just the 6.0 but he low gears makes light work of it.

As far as those warping the brake rotors. This is typically done driving hot brakes into an automatic car wash. Just know if you dunk the rotors while they are hot in a deep puddle or a car wash it's going to warp them.

When are the brakes hot? Any time you have been driving. Ceramic pads will also super heat the rotors and brake system. There are a lot of alternatives to the ceramic. Premium Napa r great.

[RoadKill]

Have you considered replacing the stock BU lamps with high brightness LED's?

[PSU Turf]

2015 GMC 2500HD Duramax.

Can't think of anything I dislike about the truck.

Love the power. Braking with the trailer attached is incredible.

I could do without the monthly payment but my wife said we had to get a new truck. I wasn't going to argue with her.

[bob caldwell]

Can I borrow her?....lol

[CaptnJohn]

2016 F250 and 2016 F350.Both pull a 12,500# 5er like a dream. The 250 XLT and 350 both have the same problem ~~ small fuel tank. The only problem with the 350 is the Lariat Ultimate FX4 comes with Ranchero shocks~~~ blew out 2 and all 4 Ford is replacing tomorrow.

[dcheatwood]

Low payload and small fuel tank. Tank size has been increased on newer models by 10 gallons but no change in payload since 2007.
Range for door remote is about 10 feet. That has been improved on later models also. Mine sucks. I have a 2008 Tundra.

[spock123]

The only thing I hate about my 12 Silverado 3500 is the warranty is running out in four months. Wish DW would tell me to trade, fat chance on that.


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[Jesse]

[f5moab]

Liked my last three trucks.
But traded in the '13 Silverado LTZ CC for a '15 Silverado LTZ CC cause I hated the IP and wanted something more up to date. Also liked the MY LINK system in the '15.

Traded the '15 for a '16 GMC SLT CC cause I wanted a different color (all previous ones were white).

Like the GMC cause it came with factory LED headlamps, fog lamps, tail lamps; however, I did replace the rear backup, cargo with CREE LED bulbs and center mounted lamp with a PUTCO plasma LED (did this in both the 15 and 16. (To the original poster, these back up lamps make a heck of a difference when backing up and the cargo lamps in a campground light it up like daylight. Got them from an online place called Autoanything.com. They were not cheap, costing over 150 bucks, but they light it up.)

But no real complaints about any of the trucks. Comfortable to drive, pull my 3500 lbs popup quite well, fuel mileage is ok with or without the trailer (however, the 16 gets about 3 mpg per more, but it has an 8-speed; the others had 6-speeds). And I have no complaints at all about the 8-speed.

All were short beds, all had hard cover fiberglass tonneau covers installed (15 had an ARE..I hate it; 15/16 had/have Leer 700s...love 'em.

I will say that the only thing I did not like on the 16 is it came with line-x (or something similar in the bed) and it's ok, but prefer Bedrug and might just put a bedrug in the 16 next year.

I seriously looked at a F150, but my pricing on the 16 GMC kept me in the GM family.

And all were and/or paid for. Have not had a vehicle payment in more years than I can remember.

[lugoismad]

2013 Silverado with the W/T package. 4.3 liter v6.

Pros -

Engine is indestructible and has been around forever.
Same for the tranny. 4L60E is bullet proof.
I love the interior. No frills. I can clean dog hair and kid puke out of it easy.

Cons -
loves 55mph with the trailer. Any faster than that, and I'm way high in the RPMs.

[jgourlie]

I have a 2000 chev 2500LD extended cab 2wd.

Just typing that tells me everything's wrong with this truck, but for me it's what I love about it. The truck has 65000 miles on it and it's 16 years old, still has new car smell.
Everybody around here wants a crew cab 4x4 so I was actually able to trade a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee straight across for this truck. Love that!

I love it has no tpms, love that it has no traction control, this thing barely has a computer in it, it's so old, all plus'es

Hate that it only has 300 horsepower, all the new one's are pushing 400hp. It complains going up hills fully loaded. Hate that the 1% of the time I need a 4x4 I don't have one.

I'm really struggling to come up with more negatives, but I can't so I must really like this truck!

[SKnight]

2001 Ram 2500 4WD. HO Cummins, six speed manual. Banks Powerpak equipped.

Pros-Its paid for. Pulls Bub with ease at 11.75 mpg, she's a pretty good driver, comfortable for long hauls. It's a truck, rides a little rough, loud, a bit rough around the edges which is just how I want it.

Cons-Fell victim to the Dodge dash falling in. At 34 gallons the tank seems small and the aftermarket doesn't have a larger under bed offering that I've found. The manual trans does get old in traffic, I've threatened to convert over to an Allison for a few years now.

[ronheater70]

Wow this has been informative! Seems most of us enjoy our vehicles with few if any complaints, and those with complaints seem pretty minor.

[Semperfi24]

Kanga99, I agree with your thoughts. I never anticipated Ford replacing them, I figured I'd have to pay because its a wear and tear thing. Maybe my dealer is just awesome? So far, anytime I have had an issue with brakes, they inspected the brakes, found issues with the rotors, and replaced the rotors at no charge.

[2Evil4U]

This is the first truck we've done serious towing with. So far, it's been more than adequate.

Loves: It's a Dodge. (Only brand I've bought new since 1996.) Generally reliable.

Only had two failures so far in about 52k miles. The touch screen radio was replaced in the first week and I replaced the SatNav antenna myself for $60.

