DIYbanter - View Single Post - New Unisaw

dpb

wrote:
....
...the reason domestic truck parts were so plentiful was because they
were so needed.

It's a self-fulfilling prophecy, of course. They're needed because
there are so many vehicles in service. They're cheap(er) because there
is volume...chicken/egg.
....

leaning towards the Nissan Titan when I thought I might buying a new
truck, but their repair record scared me off.

The thing is, this is more perception than reality. There are problems
in all vehicles; you don't hear about them in the foreigns particularly
in trucks more because there simply aren't as many.

Since the mid-70s/80s period, I really do not believe there's a
significant overall difference. We use trucks _hard_ and simply do not
have the kinds of complaints Leon makes. A/C in the '78 still is cold
w/ never a service. One water pump on six vehicles that I can recall
since sometime back in the early 80's. No transmissions, starters,
engines, ever going back to the '58. (Although I did rebuild the '72 at
around 200k as choice personal truck but it was still running at the
time and could have gone quite bit longer before it was required. It's
still in service w/ a plumber friend who has had no maintenance since
gave it to him in '99.)

I was in a newer Tundra not too long ago, and while I don't know how
well it will do as a work truck, the truck cab was like being in a
small, airtight sound studio. It was QUIET, really comfortable,
looked nice, and the AC blew cold. Same crappy gas mileage as my
Ford, but the ride was really comfortable and solid. I liked it a
lot. It felt like you wanted your truck to feel, not like a delivery
wagon.

Unless you use the truck as a car office and do mostly office work as
crew chief or similar, the truck is a "get you there" to go _to_ the job
along w/ the stuff required to do the job. If it is that kind of use,
perhaps amenities are worth the premium; they're surely not for me. The
quiet lasts for a little while but rough gravel roads soon loosen up
_any_ frame no matter how tight it is initially and the fancy interior
gets as dirty as does the plain from road and field and grain dust,
cattle and so on.

It comes back to is it a "real" work truck or a car that has some
carrying capacity? I agree the Tundra seems to be pretty well made as
well but they don't deserve the premium. For our application the lack
of the diesel pretty much relegates them to the sidelines anyway...

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