Best big 3 full size pickup under $10,000, no diesels

I would have thought Google would make finding this easy, but no.

I've currently got a '93 Lightning as a tow vehicle. I'm debating getting rid of it because the a/c needs repair, it leaks vital fluids and it drives like something from 1993. I've historically been a Ford guy but am less than enthused about the 4.6/5.4 engines.

I know nothing about Chevys or Dodges or what is good/bad/problematic with them. Fords I know. I've heard Chevys have intake manifold leaks. 

My ideal truck is 2wd (I never use the 4wd in our Jeep), extended cab with minimum 6' bed. It will be used for towing, so no wimpy sixes. No diesels. Repeat, no diesels. Don't need one, don't like them, can't afford the maintenance on them as I can't DIY anything.

I know they all rust and wouldn't buy one in the northeast where I live. I always buy my trucks from the southern states.

At that budget it's whatever you find that's closest to the configuration you want in the best shape. You're looking at 10 year old trucks that are all good in some ways and strange in others. If it's been well kept and you continue to keep it up it probably won't bite you but there's no guarantees. I'm quite fond of the GMT900 (07-13 Chevy/GMC) trucks especially if you can get lucky enough to find one new enough to have the 6L80 trans. the GMT800 (99-07) trucks are nice but they definitely got nicer to live with in many ways. The only way they got worse from my experience is the battery gets put in an annoying location and headlight bulbs are more difficult to change.  

I picked up my 2004 F350 V10 2WD for a little more than pocket change but saw much nicer trucks with the V10 in your price range. The V10 runs smoothly and is great for towing, seems like we had a thread about the Ford V10 a while back. Upkeep is simple overall, one coil dropping out about a month after replacing the spark plugs , other than that just normal stuff like tires and brakes.

Paul B

Ask your local machine shop. They know what engines pay the bills. Mine cackled with glee when I pulled up in a 3.0 V6 Toyota.

I would be looking at GMC with the 6.0 gas motor. 

dean1484 said:

I would be looking at GMC with the 6.0 gas motor. 

Yup. That's it. 

Any reason to exclude Titans and Tundras? $10k puts you in a mid- late 2000's truck. Those trucks compared very favorably to the big 3 back in that generation. A casual search showed that nice Tundras were a bit tough to come by for the price, but lots of nice Titans available. May be worth it to at least take them for a drive before you write them off. 

Do you have a large enclosed trailer or an open trailer? 

My 290,000 mile 99 GMC Ext Cab 4x4 - 4.8 V8 pulls my 18 foot open metal trailer just fine. I'm not going to set the land speed record going up a TN hill however.

The 4.8./5.3/6.0 LS family all last forever.

I do have thoughts of a used 6.0 next, if not a Duramax. I'd like to semi retire the 99 to off road and play duties.

GM GMGMGMGMGM.

$1500 4.8/4l60 here. It's not pretty but man does it get the job done. I get 12-13mpg towing at 70+mph!

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Seriously, the GM LS based motors are SO much better than the 4.6/5.4 fords. I'm very happy with mine.

Toyotas bring insane money where I live.

Nissans I just have no love for. Having worked in a body shop that serviced both Toyota and Nissan the latter is nowhere near the quality. Plus, didn't they have exploding rear differentials?

@Blaise has pretty much the truck that would do it for me though nowadays I'd spring some extra for the extended cab. The worst part about the GM truck would be all the crow I'd have to eat from my GM fanboi friends having been a Ford guy all these years, lol.

I tow an open trailer. 6.0 to me would be overkill as would the Ford V10 though I'd certainly not turn one down if priced right. My Lightning has around 250hp which seems like a lot to a guy who never had a truck with more than about 180hp in his past.

No love for Dodges? Mopar engines seemed to always have gobs of power...at a mpg cost.

Same reason I don't have a toyota. $1500 would get me a rusted out '88 with a 22re here. No thanks. But a 2wd GM? All day long.

4.8/5.3/6.0 are all great. The 6.0 will command quite a premium, but a 5.3/3.73 will do GREAT. Mine is 4.8/3.42 and I still do just fine.

As a  bonus, the 5.3s you can find without having been beat up. The 6.0s are actually used for heavy loads/work most of the time - its rare to find a 1500 HD.

Just a note, stay away from the GM 5.3 with DoD...

NordicSaab said:

Just a note, stay away from the GM 5.3 with DoD...

I've heard this too. Is this fixable with a tune?

NordicSaab said:

Just a note, stay away from the GM 5.3 with DoD...

That is pretty funny to me.  In an ironic way.  Can't be specific why, but it is funny.

Not sure if our experience helps.  But for two of our lease cycles, we got a 5.4l F150.  Our tow package was a 700lb aluminum trailer (that you have seen) and a 2400lb Alfa GTV (which you have also seen).  Generally, we got 15mpg when towing.  

The rest of the truck era, we got Rangers, mostly 4.0's- and they managed to get 15.5mpg when towing.

Both were very comfortable to do what I was doing.  And we towed that all over the place- multiple times to Florida, to a convention in Tennessee, down Rt66 to another convention, etc.  

