Truck and SUV Reviews


 

 

LAS VEGAS, Nov. 4, 2008 –FORD TAKES TRUCK LEADERSHIP OFF-ROAD WITH NEW F-150 SVT RAPTOR PERFORMANCE PICKUP TRUCK Ford, is  building the all-new 2010 F-150 SVT Raptor, a purpose-built, high-performance off-road truck versatile enough to take on the most challenging desert adventures as well as the everyday commute. “Ford trucks have been a mainstay on the off-road racing scene for more that 20 years because of our long history of capability and durability,” said Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s group vice president for Global Product Development. “With SVT Raptor,  more...

Announced at the Chicago Auto Show, the 2010 Dodge Ram Heavy Duty, 2500/3500, copies little brother with new body including a crew cab replacing Quad Cab available with a long anticipated 8 ft. bed. And and integrated factory trailer brake controller, but on the wrong side like GM. Where is your controller mounted, right or left? More...

Sterling Bullet makes a great hauler truck. The 6-speed heavy duty Aisin auto, grade shifted a couple of times, using the built in exhaust brake, kept my foot off the brake coming down Loveland pass towing a Cimarron LQ horse trailer. The variable turbo sleeve controls air flow to the engine and closes making the exhaust brake. A unique efficient design. You can add a bed from 8' to 16' to the different wheel bases available. 7000 lb. front axle, 13,500 lb. rear axle on a 50,000 psi frame with 34" frame railing to accommodate most aftermarket beds. The Sterling Bullet CONV55 size, max GVWR is 19,500 lbs. More...

Trucks Brands, Who Will Survive?

I'm surprised by the phone calls I'm getting from friends and business associates over the government bailout of the auto industry. Truck buyers are very loyal to their truck brands and many Dodge owners are telling me that their next truck will be a Ford. All do to Ford not asking for tax payer money or bailout. Dodge loyalist are hit the hardest, Chrysler was owned by Germany company Daimler and now Fiat of Italy is about take over Chrysler, leaving Dodge owners ...More....

Ford announces 2009 F150 with more towing features. Trailer sway control  can determine from the yaw motion of the truck if the trailer is swaying and....Integrated Trailer Brake Controller is factory-installed and allows direct  More...The new 2009 Ford F-150 offers customers the most choice with more configurations than any other full-size pickup on the market. With three cab styles, four box options and seven unique trim levels, the F-150 comes in 35 different configurations to.... More...

2009 Ford F150 with new 6-speed, diesel and turbo gas engines coming in 2010. The striking F-150 Platinum features   More...

2009 Dodge Ram, new coil spring rear suspension, finally a normal crew cab called Ram Crew, bed storage under the rail and cab floor storage, plus more. More....
Longer 2008 Nissan Titan. Longer beds, more payloads, the Titan reaches for more customers. Last year I drove across the bridge that collapsed in Minnesota across the mighty Mississippi twice, once going to the Minnesota Horse Expo and to the 2008 Nissan Titan press preview traveling from Minnesota to Wisconsin. Off-roading at Apple Valley Farms near Sand Creek, Wisconsin, the new e-locker rear differential lock that you turn off and on. did well in the muddy trail. More....

Ford Direct

2008 Ford Super Duty, Round Two for 60 Years of the F-Series. Last month I got to play on almost 4000 acres of the Fords Michigan Proving Grounds. Towing trailers (my favorite sport) up and down Fords 7 and 15% grades. Ford provided a few Dodge and GM diesels to try out beside the Fords at the renovated proving grounds. Sand wash, mud, off-road course, mud, replica of the famous Silver Creek torture track, all means FUN ! Read it now...

Heavy Duty Pickup Trucks, New Race. The Year of Emissions.

The excitement builds with each jet ride to the next new truck media launch, biggest year I can remember for major truck changes. Most of it brought about by the new low emission laws for diesel engines that began January 07. GM totally redesigned the whole truck. Ford has the most mechanical changes with a new nose and diesel engine, Dodge changed the diesel for the new emissions law and reintroduced it's CC model. More...

Old Guard 2007 GM trucks and Sundowner, New Kids on the Block Toyota Tundra and Lakota.

GM has the trucks that have towed horse trailers for close to a century back before the Apache model and Toyota has towed horse trailers since the T100, 7 years ago. For the trailer team we have the new Lakota aluminum trailer, that I first saw at last years All American Quarter Horse Congress in Ohio, with their HUT bumper pull LQ. Then there's Sundowner's most popular trailer, the SunLite 727,  with a proven track record. More....

New 2007 Tundra, the Limo that Tows Trailers Fast, 2007 Tundra introduced at the National Western Stock Show & Detroit Auto Show.  Nice for Toyota's 50 anniversary to introduce a true full size truck. Known as dependable, Toyota trucks may now set benchmarks for how full size trucks are designed. I'm impressed. read the review...

