Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Brand new hunting truck, good idea or bad idea?

Hello to everyone,

I am at a point where I am trying to decide my best move, here is my current situation.

I am bombing around in my 2008 Silverado with 95000 miles on it. Its an extended cab with a topper. This is the only vehicle I own and it has been good so far.

I want to get rid of the truck before it is worth nothing, so I think it might be time to upgrade to a brand new 2015 F150.

I am a hunter and an average middle class worker, I live in eastern South Dakota so I pull decoy trailers for waterfowling, boats in the summer for fishing, and a whole lot of [bleep] when I go to Montana, Wyoming, and western South Dakota.

My question to you guys with new vehicles, do you find yourself saying oops a lot when you are out hunting as far as paint scrapes, scratches, dents, all kinds of crap like that or do they weather things pretty well?

I am going to go white, silver, or gray if I pull the trigger on a new truck, so I'm not doing anything crazy dark.


Any advice would be helpful as this would be my vehicle for as many as 10 years to come.

Just don't sweat the small stuff.

I tend to baby a new truck for the first year or so, but after that, it's full speed ahead, damn the torpedoes and go where you need to go. I have replaced two skid plates on my 2012 Tundra and need to replace the current one, now.

One guy with whom I hunt quail lives over around Tucson. He takes his new trucks out into the desert within the first week or two. He drives them through the mesquite and catclaw for an hour or so to knock the new off and then doesn't worry about it anymore.

Its really down to you?

If you put a long scratch down the side of a 6 month old truck would you be gutted?

Would you avoid certain areas save beating up your truck because of how much its worth? Or because that you can't afford to damage it as you need it as a daily drive?

If you answer those "yes" maybe a new hunting truck is not such a good idea for you...

Whats the possibility of keeping your present truck for hunting and getting another, newer vehicle as a daily drive???

There are some great deals on the new 2015 F-150's right now, and 0% financing with Ford Credit. I usually buy one every 2 years or so, as I put a lot of hard miles on them Ranching. Like someone else mentioned, life's too short to sweat the small stuff. Buy it, enjoy it, drive the piss out of it!

I used to keep an older truck or suv around for hunting. These days I prefer to drive a new one. Nice not to have to fill every fluid level and wonder whats going to break. I guess it depends on how rough of country your driving through to hunt.

Keep the 08 Chevy. Put the payments into an out of state hunt or put more $ in the 401K. You have another 100,000 miles on that Chevy before problems.

I agree with keeping the Chevy. It has lots of life left.

First and only new truck I bought and currently drive found a tree branch in the first 15 miles But an 08 with less then a hundred k on the clock keep rocket the Chevy,

If you don't cripple yourself financially, it doesn't hurt to get rid of your truck when it is still worth something. Driving it into the ground can have its advantages, but when you do buy the new truck you have to pay for it all, no trade in.

I would also look at the new Ram 1/2 ton diesel. You will get good mileage and more torque than a gasser...

The first scratch hurts the most, just like when current truck was new. It's gonna happen, just the nature of the beast.

The 1st brand new truck I ever bought, I purchased the evening before deer season opened. By Sunday it looked like the Manson family had been living in it for months. Scuffs on the truck are like scars on your hands, nothing to fret. Detailers can keep the inside looking mighty nice if you let them at it 1x-2x/yr. Marathon seat covers and good pre-fit floor mats (Weather-Tech/Husky) are also options for keeping the inside tolerable for a good long while.

I'm picking up my new truck when I get back from my current work trip on the 30th. It's going to get used extensively for hunting, I'm getting rid of the 2006 jeep liberty diesel that's been my hunting vehicle the last few years. New truck is a '16 silver Tundra 4x4 double cab. I don't know if it's really a sound financial decision, but the jeep is starting to cause problems and it's got 93K miles on it. It's going to need a timing belt at 100K to the tune of $1500 that I don't want to spring for (I'm never buying another vehicle with a timing belt, dumbest invention ever!), plus it's got several other problems related to piss poor jeep quality that I don't want to deal with. I figure I can still sell it for something before it hits 100K miles, after that it's value goes down considerably. The writing's on the wall that it's eventually going to become a shop queen and I just don't want to deal with constantly working on vehicles at this point in my life. When I want to go hunting I want to jump in the truck and go, not having to worry about it making it there.

