I just picked up an 03 chevy 1500 with the 5.3. What a great truck, I have driven and worked on so many types over the years and these are an all around solid truck. Only thing I don’t like about mine is that i’m used to 2500/3500 leaf springs and mine sags too much with the heavier trailers.
its sad that chevys smallest motor the 4.8 still has more than the others biggest
def look 5.3, my 6.0 gets around 12 mpgs at most city and between 15-18 highway. Unless you do a lot of hauling i see no need for the 6.0. Mine is all time awd though
All this good stuff about Chevy 5.3’s is good to hear, Im picking up a 99 1500 Z71 tomorrow to replace my suicidal daily driver. Looks like its gonna be pretty sweet, got it for a decent price too.
Supposedly the replacement plugs dont break like the factory ones did.
Off the line my truck is a bit of a dog but on the highway it has plenty of power. Ive towed my car across town on a trailer once and it handled the load just fine.
My truck has the towing package, tranny cooler and heavier duty rear differential.
This makes me want a pickup
We put bags in the back of the dually here because of this too. Helps tremendously when hauling the 50 footer. Nothing crazy, no tanks or pumps. Just bags plumbed to an air valve(schrader type) mounted under the rear bumper.
I usually drive it around with them filled because the truck looks all jacked and hucks through the corners better than my dumparoo :tongue
Ive had great luck and no issues with the 2005 5.4 F150, decent mileage, good power, and has been mechanically sound.
Yeah, my '06 has been good so far too but he’s looking at '00-'03 trucks.
do not get a f-250/350 with a 5.4 unless you want horrible fuel mileage, a weak motor, and exhaust manifolds that are impossible to change that crack all the time.
i hate to say it, but he’s 100% on the money here. 5.4s aint shit.
I looked at an 06 3500 same as ours and noticed different leaf springs than our 03, ours has 9 leafs and the 06 has 8. the lower springs are also thicker. It rides good and sits right, pretty good considering the trailer itself is weighing in at 20-21k loaded!
http://shift518.gom-host.com/showthread.php?t=17917
Proof of towing ability is in the thread.
i have an '01 1500 ram and tow 3500-4000 with it daily and has never given me a problem besides normal wear and tear
He’s looking at 1/2 tons anyway.
Yeah, the 5.4 is gutless in a 3/4 ton or 1 ton though. Ive driven a few that my boss has had and they feel powerless. Even the V10 in his current F350 seems slow as fuck.
get a GS300 faggot
then have VOT VOT teach you how to mod 'er up
chevy with a 5.3 or the 6.0 LQ engine. look no further.
The early V-8 tundras had some funny tranny issues when towing due to software calibrations… GM engines 5.3 /5.7 / 6.0 are hard to beat realiability wise. 100k on my 5.3 and I would tow 4500 lbs up hills and hold it at 5500 rpm for 3-4 minutes at a time… it loved it.
But I sold it just in case it didnt. LOL