Life Expectancy of Pickup Trucks?

Hey guys,

Got a question for a few of you motorheads that may know a thing or two about trucks. I was wondering if there is a general rule as to what I can expect for life expectancy out of a 1/2 ton pickup truck, provided the routine matiencence has been conducted?

Since I drive quite a bit, my thought is I would like to find something with a higher miles that I can drive for 40,000-60,000 miles, then retire it for a hunting vehicle up at the cabin versus buying something newer and racking up the miles quickly on it, thus making it worth less than what I owe on it.

Any ideas what I can expect to get out of a Domestestic Brand 1/2 pickup for mileage life?

Thanks in advance.

My DD has always been a pickup. Chev, Ford and my latest a 2008 Dodge 1500. I have 135,000 trouble free miles – oil changes, shocks, tires, but nothing other than wear items. I’m planning on running it to 200,000 before I replace it unless something radical happens. If well maintained, they should last.

Properly maintained I would be disapointed with anything less than a 200,000 mile service life on a modern pickup. I had a 1996 f250 that had 298,000 on it when I sold it and ran like a watch. Original engine, transmission had been rebuilt due to abuse/lack of proper maintainance. Keep them clean and fed they will last a long time.

Mine has 114,000 miles and still runs like its new with no equipment needing replacement except the usual brakes, fluids and tires.

Its for sale if interested, only reason is the wife wants a better mileage vehicle and I am taking over her durango. P.M. me if interested

Justin,

It doesn’t matter how you handle the truck, it’s the previous owner you need to consider. If it had good regular maintenance and wasn’t beaten to death you are OK. I had a 2003 GMC, bought it new, took care of it but pulled a trailer 30,000+ miles. I used synthetic oil, dropped the tranny fluid every spring. That truck had 320,000 miles when it was totaled in a accident. There is zero doubt in my mind it would have gone 400,000 miles.

Find a older guy like me who thinks he needs to replace his truck at 100,000 miles. You will have a great vehicle for many, many years to come.

These aren’t your Grandpa’s trucks they are building these days!!

I think a well maintained pick-up should easily do 200,000 to 250,000. That being said -it is normal to do a transmission at around 150,000 give or take 20,000. Of course the key word is “well maintained”. Used and abused trucks have a considerably shorter lifespan.

Thanks for the quick responses guys!

Ideally what i’m looking for is something in the 120-140K range, and if I can get 200K out of it I would be more than happy.

I have driven my last 3 trucks to 200,000 miles without hardly any issues other than regular maintaince.

Current 2008 Chev with 5.3 is now at 169,000 and has had nothing other than the regular things like brakes and oil changes. This current truck does not use near anything for oil between my oil changes.

If one services them and watches things closely, 200,00o should not be an issue.

It use to be 100,000 was alot of miles on the older trucks with the points and condenser but todays truck will go for a long time.

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Justin,

It doesn’t matter how you handle the truck, it’s the previous owner you need to consider. If it had good regular maintenance and wasn’t beaten to death you are OK. I had a 2003 GMC, bought it new, took care of it but pulled a trailer 30,000+ miles. I used synthetic oil, dropped the tranny fluid every spring. That truck had 320,000 miles when it was totaled in a accident. There is zero doubt in my mind it would have gone 400,000 miles.

Find a older guy like me who thinks he needs to replace his truck at 100,000 miles. You will have a great vehicle for many, many years to come.

These aren’t your Grandpa’s trucks they are building these days!!

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Well said I’ve run well maintained trucks, and had well over 250K miles on them when I sold them. Watched on the road for a few more years before they dissapeared. I’m well over 200K on my duramax, and I expect over. 400K on that. Only had one truck that didn’t see many miles on the engine. Ford F150 – biggest piece of crap I ever owned. Had the 3rd engine in it when I gave it away. I just felt bad that I gave it to a buddy, and he inherited the headaches until he dumped it off. Personally, I’m very partial to GMC. A buddy’s survived the F2 tornado in Eagle, WI. Probably still finding grass and shingles embedded on the frame of that truck.

I don’t think I’ll buy a vehicle with less than 80k miles ever again. I’ve bought my last 3 vehicles with 75k or over and have yet to need a major repair. My Dad and Uncle are at about 60k on their trucks now and will be trading up in the next 20-30k, so I’m probably due for another steal on a vehicle pretty soon. I think I did so well on my last truck that 2.5 yrs later I could sell it for what I paid.

I’ve had my 01 chev since new. 208,000 without any major issues. Fuel pump, brakes, u-joint, and regular tuneups. I change fluids on a regular basis, never did the trans flush, just fluid & filter every 75,000 or so, but I don’t pull anything big. If I buy anything used, the first thing I would do is change ALL fluids, diff’s, trans, transfer, brake and oil of coarse. Good luck.

I’ve always felt like 250,000 was a reasonable expectation for something built in in the last 10-15 years, and 300,000+ was doing really well. Unless it’s a Dodge, then it should go 500,000 no problem … right Big G?

If I kept a truck with 250,000 miles or so for weekend use I’d expect it to run if it had a good history to that point. You’ll probably run into a few issues with any truck just because it’s sitting around, but if you do a good job maintaining it and keep it in a garage I bet you’ll be OK. It sounds like you have very reasonable expectations.

Sure… we had a 2004, Ram 1500 in today with 326K… and he will drive it for another year before retiring it and getting a new one… he is a brick salesman and travels to the west coast often… Original drivetrain, but I gotta think that tranny has very little material left in it

I have a 2005 Silverado 1/2 ton with 175,000 miles. Oil changed every 3,000 miles & parts replaced as needed. Looks & runs pretty good for an old gal. I need at least another year out of her, maybe more. Take care of them, they’ll take care of you.

I have a 99 GMC Sierra (1st year of the newer body style) that I bought in 2002 with 40,000 miles on it. I now have 240,000 and think it will keep going.

My only issue now is the cab corners are starting to rust which was apparently a common problem on the earlier models. Grrrr… I hate rust.

Did the tranny awhile ago, breaks are new, putting new tires on this fall. Really no major maintenance issues to deal with soon. Might as well keep driving the thing.

tricky question some years some makes are notorious for tranny problems and others there engines burning excess oil. I had a 98 1/2 ton silverado tranny go out at 97,000 and I babied this truck.
Then again I’m running an 87 gmc 3/4 ton 2 wheel drive and working the snot out of it and its going on 210,000 with nothing major going out on it.