I sold some timber a month ago and got a better return than I was expecting so that factored in my decision to buy the new truck instead of keep nursing the jeep. I know the first scratches and dents on it are going to break my heart but that's life. Bed rug and husky floor mats are already ordered. Line-x and brush guard for the front are soon to come. Only you can decide if it's worth it to buy a new vehicle. If you can afford it without burden then I'd say go for it. I reached a point where I got tired of dealing with the jeep's problems so it's time for it to go.

I'm a buy it new and drive it for 250,000 miles or more kind of guy. The last one didn't have one single body panel that wasn't dented or replaced at 330,000. Some of them matched...

They all break, new or old. I keep mine in tip-top shape, mechanically, and run the crap out of them. 100,000 miles is just barely broke in.

Whenever I get a new one, I cringe a little on the first ding or scratch, but then it's just another work truck, and they are there to be put to work.

Have three older Toyotas for hunting rigs.. the oldest is an 84.. I seldom drive these more than 100 miles from home..Also have a 2012 Tundra with 132,000 miles on it... It has become my truck for hunting in the intermountain west and towing my travel trailer around the west on fishing and hunting trips..

I usually traded my Tundra every couple years, but decided to keep this one because soon or later my old trucks will bite the dust.. Sometime in the next couple months we will get a new Tundra.. It will be our long distance travel truck. Maybe I will sell the 2012 down the road, or keep it as I plan for hunting and fishing in the mountains. First time I tried this plan.. I usually have had two trucks, one for travel and one for hunting...

You're right at the tipping point. Drive it much longer and you'll probably need to just keep it till the wheels fall off. Right now you probably have had it long enough to feel like you got your moneys worth and it will still bring a good amount at trade. To me it would come down to how much you like the current truck. I have no problem using a new truck for hunting. I buy them to use.

In 2002 I bought a new 4X4 F-150 Super-Crew. I liked the truck, but didn't love it. Made the mistake of buying one with the smaller 4.6 V8 and it was under powered. I lived with it till I got to about the same point. It had been paid off for a while, but still worth enough for me to justify trading.

I still love the 07 Tacoma as much as I did 160,000 miles ago. I'm at the point where it is worth more for me to keep than it is worth on trade. I plan to run it to at least 200,000 miles and then buy something. I'll probably keep it as a 3rd vehicle rather than trade. Just have to wait and see.

You will be sorry......

I'd figure the truck has shown you what it's going to be like by now. If it's been trouble-free so far, it's likely to be that way going forward if you continue to take decent care of it.

If you get another 3 to 4 years out of it, you can bank an awful lot of $ that would be going into payments. It's probably going to lose less money over that time than it already has. Even with a few big repairs (tranny, wheel bearings, brakes), you'd still be money ahead by keeping it.

FC

I just never could do it. I bought a new Silverado in 09. First new truck i have ever owned. I take care of all my stuff and couldn't bring myself to take my truck into some of the places I hunt. I have a jeep wrangler and it doesn't bother me at all to take it where ever I need to go. I work hard for my money and my health insurance is very expensive so the value of a dollar or my labor equivalent to a dollar keeps me from driving my truck into those skinny tree lined rutted out rocky muddy two tracks. Why drive a truck that is like new into that mess when you could just buy a beater and go where you want without kringing.

That's me, you may differ.

I had more new vehicles than most. I always hated to ding them up hunting, but hunting is more important than a truck, if that makes sense. So if it got banged up, that is what needed to happen. But with a beater truck, trips seemed less stressful and enjoyable. So I prefer an older reliable truck with good tires now.

my hunting camp is 100 miles from my home and on the other side of mountains that get snowy and nasty. when my POS dodge started having problems it went away and was replaced with a new f250. piece of mind going over snowy mountains at 11pm with my boys and guns in the truck more than makes up for a couple little scratches. like i always say, its a truck. i will never buy another used one. fuggen dodge cured me of that.

I have a 14 ram. It has dents in it and somone hit it in a parking lot. I pull a wheeler or a boat all over the damn place. If I could find a cheap hunting truck I would and save the beating on my rig.

If your truck runs good and is reliable, I'd keep it and use it until it is worst nothing. They cost too much these days to trade off all the time like we used to.

If it's not getting scratched and dinged up at least a little, you don't need a truck. Buy one of those crossover things.