First look at the 2007 Silverado and Sierra. Still waiting to drive the new truck, but I am excited that the seat belt is back in the ceiling, adjustable and the end of side terminal batteries. The new GMT900 platform from which the 2007 GM SUV's... Click....

Cinch plus GM plus Monroe equals Cool Crew Cab 2007. The Cinch package from Monroe, has awesome leather seats, 15.3 inch overhead DVD, center console, backup cameras on both hitches and tow mirrors. When you use the blinker, the camera shows what that outside mirror sees in your GPS screen in the dash. You can get air ride cab, rear axle and seats. The Duramax 6.6L LMM diesel and the 8.1L gas engine both come with the 6-speed Allison Automatic. It's rated to tow 16.500 lbs. This is conservative and I expect it to go up. More...

Dodge Expands Commercial Presence, Charges into Class 4–5 Segment with All–new 2008 Ram 4500 and 5500 Chassis Cabs All–new chassis cabs showcase dominant commercial capability, durability and dependability. More on Dodge Ram....

Highly Anticipated Sterling Bullet™ Revealed

New Mid-Range Conventional Truck Features Powerful Cummins Engine

Arriving at dealerships now. INDIANAPOLIS - Sterling Truck Corporation has a tough new vehicle in its lineup: the Sterling Bullet™. This highly anticipated chassis-cab product was introduced today at the NTEA Work Truck Show 2007 in Indianapolis. The Bullet is the latest addition to the company's full line of Class 3-8 work trucks and will be available at select Sterling dealerships now. More...

New Active Fuel Management Cylinder Deactivation shows in the dash  when switching from V8 to V4, all seamless you wouldn't know it if you didn't look at the indicator in the dash. This is part of reason this new Tahoe gets 21 highway mpg EPA rating on the 4x4.. Even with a bolder bigger nose, the Tahoe has 8% less drag as wind resistance. The dash has more digital info with a tire pressure read out and tranny...More...
2007 Ford Expedition EL, longer, stronger and a 6-speed. I  took the new Expedition through the winding Washington hills as fast the tires would hold me. It handled superbly, with no resemblance of the old leaning SUV's we drove a few years back. More....
I took the 07 Sport Trac off road near Camp Pendleton. With front & rear traction control, it climbed like a rock crawler. Having traction control instead of limited slip or locking differential, allowed me to turn corners in 4WD, have traction and no wheel hop. Roll Stability Control, standard on the Sport Trac, great for a truck with an empty bed as well as stability in bad road conditions. I think all trucks need it. More...
SEMA 2006, MrTruck.TV will have it's first episode about this year's SEMA. So much to see, so little time. We run each day of SEMA finding top stories and new products for your truck & SUV. More...
Finally Dodge is back in the cab & chassis world. The new 2007 Dodge HD 3500 Cab and Chassis will offer the new 6.7L Cummins and an all new 6-speed automatic. 52 gallon fuel tank, 50,000 psi flat frame, more...

Cadillac Escalade ESV Platinum and B&W's new Tow & Stow receiver hitch towing a Hart Medallion. This is luxury, the 2005 Cadillac Escalade. Twin screens for the DVD, keeps both 2nd and 3rd row busy watching "The Incredible's" again.  But for me there are heated & cooled cup holders. And they work, keeps my coffee at the right temperature until the last drop. How about hot and cold seats? More...

Trucks for 2007 will be interesting and expensive as new diesel emissions take effect and effect sticker shock. Look for some shortages in the fall. More...

New 2007 Tundra, the Limo that Tows Trailers Fast, read the review...

Big chief in the F250 Super Chief  concept truck at the 2006 Detroit Auto Show. My first time at the show. No news of what the 2007 trucks will be like. Top secret because of the new stricter emissions laws for January 2007. Most truck models will be later that usual. See pictures...
 
 

I’m reviewing a 2006 GMC Sierra SLT HD 2500 now with the Duramax with 360 horsepower and 650 torque right from the factory is addicting. I towed a new 6 horse Cimarron trailer through Eisenhower tunnel in January out the west side in a snow storm and had complete control with the manual switch on the new 6-Speed Allison that let me down shift by pushing a button making the torque converter lockup in each gear as.....More...

2005 Ford F350's TowCommand trailer brake controller, Towing Featherlite, and reviewing TireStep. Plus Elk Herding at Estes Park. The first manufacture to offer a "built in" trailer brake controller, Ford introduced the TowCommand last fall in the 05 SD. I tried it at the Ford proving grounds. This is an update towing in the Rockies. Read...

