THSCC Forums

Sally and I want to upgrade to a crew cab truck (probably new). I'm attracted to the Titan because of the wonderful engine and the availalbe side air bags, on the other hand, I seem to see a lot of bad reports on the reliability (brakes and diff).

I also see that both those issues appear to be addressed in '06 (thicker/bigger rotors, and a nicer rear diff cover - cooler running, more fluid capacity).

Any current or former owners (Armada included) want to comment?

Sally and I have been very happy with our Tundra, and would gladly just get the crew cab version, but I want to consider other options.


Also looking for comments from folks that have downsized truck beds (most light duty crew cabs are 5.5 ft vs 6.5 foot). Do you notice the limitations of the smaller size?

Sell me on another brand if you want. I've pretty much written off Ford for a variety of reasons, but think that the GM 1500HD models might be a good choice, and honestly haven't looked into the Ram (they are kind of ugly, so it's a tough sell with Sally).


Our use is mostly towing 8-10 weekends/year, so this is primarily a daily driver that sees about 12K miles per year (no point in trying to sell us a F250/2500 series for what we do). Our trailer weight is about 5000 lbs.

Comments?

Scott

No help with the trucks except to say that I cross-shopped the Armada, Durango, Tahoe, Suburban/Yukon, and Expedition.

Value wise the American brands were hard to beat, with the Dodge topping them all. Armadas commanded the biggest premim used.

As far as I could tell, no major problems with any of them for reliabilty/towing. I decided to go with low miles and plenty of warranty to cover potential reliability issues. Got the Durango w/ 66k left on the 70k powertrain warranty, for about the same price as an Armada with only 10k left on 3/36 warranty. 10k miles later in the Durango I can honestly say that I'm a Dodge fan. No complaints at all.

On a related note, one question I'm honestly wondering about -- why a truck and not an SUV? Personally, I vastly prefer an SUV. The biggest argument I can find is "because I have to haul dirty stuff once in a while". That's what I have a utlity trailer for -- for the 10 times a year I need to haul something big or dirty. The rest of the time, the ability to lock my stuff up, have a big "wagon" for hauling, etc trumps the need for a bed.

Just curious about your opinion, I half-expected you as new parents to go the SUV route...

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Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

That about sums it up. We don't have storage space for a trailer at home, so suddenly "let's get some mulch today" turns into, "well, if we want to get much we have to go the storage place and get the trailer," (it's stored cheaply, not convienently) blah, blah, blah.

Lots of things would make an SUV more feasible, but they all add to my honey-do list. If I had a tire rack and box on the trailer, etc. I know I've hauled my waste oil to the store in the back of the celica, but I really prefer to do it in the Tundra.

Not to mention that extra sheet metal for the roof costs about $10,000-12,000 over the truck versions.

Still, it's worth considering the SUV option.

You may want to PM Phil Wehman, I don't know if he regularly reads this forum anymore. He has had the Armada for a couple of years and tows the Caterham with it so he may have a history.

Scott, the new avalanche is good looking. i hear they are very multi task friendly. gas mileage is not so good. the 5.3l is a pig. have you looked at the honda clone of the avalanche? i am not sure of its towing capacities but it has honda reliability.

another suggestion. mid 90's full size truck for those days when you need one. i had a 98 sierra ext'd cab w/350ci that i hated to get rid of but needed a 1 ton. awesome truck, DD got about 17 around town with my foot in it. probably pick one up for 6k or less.

then get you a nice 4 door sedan for the family.

A history of complete overkill.... Dick Rasmussen used to tow his FF behind his 88 Mustang. William Hunneycutt often towed the THSCC equipment trailer to events behind his Colt Turbo. Aye, there were giants in those days!

That said, since I know Scott wants to travel in style as well as in comfort, here's what he needs:

http://www.internationaldelivers.com/si ... ly/cxt.asp

I've driven a cxt. Very roomie on the inside. I can't see Scott climbing into that with Meghan in his arms.

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In need of car.

I was looking at the Titan last year and ended up with the Burban. I don't regret my choice. Towing capability is excellent. Interior space is excellent.
We are just coming back from a trip to Canada with it, comfortable, plenty of space. Only point is the gas mileage that is not really good, but since it's used only for towing, family trip and go pick heavy or big stuff at the store I can live with that one. By the way 4' X 8' fit inside with the back door closed and 11' will fit between the front seat with the back door closed. For stuff like mulch I either borrow or rent a utility trailer.
Instead of looking only for one vehicle why you don't go the route of having a nice, used, preferably low mileage GM 1500 HD Crew Cab for towing and the mulch day, and have a small, used, sport car for daily driving to work. That way you have something fun for daily driving and good gas mileage and you have the truck for the rest. With that limited mileage on the truck you should be good for a long time.

Money being no object, we will be having a BMW 3 series or Benz C class for Kathy, a Boxster S for me, a van like a Honda Odyssey for the family trips, an other Porsche for the track, a Dodge Mega cab diesel, wait I said money is no object, scrap the Dodge, an FL60, 4 door instead http://www.rvtruck.com/rv_truck_002.htm with a long 5th wheel trailer with the front half with living quarter and the back half with a 2 car stacker, that will do it. Time to buy some Power Ball ticket !!!!!!

Patrice
1973 Porsche 911
1993 Mazda Miata
2000 Honda Civic
2001 Chevy Suburban 2500 8.1L
2003 Haulmark 20'

Dude, wait of the 07 Tundra rework.

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OK so I'm back in. Now which tire should I buy??

I would, except I've already determined that it won't fit in my garage (in crew cab trim). It's looking like the Chevy 1500HD is also too long for the garage.

As much as I'd like to own "specialty" vehicles for everything I do, that isn't in the budget. So, if we tow the car(s) to events, we need a tow vehicle. That same tow vehicle has to pull double duty as a daily driver and family hauler.

We have considered getting rid of the '00 celica for a family "something," and just racing teh '73 celica, but we like PAX too much Not to mention, the '00 Celica is paid for and gets 25mpg with me driving it around town (30mpg when Sally drives it).

Since we take Meghan to the races with us, and plan to take her on our family trips we *want* something with a real back seat (crew cab). It's actually easier to get her in the back of the Celica than it is the back of the Tundra.

So now it sounds like you need a dedicated mulch hauler, dedicated car tower, daily driver, and a bigger garage. Racing sure gets expensive

We like our tow vehicle, but the only dirty stuff that gets put into it, is diapers.

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In need of car.

I can fit an EZ-up in the back of my tow vehicle (without folding a seat down).

I can fit an EZ-up in the back of my tow vehicle (without folding a seat down).[/quote]

Will fit probably also in the back of the Burban without folding the seat. Removing the third row seat will give you space to put everything keeping a nice second row seating.
For your occasional mulch day just borrow Mike W. trailer. Or used your car trailer, I did that before with my open trailer.

Patrice

Ezup fits on the front of the trailer just fine.

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In need of car.