I was raised strictly Chevy because they were easier to work on,cheeper to fix, and they looked better too. in developing my own opinion, I've decided that the new Chevys have overpriced parts, look funny(4 headlamps,c'mon),and everything is a pain in the a** to work on with all of the *** electonics. I personlyy think Dodge has the best all around trucks out there right now. I've also seen quite a bit of Toyotas take ungodly beatings and come back for more. they all have their ups and downs. it's all a matter of opinion of what you thimk a truck should be.

My dream trucks:

all around,   a new Dodge 1/2 ton.(with Ford in close second)

off-road,   a rear-engine buggy with a 12- valve Cummins or pretty much any Toyota(they don't take much to perform like crazy or look kick-a**)

or street,   a 70's Chevy stepside

workhorse,   80's-90's Ford 1 ton

this should ruffle some feathers

I'll probably be crucified for sayin so but i think the new chey's suck too. over priced and what do you get when you load it... they do the big squat.  i'm partial to the dodges also. aside from they took out the straight front end in the 1/2 ton. but all in all fords got a decent rig now too. 11.25 rear ends and dana 60 in the front.  but older than 87 chevy is the only way to ride. 

i got an 87 with 350 tbi, you could set it on fire and roll it down a hill and i still wouldn't trade it for a coupe de ville 

what sort of hubs do the  new Fords and Chevys have? Dodges automatic lockers that lock pneumatically and I don't like them. they have a tenth of the life span and don't always work. new hubs and some sort of traction control like detriots would be my first mods.

I love my 78 Ford but if I had to buy a new truck it would be a Toyota. Basically for the fact that they build a higher quality vehicle than any of the domestic 3.

I really like the look of the Dodge, but from everything i've read they are the worst for reliability issues.

Just my opinion

enlighten me on their reliability issues.

my grandparents breed and sell horses and have several of the three domestic brands of trucks. so my judgement of the newer trucks is based solely on what I hear about how they last on-road with a 10-horse trailer behind them.

i'm not loyal to any brand, i'm loyal to good products. and with what you were saying about toyota being a better quality vehicle, I love America but the manufacturers are pulling the rug out from under my feet by focusing on quantity instead of quality. 

in my opinion, if you want a real truck get a deisel (chevy or dodge). the new ford 6.0 deisels have lots of probelms.  The new duramax can put 1000 foot pouds of torque and 700 hp with a banks upgrade.  but the truck is ugly.  My truck is the mid 90's chevy with a deisel and i'm pull'n 18 to 20 mpg pulling a loaded car trailer, do that with a gas engine.  thought you might have fun with this post.

later

I'd go with dodge for everything...i was raised a ford guy, but dodge is for sure the way to go.  

I don't know about the 2006 model as Dodge has made a lot of revisions.

However for the previous models according to consumer reports the dodge had transmission,drive system,fuel system, ac system,suspension,paint/trim,and body integrity problems.

The toyota tundra had no trouble spots listed.

Hope this helps

how about 86' chevy...haha

i have a lifted 83 chevy and im hard core chevy and my daily driver is a colorado. even though the i5 kinda sux with gas milage its still gota lil power to it. i was having a major case of mud withdrawl and i needed some mud. so the colorado had to do. i took it everywhere that i have taken my 83. i regret it now but that much mud to a brand new totally stock truck will screw everything up. take a look.  

Which Chevy's have overpriced parts?

 I think the 88-98 GM's looked nice. I might be buying a truck soon for a daily driver and since I live in the rust belt I can't buy anything that I really like.

 (ex. I love 73-87 GM's and pre-1997 Fords but where I live most vehicles over 10 years old are not worth buying from way too much rust)

I love cummins i just bought a 2001 2500 4x4 with a 5 speed and i love it i was raised with ford my bro has one and i still have my 89 ford which was ok but no cummins and my dad has a 2004 f350 powerjoke and the cummins will walk away with it for toque

this is just my opinion and i dont like chevy unless they are pre 80's or so

Thanks for the info, but I don't think I can afford a diesel... and I don't need to haul or tow anything in particular anyways. What I want is a reliable fullsize truck that's cheap to buy, insure, drive and maintain. I'm actually quite interested in f/s trucks with V-6's since I've heard they get better fuel economy.

(ex. 1993 C1500 w/ 5.7L V8 13 mpg city and 17 mpg hwy vs. 1993 C1500 w/ 4.3L V6 16 mpg city and 22 mpg hwy)

I know I'd get even better economy with a smaller truck or car, but I like the size, weight and roominess of a fullsize truck. Plus pickup beds can be fun and the bed is half the reason I want a truck.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I don't like the four head light look. it's my main complaint.

at least when a bulb burns out, you still could have three headlights instead of one. (or are they wired in series so you only have two lights?)

I've heard rumours the Dodges tend to be heavier, have base engines that are weaker and possibly get a little lower economy due to running either richer or less spark advance. (ie. 3.9L V6 for Dodge, 4.2L V6 for Ford and 4.3L V6 for GM)