Cadillac Escalade ESV Platinum and B&W's new Tow & Stow receiver hitch towing a Hart Medallion. This is luxury, the 2005 Cadillac Escalade. Twin screens for the DVD, keeps both 2nd and 3rd row busy watching "The Incredible's" again.  But for me there are heated & cooled cup holders. And they work, keeps my coffee at the right temperature until the last drop. How about hot and cold seats? More...

Finally the cab that came late to the party. With GM and Ford selling more crew cabs each year than Extended and Super Cabs, Dodge for 2006 will give them some real competition. “Packaged with full-size Ram capability, the all-new 2006 Dodge Ram Mega Cab offers the most interior passenger space, cargo capacity and functionality of any pickup truck on the market,”  More of course.
Picture at left is the open hood of the Ford F250 2008 as seen at SEMA. The Texas State Fair is going to be the big truck news HQ. GM will introduce the 2007 Silverado and Sierra and Ford will intro the 2008 Super Duty with the 6.4L Power Stroke Diesel. See the press release, Click...
As announced here months ago, the 2006 Chevy and GMC HD 2500/3500 will have the 6-speed Allison with the Duramax and 8.1L gas engine, More.... and later in the year the Duramax 2006 or 2006.5 will have the new LBZ engine with 360 horsepower and 650 torque, the race is on more...
2006 Explorer, new 6-speed auto, 3-valve 4.6L V-8 and it's quieter and of tows more. I flew to New York to drive it. 15 years of the #1 SUV, read my review... also SUV's and towing revisited.

Ford lowers 2006 prices. Rebate weaning ahead, more...

All new from the frame up, the 05 Frontier & Xterra are over engineered, using the Titan 5-speed auto transmission, Dana 44 rear axle & frame rails. With the most horsepower in the midsize class, the Frontier sits low with great off-road capability. I like the folding passenger seat for my laptop. If you think driving using cell phones are dangerous, wait till you see me driving & reading email. More
2005 Ford F350's TowCommand trailer brake controller, Towing Featherlite, and reviewing TireStep. Plus Elk Herding at Estes Park. The first manufacture to offer a "built in" trailer brake controller, Ford introduced the TowCommand last fall in the 05 SD. I tried it at the Ford proving grounds. This is an update towing in the Rockies. Read...
2004 Infinity QX56 SUV & Hart aluminum horse trailers are both upper scale and make a good looking couple. The new 2004 QX56 is the first Infiniti model assembled in North America. Hart Medallion aluminum horse trailer reminds me of the beautiful sheet metal on Audi's and Porshe. Also in this review are Tow-N-See extended mirrors Much more..
Quadrasteer Tour Part 4 Reviewing Outfitter's Caribou popup camper showing how far into the mountain forest I can get with this truly versatile combination. We tow boats and horse trailers, because we can. There is enough payload capacity left for the tongue weight of a boat or 2-horse trailer. Also Torklift's camper tie down review. Read.
2006 Lincoln Mark LT Truck Towing a Hart Thoroughbred. The luxury truck market is a fickle one. Maybe it's the 4x4 option or the fact that it's great looking F150 or maybe the hip hop stars haven't bought as many Lincolns as the Cadillac Escalade. But it's a sharp looking truck! The waterfall grill, chrome, chrome and more chrome does say Bling More...
Image 2006 Honda Ridgeline pickup truck is introduced at the North American International Auto Show. Monday, January 10, 2005, from The Detroit News. Honda builds a truck, or is it? It is a body on frame, More.
Hummer H2 proved to be a great trailer tower. Equalizer wdh made it a easy pulling a 34' travel trailer from Nevada to Colorado in December threw mountain passes and snow storms. Read the story from Ultimate Hummers Magazine.
Quadrasteer Tour Part 3  Towing a Zeppelin travel trailer to Estes Park at the Spruce Lake RV Park. The Denali is on the move again showing off it's backing skills in the picturesque Rocky Mountains. It makes me want to move to the hills near the Big Thompson River. Read more...
#17) I drove the 05 Ford Escape Hybrid in Denver. With $2 gas, the Escape is the first SUV to go Hybrid. And a true hybrid, developing it's own energy to charge it's batteries from applying the brakes and run on an eclectic motor alone. Something we did a lot of in downtown Denver. More...
Quadrasteer Adventure Tour Part 2. Cutting edge Denali QS truck tows the cutting edge loader from Bobcat. My review of the Toolcat 5600 4-Wheel-Steer loader. And more opinions of towing with Quadrasteer by first timer Read More...
#15) Yes it's time for more 2005 truck reviews.  The new 2005 Super Duty, factory trailer brake controller, finally higher tow rating, more payload capacity and of course, more power. Click here.

#16) The Quadrasteer Adventure Tour Part 1, Towing a Horse Trailer at 14,000ft.  Extreme Towing I. Read my first article in the series and see what your missing.  Also Reviewing a Logan Contender Steel Horse Trailer. More....

