Full time overland rig - Tundra or F-150

[Murphy Slaw]

I wonder about Nissan as a Company, lately. They had that weird ordeal where the CEO was stuck in a box and snuck out of the Country, and now I hear bad stories about their use of CVT's on a ton of vehicles.

I guess they are pretty big and stuff, I just wonder. I never see many Nissan's here in Redneckistan.....

 

[thalooch]

I wonder about Nissan as a Company, lately. They had that weird ordeal where the CEO was stuck in a box and snuck out of the Country, and now I hear bad stories about their use of CVT's on a ton of vehicles.

I guess they are pretty big and stuff, I just wonder. I never see many Nissan's here in Redneckistan.....

Southern Illinois is Redneckistan? Funny term.

I used to own a pathfinder in the 90s and stock that thing was an absolute off road beast!

My buddy had an xterra that was really solid.

I dunno Im reading really good things about the 2nd Gen Titans. The Pro-4X has nearly 11" of clearance and a rear locker. Not many available but if I can get one for 3 to 4k less than a comparable Tundra it seems like its a better value for me.

 

[grubworm]

All this Tundra vs Ram vs F-150 talk, and somehow I glossed over the Nissan Titan.

It seems to be on par with the Tundra but I can get one for quite a bit less than a Tundra and if I get a Pro-4X it comes with a rear locking differential.

I'm strongly considering the Titan now.

a good friend of mine has a titan pro-4x and it is a very solid and nice truck. i have a 2018 tundra and his titan is every bit as good as the tundra and pro-4x package is well beyond my tundra. his titan even has a built in inverter with a plug in the bed. pretty nice. i ride in his titan from time to time and it is a very smooth ride and just has a very solid feel to it when going over bumps, closing doors, etc. on just a side by side comparison without any brand loyalty, etc...i probably prefer the titan to my tundra. i think if you found a titan in a good price range, you would be happy with it.
my son has a frontier that is 14 yrs old and still running great, so nissan does have a good product

 

[Murphy Slaw]

..i probably prefer the titan to my tundra.

I'll be darned.

We (my wife) had a 96 pathfinder (early years of the unibody) and it was a very good machine.

I've been past the Nissan Plant in Canton (Jacksonville) Mississippi right on I-55 several times going to Lake Charles, and it's probably the largest factory I've ever seen.

 

[Shakes355]

Most of my issues with Nissan relate to ease of service. They are one of those companies that focus on ease of assembly with little regard for those of us who have to go back in and repair them. That said, the Titan is large enough that repairs are pretty straightforward.

The 5.6 reliable if not allowed to carbon up. Though the first gen did have trouble with oil consumption due to a poorly designed PCV baffling system in the valve covers (There is an updated version).

Overall I'd say the titan is a solid full size to consider. Make sure you have a spare ignition coil in your glove box though (Nissan guys know what I'm talking about)

 

[thalooch]

I'll be darned.

We (my wife) had a 96 pathfinder (early years of the unibody) and it was a very good machine.

I've been past the Nissan Plant in Canton (Jacksonville) Mississippi right on I-55 several times going to Lake Charles, and it's probably the largest factory I've ever seen.

Im so sad about what they did to the pathfinder, turning it from an off road beast into a soccer mom van.....sigh.

I still miss my 1990 Pathfinder.

 

[4Wheelexplorer]

Had a few friends with Titans, all loved them, so again, it is more a personal choice, and perhaps a aftermarket choice as well. We can all give you our .02, but at the end of the day looch it is your butt in the seat that counts to you. Best of luck on it and keep us informed, regardless of choice.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

Im so sad about what they did to the pathfinder, turning it from an off road beast into a soccer mom van.....sigh.

Well, then they dropped the Xterra.

That's what I mean, I question their judgement lately.

 

[Autism Family Travels]

Are you in a snowbelt where they use salt on the roads....if so, FORD all the way. Both toyota and Dodge have terrible rust resistance. Around here, 5 year old dodges are full of cancer and toyotas are in the shop getting chasis swaps. Meanwhile my 2003 F150 was still going strong until I sold it 2 years ago. Our 2018 F150 is SOLID!. I love it for everything except tight parking spots since they screwed up the turning radius on the aluminum bodied rigs. Other than that, it's great.

