[Kokopelli]

My F150 with a 6.5' bed fits my Kodiak perfect. The tailgate closes with maybe a half inch to spare. Don't even need straps it so tight. Then 2 fold up ramps from Harbor Freight fit underneath the quad perfectly. And a cargo carrier in the hitch for any dead critters.

Perfect! Thanks to everyone for the input. I have a new trailer and my wife is talking about buying a new truck. I can get a Chevy Silverado, standard cab, long bed, 4X4, pretty well equipped for less than $35k. Ford and Toyota are much higher. I'm checking out the RAM tonight. My buddy drove his wifes new RAM to to buy a Kodiak for me and that RAM is luxurious as can be...

 

[Nomad]

when it comes to domestic trucks, my picks in order of preference are 1. Gm and 2. Ford. I personally would not touch a ram but would certainly never tell anyone what to buy. Check reviews and talk to owners regardless. It's a big purchase and one you don't want to regret. Truth be told,I'd buy a Toyota Tundra if they weren't so expensive and thirsty.

 

[Kokopelli]

I'm a Toyota guy as well however, I did drive/race/hotrod Chevys for 35 years..

 

[JD864]

Toyota is a good product. But it’s SO outdated. The other 3 are a decade more advanced.
I spent time reading the Ram forum... it wasn’t pretty. Kinda reminded me of the Polaris forum - Yikes!!! Lol!
When I was shopping, the GM twins drove so horrible I couldn’t even consider it. Between the cylinders going off and on, vague handling, a spongy gas pedal... My Ford just felt right. But shoot, it ain’t perfect either!
Just remember - What's the root word of affordable? FORD!

 

[CanadianKodiak700]

I currently have a 2019 ram 1500 classic, last truck was a 2011 f150. I absolutely hate anything from gm, worst vehicles I ever owned, but right now they have the best working LED headlights of any truck out there. I love my ram, opted for the 3.6L v6 since it's only towing is the kodiak in a 6x10 cargo trailer.
The f150 was a 5.0l v8, lots of power and reasonable on gas, especially for a v8. Toyoya tundra was one of the worst tricks I ever drove. My old boss was obsessed with them so we had several as "work trucks" which was not what i would call them.... Glorified corolla with extra trunk space. Lol most uncomfortable, poor handling truck ever. My buddies tacoma is nice and it's a 6spd manual.
If you were going for a truck for towing/hauling, i personally would say the f150, 5.0l v8, or 2.7l ecoboost got fuel economy. If you want a truck that can tow/haul lots, but it squats due to coils vs leafs in rear, the ram is a great choice. 700 kodiak squats my ram 2" making it perfectly lebel. If you were pulling the kodiak in anything larger than say a 6x12 cargo trailer, get the hemi, otherwise, the 3.6 v6 is plenty and very easy on fuel.


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[Nomad]

I forgot to mention to stay away from any engine with variable displacement. The dumbest idea ever put in an engine bay. The gm 5.3 and 6.2 both consume oil. The 2018 and up Ford 5.0 consumes oil and the hemi v8 in the ram is known for camshaft wear. It also is known for exhaust manifold leaks. As Canadian Kodiak mentioned, don't get the small v6 in the ram if you plan on hauling any weight. The engine is too small for that . I'm really suprised they don't offer it with a turbo or 2 in the ram. A coworker of mine bought the same truck as CK but it won't pull his 30 ft holiday trailer very well so he is trading it in soon at a substantial loss. The ram is also known for ball joint wear. A friend of mine just bought a new f150 3.5 Eco boost and I have to say I am quite suprised by the power it has. So far he is very pleased with fuel mileage.

 

[Vincent]

I forgot to mention to stay away from any engine with variable displacement. The dumbest idea ever put in an engine bay. The gm 5.3 and 6.2 both consume oil. The 2018 and up Ford 5.0 consumes oil and the hemi v8 in the ram is known for camshaft wear. It also is known for exhaust manifold leaks. As Canadian Kodiak mentioned, don't get the small v6 in the ram if you plan on hauling any weight. The engine is too small for that . I'm really suprised they don't offer it with a turbo or 2 in the ram. A coworker of mine bought the same truck as CK but it won't pull his 30 ft holiday trailer very well so he is trading it in soon at a substantial loss. The ram is also known for ball joint wear. A friend of mine just bought a new f150 3.5 Eco boost and I have to say I am quite suprised by the power it has. So far he is very pleased with fuel mileage.

Most of all my coworkers drive new or newish F150s. They are indeed nice trucks but Holly crap many of them are spent alot of time back and fouth from the dealer for repairs. Very insulting for 60+$ new trucks

 

[JD864]

Most of all my coworkers drive new or newish F150s. They are indeed nice trucks but Holly crap many of them are spent alot of time back and fouth from the dealer for repairs. Very insulting for 60+$ new trucks

I’m right there with your co-workers! But it’s been minor stuff. I still think it’s better than the Ram. The GM’s... TBD.

I forgot to mention to stay away from any engine with variable displacement. The dumbest idea ever put in an engine bay. The gm 5.3 and 6.2 both consume oil. The 2018 and up Ford 5.0 consumes oil and the hemi v8 in the ram is known for camshaft wear. It also is known for exhaust manifold leaks. As Canadian Kodiak mentioned, don't get the small v6 in the ram if you plan on hauling any weight. The engine is too small for that . I'm really suprised they don't offer it with a turbo or 2 in the ram. A coworker of mine bought the same truck as CK but it won't pull his 30 ft holiday trailer very well so he is trading it in soon at a substantial loss. The ram is also known for ball joint wear. A friend of mine just bought a new f150 3.5 Eco boost and I have to say I am quite suprised by the power it has. So far he is very pleased with fuel mileage.

