I've had a two-year agreement with Nissan to use a Titan in our content, which was mostly driven by the fact that I have bought five of them out of my pocket prior to that. That 2017 now needs to be returned to them, as agreed to when they sent it to me.
Summary of that two-season test - The Titan very good truck that was well-suited for the uses I have for a truck. For the price, it represents very good value. I'm impressed enough that I've tried to buy the truck from Nissan at the end of this agreement, but because it was a pre-production model, they cannot sell it to me. That's a bummer, as I already have the custom seat covers, topper, roof rack, and upgraded the tires. I also have a Warn winch I had planned to put on it. It even survived the abuse of camera guys, who by training are able to break a logging chain with a rubber hammer.
With buying that 2017 Titan not option, I am now back in truck test/research/drive mode, the same as I was in 2016 when I bought a one-year old Titan for a screaming deal. That 2015 Titan was a beast and got more abuse than any of the Titans I've ever driven. Amazingly, after two seasons of zero problems, I sold it for only $4,000 less than I paid for it.
When I last went through this process, I looked at the following trucks:
It eventually came down to the Raptor, the Power Wagon, and the Titan. Each of those three had benefits that appealed to me, with the far lower price of the Titan carrying the day.
Each model has had nice upgrades over the last four years, so it will be another fun process. Chevy now has the Silverado Trail Boss, a beefed up Z71. Fortunately, one of my employees bought one in December, so I can easily get hands on feedback with that. Not enough has changed with the Ram Rebel that I can rule that out. And, the Ford F-150 is a workhorse, but if I can find a screaming deal on a Raptor, I would go that route.
I have already eliminated one other rig that will probably cause some to shake their head. I rented a 2019 decked out Toyota Tundra TRD Off Road model when I was on my Coues hunt. It was very underwhelming, much as when I tested them in 2016. For the price and reputation, I expect more. It requires a LOT of aftermarket changes to get it up to par with the other models. I struggle to understand how Toyota can make such a great truck as it has with the Tacoma, an absolute bad ass truck for its class, yet can be so pedestrian in how it appoints the Tundra. I was not impressed when I tested them in 2016 and even less impressed in December 2019. Given the luck our crew has with Tacomas, I want to give the Tundra high grades. But, for what I do and the needs I have, the Tundra rates lowest when comparing the features/lack of features/price equation.
Nissan is upgrading the 2020, but those new models are not going to be ready until June. When I go online and do the "build-price" of the 2020, I struggle to justify the cost of a brand new model for the Titan (or any truck). That model delay makes it hard for me to get a low-mileage current-model Titan that is one-year old. The 2020 Titan will have a nine-speed tranny, which will be a great upgrade. That appeals to me. And, the price is always better than some of the other trucks when looking at new trucks. I've put 50,000 miles on a 2017 Titan, which is very similar to the 2019. I don't need to test drive a Titan to know how it will work.
So, for this upcoming test, it will be these trucks I will drive/test. The idea being that I will look for a low-mileage 2019 at a screaming deal. And if none of them impress me enough, relative to the cost required for a lightly used 2019 model, I will scratch a check for my 6th Nissan Titan PRO4X, accepting it will not be the upgraded 2020 model.
Over the next week I plan to have done a pretty good assessment of these rigs. Then, it will be weighing the benefits of each and measuring against the cost required to buy one. Looking online the last few weeks, I am floored at what trucks cost these days. I paid $30,000 for my last truck. Looks like I'm gonna have to increase that by $20,000 for any of these trucks I am considering, at least for a low-mileage 2019. Ouch!
Summary of that two-season test - The Titan very good truck that was well-suited for the uses I have for a truck. For the price, it represents very good value. I'm impressed enough that I've tried to buy the truck from Nissan at the end of this agreement, but because it was a pre-production model, they cannot sell it to me. That's a bummer, as I already have the custom seat covers, topper, roof rack, and upgraded the tires. I also have a Warn winch I had planned to put on it. It even survived the abuse of camera guys, who by training are able to break a logging chain with a rubber hammer.
With buying that 2017 Titan not option, I am now back in truck test/research/drive mode, the same as I was in 2016 when I bought a one-year old Titan for a screaming deal. That 2015 Titan was a beast and got more abuse than any of the Titans I've ever driven. Amazingly, after two seasons of zero problems, I sold it for only $4,000 less than I paid for it.
When I last went through this process, I looked at the following trucks:
- Toyota Tundra TRD Off Road
- Chevy Z27 Silverado
- Ford Raptor
- Ford F-150 FX4
- Ram Rebel
- Ram Power Wagon
- Nissan Titan PRO-4X
It eventually came down to the Raptor, the Power Wagon, and the Titan. Each of those three had benefits that appealed to me, with the far lower price of the Titan carrying the day.
Each model has had nice upgrades over the last four years, so it will be another fun process. Chevy now has the Silverado Trail Boss, a beefed up Z71. Fortunately, one of my employees bought one in December, so I can easily get hands on feedback with that. Not enough has changed with the Ram Rebel that I can rule that out. And, the Ford F-150 is a workhorse, but if I can find a screaming deal on a Raptor, I would go that route.
I have already eliminated one other rig that will probably cause some to shake their head. I rented a 2019 decked out Toyota Tundra TRD Off Road model when I was on my Coues hunt. It was very underwhelming, much as when I tested them in 2016. For the price and reputation, I expect more. It requires a LOT of aftermarket changes to get it up to par with the other models. I struggle to understand how Toyota can make such a great truck as it has with the Tacoma, an absolute bad ass truck for its class, yet can be so pedestrian in how it appoints the Tundra. I was not impressed when I tested them in 2016 and even less impressed in December 2019. Given the luck our crew has with Tacomas, I want to give the Tundra high grades. But, for what I do and the needs I have, the Tundra rates lowest when comparing the features/lack of features/price equation.
Nissan is upgrading the 2020, but those new models are not going to be ready until June. When I go online and do the "build-price" of the 2020, I struggle to justify the cost of a brand new model for the Titan (or any truck). That model delay makes it hard for me to get a low-mileage current-model Titan that is one-year old. The 2020 Titan will have a nine-speed tranny, which will be a great upgrade. That appeals to me. And, the price is always better than some of the other trucks when looking at new trucks. I've put 50,000 miles on a 2017 Titan, which is very similar to the 2019. I don't need to test drive a Titan to know how it will work.
So, for this upcoming test, it will be these trucks I will drive/test. The idea being that I will look for a low-mileage 2019 at a screaming deal. And if none of them impress me enough, relative to the cost required for a lightly used 2019 model, I will scratch a check for my 6th Nissan Titan PRO4X, accepting it will not be the upgraded 2020 model.
- Chevy Trail Boss (This truck came out in 2019, so there are one-year old models out there and some track record on this model)
- Ford Raptor (The 2020 and 2019 are virtually identical, so there will be many used models out there, with little reason to pay for a brand new truck)
- Ram Power Wagon (This model has been around a long-time. They hold value very well, so it will be interesting to see what the price will be for a low-mileage 2019)
Over the next week I plan to have done a pretty good assessment of these rigs. Then, it will be weighing the benefits of each and measuring against the cost required to buy one. Looking online the last few weeks, I am floored at what trucks cost these days. I paid $30,000 for my last truck. Looks like I'm gonna have to increase that by $20,000 for any of these trucks I am considering, at least for a low-mileage 2019. Ouch!
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