Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire How many have looked at smaller trucks?

Another way off looking at the 6.0 is that when used hard it will still last 4x as long as a 460.

And yes, the 6.0 is a POS if it's hasn't been tweaked a little.
Even then they are, as you say, troublesome.



Half the time I wish I had my old F150. The F350's ride like chit(but you also can't really hurt them either).

I made the switch from full size to Tacoma in 2007. Smartest move I ever made.



I went from 13/17 to 17/20mpg. Most of my miles are city so I basically went from 13 mpg to 17mpg. Do the math. 135,000 miles later that adds up to $8,500 in fuel savings with gas selling at $3.50/gal. I also strongly considered another 1/2 ton at the time, but the Tacoma was $8,000 to $10,000 less for a comparable truck at the time. All told I'm $15,000 to $20,000 better off today than if I'd have bought another 1/2 ton.

Probably saved at least another $1,000 in repair costs. In 7 years I've paid for 1 battery, 3 sets of tires and brakes once. Other than oil changes that is it.

Resale value. At 7 years and 135,000 miles blue book is only about $8000-$10,000 less than I paid. About 65%-70% of its initial cost.

It tows 300 lbs less than my last 1/2 ton, is more capable off road and fits in parking spaces at the mall much easier. I can't see me ever buying another 1/2 ton

i wish honda made full sized trucks. after owning american trucks for 20 years and finding them to be pretty junky compared to my honda cars and vans over the same period, i'm thinking toyota tundra next time around. i wish my dodge 1500 would catch fire in the driveway some time soon. biggest piece of lightweight junk of a truck i ever saw. its a shame really.

I did not read any other replies, but I recently took a job that has me running about 500 miles per week. I wanted a new truck, but to afford one I needed gas mileage.

So, I purchased a Dodge 1500 Crew Cab with the 3.6 Pentastar V-6 gas engine and the 8 speed transmission. I honestly get about:
25mpg state roads (55mph; me 60mph)
24mpg highway (65mph; me 75mph)
21-23mpg town short runs

I am not aggressive with the throttle, but I do run it.

Power is ok, lacks bottom end and climbing hills without shifting. Mid range and top end is just fine. Probably not for towing.

I've looked at the new Chev trucks with the V6 and they are rated at 24 MPG hwy/19 city. However, the cost of a new truck is getting stupid.
Heck, the new Colorado's are in the Mid $30's and the full sized trucks are $5-$15K above that if dressed up. Way out of my budget. My present 2003 Silverado is paid for, runs like a top with 175K on it, is incredibly comfortable to drive and has enough power with the 6.0L engine to do whatever I need it to do. But it gets 9 mpg in town and 12 on the highway. And the resale on it is almost exactly what I paid for it used 3 years ago.

With a rig that could get twice the milage, it would be a justfiable expense it it meant I could spend more time in the field doing what I want to be doing rather than sitting home having to budget for the gas expense to take a trip. If the cost was an additional $600 a year or a bit more and I could get out in the field a couple more times a month, it would be worth it to me.

Apparently, some of you feel pretty strongly in different directions, but the whole point is to get out in the field and whatever that takes is what I need to do.

Another thing to consider is that I may be getting rid of the travel trailer after this season, so the full sized truck may become expendable. Without the trailer, the mid sized truck will handle most of my chores and my utility trailer will handle most of the rest. I'll have to consider if the Colorado will be capable of pulling my hot rod on a trailer.

Bob

EH's has been "bulletproofed" I believe. I bought one with 60k miles and it has 90k on it now with no issues. Trying to decide if I'm going to do the egr delete and head studs myself or go to a shop. Love the truck in every way except knowing what us likely the inevitable.

Daily driver is a 2001 honda civic with 210,000 miles. I drive 84 miles a day and at 17mpg or 37mpg it's a nobrainer. Wife had bought it at 90k miles with a salvage title for $4k. A few cheap repairs in the 120k miles we've had it. Cheap transportation. I hate that midget car though. Justifying a new truck with minimal fuel mileage gains won't work though.

Yep.
Went that route in 2012.

