Truck owners of ATOT

[paulxcook]

I have an old Crown Vic police model that guzzles gas, but has no upside other than being fast. As a musician and primary caretaker of my lawn, I'd like a truck or SUV to haul stuff around in.

Those of you that have pickups, or those of you who have experience with recent model pickups, what would you suggest to match the following qualifications?

- Within a few thousand dollars of $10k
- no older than 2000 model, or no more than 80,000 miles. examples: 2004 with 91,000 miles = ok, 1999 with 76,000 miles = ok, 1998 with 100,000 probably not ok
- decent gas mileage (over 20 mpg would be nice)
- must have extended or crew cab (for trucks, obviously)

I've all but written off Dodge trucks as they have bad gas mileage, even the Dakota. I don't really like the S-10 or Ranger, but those are probably more feasible at this price point than a Silverado or F150. I'm not against looking at Toyotas or Nissans, though since those probably retain value better it might not be realistic.

SUV is another option, as I won't be hitching any trailers to it or pulling out tree stumps. I'd prefer a truck, but I'm not against SUVs.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

If you want good gas milage, just write off trucks unless you get a diesel.

And Dodge means "Don't Overestimate Dodge's Gas Economy." (unless you get the cummins)
<-- Dodge owner

 

[spaceman]

for 10k or less, if you arent willing to go earlier than 2000 model yr, your choices are very limited.

 

[CrackRabbit]

You might be able to find a new Silverado/Sierra for about 10k. Granted it would likely be a stripper model.

 

[spaceman]

the s10 with the 4.3 and the stranger 3.0/4.0 do not get significantly better gas mileage than a fullsize with a small v8

 

[spaceman]

ugh, since i live in the northeast i always assume 4wd is a given.
you can find alot of sweet 2wd's(that have terrible resale) for under 10k.

 

[Unheard]

FWIW my V6 Dakota gets 18 City - 21 Highway, the V8's average 17/15.

 

[vi edit]

With those requirements I'd look at a Ranger. The 4.0L is a decent motor and they are dirt cheap used.

It's a proven platform...it hasn't been changed in almost 20 years

Another suggestion would be a crossbreed like the Explorer sport trac.

Milage is going to be pretty rough in any V6 powered 4X4 truck or SUV though. The only way you will get decent milage is going with a station wagon or a smaller 4 cylinder based SUV like the Rav4/Forester.

 

[JDMnAR1]

Realistically speaking, if you want any kind of fuel economy a truck is not the way to go. Some of the small to midsize SUVs will give you 20+ MPG, but not sure how they will fall in your pricing. I say this as a truck owner that looks forward to the trips where I actually get enough highway miles on a tank of gas to average 16 MPG.

 

[spaceman]

i have the 300ci straight 6 in my 1995 f150xl
and that engine really has to work going up and down the hills where i live.
my friends 2500 you just feather the gas to get up hills, i wonder sometimes if i should have opted for a v8...

 

[spaceman]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
With those requirements I'd look at a Ranger. The 4.0L is a decent motor and they are dirt cheap used.

It's a proven platform...it hasn't been changed in almost 20 years

Another suggestion would be a crossbreed like the Explorer sport trac.

Milage is going to be pretty rough in any V6 powered 4X4 truck or SUV though. The only way you will get decent milage is going with a station wagon or a smaller 4 cylinder based SUV like the Rav4/Forester.

ive had 2 rangers and both were good to me.
but with the 4.0 you get 16/21
a 4.6 v8 f-150 gets 15/20
all things being equal, id prefer the f-150...obviously the stranger would cost much less.
(per fuel economy.gov...i really have no idea how reliable this site is, tho i reference it anyways)

 

[paulxcook]

4x4 would be a nice bonus, but it isn't necessary. I live in the midwest: flat land as far as the eye can see. Though it would be nice in the snow.

 

[JDub02]

4 cyl. Toyota Tacoma should be what you're looking for if you're at all concerned with gas mileage.

Anything else is going to be within 1-2 mpg of each other, especially full size trucks. And they're all going to suck.

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: Unheard
FWIW my V6 Dakota gets 18 City - 21 Highway, the V8's average 17/15.

yup, dodge ram 1500 with a 318 V8 here at my house. its my daily driver, i usually get about 15mpg in the city, and roughly 18 on the highway. hauls a crapton too, and is generally fun to drive (which brings that mileage down to about 12.5mpg usually)


a friend of mine used to haul his bass amps and speakers in the back of his truck along with the drummers rig. until it got stolen min front of a club. not the truck, just the stuff in the back. id say get a delivery van if you want to haul gear around, or at least a large SUV that you can lock up.

