Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Best 20 Year Old Beater Pick Up

They had me in 00, ‘02, and ‘03 Chevy 1/2 ton work trucks, and they were workhorses with the 5.3L.

A ‘04 or earlier specimen, especially from down south, might be a tempting proposition.

FC

Thanks everyone. Still listening and learning a few things for sure

Drive down to the big city to a discount tire. Come to the one in my neck of the woods and I'll buy you a Diary Queen while they put on your tires. We just put a set on my wifes Honda SUV and my F-150. They'll treat you right.

I once had an old Chev C-10 ('67, IIRC) that I used as a 'field truck'... Six cyl, 4 sp, and I bet it weighed about six tons (kidding) - 'cause it seemed like the steel used for the box was about a quarter-inch thick.. I put a pair of heavy-tread tires on the back and it was pretty amazing how much stuff it would go through.. Sold it in '97...

Got a '98 4WD for you. Barely broken in at 230k. It has the cancer pretty bad though, too many Michigan salt winters. I wouldn't hesitate to drive it to Alaska tomorrow.
My '87 Toyota pickup is still going strong at 426k. I finally had to actually work on it, a head gasket at 420k.

The #1 peck on a 12v Cummins or a 7.3 Ford is that it will INCREASE in value over time.

Most trucks are consumables... The 12v, 7.3 and the Toyota 22R are commodities.

Nothing wrong with a plain Jane gasser truck, but eventually it will be worn out and you will need another.

Doesn't really matter... just offering food for thought.

Bought my '02 Chevy 2500HD crew new in May '02

6.0L gasser 4x4 & 4.10 gears.....now nearly 18 years later

it just rolled 121K miles....been a good one......a pampered garage kept life

No rust.....maybe 16 mpg with a tail wind....just changed the oil/filter for the 35th time

No plans to replace it....would prob cost twice the $31K I paid for it in '02

Not a pick up, but my 1988 4Runner is hard to fault. Put 500+ miles it this past weekend going camping. Went through sand, steep red clay hills and swamp, heavy rain. Zero issues, and 22+ MPH on the highway.

I've got a '91 Dodge 3/4 ton diesel which is a pretty rugged truck and is still working for us with over 300,000 hard miles on it. At least half of those miles have been off the highway. I also have a 1981 Dodge 1/2 ton Prospector which is holding up well. Still has the original windshield with no chips and only the shocks and battery are non-Mopar parts. Less than 50,000 on it though. I guess both of these are over twenty years though so they don't really count.GD

Try find an older Tundra with the 4.7L. A guy from Texas got over 1,000,000 mile on one. Had a minor transmission repair and a few other items. Toyota bought it back from him to tear it apart and check it out.

I’m currently rather fond of my 2000 F250 single cab longbed 4x4.

The 6.8 does pretty well. Makes good power from about 1500 on up. 4:30 rear and 5 speed ZF have been great for pulling. It’s got almost 200k on the clock. Could probably use a little love. MPG’s ain’t good, but don’t expect them to be. 9.5 calculated on a trip to the Oregon coast pulling a 23’ trailer.

Just bought my oldest son a 1988 F150 with the 300 straight six and a stick. This combo was made a long time and is bomb-proof. It’s a piece of cake to work on to boot.

My 99 Taco of course


But w the 4 cyl not my fave for rough boat launches

But it’s plowed a lot of snow

120K miles on it. Yah I baby the race truck 😂

Hmmm.....you guys are talking my daily drivers.

I've got 241,000 miles on this one. It's a 2001 with the 5.4 Triton. We've had to replace the coils a couple of times, had a rear axle seal leak, redid the front end (ball joints etc). But, still running strong. I use it as a daily driver and keep the miles off my new(er) truck. One of my sons has a 1999 F250 with the 7.3 and it has 251K on it now. It pulled our hunting Jeep to CO and back in Sept.

i have a 98 3/4ton dodge diesel 12v cummings, 4x4. i have had it in ungodly places.
i have had maybe 3 or 4k in repairs since buying it new in october 97.
only has about 180k on it, as i have other cars to drive.
every once in a while i think about getting a new truck, diesel.
but there is just something wrong about having to add cow piss to the fuel.

If looking for full size trucks, I'd be looking at a gm 5.3 or 6l in the early to mid 2000's. Pretty reliable, parts are cheap, easy enough to work on. I'd avoid the F150's of that era with v8's. Sure, some guys have had decent luck with them, but big picture they were not desirable engines.

Best thing is to talk to guys who have been working as mechanics during the time for long enough to have worked on lots of these types of vehicles. Examples of one aren't terribly useful when trying to make these types of decisions...couple guys might say their Triton v8 was great, while a mechanic will likely tell you to avoid them completely if possible.

Wish I had kept my 89 Nissan Hardbody. Slow but would go anywhere. It was like taking a SxS in the mud

"1999 to 2007 GMC or Chevy with 6.0 and 4L80"

I agree because my '99 3/4 ton with the 6.0 liter engine and 4L80 is still going strong. The '99 6 liter had iron heads but they changed to aluminum heads later. I sold mine to my SIL in 2005 when I bought a Dodge diesel. I liked the Chevy but it wasn't a very good vehicle for towing a travel trailer.

2001 Toyota TRD four door 4 wheel drive with the 6 cylinder and auto transmission. It gets 20 miles to the gallon and takes me all the places I need to go and some I don't then gets me home. Had to put ball joints in it at 230,000 and it now has 250K and still going great