Well I am fortunate to own two trucks of the same vintage one being a Ford and the other a Chevy.

The Chevy
1999 Chevy Silverado EXT Cab short box 4x4 Z-71 5.3 auto LS Trim most every option including autotrac.

The Ford
1999 Ford F-150 4x4 XL trim regular cab long box 4.6 5 speed pretty basic truck.

I guess that I am starting this thread to see how the overall happiness of people who have had a reasonable amount of seat time in each compares from one brand to another.

For me I can say that I am very happy with both trucks. Neither has ever given me any problems other than routine maintenance and both still run and look as good as the day they came off the showroom floor.

That being said. I do prefer driving the Chevy. The ride and handling seems to be a bit better and the fact that my Chevy has quite a few more options than my ford plays in its favor.

Power- not really a level playing field here. The ford dose its job adaquately so no complaints on either one.

Interior- I know that may people say that the Chevy interior seems cheep, I however prefer it to the Ford. That might have something to do with the upgraded trim level on the Chevy vs the Ford.

4x4 system- Lots more to go wrong on the Chevy, have the auto trac system which lets me choose between 2hi, 4hi, Neutral, 4lo, and Auto 4x4 all with the touch of a button. Great feature to have in a primarily road driven truck. I love just being able to hit the auto 4x4 button when the roads are bad especially when going traveling on a road that has patches of snow or ice mixed in with some pavement. The Ford is less convenient with the floor mounted shifter but it works and it works well so no real complaints. The buttons are just a nice touch to have. However there is something to be said keeping every thing simple.

Rear View mirror- Yep even going to compare them. The Chevy has the fancy auto dimming one. Neat feature but not needed. If truck had been bought new never would have ordered it.

Lights- Chevy's lights seem a bit brighter, but not much. Don't like the fact that I cannot have the truck running in the dark without them on. Nod goes to the ford there.

Comfort- Chevy has that one hands down. Not that the ford is uncomfortable the Chevy just seems to fit me better. Once again the Chevy has just about everything upgraded from base while the ford is pretty much a basic truck.

Fuel economy- This one surprised me. The get about the same right about 18-19 on the freeway and 14-16 in town. When I am horsing on them though the Chevy will drop much more than the Ford. Has more cubes to feed so that is likely the reason.

Overall I have been very happy with both trucks. I got a great deal on both of them. Paid 9200 for the Chevy a year and a half ago (booked at about 14000) and all told I have less than 4500 in the ford (bought it as a salvage for 2300 bucks about two years ago). So far both trucks have been excellent vehicles and I would not hesitate to drive either any distance.

A side note. Both of these trucks are street driven for the most part. I have a 90 ford on 38's for the off road stuff and a 89 f-350 crew cab dually with a 7.3 and and dump box for the heavy work. Neither are really hot rodded either. I got a bike and a gt-500 clone for that kinda stuff.

So lets here it, post the trucks, likes and dislikes, the good the bad and the ugly. Lets try to keep this a mature discussion as well.

 

Comparing these 2 trucks kinda sounds like comparing a girl dressed up for the prom to another that is dressed to work in the garden. They may be equally good but the accessories and decoration skews the objectivity.

 

Thank you hillbilly for a great post. Good to see an honest opinion out there, not just people shooting off their mouths.

Tell me this though. If you were able to get the same features on your Ford that you got with the Chevy, would they be pretty well equal? Or maybe if both trucks were bone stock with nothing fancy, would they be pretty equal?

Ps. Don't take offence to me just calling you hillbilly. I can DEEPLY relate to ya!

 

I always thought that the best way to compare pickups was to put a cord of wood in the bed and see which vehicle could haul the load up and over the hills and through the creek. This thing of comparing push buttons and self dimming mirrors just seems weird. Maybe that wasn't a mature thing to say-I'm only 46 years of age so I'm still a bit young.

BTW, I've never owned a shivy but I've driven several. I thought they were dependable but not nearly as rugged as a Ford. You can drop a Ford off of a cliff and it will still perform.

 

I have both. A 1996 Chevrolet K2500 extended cab long bed. And a 1979 Ford F150 with a 300 six. Both do what I ask them to do, and they fulfill my needs quite well.

 

Lol 1979...... thats like comparing a tank (your 79) to a oatmeal cream pie (the 96 chevy). Those 70's Fords were indestructible........... God I love those things!

 

osbornk, your right on the first comment. However, I have a thing for girls in dirty tight fitting jeans, or maybe that was dirty girls in tight fitting jeans

handyman43358, given about the same options they would be pretty much equal I'm sure. To be honest one of the main reasons that i posted this thread is simply because I was getting annoyed by some of the people that seem to think that ford is the be all end all of everything. All the big 4 (yep we have to start including Toyota now they are taking a big bite out of the market) make great trucks for there intended applications. For me it comes down to the deal that I get on the truck and its intended purpose when I go to buy it. Personally I seem to usually get better deals on fords and have as a result owned more of them but given the right deal I would not hesitate to own any other of the big fours trucks.

okst1, As far as the self dimming mirror I posted that just because I thought it was funny. As I stated in my above post, I would never have ordered that feature myself. Not that hard to flip the lever if you ask me. However, likely I would have thought about the push button 4x4 with auto trac. It really is a nice feature to have up here in the Northland where road conditions can vary widely over a short distance. For the loaded up and work it part though the Chevy will win hands down when you compare my 99's. All has to do with how the truck is equipped. However add my f-350 into the mix and then you have a work truck!