My F150 is a 2018 5.0, and it does use a little oil. They re-programmed the vacuum pump, and it used less. After a little experimenting, I’m running 5w30 instead of 5w20, and now I can go a full 3000 miles, and it’s only using a 1/4 qt or something tolerable.
Oddly, the 19+ doesn't seem to have the oil use (according to the service manager). Also, the 3.5 eco’s are having cam phaser issues, like the old 5.4’s did.

The only perfect truck is a Paid Off truck!

 

[JimP]

The only perfect truck is a Paid Off truck!

And that is why I am keeping my 25 year old F250 diesel. It doesn't use any oil and will tow anything that I have along with getting great fuel mileage for a truck.

A month ago when I was fueling up a guy walked over to me and started asking questions about it. When he was done he offered me $10,000 for it. The only problem is that it would cost me $50-60K to find a replacement for it.

 

[Rob-c]

Most of all my coworkers drive new or newish F150s. They are indeed nice trucks but Holly crap many of them are spent alot of time back and fouth from the dealer for repairs. Very insulting for 60+$ new trucks

I wanted nothing to do with the turbos, hence my 5.0. But having said that the 2.7 has been way more reliable than the 3.5 . GM had a bunch of problems with the displacement on demand and a lot of coworkers have had electrical problems with their GM’s . Toyota has had their problems too their not bullet proof either . It’s actually sad that the domestic big 3 charges what they do and we still get subpar vehicles.

 

[Nomad]

When one finds a good vehicle , I believe it's smart to hold onto it for as long as feasible. It's a crap shoot today when you're buying a vehicle. That's why I'm still driving my 11 yr old truck.I daily drove my last one 11 yrs as well. I've had my share of luck( both good and bad) when it comes to vehicles.

 

[JD864]

I wanted nothing to do with the turbos, hence my 5.0. But having said that the 2.7 has been way more reliable than the 3.5 . GM had a bunch of problems with the displacement on demand and a lot of coworkers have had electrical problems with their GM’s . Toyota has had their problems too their not bullet proof either . It’s actually sad that the domestic big 3 charges what they do and we still get subpar vehicles.

There are also some reports of the 2.7 blowing up.

 

[Vincent]

When one finds a good vehicle , I believe it's smart to hold onto it for as long as feasible. It's a crap shoot today when you're buying a vehicle. That's why I'm still driving my 11 yr old truck.I daily drove my last one 11 yrs as well. I've had my share of luck( both good and bad) when it comes to vehicles.

X2 my Ridgeline is now 13 years old and I still adore it. ( I've owned it for 10 yrs). Like you, my plans are to hold on to it as long as possible.

 

[CanadianKodiak700]

I forgot to mention to stay away from any engine with variable displacement. The dumbest idea ever put in an engine bay. The gm 5.3 and 6.2 both consume oil. The 2018 and up Ford 5.0 consumes oil and the hemi v8 in the ram is known for camshaft wear. It also is known for exhaust manifold leaks. As Canadian Kodiak mentioned, don't get the small v6 in the ram if you plan on hauling any weight. The engine is too small for that . I'm really suprised they don't offer it with a turbo or 2 in the ram. A coworker of mine bought the same truck as CK but it won't pull his 30 ft holiday trailer very well so he is trading it in soon at a substantial loss. The ram is also known for ball joint wear. A friend of mine just bought a new f150 3.5 Eco boost and I have to say I am quite suprised by the power it has. So far he is very pleased with fuel mileage.

The v6 ram has plenty of power to haul larger, it will haul 8000lbs with ease. The only reason i suggest going with hemi for larger is because the v6 is out of its sweet spot, running higher rpm, it then burns more fuel than the v8 when towing. That little v6 has more hp & torque than the big OEM v8 trucks from 10 years ago or older.
But when it comes right down to it, trade a little hp & torque from the hemi for the 5.0l f150 which has better suspension, or gobs of torque from the 3.5 ecoboost. They provide better towing with minimal trade off in power and comfort.

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[Blmpkn]

A buddy of mine just traded his 3.5 ecoboost for a 5.0.

He had the EB for a couple years, bought it out of warranty, luckily he opted for an aftermarket warranty because he ended up needing his motor/turbos replaced at least 2 times, mabey 3.. i don't remember exactly. The warranty company would only pay for repairs up to the amount of what the loan was for.. he was up to about 13k worth of repairs on the truck he paid 16k for when he decided it was time to go lol. He's much happier with the 5.0 so far.


My trucks a 2010 Ford ranger with a 143hp 2.3 4cyl, 5spd, and 4.11 gear. It gets the wheeler around just fine, despite being legally over-loaded by a small margin lol.

I'm hoping to be in the seat of a brandy new ranger here in a month or two. Its time to upgrade.

 

[KodiakKevin]

You will be hauling the Chevy with the kodiak more than you think. Lol
I have hauled in my ram, but i prefer in my cargo trailer as its all set up for hauling.

I just did a quick google-fu on taco world, the taco is 52" between the bed sides, 43 between the wheel wells.
I even found a pic of a 700 grizzly in the box

Get the taco before any gm product.

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[KodiakKevin]

I am way too used to the big Ram 2500 Crew Cab, anything less I would feel way cramped and under powered.

 

[CanadianKodiak700]

??

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[Kokopelli]

I would love a Taco.. I’m a Toyota guy!

 

[Vincent]

I am way too used to the big Ram 2500 Crew Cab, anything less I would feel way cramped and under powered.

You would feel VERY clotraphopic in my little 71 Opel GT!