SUV's aren't my first choice as a tow vehicle, but I do understand the economics. Not everyone can afford a truck and a car. And the size, weight and height of a SUV gives you the feeling of safety in traffic. You want that same safety towing a horse trailer by making the right choice matching your trailer and SUV. More...
The HUMVEE is the original HUMMER, the cornerstone of the brand. In 2003, HUMMER introduced H2, reflecting an evolution of the brand and making HUMMER more accessible to a wider audience. For 05, the HUMMER brand continues to evolve, thanks to the H2 SUT....

14)  04 Titan XE King Cab off-roading with the Outfitter Popup Camper. Made for each other, the Titan stays level with the 1500# camper onboard. The tailgate had to come out, but that's simple. It's not hard to find a camper that will fit the Titan. Bed dimensions are very close to a Ford F150 97-03 models. Read the whole story.

SuperSprings Anti-Sway Safety Stabilizers do not replace the existing springs, but function together with the vehicle's existing suspension system, providing additional support only as required, when the vehicle enters a bend, turn, swerve or when carrying a heavy load. Discover More...

SuperSprings: •Do not stiffen the ride when your vehicle is empty or on a straight road, as do overload springs. •Are inexpensive and easy-to-install. •Require no maintenance. •Reduce rear end sag and sway due to heavy loading. Today's light trucks and Vans are designed for smooth ride and comfort when empty or lightly loaded. When fully loaded, the softer suspension in these vehicles tends to let the rear end sag, compromising safety and comfort. Find out More...

1) Desert Test drives starring Ford 6.0L PS

2) The GM Quadrasteer reviews.

3)  2003 Dodge diesel & Featherlite.

4)  2003 Hummer 2 review

5) 2004 Ford F150

6) 2003 Lincoln Aviator

7)  2004 Nissan Titan

8) 03 Dodge Hemi 2500 &  dump trailer

Best choice for useable diesel power. Several models that will make you grin as you keep checking your mirrors to see if the trailer's still there! Because of $3 fuel,  you want efficient power, improved Miles Per Gallon with more Horse Power & Torque.
9) 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee

 

10) 2004 Nissan Pathfinder Armada

11) Hemi Durango review, along with Ice Driving School and Red Rocks. Read More...

12) 2003 SS Silverado by Rick Vorce
13) 2nd look at the all new Ford F150 & sailboats that live in Colorado. click to see the whole story...

MrTruck Test DrivesFordDodge, GMToyota Hummer2  The Shoe Box trucks. Ford, GM, and Nissan go for the box look in future trucks.

Business Class M2 100 when visibility & maneuverability are top priorities. Available with 19.5-inch wheels and hydraulic or air brakes. Introduced last year, the M2 comes in 3 models. Named for the cab-to-axle measurements, 100, 106 and 112. Class 5 -8 available in crew cabs and extended cab in the 106 and 112 models, but no 4x4. Something to consider for those big trailers.  More..

M2 Sport Chassis 2005 to replace FL series. I'll be reviewing the 2004 Freightliner Sport Chassis Ranch Hauler soon.

Innovations from outer space coming soon to a truck near you. Camless diesel engine since 1999, Lane Departure Warning System available now, and Electronic Stability Control, directing Vehicle Dynamics could save your life. More..
Stop tire cupping, vibration and premature wear on those expensive truck, RV & trailer tires. Centramatic automatic wheel balancers have been saving money on tires for semi-trucks for over twenty years. Now you can automatically balance your tires, wheels, hub and rotors or drums while you drive. A balanced tire doesn't cub, vibrates less & lowers the tire sidewall temperature from less flexing, giving you longer tire life. 5 year warranty, made in the USA. More
Ford may actually get a 4.5L V-6 diesel after all. Just a few years ago, Ford had Navistar build a plant to produce 4.5L V-6 diesels for the F150 & Expeditions. Then when Nasser got canned from the top job at Ford, so did his pet projects. When Ford told Navistar no thanks & backed out of the V-6 diesel order, Navistar took loosing a couple hundred million dollars personally. Ford, last summer gave Navistar a settlement on their small diesel loss & now, for 2006, a new Ford cab-forward truck has someone's Power Stroke 4.5L V-6, read the story
The Toyota Tundra grows up! This new larger double cab will be available this fall. Under pressure from Nissan's Titan full size truck out late fall, Toyota put a real rear seat in this truck and lengthened the frame and over all dimensions. As I warned earlier, the Japanese auto makers are taking advantage of some of the lapse in quality associated with American trucks as they did with American cars in the seventies. It will be a war of gas economy also. As in the diesels, competition helps all of us. This truck was introduced at the Chicago Auto Show, with a model wearing a cowboy hat, what do you think that means? Stay tuned for more.