In other words, IMHO, it does not NEED to be a full sized truck.  It makes it a little better, but given that the last Rangers were not *that* much smaller than the Lightning you have, you'd barely notice other than the power your truck has for fun.  
The other thing that all of our trucks had in common was 4 doors.  Where the rear two doors were clamshell.  If there was anything you get- I'd more than 100% suggest getting an extended cab truck that has real doors to the rear.  That made travel SO much easier.

My Tundra has clamshell rear doors, and Janel would not accept them on a replacement. Day to day, they’re a pain. Just try loading groceries in the back seat when you’re parked beside someone. 

The first gen Tundra is a good truck for single car towing and very pleasant when you’re not. They don’t command as much as a premium as the Tacos do, but have the V8. I liked mine, I just needed to move up a class.

I think the bigger Tundra is a bit off the mark - it’s too much of a car and doesn’t show the results of the ruthless Darwinian selection evident in the Big 3 trucks. The boss has owned serial Tundras and they keep wearing the edges off the tires because Toyota specifies car tire pressures. I had mine on LTXs at 70 psi, truck loved it. 

Blaise said:

NordicSaab said:

Just a note, stay away from the GM 5.3 with DoD...

I've heard this too. Is this fixable with a tune?

yes, can be turned off, but if buying used, quite often the damage has been done.

Sorry - shoulda clarified . What is the damage?

Blaise said:

NordicSaab said:

Just a note, stay away from the GM 5.3 with DoD...

I've heard this too. Is this fixable with a tune?

More involved than a tune to fix it right. I think it's more like valley cover, cam, lifters, and a tune. 

Blaise said:

Sorry - shoulda clarified . What is the damage?

Here's a short primer on the issue and potential damage it can cause: https://roadmasterengineworld.com/2017/05/ticking-noise-misfire-2005-14-gm-v8-engines-afm/

I know I'm a Ford guy, but the mod motors of that era had issues, too.  Mostly spark plugs, either spitting them out (2V) or refusing to let them out (3V), but also cam phasers.  So, you kind of have to pick your poison.  Or get a Ram and deal with mid-2000s DCX quality control.

Keith Tanner said:

Ask your local machine shop. They know what engines pay the bills. Mine cackled with glee when I pulled up in a 3.0 V6 Toyota.

Are you referring to what kind of trucks back up to the dock to make deliveries at machine shops, or what kind of engines are machine shops rebuilding? 

If it it's the former, of the pickups that make deliveries here, I'd say it's about 50/50 Ford/GM. I can't remember the last time a Dodge pickup pulled in, although two of our customers have old Dodge vans. 

Tom_Spangler said:

Blaise said:

Sorry - shoulda clarified . What is the damage?

Here's a short primer on the issue and potential damage it can cause: https://roadmasterengineworld.com/2017/05/ticking-noise-misfire-2005-14-gm-v8-engines-afm/

I know I'm a Ford guy, but the mod motors of that era had issues, too.  Mostly spark plugs, either spitting them out (2V) or refusing to let them out (3V), but also cam phasers.  So, you kind of have to pick your poison.  Or get a Ram and deal with mid-2000s DCX quality control.

I don't think AFM made it into the trucks until 2007 MY with the body style change over. You did have CSK on the 99-06's (Cold Start Knock), but that is more an annoyance than a faiure. I've see/heard these make noise for a decade and 200k miles after they start with no issues other than noise. The 4L65's work but need maintenance (regular fluid changes and external coolers). The 2WD GMT800's were R&P steering. 

Speaking of machine shops, my local shop made bank on the early HEMI's. Apparently they were pulling rocker studs like a mid 70's GM with a 3/4 race cam (wink wink). The last time I was in he had 8 sets getting new studs. 

RealMiniParker said:

Keith Tanner said:

Ask your local machine shop. They know what engines pay the bills. Mine cackled with glee when I pulled up in a 3.0 V6 Toyota.

Are you referring to what kind of trucks back up to the dock to make deliveries at machine shops, or what kind of engines are machine shops rebuilding? 

If it it's the former, of the pickups that make deliveries here, I'd say it's about 50/50 Ford/GM. I can't remember the last time a Dodge pickup pulled in, although two of our customers have old Dodge vans. 

What kind of engines are being rebuilt and when, because that's what keeps machine shops in business. I got a thumbs up for buying the Cummins, a hearty laugh for the 3.0 V6 and indifference for the Toyota 4.7.

Tom_Spangler said:

Blaise said:

Sorry - shoulda clarified . What is the damage?

Here's a short primer on the issue and potential damage it can cause: https://roadmasterengineworld.com/2017/05/ticking-noise-misfire-2005-14-gm-v8-engines-afm/

I know I'm a Ford guy, but the mod motors of that era had issues, too.  Mostly spark plugs, either spitting them out (2V) or refusing to let them out (3V), but also cam phasers.  So, you kind of have to pick your poison.  Or get a Ram and deal with mid-2000s DCX quality control.

I'm keeping my '04 4.8 :)

Id buy a 5.4 truck myself and im not a huge fan of the mod motors. Personal experience with a 5.3/4l60e equipped silverado has pretty much killed gm for me!

My second choice would be a hemi ram, just too many issues with the 4.7 that ive seen.