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The Jeep breaking down yet again over the weekend was the final straw for me. I was hoping all the work I have done on it and the thousands I put into it would have been enough for me to be able to sell the Volt and daily the Jeep, but nope, said fuck you again this weekend. Still need to talk to my wife, but more than likely I will be taking a bunch of stuff out of it (radio, speakers, amp, etc) and putting all the stock stuff back in and just selling it. I am done.

With that said, need to look at getting a replacement and will be officially selling the Volt as well. Hurt my neck getting into it this weekend and tweaked my back last week. So if any of you are interested in the Volt, let me know. I will give you a "friends and family" discount before I put it up on craigslist or something.

Now for a decision on a truck.

For sure it is going to be a full-size truck. Thought about a SUV if getting rid of the Jeep as well, but a full-size crew cab truck has plenty of room inside and if I need to cover something in the bed I can get a tonneau cover or a bed cap for not that much money.

After much debate and research it is down to 2 trucks I think.

2009+ Avalanche if I can find one for the right price. Only reason it is still on the list is the midgate feature. For some reason I really like that. I prefer the throttle response as well compared to the Ford, but a tune can fix that on the F150.

2011+ F-150 with the 5.0, but prefer a 2015+ since better MPG and higher safety rating (jumps from 3-4 to 5 star rating). Just hard to find one in my price range without a shit ton of miles.

Decided to drop the search for the Tundra for 3 reasons. 1 - They fetch too high a premium. For the same price I can get a newer f150 with less mileage. 2 - Age, it would be a 14 year old truck. 3 - Safety. Newer things are safer and safety is a HUGE factor for me.

So right now, as long as a tune can fix the F150, it is leading the pack.

Want to stay at $25k or less at most. Can afford more, but don't want to risk it with the potential job changing this year.

We are also looking at seriously moving this year again as well. We were going to wait but over the past couple of weeks some stuff has been happening in our neighborhood that has really questioned our want to stay here. Might be looking to move into another "temporary" house and use the equity we have now to pay off most of the student loans and stuff and just moving to a similar size house/yard for around the same cost, just in a cheaper town.

So I am going to use this thread to post up some trucks I might be interested in looking at and to keep my thoughts in one place.

Also, this coming weekend, might rent a F150 and use it for trip to/from Sisters so I can get a nice long test drive out of it. See how I really feel after 300-400 miles in one.

hnoes:

2011 has worse gas mileage? I don’t know where you are researching but I consistently got 20mpg mixed driving with the 5.0. That is great gas mileage.

[quote=""ChargerX3""]2011 has worse gas mileage? I don’t know where you are researching but I consistently got 20mpg mixed driving with the 5.0. That is great gas mileage.[/quote]

The main reason it changed was due to the aluminum body. The standard rating on the highway went up by 2mpg from 19 to 21mpg. The rest of the drivetrain is the same until 2018 when the started putting the 10sp transmission in.

Yup and because of the lighter body they also have a higher payload and towing capacity.

Spoke with Mrs. this morning.

Holding off on house stuff still. Just too many unknowns long term to look at moving at the moment. Rather wait and buy a more permanent house instead of a temporary one and would suck to go upside down in a house. Right now we are so far ahead on this one if the market goes down we will still be OK.

Wants me to fix the Jeep. If just the sensor, replace it and next time it breaks, sell. If not just the sensor. Sell. More than likely will be selling very soon.

Also wants me to rent a F150 for the weekend. Pick one up Friday and use it to get to/from Sisters. About a 350 mile round trip. We would have it from Friday to Monday.

So going to see if I can find one to rent. Might try that Turo thing or something.

As for the 2015+ getting better, MPG, it gets a couple more real world MPG. Not much, but a difference. It is the interior I like a ton more and the higher safety rating. Problem is not sure I want to spend that much. Still need to figure that one out.

So next steps, try to fix Jeep, rent F-150 for this weekend, buy truck, sell Volt.

I hear john likes his buick.


Coop

You should get a Hummer.

Side note - she will never let you sell that Jeep.

[quote=""alienviking""]You should get a Hummer.

Side note - she will never let you sell that Jeep.[/quote]

Side side note - she told me this morning she is finally losing feelings for it. So there is a chance.

...I think you said that once before... let me go searching for it hah!

Probably right.

On a side question, anyone know how to rent a specific vehicle if not going through Turo?

[quote=""Duck Vader""]Probably right.

On a side question, anyone know how to rent a specific vehicle if not going through Turo?[/quote]

Call up the rental place and tell them what you want. If they have it they'll rent it to you.

A dealer would prob let you do the same thing for a small cost as well, especially if you were serious about buying.


Coop

Local Ford dealer rents them for $60 a day.

My advice... Again. Sell the Jeep. People love those damn things but they are not reliable.

Crank sensors, distributors, ECUs. Regularly.

Valve covers, oil pan gaskets, cats, cracked exhaust manifolds, head gaskets, cracked heads, radiators that clog if you look at them wrong (barely adequate in capacity for the truck. Minimal amount of crap plugs them, overheats, head gaskets and cracked heads follow).

[quote=""vr4""]My advice... Again. Sell the Jeep. People love those damn things but they are not reliable.

Crank sensors, distributors, ECUs. Regularly.

Valve covers, oil pan gaskets, cats, cracked exhaust manifolds, head gaskets, cracked heads, radiators that clog if you look at them wrong (barely adequate in capacity for the truck. Minimal amount of crap plugs them, overheats, head gaskets and cracked heads follow).[/quote]

I didn’t know all of this but I really wanted to get a Jeep to replace the Humvee but all my friends who have any with any sort of miles on them are just tracking down issues and complain about reliability, while getting shit for gas and hate their ride after their lift and tires. But they do go great off road and in the snow.


Coop

My brother has had several Cherokees over the years and only ever had problems with one. The one ate several crank sensors (both OEM and aftermarket) for lunch.

He had another that had over 200k on the clock and was reliable as all get out. It was lifted on 33's and we used it to haul his dirt track car up a mountain every week for races. It never once overheated.

I once used it to haul Hans and Emilie's 96 from the middle of PA back to Easton. The car was two and a half hours from my house, then we drove another 3 to get back to the shop with the car in tow. After dropping the car I drove the 5+ hours back to my house with the empty dolly in tow.

I averaged around 17 mpg for that weekend in it.

I’m confused as to why you had hans and Emily’s vehicle?


Coop

[quote=""vr4""]My advice... Again. Sell the Jeep. People love those damn things but they are not reliable.

Crank sensors, distributors, ECUs. Regularly.

Valve covers, oil pan gaskets, cats, cracked exhaust manifolds, head gaskets, cracked heads, radiators that clog if you look at them wrong (barely adequate in capacity for the truck. Minimal amount of crap plugs them, overheats, head gaskets and cracked heads follow).[/quote]

If it was my call I would have sold the Jeep YEARS ago. But it is her Jeep in her name so it has to be her decision.

Of the Jeeps I have owned this one was quite reliable until the past couple of years. Had it since 2007 and really didn't have any issues until 2016/2017. Since then it has been a constant headache.

Personally I want to swap back in the factory radio system and keep the aftermarket one for future use in other cars. Remove and keep the winch in case I end up putting it on a truck. Return the chains since still in the box. May or may not put factory front seats back in. Right now it has gray interior but the front seats are tan leather. Took them out of a grand cherokee years ago and sold the factory ones. Would need to go find a pair.

Does getting a new truck rely on you selling the Jeep? Or are they independent?