Heavy-duty pickups and full-size vans are built to work, and the bills to keep them working show up in maintenance-cost rankings. CarEdge’s 10-year and 5-year lists place many of them near the bottom, and one federal recall adds a reminder that upkeep is not only about oil changes. Here are ten trucks and vans that cost a fortune to keep running.
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1. Ram 3500: Heater Grid Fire Recall
NHTSA recall 23V060000 says a short in the heater grid relay of 2021-2023 Ram 2500 and 3500 trucks with the Cummins 6.7L diesel can cause an engine compartment fire. The NHTSA recall record adds that owners were advised to park outside until the truck was repaired.
This entry is a safety recall, not a maintenance-cost figure, so it shows a different kind of burden. Owners of affected years can confirm by VIN that the repair has been done, since the notice treats the fire risk as a reason to keep the truck away from buildings.
2. Ford F-450: Five-Year Bill
CarEdge’s five-year ranking lists the Ford F-450 at $5,108 in maintenance cost, ranked 179th of 186. In a list sorted from worst to best, that places the one-ton pickup near the expensive end of the vehicles CarEdge tracks.
The figure covers five years only, so it reflects early ownership rather than the long haul. Fleet and commercial buyers who work the truck hard may see different numbers, and the ranking does not say what drives the cost. Fleet buyers who budget by the mile may find a five-year number easier to plan around than a decade-long projection, and the list lets them compare against hundreds of other vehicles.
3. Ford F-350: One Notch Cheaper
CarEdge lists the Ford F-350 at $4,931 in five-year maintenance cost, ranked 178th of 186. That sits just above its F-450 sibling in the same CarEdge worst-maintenance table, which puts the two Super Duty models side by side.
The $177 gap between the two trucks is small next to the overall bill. Buyers comparing Super Duty trims on running costs alone would find little separating them on this ranking. The gap in rank is only one place, which underlines how closely the two models track each other in the data.
4. Ford F-250: Ten-Year View
CarEdge puts 10-year maintenance on the Ford F-250 at $15,697, a figure listed in its 10-year maintenance ranking at position 177. The longer window captures the stretch where wear items and repairs start to pile up.
That total is the highest among the pickups in this gallery. Owners planning to keep a three-quarter-ton truck for a decade may want to budget for it, though the ranking is an estimate and individual costs vary with use. The ranking is sorted worst first, so a higher position signals a bigger upkeep bill.
5. Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD: Chevy’s Heavy Duty
CarEdge puts 10-year maintenance on the Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD at $15,312. The CarEdge ranking page lists it at 175th, a few spots from the Ford F-250 in the same worst-first table.
The Silverado 2500HD lands within a few hundred dollars of its Ford rival, which suggests the expense is tied to the heavy-duty segment as much as to one brand. Shoppers cross-shopping the two will find the maintenance estimates close. Both figures are estimates, so actual costs will depend on how the truck is used, towed and serviced.
6. GMC Sierra 2500HD: Sierra Twin
CarEdge puts 10-year maintenance on the GMC Sierra 2500HD at $13,755, ranked 173rd in its maintenance cost list. It is the mechanical twin of the Silverado in the same segment, and the estimate comes in lower by roughly $1,500.
The source gives numbers but no explanation for the difference between the two General Motors trucks. Buyers choosing between them would be better served by comparing trim, warranty and dealer service pricing than by treating the gap as meaningful. Its position in the table is only two places from the Silverado, so the two are close even where the dollar amounts differ.
7. Chevrolet Express: Work Van Costs
CarEdge puts 10-year maintenance on the Chevrolet Express Cargo van at $12,233 and the Express Passenger at $12,306. Both appear in the CarEdge ten-year table, which treats the two body styles as separate entries.
Vans are the only non-pickups in this gallery, and the estimates sit below the heavy-duty trucks above. Small businesses running Express vans can use the figures as a rough baseline for upkeep budgets. The Passenger version costs about $73 more over the decade, a difference too small to matter in practice.
8. Jeep Gladiator: Gladiator Premium
FinanceBuzz, citing CarEdge, lists the Jeep Gladiator at $12,640 over 10 years, $3,015 more than the average pickup. The comparison appears in a FinanceBuzz maintenance article that sorts trucks by how far they exceed the benchmark.
The Gladiator is a mid-size pickup, so the premium is notable in a class that usually promises lower costs. The source gives the comparison but not the reasons, so owners cannot tell from it which repairs drive the gap. Only the total and the premium are given, so the underlying mix of repairs remains unknown.
9. Ford Ranger: Ranger Overage
FinanceBuzz, citing CarEdge, lists the Ford Ranger at $10,938 over 10 years, $1,314 more than the average pickup. The number comes from the same FinanceBuzz truck ranking that includes the Gladiator, though the Ranger’s premium is considerably smaller.
A premium of about $1,300 over a decade works out to a modest annual difference. Ranger shoppers might treat the figure as a minor consideration rather than a deal-breaker, since the source does not break out the causes. It also leaves the Ranger as the middle entry of the three FinanceBuzz pickups, between the Gladiator and the Colorado.
10. Chevrolet Colorado: Colorado Closer to Average
FinanceBuzz, citing CarEdge, lists the Chevrolet Colorado at $10,664 over 10 years, $1,039 more than the industry average. Its FinanceBuzz maintenance list frames the comparison against the industry rather than against other pickups.
The Colorado has the smallest premium of the three mid-size trucks in this gallery. Because the benchmark here is industry-wide rather than pickup-only, the figures are not directly comparable with the Gladiator and Ranger entries. Treating all three FinanceBuzz pickups as a group, the spread runs from roughly $10,700 to $12,600 over ten years.
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