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.
Another vote for the Ranger. They aren't glamorous, after they were updated in 2001, they pretty much stayed that way until end of life 2011. But they are rugged as hell. The only thing that is a watch zone is the transmission. Both the autos and the manuals. The mazda made manual was weak and was prone to needing rebuilds for bent forks and leaking cylinders. The autos (4R44E and 5R55E) had wear issues. These issues were fixed in later years, but if you get one that isn't, then at your first rebuild in 150-175K miles you most transmission shops will get you either the updated Ford parts, or the aftermarket parts that fixed the issues before Ford. Either way with one of those rebuilds you can go another 300K without worry.
Engine options. Duratec 2.3L I4 is a stout fleet engine. Not much power, and vibrates the truck because they took the balance shafts out of it to make more low end torque (the engine is also used in the Focus of the same years, but has balance shafts to smooth it out). They are reliable as they come and it's not at all unusual to see 350K with no rebuild work as long as maintenance has been done. Ford did make 4x4 models of these sadly (though if you're older than about 1994 I believe you could get an I4 4x4, but this is the old 2.3L and you want to stay away from them because of head issues).
3.0L FFV, the flex fuel option offered by Ford. It was later discontinued as it was the only Vulcan engine left in the fleet, so you won't find it on newer trucks (2008 or newer). It's extremely overbuilt for it's low power output, and because of that, they tend to go forever, again with 350K not being an issue. But they get horrible MPG for their power output. It's said that they have all the power of the 2.3L with all the poor MPG of the 4.0, and from my limited work with them, I'd agree. But certain fleets needed FFV vehicles, and the engine paid off in spades for Ford.
4.0L SOHC. This was the powerhouse option for the Ranger, and you'll find most of the non-XL models equipped with it. 2008 and onward with the 3.0L discontinued, it was the only way to get 4x4. The engine made alot of power at the time, but as with all compact pickups, it's very inefficient compared to modern engines. Expect to stay under 20mpg highway with this engine. As long as maintenance is done, they'll usually last 200K, but their heads are more sensitive than the other engines to driver abuse and lack of maintenance.
I had a 2007 2.3L Ranger XL regular cab long bed. I would put it up there with the best vehicle I ever owned. It was super reliable, had plenty of power to tow a couple thousand pounds on the regular, the 7ft bed was super useful, it was easy to part, and I got about 28mpg highway. Because everything was standard shaped, accessories were plenty. Easy to add a touch screen nav, full proper audio system, reverse camera ect. And it was cheap. Got it in 2011 for 9500$ with just 31,000 miles on it. It was rugged and went everywhere for me.
I would also not shy away from the Nissan Frontier, just watch out for certain years. They are extremely rugged. I would like to find a slightly used Pro4X model. I wanted a 2011 4x4 Ranger Sport XLT, but with the word children started to be thrown around with my wife, not so sure it's a good idea to get a non-crew truck or an SUV.
