Let's talk about trucks

[RustyRatRod]

...and I'll just comment on the P-metric tire sizes...

The plus is they give is an actual width, albeit in metric format.
That makes it easier to calculate sidewall height as well.
Plus, then you know that all say- 235 width tires are the same width (or are supposed to be).

Well.....here's the deal. The metric sizes were SUPPOSED to bring standardization to the tire industry. I remember well the pitches from the tire companies how they would all be the same size from one manufacturer to another. Standardized. It did anything BUT. No two tire maker's same sizes ARE the same size.

 

[YY1]

Was born 225/833OD.

PPO (previous to previous owner) transplanted a 69 440 and iron bell.

It's SUPER FUN to drive, but the cab is beat to hell and rusting away.

PPO also started an LRE clone project. Has wood on the tailgate and a set of stack shields.

 

[RustyRatRod]

This barely fits as in it's about a minivan, which are "trucks" according to the parts listings.
but when differentiating between 2 possible parts for a given vehicle, why are all measurements in MM these days??? I had a grand caravan in yesterday, and supposedly there were 2 possible (different) rear brake rotors it could have come with. When I had the parts guy on the phone he asked me if the rotors were 232 mm. My question was " do they show an inch equivalent?" My tape measure shows inches not mm.
I ended up having to find an inch to mm conversion on the phone to be able to answer the question and (hopefully) wind up with the right ones.

Right! Big PITA. The worst were the GM cars of the mid 70s through even the early 90s. A mixture of BOTH standard AND metric sizes all over those cars. Just plain stupid. A drunk toofless hillbilly couldda made a better car.

No offense to drunk toofless hillbillys.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Was born 225/AOD.

PPO (previous to previous owner) transplanted a 69 440 and iron bell.

It's SUPER FUN to drive, but the cab is beat to hell and rusting away.

PPO also started an LRE clone project. Has wood on the tailgate and a set of stack shields.

AOD? I'm sure you mean A833, right?

 

[YY1]

Well.....here's the deal. The metric sizes were SUPPOSED to bring standardization to the tire industry. I remember well the pitches from the tire companies how they would all be the same size from one manufacturer to another. Standardized. It did anything BUT. No two tire maker's same sizes ARE the same size.

If you notice, thats why I included the word "should" in my reply.

In reality, all sorts of people used to struggle with the "aspect ratio" portion of tire sizing.
That is made somewhat easier with P-metric.

Notice I used the word "somewhat".

Not really aimed at you, RRR, but at that other guy that likes to red X me on both facts and clearly stated as such opinions.

 

[diymirage]

Air is a must for me. I will say I enjoy my truck with the power windows and locks so I think I need those. The next truck will get remote start and keyless entry if it doesn't have it. Both my 96's have ok radios. I don't need much. The newer trucks have a computer screen which I don't need. I use navigation on my phone as well as all the features it is capable of. Oh and 4 wheel drive. The snow can get pretty deep here.

that does bring up in interesting point

my plow truck has a double din radio that the previous owner had installed
i dont really care, truth be told i mostly listen to books when driving it BUT it did come with a camera input plug
which means installing a back up camera was a piece of cake


now, i know, we're all care guys and we dont need a camera to back up to make a perfect hitch to a trailer the first time, but if you want one to know no kids are crossing behind you while you are backing up, the bigger screens can be usefull for that

 

[YY1]

Yep. mistyped meant 833OD.

Let me fix that.

 

[RustyRatRod]

If you notice, that why I included the word "should" in my reply.

In reality, all sorts of people used to struggle with the "aspect ratio" portion of tire sizing.
That is made somewhat easier with P-metric.

Notice I used the word "somewhat".

Not really aimed at you, RRR, but at that other guy that likes to red X me on both facts and clearly stated as such opnions.

I understand. I get um sometimes too and just keep on truckin. lol

 

[volaredon]

You gonna start rd x ing me again?

What's your beef?

You gonna argue that a "235" tire is not 235 mm wide?