My wife loves it. (Good thing as it's her DD.)

Plenty of capacity for the flat land towing that we do down here. Our trailer is over 9k loaded so we're close to the max on the truck.

The brakes have been great.

The 8sp trans is especially good in tow/haul mode and no matter how I abuse it the temps stay at 190F.

Lots of customizable dash instrumentation available for various temps and brake settings.

The factory trailer brake is at least as good as my old Tekonsha P3 in my opinion.

The 2wd/Fulltime4/4hi/4lo system is excellent.

The OEM exhaust is just loud enough to not make me want to change it.

Nits to Pick. (I won't call them hates as none of them is any sort of a deal breaker.)
The 8spd trans is kinda clunky and can get confused when not towing and modulating between off and on throttle. It's probably the same ZF Justice12t mentioned.

When towing hard, the engine oil temp does get pretty high. That is currently what I use to set my tow speed, especially climbing hills. Running the truck at 4000+ rpm is no problem from a power standpoint, but I definitely watch the oil temps. I'm considering adding an additional oil cooler. (Our next trailer will be much larger than this so our next TV will be a big diesel.)

The location of the oil filter is stupid. It is directly over the steering rack/crossmember. There is no way to not make a terrible mess when changing the oil.

The design of the headlight attachment is silly. You need a 12+" extension to reach one of the captured bolts to pull the assembly to change lamps.

The fog light assemblies use two types of plastic that are not happy touching each other. They wear and the foglights start flopping around. I was able to "fix" that with a couple tie wraps.

The OEM shocks were junk after 35000 miles. New Bilsteins made it much more stable. (The top of the rear shock mounting designer should be fired. Unnecessarily stupid.)

The cupholders in the center console are inadequate.

That seems like a lot of nits, but they are truly minor. It's been a great truck and I expect it to continue.

[ronheater70]

Originally Posted by Semperfi24

Kanga99, I agree with your thoughts. I never anticipated Ford replacing them, I figured I'd have to pay because its a wear and tear thing. Maybe my dealer is just awesome? So far, anytime I have had an issue with brakes, they inspected the brakes, found issues with the rotors, and replaced the rotors at no charge.

Our f150 went in at 24,000 miles for warped rotors. I had been feeling them lightly for about 2000 miles at that point. Ford resurfaced rotors at no extra cost. Went in again at 34,000 miles same issue, at this point the only thing pulled with the truck was a twice pulling a trailer with wood in it.. probably 3,000 poundish..The Second time, the local ford dealer said they would not resurface the rotors because the pads had warn and got the rotors hot.. to which I said it was just inspected 1 week prior and the pads passed inspection.
I went to a different dealer and (the purchasing dealer) and they were great and got the rotros taken care off and now with nearing 50K I dont feel anything. if anything I think the trailer helps it by braking on its own. They will be replaced with slotted rotors of some sort the next time though!

[martin73]

you think mayby those warped rotors are saying we are too light for hauling your rig?

[SidecarFlip]

Love:
No payment..... (Best plus actually)
Plenty of power (full Banks kit and modified ((by Ford SVO)) transmission)
Roomy cab
Very capable off road (goes anywhere I want to / need to go camping)
Gets good mileage on the road (typically 18.5 on road)
Has very capable off road gearing
Good overall visibility (it's 6 over stock on 33 x12.5's)

Dislike:
Rides like a tank when empty...
Hard to get in and out of (the older we get the less we like climbing in and out)
Pretty hard on tires (typical diesel, heavy truck)
Wide turning radius (long bed 4 door, the truck is almost 20 feet long, bumper to bumper)

1997 Ford F350 OBS XLT
4x4 Crew Cab Long bed
7.3 Banks modded diesel, Ford modded transmission, 2 Hayden trans coolers
Lockers front (ARB) rear (Detroit Tru-Trak)
6 over stock with filpped shackles and MT off road 10 ply tires (with bolt in stems, no rubber for me), Firestone air ride out back...

Never been in the snow since new, no corrosion anywhere... Sleeps in the barn every winter (sleeping now).

You can have your new trucks, payment books and emissions mandates and error codes... I'll keep my no emissions, mechainically injected no payment, not new but pristine 1997 go anywhere beast.

Everyone that sees it, wants to buy it. Not for sale...lol

[ronheater70]

Originally Posted by martin73

you think mayby those warped rotors are saying we are too light for hauling your rig?

I have owned many fords over the years, every thing from an escort to a V-10 4x4 Excursion.. I think the rotors in general are junk on their heavier vehicles.
I have had full size chevy vans and never had warped rotor issues, only on the heavier ford trucks.. So yes I agree they could be a little light for the truck and that was one of my arguments to the dealer, that at that point I hadn't really towed anything and they were warping, and how is a truck with a near 10K tow capacity going to handle a real load if they warp in daily driving.
So, in short, they were fixed, I have had no problems after the second time, however I do plan to put better aftermarket rotors on when I swap out the pads in the near future.

DISCLAIMER: I do spend a lot of the times travelling up and down the mountains going back home into WV.. I do gear down though so that helps.

[aceinspp]

2015 Chevy 2500 6.0 4:10 gear. Love the truck. Ride and how quiet it is is unbelievable. Tows like a champ. Always had Chevy dulleys till now and the only reason I do not have one now is it's a lot easier to park the 3/4 when traveling and doing some shopping or sight seeing. Got big enough fuel tank also.

Only down side is I should have bought the double cab with long box instead of CC and shot box. Later RJD