 

[Boostpowered]

If I were to do it full time and needed the room I would look at getting a small rv, camper trailer, old 4wd ambulance or small cab over box truck to convert into an mini earthroamer . If I had unlimited funds a real full size earthroamer would be where its at.
After a few weeks in the bed of a truck things would start to get old quick for me.

 

[Autism Family Travels]

I would go slide in camper with an f150, upgrade the suspension for the weight of the camper and give'r. 200,000 cheaper than a small earthroamer, just as comfortable, and capable.

 

[thalooch]

After some further deliberation and research I really liked what I found in the Titan. I put a deposit down on a 2012 Pro-4X. Pending a good inspection, I will buy the truck. Not gonna celebrate until I'm driving away though, but once I do, I will post pics!

 

[Autism Family Travels]

and out of left field, Nissan for the win! ha ha. Good luck with it. I have a friend with one and he pounds the piss out of it.

 

[USStrongman]

Something I didnt see is parts availability if you go out of country. Toyota parts are far easier to find in central and south America than Ford. I have always been partial to Ford 250/350/Expedition, but the 1 F150 I had new to about 100k miles was bullet proof. However, having been to Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador... Toyotas are everywhere and parts are quick and reasonable. Of the two, I prefer the Ford driving position over the Toyota simply becasue I am a big guy. As for creature comfort and durability, I think Toyota wins it in my book, hands down.

 

[thalooch]

Something I didnt see is parts availability if you go out of country. Toyota parts are far easier to find in central and south America than Ford. I have always been partial to Ford 250/350/Expedition, but the 1 F150 I had new to about 100k miles was bullet proof. However, having been to Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador... Toyotas are everywhere and parts are quick and reasonable. Of the two, I prefer the Ford driving position over the Toyota simply becasue I am a big guy. As for creature comfort and durability, I think Toyota wins it in my book, hands down.

Im not prepared to go out of country just yet. Maybe in the future but no plans for that as of now.

 

[JP-SLC]

Have to throw my hat in the ring for the Tundra. I'm on my second one and have had ZERO reliability issues with either one. And I beat on them! Stock, they are generally more set up for offroad (that comes from my f-150 friends that I trip with) but at the same time, I love freeway driving mine. Since you are putting a cab on yours, I think you will love the full-size retractable rear window. HUGE PLUS!

Now the downside: Fuel economy sucks. It's pretty bad! A 2015 might not be so far behind a similar ford, but a new tundra V Ford, the tundra loses easily on fuel economy and is years behind. Not enough for me to make a switch but it's annoying and expensive especially when towing.

Hope this helps!

 

[Autism Family Travels]

I have a F150 in my family now, and my boss has a Tundra TRD 4 door. The ford is more powerful, more comfortable and feels lighter on its feet too.

EDIT: Former boss, have not worked there since march. I have driven his truck on delivery a few times and our ford is MUCH better.

 

[WilhelmB]

congrats ! I love the Titan unfortunately the only ones we have here are private imports and end up over $100k by the time you get them on the road. my last rig was a 2012 Navara/Frontier, she treated me well for over 8 years and 180 thousand miles and i always enjoyed driving her. as you can see we didn't baby it either.

 

[Autism Family Travels]

I wonder about Nissan as a Company, lately. They had that weird ordeal where the CEO was stuck in a box and snuck out of the Country, and now I hear bad stories about their use of CVT's on a ton of vehicles.

I guess they are pretty big and stuff, I just wonder. I never see many Nissan's here in Redneckistan.....

Their CVT's SUCK. it is the same one that was in my patriot. CVT SUCKS anyways. both vehicles I owned with CVT were terrible. my audi now has only 70k on it and the CVT is toast in that. At least I can rebuild it for 4k or so...I will never own a CVT equipped rig.

 

[thalooch]

Their CVT's SUCK. it is the same one that was in my patriot. CVT SUCKS anyways. both vehicles I owned with CVT were terrible. my audi now has only 70k on it and the CVT is toast in that. At least I can rebuild it for 4k or so...I will never own a CVT equipped rig.

The Titan as far as I can tell does not have a CVT. Ive only seen these on smaller vehicles like sedans, wagons and midsized SUVs. But yes CVT sucks for anything off the pavement is what Ive read. I did consider a subaru at one point and came to the understanding that only get a subaru with manual transmission or an older automatic that isn't a CVT.