No, that just because the thing is stamped "235" don't mean that it is . . I've had vehicle pull problems after a set of 4 tires were put on, and yes they were the same brand and type. We found out the pull was because one of them, even though marked the same, was 3/8" shorter overall than the other 3...
Another instance
When my son started driving we went into wal mart and just looked at tires. We didn't buy there, but they have an "open warehouse" stocking system where the customer can walk the aisles of tire stock and see what all they have as opposed to having them stocked somewhere in the back where customers can't access them. I pulled 3 "all terrain" tires of the same size, but different brands/and put them next to one another on the ground. No 2 of the 3, were the same height. There was well over an inch of difference between tallest and shortest of them, all marked the "same" size.

 

[YY1]

2000 Dakota also has both SAE and metric sizing and fasteners.

That's real fun, but I've learned to live with it.

Am I gonna get red x-ed for that?

 

[YY1]

So you have an issue with specific brand QC and not with my statement about the theory.

WTF did you red x ME for that?

Why couldn't you just post that paragraph instead?

 

[YY1]

For the record, I mount and balance my own tires on all 6 of my vehicles except my wife's 2020 hyundai (actually I've done one of those, too).
I buy my tires from ebay or tirerack.com, and have them shipped to my home and I've never had that issue.
I have seen slight differences between different manufacturers. You'd think they'd all use the same size "mm" to measure with.

I believe part of the issue stems from the width measurement being "section" width, which is the soft area of the sidewall. Obviously, this can be affected by variables like air pressure, if in fact they are measured mounted.

 

[volaredon]

Chill. Everybody's experience is different. I red x'd it because it isn't always true, nothing on "you".
On the half metric/half saw thought my 99 Dakota was that way, my 01 Durango is that way, I hate it
GM can be blamed for that, as when the smaller, more square Monte Carlo, grand prix, gutlass, etc came out in the late 70s, that was the first that I saw of that mix match.

 

[toolmanmike]

Chill. Everybody's experience is different. I red x'd it because it isn't always true, nothing on "you".
On the half metric/half saw thought my 99 Dakota was that way, my 01 Durango is that way, I hate it
GM can be blamed for that, as when the smaller, more square Monte Carlo, grand prix, gutlass, etc came out in the late 70s, that was the first that I saw of that mix match.

Ah, the metric chassis cars. I was there at a GM dealer. It was a mad scramble at the tool trucks for new tools. They loved it. The techs not so much.

 

[bobscuda67]

I have a 2004 Ram 4.7 that has 210,000 miles on it. It's rusted badly and isn't worth trying to save.
I'm tired of looking at new trucks that are not capable of pulling a trailer and cost $60,000.
And educating the sale staff about the equipment that it needs to do so

 

[toolmanmike]

I have a 2004 Ram 4.7 that has 210,000 miles on it. It's rusted badly and isn't worth trying to save.
I'm tired of looking at new trucks that are not capable of pulling a trailer and cost $60,000.
And educating the sale staff about the equipment that it needs to do so

Good to hear a 4.7 success story. I sure wouldn't look forward to writing the check for internal engine repairs. I did a timing chain and gears on my96 3.9 Magnum and it is old school. I know my limitations, I wouldn't attempt a dohc engine. Most of the used ones have 120,000+ on the odometer and probably haven't been messed with, yet.

 

[bobscuda67]

Good to hear a 4.7 success story. I sure wouldn't look forward to writing the check for internal engine repairs. I did a timing chain and gears on my96 3.9 Magnum and it is old school. I know my limitations, I wouldn't attempt a dohc engine. Most of the used ones have 120,000+ on the odometer and probably haven't been messed with, yet.

When the engine goes I'm calling a junkyard to come get it. No way am I messing with that engine!

 

[Righty Tighty]

This is the last year for the Ram Ecodiesel. It's a shame because it has around 12,000 lbs towing capacity and 400+ lb/ft torque. I had one for a little while and got 32 mpg on a trip to Oklahoma and back to San Diego. I should have kept that truck.

That's amazing. I get mid to low teens and half the towing capacity in my Tacoma. Terrible gas mileage. But the 33" mud terrains don't help either.