One other thing to mention. Right now I am in the hunt for a new compact truck. My wife totaled our 1998 s-10 ZR2 on December 29th and we have yet to find a replacement that she likes. We have driven most of the competition in both new and used trucks and I fear that I will end up for the first time in my life spending close to book value on truck. Only one that she has found that she liked was an almost identical 2000 ZR2 that the dealer ha sent seemed to want to budge on the price much. While our zr2 was a nice truck the fact that it got worse fuel mileage (14 city/16.7 hwy) than both of my newer full sized trucks was to say the least disappointing. Not to mention that the back seat was at best a joke (a ten year old kid would be cramped up after a few minutes back there). The brightest point with that truck was for a stocker its off road capabilities were outstanding. I would like to see her get the ranger that is for sale down the road from us because its a good deal but then again I like sleeping in my bed and not on the couch so i get the feeling that Wednesday I will be writing out a much larger check for the ZR2.

1979 Ford, Those 79's were just about indestructible. I had a 79 4x4 with a 300 six back in high school that I really tried hard to destroy. In the two years that I owned it it not only got worked hard (I worked for a farmer) it played hard (most people didn't know that it was silver under all the mud). That truck never had a major problem and is still on the road today. My old boss uses it for a work truck around the farm. By far the best 500 dollar investment I ever made!

 

Lights- Chevy's lights seem a bit brighter, but not much. Don't like the fact that I cannot have the truck running in the dark without them on. Nod goes to the ford there.

If you have the dome override on off button there right beside the interior dimming for the gauges and the actual headlight switch, all you have to do is push that button 2 times
(on and off for a total of 4 times) and you will hear a ding. that means that you have deactivated the headlights and you can manually turn them on and off with the switch. it also deactivates the daytime running lights. the bad part about this is you have to readue this process everytime you shut the truck off as it will not be saved and it will reset itself.

this process is in the owners manual on 2-67 and 2-68 in the 2500HD owners manuals or under Daytime Running Lamps or Automatic Headlamps.

On Edit: BTW, I've never owned a shivy but I've driven several. I thought they were dependable but not nearly as rugged as a Ford. You can drop a Ford off of a cliff and it will still perform.

I disagree, the ford and the chevy would both perform like the chevy....Like a ROCK.

 

Make her test drive a Ranger!......... Ok let me restate that... ENCOURAGE her to drive a ranger. If you MAKE her, you'll for sure be sleeping with the dog.

I gaurantee you will never go wrong with a Ranger. Look at my signature.... thats a lot of miles on one truck/engine!

 

duramaximizer, thanks. Never noticed that in the manual. Will have to try it tomorrow when I leave for work.

handyman43358, she already has driven it. Just didn't like it as much as she likes the ZR2. I know that they are decent trucks though. Have owned them in the past and with the exception of one that had a marine grade 2.3 in it till I swapped in a 302 I never had any major problems with them. Never kept them long either. I used to change trucks like some people change underwear. As far as sleeping with the dog. Dang thing is in the bed the minute I get up in the morning (wife gets up about 20 min before I leave for work) I am willing to bet that old Dobbs would drop me in a heart beat to sleep in the bed all night. Then again I would rather sleep with my wife than me any day she is much better looking and farts less.

 

hillbillywagon, I was just having a little fun with ya. I understand that people like all of the conveniences of life. Those things just seem to get in my way when I'm out in the middle of nowhere. My daily driver is a fullsize bronco with plastic seats and a rubber floormat so you might understand where I'm coming from.

duramaximizer, my best friend has been a shivy lover all of this life but he is definitely jealous of my excursion and bronco when compared to his suburban and 1/2 ton 4 by 4 pickup. I did like his old (mid 80's) suburban but it didn't have good ground clearance from the factory. I have always had good luck driving shivys either on the job or driving my buddy's but I don't think the last two generations of trucks were nearly as tough as Fords. But hey, if Ford went out of business tomorrow, I would buy a shivy truck-not the diesel though. I can only go so far.

 

okst1, no offence taken. There is something to be said about simple trucks. Allot of work went into my 90 ford to make it as simple as it is. Strait axle conversion with one ton gear at both ends, zf trans mated up to a older non computer controlled 460 that was rebuilt for power and durability. Vinyl floor and seats. This is the one that gets taken out on the trails that lead into the backwoods. I know that it will get me home because even if it breaks it is simple enough that if I have the parts I can probably fix it on the trail. Less complex=less stuff to break.

 

you know what oski1 you can drive what you want, and i can drive what i want. preferences are all that really separate these trucks. most of it has to do with what you grew up in. there are some qualities that are given to each respective truck in somecases good in some cases bad. you know what, if ford or chevy went out of bussiness tomarrow i would still be driving my 92 olds .... ironically they did go out of bussiness thanks to one slogan.

i really don't like the 150's though and the superduty would have to have the new 6.4 in it ....and it would have to be better than the current 6.0, cuz i can only go so far. otherwise prolly the v10 the 5.4 is still slacking.

 

I have a 06 Silverado 1500, and a 06 F350 dually work truck. They both do well for there intended purpose. I like them both.
Ed G

 

I own two Fords and one GMC. I have had my 84 F150 4wd 300 six since I was 15 years old (23 now). It has been an awesomely tough and dependable truck, always got me home after long trips and being beat to hell in the sand dunes and out in the trails. She used to be my daily driver but rising gas prices forced me to down size. My other Ford I have never had on the road 77 F250 4wd 351m. I have big plans to completely dismantle this vehicle and completely rebuild it from the ground up. The 95 GMC Jimmy 4wd is my current daily driver. For the most part it has been a good little truck, it was not well cared for before I bought it. It is a much nicer vehicle to drive everyday, especially with the long commute I have. The luxury of fuel injection is always nice in the winter months. Having an overdrive automatic transmission is nicer on the highway and going through town than my old 4 speed gearjammers. With all the luxuries of my "SUV" it makes it a nicer daily driver. But when theres work or play to be done I call on the Blue Oval to get the job done.