If I won the lotto... first (stupid)thing I'd buy is a Ford Raptor.


That would be a fun 'small' truck.

You can not beat a Tacoma for anything but pulling.

I've tried talking the wife into that several times. She says no because they look like a high school kid would drive them. I told her they must have better jobs than I did in high school.

Or hauling.




I would love to see Toyota sell a 1-ton turbo diesel pickup.

It would be healthy for Ford to have a little competition...

Dodge and Chevy sure ain't providing any.....grin

not many better feelings than to have enough loot laying around that you can go buy just about any new vehicle


but that feeling is topped by having a wife that could give a chit less about it and loves her lil '07 Taco

If you're ditching the travel trailer, by all means look at a smaller truck. Sit in a few, & see if they'll work for you & your family. Also, the opinions you've seen/heard about the Canyon/Colorado, are diametrically opposed to those I've heard, however. I'd be very, VERY, VERY careful before I gave money for one of those, new or used. My boy wanted one when he came back from basic training, & our mechanic strongly warned him off.

If you're keeping the 3/4 ton, however, I'm with those who don't see the math working out. (Payments+Depreciation+Registration+Additional Insurance+Maintenance+Repairs) > (fuel savings for more than just a few extra trips to the woods).

Now, if you were talking about a late 90's Civic/Corolla/Yaris/Echo/Elantra - something like that, then mileage crowding the 40's combined with slower depreciation might make it a more lively discussion. I dunno if the areas you frequent would be accessible with cars, though.

I'll never lecture anyone on wants vs. needs. We live in the most amazing place the world has ever known, & we have options to do stuff like this that others can only dream about. I rather enjoy the hunt for a new vehicle, myself. It's just good to have realistic expectations.

Good Luck,

FC

Randy, on a whim I stopped by the lot yesterday and looked at a new pickup.



F350, extended cab/chassis(no box), duels, new and improved turbo....

$53k.
(it was an XLT)




Beautiful brown color.




There was a new F550 sitting next to it for $65k. Cab/chassis.


Cheesy, I told my wife the same thing!....grin

Probably $10k for a new bale bed to go on it.

$63k for a feed pickup.....[bleep] that..........grin

I figger I need about ten more years out of my truck, which is fine at the present rate.

By 2024 I'm looking forward to some badass fuel cell/hybrid to drop $75,000 on..

We own a 2008 WT Colorado Extended Cab and for us its been an ok vehicle. Not fantastic but ok. I like the room in the cab as I'm almost 6'5" and go over 300 pounds. Because of the bench seat and the adjustment for the seat, I ride very comfortably either as a passenger or driving. We have the 3.7 liter I5 with 4 speed auto, air, 4x4 and cruise. Plain rubber floor mat and plain interior. We have Passenger car tires on it and the ride is pretty smooth.

During the summer we average 20.5-21.6 mpg(A damn site better than my 95 C/K pickup got). On a trip we can get 23+mpg and we have the air on if it's over 65 degrees outside.

I change oil every 4000 miles and use SuperTech 5w30 full synthetic. No problems with anything so far and only had a few computer codes for the dealership to work on. We bought the truck new for just over 22 Large and really don't know what we'd buy if I had to do it right now. All these trucks have that freakin console in them for my right knee to bounce off of and I hate being in one of them as the driver or the passenger. My 95 C/K had a bench seat w/o console as well.

I should add that the two reasons I went with a Toyota Tacoma are reliability and resale.

Does any other vehicle top it in those two areas?

Think my new hunting rig will be a Subaru 35 mpg and more ground clearance than my full size chevy just put good tires on and go.

Question

I should add that the two reasons I went with a Toyota Tacoma are reliability and resale.

Does any other vehicle top it in those two areas?

Answer

No.

When my F-100 went belly up, I bought a used '84 Tacoma 4x, five speed(5K$)in'90. Never a problem with it but in '99 I wanted a newer Tacoma and bought a 2000 4x automatic TRD(23kcash). At 14y/o it's got 150,000 on it and will probably outlast me.

To the OP, no, you won't "save" any money buying another truck. Drove the wheels off the one you have.