 

[rbkt65]

my 02 ram sb had 220k on the 4.7. still going strong when i sold it. reg oil changes and maint is why i think it lasted so long.
when trying to figure metric rotors, divide mm by 25.1 and it will tell you what the rotor size is.

 

[Ironracer]

This barely fits as in it's about a minivan, which are "trucks" according to the parts listings.
but when differentiating between 2 possible parts for a given vehicle, why are all measurements in MM these days??? I had a grand caravan in yesterday, and supposedly there were 2 possible (different) rear brake rotors it could have come with. When I had the parts guy on the phone he asked me if the rotors were 232 mm. My question was " do they show an inch equivalent?" My tape measure shows inches not mm.
I ended up having to find an inch to mm conversion on the phone to be able to answer the question and (hopefully) wind up with the right ones.

I tell em the Same darn Thing!

 

[skep419]

88-98 or so GM truck is the best truck GM ever built. Rides like a car and works like a truck. Easy to work on. My 88 can knock down 19 mpg. 170000 miles 5.7 (350 ci. for you metric challenged folks) the 700r will scratch ‘‘em into second on a good day. Mine is a regular cab. One of the next collector trucks I believe. Much like the Dodge. Ford, not so much.

Agreed except for I'm not a fan of the interior or the doors (door handles always breaking, door bushings constantly needing to be replaced, can feel a breeze through the doors on cold winter days, broken plastic, etc)

 

[Dartsun]

88-98 or so GM truck is the best truck GM ever built. Rides like a car and works like a truck. Easy to work on. My 88 can knock down 19 mpg. 170000 miles 5.7 (350 ci. for you metric challenged folks) the 700r will scratch ‘‘em into second on a good day. Mine is a regular cab. One of the next collector trucks I believe. Much like the Dodge. Ford, not so much.

I loved my 89 Chevy 4x4 3/4 ton, it ran great. Only issue I had was the door handles inside and outside. The good ole pull the key out of ignition while running. Pretty much all the standard Chevy stuff like the interior is falling apart. Best 500$ truck

 

[j par]

I loved my 89 Chevy 4x4 3/4 ton, it ran great. Only issue I had was the door handles inside and outside. The good ole pull the key out of ignition while running. Pretty much all the standard Chevy stuff like the interior is falling apart. Best 500$ truck

My Chevy trucks of past have always drove really nice. Comfortable almost like driving a car...

 

[TT5.9mag]

I’ve had a bunch of trucks, Cummins, duramaxs, LS, 460s, and now powerstrokes. I buy the trucks for the company I work for. They HAVE to be reliable and my guys beat the crap out of em on job sites. The Chevy 4500s with a duramax and an Allison have been (by far) the most reliable and cheapest to own, and held up really well. California made me replace them or Id still have them. I love those trucks. I just bought one from the company and built it for myself. I replaced 3 of them with 21’ F550s because I didn’t like the new GMs. For daily use, the absolute best truck I’ve ever owned is my 2001 chevy 3500 dually 8.1 (turbocharged) Allison combo. Still have it, drive it every day and it’s approaching 600,000 miles. My only complaint is mileage, it’s never got more than 16mpg loaded or not. It really is the best truck (and drivetrain) gm ever made. For a recommendation on a used, 10 years oldish truck, it’s hard to beat a 1500, or 2500 chevy with either a 5.3 or a 6.0. They’ll easily go 350k miles with good maintenance and parts are everywhere if you need em. And they are the most comfortable inside IMO.

 

[Righty Tighty]

Well, thanks to everyone for the input. Not to say I was desperate to get a new truck, but I needed to strike while the iron was hot. What I mean is that the market is in my favor to sell the Toyota and I would like to list it before I rack up too many more miles and make it less marketable.

I found a 2010 Silverado 2500HD locally, and agreed to buy it. I'll likely pick it up Friday, but I'm feeling anxious because it's a big purchase. I need to keep reminding myself that it's for the best and ties in with my big plan...