Sedan vs pickup

satyajitmenon

Golden Member
Apr 3, 2008
1,911
9
81
So here's the deal.

Just moved to a new town and am in the market for a daily driver (used) - in the region of 12-15k. Am about to finalise the lease on my apartment, and it's going to be a 3 mile commute to work (each way).

Now here's the problem. I'm going to buy a motorcycle sometime in the next two months and will be looking to take it to track days (at Jennings GP) at least once a month. Most folks plonk the bike on the back of a pickup (or a trailer hitched to a pickup) and drive up to the race track.

Am trying to figure out if it makes more sense to buy a sedan as a daily driver (cos it'll obviously be more comfortable) and hire a pickup from UHaul (I'm going to be hiring the motorcycle trailer from them anyway, once a month) OR buy a pickup instead.

Anyone here with pickups care to comment on how reliable a 5 yr old F150/Ram1500/Titan/Tundra would be? I've never owned a pickup truck before. Anything I need to watch out for when looking at used ones? I don't mind small issues like little electrical gremlins n stuff, as long as the important components (like the drivetrain) don't fall apart.

On the sedan front, it'll be a toss up between a 3-4 yr old Ford Fusion or a Mazda 6.

***

Update: Picked up a very well maintained '05 Frontier LE King Cab.
 
Last edited:

jlee

Lifer
Sep 12, 2001
48,518
223
106
Pretty much anything should be reliable if it's only 5 years old. I have an '05 Tundra and love it, though I did prefer my Tacoma.
 

Demon-Xanth

Lifer
Feb 15, 2000
20,551
2
81
You can get a sedan and a small trailer for your bike. I'd guess the bike+trailer+equipment likely doesn't exceed 1000LBs and would be easier to load than a truck bed.
 

Vette73

Lifer
Jul 5, 2000
21,503
9
0
I be careful trying to pull a bike, plus you-equipemt-friends-etc..., over a long period with a small sedan.


But for trucks even a GMC/Chevy small truck (canyon/colorado) or ford ranger would be able to haul that just fine, even the 4cyl in those trucks.

I know the Chevy/GMC you can get in 4 door so that woudl be like a sedan. Not sure about the Ranger, I think its only up to King cab.


As far as full size any half ton from Chevy, Ford, or GMC should be fine. I am not a big dodge fan due to a lot of stuff and the first year Tundras had engine issues and now it seems they have rust issues.
I don;t have a lot of experiance with the full size Nissan trucks but from what i have read and seen they were not to bad. But I still would go for the main 3 (Chevy, Ford, or GMC)
 
Last edited:

hanoverphist

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 2006
9,867
23
76
You can get a sedan and a small trailer for your bike. I'd guess the bike+trailer+equipment likely doesn't exceed 1000LBs and would be easier to load than a truck bed.

this. my bike trailer is very low to the ground and the whole back end is a fold up ramp. easy to load/ unlaod, very light and solid. any car could probably pull it. as for the truck thing, i have a 2001 dodge ram 1500 with about 170k miles on it. some minor issues with seals and leaks, but nothing that will keep me from driving it daily. i put about 90k on it in the last 3.5 years, which is pretty heavy use. im surprised it doesnt have a bunch more issues than leaks.


knock on wood. (please dont break down, truck!)
 

satyajitmenon

Golden Member
Apr 3, 2008
1,911
9
81
Thanks folks... Never thought about considering compact pickups. I guess I should go look at some ranger/tacoma/frontiers.

One last question. Should I be looking at AWD since I'm thinking about towing? From a couple of searches on autotrader, it looks like RWDs sold a lot more than AWDs.
 

jlee

Lifer
Sep 12, 2001
48,518
223
106
Thanks folks... Never thought about considering compact pickups. I guess I should go look at some ranger/tacoma/frontiers.

One last question. Should I be looking at AWD since I'm thinking about towing? From a couple of searches on autotrader, it looks like RWDs sold a lot more than AWDs.

(4wd)

RWD's sold a lot more down south - but up north (like here), you will be hard-pressed to find a 2wd truck for sale. RWD will probably be just fine for you, unless you plan on driving in snow or offroading.
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,542
921
126
Why not tow it behind your sedan? Most any midsize sedan would be able to easily tow the weight of a motorcycle on a trailer.
 
Sep 7, 2009
12,960
3
0
I have a 4 cyl ranger (2.5l lima) and have absolutely no issues pulling one of those landscaping trailers (I believe it was 10-12 feet long) with three sportbikes in the trailer and one in the bed with fuel, tires, etc for a trackday.

