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Decided i need a truck

J

jaha2000

Senior member
Looking for a small crew cab.
Stuff in the running right now....
Honda Ridgeline
Toyota Tacoma
Ford Sport Trac

Just something to do some minor towing (small boat, motorcycle trailer). Camping trips and stuff like that.

Leaning towards the Honda.
 
I have a Tacoma...and I've ridden in a Ridgeline...I have no experience with the Ford...but from what I've read, the Ford is pretty forgettable based on a very old Explorer platform.

The Tacoma is very much a traditional truck. So it does a great job hauling stuff, towing, going offroad, etc. The Ridgeline is much more civilized. If you are used to a car, and just want a little extra functionality...the Ridgeline is great. It does not do well offroad and has limited hauling and towing capabilities. It also looks like crap in my opinion, but that is just subjective. The Ridgeline definitely drives more like a car...it being a unibody obviously helps.
 
hmm never even considered the Frontier.
my buddy had a double cab tacoma. sr5 trd package.
Nice ride, just seemed quite loud going down the road which seems to be a common complaint.
 
jaha2000 said:
hmm never even considered the Frontier.
my buddy had a double cab tacoma. sr5 trd package.
Nice ride, just seemed quite loud going down the road which seems to be a common complaint.
Click to expand...

Frontier was the only option when I was shopping in 2005 that had a factory spray in bedliner.
 
You don't need a truck to tow the things you're talking about, so step one is to decide if you *want* a truck; otherwise buy something else with a 1000-1500lb tow rating.

That being said, you can get a Chevy 1500 crew cab pretty cheap, and then you'll have something approaching an actual truck. Whether it's a real savings depends on how much total driving you do.
 
For what you're talking about any decent truck or even SUV will do it without a single problem. Personally though, if you want a truck get a real truck, not these SUV/Truck hybrids. In my experience a quadcab truck with a short bed is a better vehicle.

The Tacoma, Frontier, or Colorado may work out better for you. They're a bit smaller but all of them come with a quad cab and enough power (at least if you get the right engine) to do light duty hauling.
 
well it would be nice to make a home depot run and not have to go borrow peoples stuff. But at the same time not have a giant bus of a vehicle.
The colorado can probably be had for good deals right now too..
 
jaha2000 said:
well it would be nice to make a home depot run and not have to go borrow peoples stuff. But at the same time not have a giant bus of a vehicle.
The colorado can probably be had for good deals right now too..
Click to expand...

Don't forget the Home Depot will rent you a van for about $8 to take your stuff home. Buying a vehicle based on what you might infrequently do with it is essentially an emotional decision.

Even a small truck is going to pay a serious ride comfort and probably a minor fuel penalty compared to a proper passenger vehicle, and the back seats of compact crew cabs aren't much to write home about. You simply can't have a vehicle that does everything well, or even reasonably well.

You're right though, you can probably get a decent price on a colorado right now.
 
jaha2000 said:
well it would be nice to make a home depot run and not have to go borrow peoples stuff. But at the same time not have a giant bus of a vehicle.
The colorado can probably be had for good deals right now too..
Click to expand...

Any of the three midsized trucks I mentioned will have significantly more usable space than the Ford sport trac and I would bet more than the Ridgeline also.

I'm betting that you'll have more room to bargain on the Colorado than any of the others. It's worth a test drive to check it out at the very least.
 
Any reason you're looking at the small ones? The price of an F150 is so cheap that I really don't know why you'd bother with a compact. If you do, the Colorado is the best you listed.
 
Arkaign said:
Any reason you're looking at the small ones? The price of an F150 is so cheap that I really don't know why you'd bother with a compact. If you do, the Colorado is the best you listed.
Click to expand...

Cost of ownership on a smaller one will most likely be cheaper. The 5 cylinder Colorado gets 2 mpg better than the F150. However, if he opts for the V8 Colorado it actually gets worse mileage than the V8 F150.
 
