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Beater Truck Recommendations

HybridSquirrel

HybridSquirrel

Diamond Member
I'm looking for a reliable beater truck since we just moved back to the Mainland and I want to go to a bit of light off-roading. I was looking at a Mazda B4000 or a Ford Ranger, I had one for a little while and liked the size. I can't really afford a Taco because everyone thinks they are worth minimum of $10,000 no matter the mileage, age or mods, and I definitely want a smaller truck, F150 would be too big.

Are there other good small size pick-ups that would make for a reliable beater? How are those older Nissan pick-ups?
 
HybridSquirrel said:
I'm looking for a reliable beater truck since we just moved back to the Mainland and I want to go to a bit of light off-roading. I was looking at a Mazda B4000 or a Ford Ranger, I had one for a little while and liked the size. I can't really afford a Taco because everyone thinks they are worth minimum of $10,000 no matter the mileage, age or mods, and I definitely want a smaller truck, F150 would be too big.

Are there other good small size pick-ups that would make for a reliable beater? How are those older Nissan pick-ups?
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I bought my last Tacoma for $4500 (TRD 4x4 with locker). Mileage doesn't matter too much on them - they run forever. What's your price range? Are you looking for just off-road use, or using it as a truck (i.e. bed is required) as well?
 
jlee said:
I bought my last Tacoma for $4500 (TRD 4x4 with locker). Mileage doesn't matter too much on them - they run forever. What's your price range? Are you looking for just off-road use, or using it as a truck (i.e. bed is required) as well?
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Bed required. I want to be able to just throw my bike/skis/etc in the back or something instead of strapping it to the roof. I am trying to keep it under $5000, and I am not going to do serious off-roading, just more than the STi can handle. Would also be a DD on most days, but I rarely drive to work anymore anyway.

I was browsing CL here and the only Taco's under $10k are early 90s with half a million miles on them or the 4cyl models which don't appeal to me. I realize the run forever, but even that is a bit excessive.
 
My #1 pick for non-yota smaller pickup would be Nissan Frontier. Decent off road and stout drive train.

Rangers would be strong second for general reliability and ease of service and parts availability.

Going off road means breaking stuff. Enjoy.
 
I'll second the frontier. They don't command the premium the tacos do and are just about as reliable. Parts shouldnt be expensive and the truck hasn't changed much in the last decade. The taco has much wider aftermarket support though if that's something you are interested.
 
monkeydelmagico said:
My #1 pick for non-yota smaller pickup would be Nissan Frontier. Decent off road and stout drive train.

Rangers would be strong second for general reliability and ease of service and parts availability.

Going off road means breaking stuff. Enjoy.
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Eh not necessarily...really depends on what you're doing and how aggressively you're doing it. I'm definitely more on the "casual offroad" side of things, but I have yet to break something offroad.
 
Yeah I am more of a "casual" offroader. I like going back to remote camp sites and biking trails but not bouldering up huge cliffs ot river fording.

We're back in CO now, boulder area. I had a brief look at lunch today and found a few for a little over $5k but still had plenty of miles on them.

I am leaning towards a frontier. Lots of people seem pleased with them.
 
That red ranger I emailed already, one of the first I found when I started looking this weekend but that white one looks pretty nice especially for that price.

That dealer with the taco in golden is totally crap and that black Taco is a bit of a drive. I'll check them out some more later.

Do you still have the Lexus?
 
HybridSquirrel said:
That red ranger I emailed already, one of the first I found when I started looking this weekend but that white one looks pretty nice especially for that price.

That dealer with the taco in golden is totally crap and that black Taco is a bit of a drive. I'll check them out some more later.

Do you still have the Lexus?
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I do! Since I'm in NJ now, I'm going to sell it to my dad in TX -- it's been sitting mostly unused for the last 6 months.
 
Make sure the Ranger has its valve body gasket issue addressed. It will blow eventually without mods from kits like the Transgo kit.
 
welcome to Boulder. I live just down south Boulder Rd in Lafayette. we do a good Mount of camping and offroading in the summer. the stuff you are looking at is good, if you go east to Brighton or up to Greely the prices get cheaper.
 
herm0016 said:
welcome to Boulder. I live just down south Boulder Rd in Lafayette. we do a good Mount of camping and offroading in the summer. the stuff you are looking at is good, if you go east to Brighton or up to Greely the prices get cheaper.
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I've lived here before XD. I usually head down to Ouray area once a month for some off-roading/camping

jlee said:
I do! Since I'm in NJ now, I'm going to sell it to my dad in TX -- it's been sitting mostly unused for the last 6 months.
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How's the speed 6? That Lexus build was sweet though! I'm not looking to go hardcore with anything I get. Maybe a small lift and some nicer tires but yeah.
 
Tacos are good trucks, but I think they are overrated. They are like the civic of small trucks where every modder must start with a taco for cred.

Any of the older small trucks are solidly built. They were so simple back then that there wasn't much to go wrong. I'd probably lean away from an S10, but the Ranger and Frontier were good trucks. Rangers will be a little easier to source parts. I'll throw a wild card out there and recommend looking into a Jeep Comanche. They can be hard to find, which is part of the appeal. Anything that fits onto a Cherokee will fit on the Comanche.
 
the S10 ZR2 was actually pretty great off road. S10s are just a bit hard to find anymore. they were great little trucks and quite underrated IMHO. the ranger was built far longer and there are a lot more of them around.
 
HybridSquirrel said:
I've lived here before XD. I usually head down to Ouray area once a month for some off-roading/camping



How's the speed 6? That Lexus build was sweet though! I'm not looking to go hardcore with anything I get. Maybe a small lift and some nicer tires but yeah.
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The Speed6 is great - has a CEL for a neutral position sensor switch or something....need to sort that out once it gets warmer.

The MR2, however....is on a dyno today. I'm excited. 😎
 
Another vote for the Ranger. Find one with the 4.0, not the 3.0. The Rangers are plenty reliable, have decent power with the 4.0, great climbing ability with the 4.10 rear end, and parts are dirt cheap.

Like has already been said about the Taco's, don't get them. They are a great truck that, like old Civics, have put themselves into worthlessness by immense over-valuing. For every overpriced Taco, there's an equivalently priced Ranger or Frontier that is much newer, or lower miles, etc.

If you're looking for a beater, I'd definitely hold out for a 4.0 Ranger.
 
damn. seems fishy. google search the image, it comes up with something a bit sketchy. seems like the price should be closer to 10k.
 
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