The first scratch or dent on a new to you truck always stinks, I think, whether the truck is new or used but it happens. Had some idiot back into my bumper in the lot at the mall last week when I took my daughter Christmas shopping. Of course, they didn't leave a note! Truck is less than 6 months old.

Do yourself a favor
and take my advice
Buy a new Tundra

Solid advice. I use them till I can't trust them and buy another new one. 7-10 years is my expectation and I do around 22,000 miles a year.

They also retain a much higher percentage of their original value than they used to.

His truck would sell to a private party here for $16K-19K. It would be over $20K on a dealers lot. That is probably 60-70% of what it cost new.

The longer he keeps it the value drops and the cost of a new truck goes up. He can trade it today and put $15K-$20K with it and buy a new truck. Or wait 5 years and get $5K for it and expect new trucks to increase in price by another $5K. And hope he doesn't spend $5-8K on a new engine and transmission.

Everything is a gamble, pay your money and take your chances. If the truck were 2-3 years newer I'd say keep it. Two-3 years older and closer to 150,000 miles and it'd be better to just keep it. This one could go either way, but I'd make a decision before you hit 100,000 miles. It is a lot easier to sell one with 99,000 on it than 101,000.

This is a good point. Plus, right now, he can get something like 0% financing. The feds have already begun to increase interest rates.

I buy new trucks and new Jeeps for hunting. I kept my 89 Dodge diesel for 306,000 miles. My current one is a 2006 and going strong. My old Jeep I had for 14 yrs. before I bought a new one in 2014. So I buy them new and keep them a long time. The secret is make sure they get anything they need or going to need soon. I never run tires until the tread is gone. I never fool with worn belts, hoses or filters. I change oil more often, not less often than I need. Never been stranded in the boonies. Yes, I carry spare parts on my hunting trips.
The other thing is I never buy cheap parts, especially tires. If you are going to have problems off road, most of the time it's a tire problem. That's why the major tire makers make extra tough, off road tires. E

IMO with the cost of new ones you're better off getting rid of it while it's still worth enough to let you afford the new (or newer) one. I run'em as long as I can, usually 6-7 yrs, which is a year or 2 after they're paid off before I reach that tipping point.
As far as driving the new one my friend always says "Drive it like you stole it!"

This^^^

My 2007 Tundra has about 87k on it and aside from a few Michigan pinstripes that need to be buffed out, it's in very clean shape. Even to the point where I get compliments on it. Even though it's now 9 years old, I try to keep it out of places that are just going to damage it. It still has a pretty decent resale value and to abuse it is like cutting the bottom out of my pockets and losing money.

Just a little Dakota pin-striping is all. (In Ohio we call it Buckeye pin-striping)

I tend to save money, pay cash, and then drive the truck until it is worth nothing. Typically the longer you drive something the more it pays you back.....Nothing new for me, ever!


X-VERMINATOR

Backed into a tree today turning on a dead end forest road. Pretty nice dent n the bumper but I got out in the snow to change my trail cam SD cards. Dents can't hold you back from getting out.

Well as an update, I pulled the trigger on a 2016 Silverado crew cab. Nothing fancy as it's an LT but it has the all star package so its got quite a few creature comforts. I got a good deal on the truck and they gave me reasonable trade, so the time was right.

I looked over my last truck and really, I don't think I have any "extra" damage to it from running it hard in the fall.

I'll give an update this fall and let you guys know of any battle damage, I'm worried the Wal Mart parking lot will be more hazardous!

Jeremy

I think you made the right choice. I have no problem with driving a truck that is 15-20 years old or even older. But every time I do the math it comes out cheaper to buy new and keep it 15-20 years rather than buying used and driving it until it is 15-20 years old.

Years ago vehicles lost a lot of their value and buying used made a lot more sense. With cars and many SUV's that is still true. But a 10 year old truck with 170,000 miles on it will still bring 60-65% of what it sold for new. If I bought that truck new I probably wouldn't have a problem keeping it. But I wouldn't pay that much for a used one where I didn't know the history.

Gas or diesel?

I think the all star package is on 1/2 tons only. If so...gas.

Sometimes you can find a dealership that has a hail damage sale. Brand new vehicles with enough dents to lower the price. That way you won't have a stroke when you get the first scratch.