I love my ranger, but it isn't an extended cab which is a dealbreaker. I initially bought it for the exact same reason you did but as a beater truck.. I ended up really liking it and driving it more than my car so the car was sold.

However, I really do miss having a car. If my truck was extended cab it wouldn't be so bad.


BTW - if you get a 4cyl then avoid an auto imo
 

DietDrThunder

Platinum Member
Apr 6, 2001
2,262
326
126
How much does the bike weigh? The reason I ask is I used to own a Honda XR650L dirt/street bike and it weighed around 350lbs. I thought I would just drive it to the dirt track, ride the track, then drive it home. Well, that didn't work too well because I was beat to death and tired by the time I was done. So I bought a ramp and put it in the back of my half ton short bed chevy truck. That was a PITA as well pushing it up that ramp. I drove it up the ramp a few times, but after the time the front tire slid off the ramp on the way up, I didn't do that anymore. I found it a lot easier to buy a motorcycle trailer. Anyway, a street or sport bike will weigh even more, so whatever you buy, I suggest buying a trailer if you aren't driving it to the track.
 

JJ650

Golden Member
Apr 16, 2000
1,959
0
76
Trailer it. You can always use the trailer for other things as well. Can be quite useful sometimes! It is a bitch to get a bike in the back of a pickup sometimes, especially if you're tired. We HAVE to trailer our Harley tho. It's a '48 with sidecar that weighs a ton. No getting that thing into the back of a truck. Ever. Even with the sidecar off, it still weighs a good bit. All steel and not a lick of aluminum or anything considered light weight material, save for the seat.
 
Sep 7, 2009
12,960
3
0
How much does the bike weigh? The reason I ask is I used to own a Honda XR650L dirt/street bike and it weighed around 350lbs. I thought I would just drive it to the dirt track, ride the track, then drive it home. Well, that didn't work too well because I was beat to death and tired by the time I was done. So I bought a ramp and put it in the back of my half ton short bed chevy truck. That was a PITA as well pushing it up that ramp. I drove it up the ramp a few times, but after the time the front tire slid off the ramp on the way up, I didn't do that anymore. I found it a lot easier to buy a motorcycle trailer. Anyway, a street or sport bike will weigh even more, so whatever you buy, I suggest buying a trailer if you aren't driving it to the track.



The trick is a baxley sport chock and a 'regular' compact pickup i.e. not 4x4 which are usually a few inches higher.

I agree, a trailer is easier if you already have a vehicle to tow it. The only 4 door car I'd tow with is a crown vic style car..

I have no issues loading bikes into my truck. It took 3-4 times to learn the tricks to my specific ramp/tie downs/etc but I can load up any size bike in about 5 minutes with no problems.
 

Turin39789

Lifer
Nov 21, 2000
12,218
8
81
I have a 4 cyl ranger (2.5l lima) and have absolutely no issues pulling one of those landscaping trailers (I believe it was 10-12 feet long) with three sportbikes in the trailer and one in the bed with fuel, tires, etc for a trackday.

I love my ranger, but it isn't an extended cab which is a dealbreaker. I initially bought it for the exact same reason you did but as a beater truck.. I ended up really liking it and driving it more than my car so the car was sold.

However, I really do miss having a car. If my truck was extended cab it wouldn't be so bad.


BTW - if you get a 4cyl then avoid an auto imo

I have on 06 ranger with the 2.3 Duratec, and it doesn't miss a beat either. It beat out my elderly car in mpg, and I just recently stuck one 70's honda in the bed and another on a trailer behind it no problem.

Can't get the extended cab in a 4cyl, which was disappointing, and I couldn't find any used with the long bed and a 4cyl either, but its still a solid little truck.

What do you use for ramps? The lighter of my two bikes, the 550, had a semi-locked front brake so it ended up on the trailer. The 750 we picked up into the trailer, but it wasn't fun.
 
Sep 7, 2009
12,960
3
0
I have on 06 ranger with the 2.3 Duratec, and it doesn't miss a beat either. It beat out my elderly car in mpg, and I just recently stuck one 70's honda in the bed and another on a trailer behind it no problem.

Can't get the extended cab in a 4cyl, which was disappointing, and I couldn't find any used with the long bed and a 4cyl either, but its still a solid little truck.

What do you use for ramps? The lighter of my two bikes, the 550, had a semi-locked front brake so it ended up on the trailer. The 750 we picked up into the trailer, but it wasn't fun.

