I own a 97 f-150 4X4 sup cab. I am considering a new truck and was considering the supercrew. However, I have been checking on the chevy 1500 crew HD and there doesn't seem to be much comparison. Full size bed as opposed to the supercrew box, more room, more power etc. Although I prefer Ford styling and b/c I am a ford guy, I cannot see paying the same or more for what seems an inferior truck specification wise. Also, have had many problems with current truck and wondering the track record for chevy. I wasn't really considering the 250 or 2500. Am I wrong. IF sp please tell why.

 

I might be one of the few who would say this. If I got a gas engine it would have been a chevy. Have you considered a diesel. I got it but I didn't care about the extra $$$ spent for the upgrade. And I don't drive it much either.

The only problem with chevy I can see is you can't show off your truck here
Cause of this site it makes it hard for me to consider a chevy when I get a new one in a few years. The chevy sites don't seem to be as good as this one.

 

I have not really considered the diesel at this point. Maybe I should. It is just that the price on the 250 is way up there. Since I drive it every day I have to be somewhat practical...if that's possible with the bigger trucks.

Am I correct comparing the 1500 HD and the f-150? The 1500 is much bigger as far as size and power but should it be compared to the F-150 or is it apples and oranges? Should I be comparing the HD 1500 with the 250? Aren't the 1500 and 2500 equivilant in size, whereas the 150 and 250 are not?

Also, what do you know or think about the all time 4X4 on the chevy.

Thanks for the help.

Lou

 

Chevy's 1500HD is basically a crew-cab shortbed 3/4 ton truck - so the direct comparison would be with the Superduty F250. I looked at one on a lot this weekend (I'd never heard of a HD 1500 before), and it has an 8,600 lb. GVW and uses 8-bolt axles...so I'm not sure why Chevy calls it a 1/2-ton. My guesstimate is that they wanted a vehicle to compare with the Supercrew, and the easiest way they could do that is to take a crew-cab 3/4 ton and re-label it - this way they didn't have to come up with new tooling and such.

I did a little comparison between the 1500HD and the F250 crewcab shortbed, and this is what I came up with:

The F250 is 500 pounds heavier, about 8 inches longer, and has an 8,800 pound GVW vs. the 1500HD's 8,600 pound GVW. So, the Superduty is a bit bigger - but not all that much, and the 1500HD has 300-400 pounds more load capacity than the F250. Prices are actually fairly evenly matched - less than $1,000 difference when they are similarly equipped.

Big picture, the F250 will be better for hard work and any sort of off-roading, and the 1500HD will probably ride more like a car and be more comfortable on the highway. I guess it really depends on what you're looking for...but I do feel that the F250 would be a more accurate comparison.

LK

 

I have to comment on the statment that about the Chevy gas engines. Who ever thinks they are better then Ford needs to talk to some Chevy oweners. First of all, back in 94 I strayed to the dark side and bought a new S-10 with the 4.3L. My Dad had a 91 Ranger with the 2.9L and his Ranger would out accelerate, out tow, and out do anything that the S-10 would. The 4.3 was the most gutless thing I have driven. Now getting back to the full size pickups, I have known several people I work with who bought new Chevys when they were first redesigned and had the new 5.3L. Talk about a junk motor. By the time these trucks were a few months old they had so much piston slap it sounds like they were going to explode just ideling. My best friend had one and got rid of it within a year. Chevy told him many times (he was always taking it because of the knocking) that the knock was normal for this engine, HA HA HA. I was talking to him this weekend and he told me that he heard Chevy is now going to fix the knock problem in their truck motors. The fix, new pistons. What about the possible damage to the cylinders due to the piston slap? Also they brag up their Allison transmission. Thats another joke. I know of two people who have had tranny problems and GM would not stand behind them due to the fact that these guys had put a taller tire on their trucks. I know Fords have some issues also but I am one of several people who have had their first and last Chevy.

 

I never said chevy motors were better. they both have pros and cons. I just like the chevy gas engines better then the ford gas engines.
Correct me if I'm wrong here but isn't the chevy 6.0 the new 350. I havn't heard of any problems there. And the allison they use isn't like the allisons in the bigger trucks, its much smaller.

 

Both the 6.0L and the 8.1L (and to a lesser extent, the smaller GM V8s) are having problems with piston slap - much like what Ford went through on the 5.4L. Many automakers have had to deal with this problem at one time or another, but GM seems to be trying to pretend the problem doesn't exist instead of dealing with it properly. There is even a website dedicated to it:

http://www.angelfire.com/tx5/gmpistonslap/index.html

Also, if you look on GM websites or other sites where owners talk about their vehicles you'll generally find a fair number of references to the piston slap issue.

LK

 

Also check out this site just to be more informed on current problems with GM trucks.

www.agmlemon.freeservers.com

 

I've driven/pulled with both the 1500 5.3 and the f150 5.4. I must say, I'm very impressed with the 5.3's acceleration. It will flat out fly in a shortbed 4x2 truck. It will even chirp the tires in a full-throttle upshift from 1-2. The ford on the other hand, is very, very torquey. I think that it's almost as quick as the 5.3 bowtie,but it will out pull it anyday. They're smoother too. The 5.4's torque peak is around 2200 rpm, and the chevy's torque peak is around 3800 (I think). For around town driving, the ford is much nicer. If you wanna race, get the chevy, just be prepared to work on it