and I agree, the dodge p/u's do have a sweet sounding stock exhuast. It seems the ford exhausts are always quieter than the chevy/gmc or dodges...why is that??

Also, about the gears...2000 5.4L F250 w/ 3.73 gears versus 2003 5.3L 1500 w/ 3.73 locking diff, there is quit a bit of difference between how the two motors accelerate and haul. After driving the 2000 and going to the 03 Chevy I was dissapointed and told my dad (he owns both trucks) that if I was him I would be missing the 5.4L. He agreed and he is the one who paid $32K for this truck!! He agrees that the 5.3L is the underdog even though it is in a much lighter truck than the 5.4L!!

 

We just got my wife a chevy tahoe 4x4 with the 5.3 motor in it. It tows 10 times better than my f150 does with a 5.4 motor. i tow a 22 ft boat that weighs aprox 4000 pounds and the tahoe tows it with ease. my f150 struggles and shifts alot to get up hills etc. not sure why a tahoe would be that much diff than a 1500 p/u.. if anything i would think the tahoe weighs more?

 

Tahoe probably has 4:10 gears while the 5.4l has 3:55 gears. Not too fair if you ask me!

 

Im not sure that a Tahoe would have 4.10's. Its a pretty steep gear for a 1/2 ton class from the factory. You might check the gear ratios though, the f-150 could have 3.55's or even 3.08's while the Tahoe has a steeper gear. As previously stated, that will make a big difference. Also, make sure that the trailer is level when attachted to both vehicles, it will pull harder if the trailer is even a little unlevel.

 

I work at Rhino Linings in Jonesborough, TN. I've spent my fair share of time in new Chevy's, and I have to say that build quality is terrible. The interiors are cheap, even on the '03's; the only plus is the Bose radio. Many Chevys that come in look like they've got a few miles on them when they'll have less than 10K. I know every vehicle has it's defects, but a door should not rattle the way some of those did after merely 5K miles.

Just my $.02
-Flea

 

Tahoes and Silverado 1500s are available from the factory with 4.10s.

Tahoes can be had in 3.42, 3.73 & 4.10 depending on the configuration. Last year the 4.10s were only available in a 4wd-don't know if it chaged or not for 2003.

 

I would go with the chevy, Ford refuses to stand by their trucks. My 4.2 engine is shot at 77,000 miles and Ford says "parts wear out sometimes" I will never buy another Ford if they don't make this right.

 

I know that rear end ratios help alot. My Tundra pulls really good with the 3.92, It will out-tow the F-150s I had with the 4.6 and 3.55 ratio.

 

**** poor statement. Thats not Fords fault, its the dealers.

 

Pieface,

What do you mean that your engine is worn out at 77,000 miles? If you could elaborate on what the actual problem is, then people could possibly help you with some advice. The only way an engine will actually wear out at that kind of mileage is usually from hard use or negleting the maintenance.

 

Oh give me a break! That's true some of the time in a best case scenario. And many of the problems that are blamed on the dealership are because the dealer knows damn well Ford corporate won't reimburse them for doing what's 'right' under warranty as the customer expects. If Ford would give their dealers the support they need to do what's right, the dealer would be happy to do the repair, and Ford would have a lot more satisfied customers. I'd take a new Ford over a new Chevy all day long, but both could use all the help they can get in improving customer service. To sit here and act like all of Ford's customer service issues are the dealers fault (when more times than not the dealership is much more likely to try to help you out on an issue then Ford corporate would) is just foolish...

 

If you are not going to own the truck for very long, I would say drive both of them and then when you figure out what brand you want, order exactly what you want. If you decide later you made a mistake, hopefully you can live with it for a year or two. I work at a GM dealership in the service department and I do have to say we do a lot of warranty work after 36k. I have heard quite a few horror stories from ford dealerships and ford itself. I think maybe GM is a half a step ahead of Ford here. But that is probably the only way they definetely have an advantage. Whatever you buy give us some feedback. Good luck.

 

hey rangerr91,


ever heard of a tundra.well ,i have one and it has 45,000 miles on it and haven't had hardly any problems with it whatsoever.
i have pulled a 5600# skidsteer on a 1000# car trailer uphill with no problem at all.plus in the crash test the tundra had the highest rating of all 1/2 ton trucks as the safest!im not knocking ford because they are good trucks,but that tundra is 1 hell of a truck as far as im concerned..

if you wanna know more check out (www.tundrasolutions.com).

 

I 100% agree with Fleas-F150 because i drove a 02 Chevy half ton this last summer as a wrok truck for my employer,and the truck had 11,000 miles on it. THis truck was not abused just saw everyday use as a work truck. It had the 4.8 auto and we would hook up the trailer with mowers, diesel, concrete, etc and that thing was a pig when we went up that steep hill by one of our job sites. And the interior--what crap! It was comfortable, but hell every dash piece rattled, the door panels rattled, it was just cheap, except teh stereo, it was good. It rode like a car-did not have a "truck" ride at all. When i cranked up my 98 4.6 with 52,000 miles and drove off, it was soooo much better felling of durability and overall "truck" ride.
FORD all the way--chevys not bad, just dont get it for heavy work.
-Patrick

 

now i'll get bast for this but the new ford suck well we have had 3 a one was good the other ot where and one still is junk my 2000 4x4 5-speed 4.6 seemed good when i got it and went real good till the motor and tranny went both by 40,000km so it 25,000miles then i tryed pulling with it hahaha gut bag my old 4.0l ranger was just as good pulling now im not trying to bash ford cause the reason i got the 2000 was my 89 4x4 with 400,00 on it started smoking the sad thing my 89 with a 302 pulled better and used less fuel(and oil(head problem )on 00) any way i sold the 00 and am putting a motor in my 89 with a little help from summit. I you think i had bad luke with that ford you should see the cheve and dog i mean dodge i drove>>>>i guess a 20 year old is just to hard on things??