I specifically bought mine because it had the long bed - I wanted a 7ft bed so I could close the tailgate with a bike in the back.

However, long bed meant no extended cab so I had to buy one of those toolboxes which means the tailgate doesn't shut anyway..


So basically, between long bed or ext cab I would pick ext cab. Mine is a 1998 with the larger size cab and if you have a passenger there isn't enough room inside for two coats.


I had a buddy make me a ramp end for a long 2x12. I would prefer a nice folding ramp but this works fine. I also herculined my bed (which looked GREAT for about three years but it is slowly deteriorating from UV) and it helps a lot when loading unloading.



My single best 'bike hauling' piece of equipment is my baxley chock, by far. I also like canyon dancers but you have to be careful not to put much pressure on the bars - basically the CD are a good compliment to a nice chock.
 

kalrith

Diamond Member
Aug 22, 2005
6,628
7
81
Why not tow it behind your sedan? Most any midsize sedan would be able to easily tow the weight of a motorcycle on a trailer.

This. As long as you're not getting something super light like a Yaris (which it sounds like you're not), then you should be just fine towing a light trailer plus your bike. No need to spend more on gas and get less comfort by going with a pickup when you don't need one.
 

hanoverphist

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 2006
9,867
23
76
Trailer it. You can always use the trailer for other things as well. Can be quite useful sometimes! It is a bitch to get a bike in the back of a pickup sometimes, especially if you're tired. We HAVE to trailer our Harley tho. It's a '48 with sidecar that weighs a ton. No getting that thing into the back of a truck. Ever. Even with the sidecar off, it still weighs a good bit. All steel and not a lick of aluminum or anything considered light weight material, save for the seat.

ooooo pics! my dad has a 45 knucklehead im threatening to take if he doesnt get it running soon. hes been sitting on it fora couple decades now. back 20 yrs ago or so he built it as a chopper, raked front end, new body parts and custom paint/ accessories and tacoed the front rim (and destroying the wideglide) hitting a curb head on at 35ish mph. nearly killed him, but the bike made it with minor damage.
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
5
0
renting a trailer and/or vehicle from uhaul will be a real hassle. REAL HASSLE. Pain. In. the. ASS.

If you are serious about the motorcycling, get a pickup and strap it in the bed.
 
Aug 23, 2000
15,509
1
81
Get a truck. Not just for moving a bike, but for other things too. Moving furniture, appliances, whatever. Just remember, a truck can do anything a sedan can do. A sedan can't do everything a truck can.
You can get older GM or Ford trucks in good shape for $7k and with regular maint they will last you forever.
I'm not a fan of Toyota or Dodge trucks. The Nissan trucks are good, except don't get a Titan from the 1st 2 years it was out as it has a pathetic rear diff.
 

JJ650

Golden Member
Apr 16, 2000
1,959
0
76
ooooo pics! my dad has a 45 knucklehead im threatening to take if he doesnt get it running soon. hes been sitting on it fora couple decades now. back 20 yrs ago or so he built it as a chopper, raked front end, new body parts and custom paint/ accessories and tacoed the front rim (and destroying the wideglide) hitting a curb head on at 35ish mph. nearly killed him, but the bike made it with minor damage.

Sorry for the threadjacking...but here you go Hanover

mvc008fva2.jpg

By http://profile.imageshack.us/user/badco
mvc001fdq7.jpg

By http://profile.imageshack.us/user/badco
mvc005fve6.jpg

By http://profile.imageshack.us/user/badco
 
Last edited:

JJ650

Golden Member
Apr 16, 2000
1,959
0
76
And holy crap, those look bad. Will have to get some better ones. The bike is in a couple of pieces right now. The tank is getting repainted and the carb has NEVER been taken apart and fully cleaned out as far as I know. My pops was the 2nd owner and I'm now the 3rd. He's had it for nearly 40 yrs. Odometer was close to turning over 40k before it shook itself apart. We need to find someone that can repair it. Parts for a service bike (this was a firebike) are HARD to get.
 

Billb2

Diamond Member
Mar 25, 2005
3,035
70
86
Ride to track days...Ha ha ha. No spares, how ya gonna get home?

Look at what other people are using, and ask what they would do if the had it to do over again.

And track days are just the beginning. If you like it, you're gonna go racing. Then you'll need spares, tools, gas, tires, some way to get around at the track (scooter?), and the list goes on and on. And it's nice to be able to sleep in an enclosed trailer.