Bignate603 said:
Cost of ownership on a smaller one will most likely be cheaper. The 5 cylinder Colorado gets 2 mpg better than the F150. However, if he opts for the V8 Colorado it actually gets worse mileage than the V8 F150.
Click to expand...

Hmm. One might think that, but I don't think insurance will really be any different, and one thing I've noticed about small trucks (I had a Ranger V6, and have friends who have had Frontiers, Tacoma (90s model) is that to pull anything or to load up the bed, the fuel economy takes a pretty good hit, worse than the V8 Chevy and Ford (unsure on Ram vs. Dakota V6) when similarly laden. 2mpg isn't a big deal unless it's a serious DD that you're putting a ton of miles on.

I'm not criticizing or thread-crapping, just wondering. Parking isn't gonna be any more difficult really, the full-size truck just gives a bit more practicality when the time comes to really use it (moving, pulling a large/heavy trailer, etc) for not a lot of extra cost IMHO. Chevy and Ford seem really good about pushing specials out there on the entry-level full sizers, and finding the V8 models isn't too hard to do pretty cheaply.
 
Arkaign said:
Hmm. One might think that, but I don't think insurance will really be any different, and one thing I've noticed about small trucks (I had a Ranger V6, and have friends who have had Frontiers, Tacoma (90s model) is that to pull anything or to load up the bed, the fuel economy takes a pretty good hit, worse than the V8 Chevy and Ford (unsure on Ram vs. Dakota V6) when similarly laden. 2mpg isn't a big deal unless it's a serious DD that you're putting a ton of miles on.
Click to expand...

I agree, however if he isn't planning on using this for a daily driver there is no reason to even be considering a new vehicle. A 5 or even 10 year old truck will have plenty of towing, camping, and hauling left in it for occasional use and be 1/2 to 1/4 of the cost. Personally, I prefer older vehicles for hauling stuff around. That way I can pay significantly less up front and I don't feel bad when it gets the inevitable scratch or two. I'd feel bad taking a brand new truck where I take my cherokee, it would get scratched up in the first 5 minutes.
 
Bignate603 said:
I agree, however if he isn't planning on using this for a daily driver there is no reason to even be considering a new vehicle. A 5 or even 10 year old truck will have plenty of towing, camping, and hauling left in it for occasional use and be 1/2 to 1/4 of the cost. Personally, I prefer older vehicles for hauling stuff around. That way I can pay significantly less up front and I don't feel bad when it gets the inevitable scratch or two. I'd feel bad taking a brand new truck where I take my cherokee, it would get scratched up in the first 5 minutes.
Click to expand...

I agree 1000% 🙂

I wasn't sure if the OP was considering used, from the wording I guess I assumed he was (I could be way off base).

I brought up F150 because the new deals are so awesome they push the lightly used ones down even more (into the same range as the smaller trucks easily).
 
PricklyPete said:
I have a Tacoma...and I've ridden in a Ridgeline...I have no experience with the Ford...but from what I've read, the Ford is pretty forgettable based on a very old Explorer platform.

The Tacoma is very much a traditional truck. So it does a great job hauling stuff, towing, going offroad, etc. The Ridgeline is much more civilized. If you are used to a car, and just want a little extra functionality...the Ridgeline is great. It does not do well offroad and has limited hauling and towing capabilities. It also looks like crap in my opinion, but that is just subjective. The Ridgeline definitely drives more like a car...it being a unibody obviously helps.
Click to expand...

Completely incorrect.
 
Would not touch a Ridgeline. Its shocks/struts are valved so softly they will blow out on worn washboarded gravel roads.

The Sport-Trac with the 4.6L V8 is a great choice. 292HP & 315TQ!
15-city 21 hwy

Dodge Dakota with the 4.7L V8 is another great choice - especially used as they depreciate heavily. Much more interior room than the Compact Frontier, Tacoma, Colorado.
302HP 329TQ
 
if you are just hauling a bike etc, but like the flexibility of a truck bed, what about the 4 cylinder small models? Any bigger engine and the full size trucks make more sense.
 
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