 

[Ktulu]

Do you need decent power?

I currently drive a 2004 Silverado with a 5.3L v8. With my tonneau cover on I get about 16 city / 23hwy, w/o the cover I get about 16 city / 21 hwy.

I would SERIOUSLY stay away from 4 cyl trucks. I used to drive a '98 S10 I4. Sure the mileage was ok but the lack of power was unbearable.

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: Ktulu
Do you need decent power?

I currently drive a 2004 Silverado with a 5.3L v8. With my tonneau cover on I get about 16 city / 23hwy, w/o the cover I get about 16 city / 21 hwy.

I would SERIOUSLY stay away from 4 cyl trucks. I used to drive a '98 S10 I4. Sure the mileage was ok but the lack of power was unbearable.

true dat. here atg work the supervisors drive chevy colorados with the 4cyl engine. gutless pieces o crap with the most uncomfy seats in the world. the old ranger with a 4 banger is actually more comfy, but still gutless as can be. managers get the F150s with the triton V8, i get to drive those as well. pretty decent trucks... for fords. all the actual work crews drive chevy silverados and gmc cheyennes with full service bodies on em. im the only oddball in the company with a dodge.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: The Cornballer

Originally posted by: vi_edit
With those requirements I'd look at a Ranger. The 4.0L is a decent motor and they are dirt cheap used.

It's a proven platform...it hasn't been changed in almost 20 years

Another suggestion would be a crossbreed like the Explorer sport trac.

Milage is going to be pretty rough in any V6 powered 4X4 truck or SUV though. The only way you will get decent milage is going with a station wagon or a smaller 4 cylinder based SUV like the Rav4/Forester.

ive had 2 rangers and both were good to me.
but with the 4.0 you get 16/21
a 4.6 v8 f-150 gets 15/20
all things being equal, id prefer the f-150...obviously the stranger would cost much less.
(per fuel economy.gov...i really have no idea how reliable this site is, tho i reference it anyways)

The problem with fullsize trucks is that they have retardedly high resale values. For $10,000 you are looking at trucks with over 100k miles on them. There just isn't any used full size trucks that are any bit appealing(to me) between $5,000 and $15,000. In the $15k and above range you start getting into mid-milage recent model years. Anything below that and it's a crapshoot. Compacts/Midsize trucks like the Dakota/Ranger offer a lot more value in the used market.

 

[f4phantom2500]

i have a 1997 chevy tahoe and i love it.

 

[JDub02]

Originally posted by: vi_edit

The problem with fullsize trucks is that they have retardedly high resale values. For $10,000 you are looking at trucks with over 100k miles on them. There just isn't any used full size trucks that are any bit appealing(to me) between $5,000 and $15,000. In the $15k and above range you start getting into mid-milage recent model years. Anything below that and it's a crapshoot. Compacts/Midsize trucks like the Dakota/Ranger offer a lot more value in the used market.

Not at the moment. Full size trucks have a fairly lousy resale with gas prices as high as they are. A friend traded in a not quite 2 year old 3/4 ton Chevy about 8 months ago. He got about half of what the truck originally cost.

 

[Chryso]

I have a 4 cylinder Ranger. It gets around 22 MPG overall.

 

[andylawcc]

it really depends on how heavy the stuff you gonna haul.

at my work, I sometimes drive a previous gen Tacoma with the 4-banger. slow as hell, but get things done. (the max I ever had to haul is about 750lbs)

 

[paulxcook]

The most I would be hauling is furniture, lawn equipment (mower, trimmer, no tractors or anything), general trash, my drums and/or guitar equipment. I don't see any combination of that ever going above 1000 lbs, probably a lot less than that. So no, I don't need a lot of power, but I wouldn't mind having some either, so I'm not counting out trucks with smaller V8s.

 

[Ktulu]

Originally posted by: paulxcook
The most I would be hauling is furniture, lawn equipment (mower, trimmer, no tractors or anything), general trash, my drums and/or guitar equipment. I don't see any combination of that ever going above 1000 lbs, probably a lot less than that. So no, I don't need a lot of power, but I wouldn't mind having some either, so I'm not counting out trucks with smaller V8s.

The problem with trucks having smaller v8's is that they usually get about the same or worse mileage than the larger engines.

 

[paulxcook]

It's looking like my "best" option is an SUV.

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: Chryso
I have a 4 cylinder Ranger. It gets around 22 MPG overall.

Same here. I also got a tundra dbl cab which only gets around 15.