Talk to me about trucks.

[8520]

So, I'm planning on buying a house in the next year as some of you know, but before I do that I'd like to buy a truck. I'm looking at possibly selling the del sol to make way for a truck but we'll see what happens there.

What I'd like -

-Less than $2500
-4x4
-Manual
-Okay gas mileage (ie >16, ideally 20+)
-Can tow

So far I'm really liking the early 90's f150's, but like I said I'm new to trucks, so I'm looking for some input/opinions on what I should look at.

[Vinchenzo51]

Gas or Diesel? or no preference

[8520]

I'd prefer diesel for mileage and badassednes, but it's hard to find one considering my budget and my need for a manual.

[TipsyTurtle]

i have never heard a single good thing about an F-150, not even from ford guys. for that price range i say go tacoma or older version of a toyota. what are you towing? the tacoma will pull smaller stuff but certainly nothing massive. maybe look at nissan as well. if you need something bigger, go older dodge diesel, most of them are fairly bullet proof. just my .02

ok so i have heard good things about the late 80's diesel fords, they appear to be in your price range as well. i would go F-250...

[JWatson]

ok so i have heard good things about the late 80's diesel fords, they appear to be in your price range as well. i would go F-250...

This... Find one with the international turbo engine, not the power stroke

[G Men 08]

I LOVED my 89 f 150. Just a plain 2wd with a straight 6 300,5 spd manual. Had over 220k on it and still ran like a champ when I drove her to the junk yard Looking back, I wish I never did because I need a truck all the time now. The only reason I took it to the scrap heap was because I didn't want to dump money into it to fix the issues it had (gas tank rear shocks were bad and needed front end work). Considering I paid 400 bucks for the truck 1.5 years prior to that I couldn't justify putting the time and money into her. I agree with what was said about the late 80s diesel trucks, they are simply bad ass. If/when I ever go for a cheaper diesel truck it will either be one of those or a Cummins dodge from the late 90s

[MYDWAGON]

The $2500 will kill you.For that price range buy a Toyota.If you want a full size get 1999 to 2003 f250/f350 with a 7.3 powerstroke
diesel.You will pay premium but you will make it back in mileage/maintenance and resale.I got 437k out of my 99 and have 221k on my 2001.F150 isn't number one because they are garbage.

[jmgraham78]

why must you have a manual in the truck man? Just wondering...

[cbock]

I bought a truck a few years ago after a couple breakdowns at the track. I ended up with a 97 (older style) F250 SD crew cab with a diesel. It has been great on gas, even while towing the C5 on a good size trailer. Love it.

My requirements were:
Tow at least 8K
Decent MPG
Enough room for me, my boys and all the crap I lug to the track
Under 200K miles
Under $10K

My nice-to-haves were:
Manual (ended up with an auto)
4x4 (ended up with a 2WD)

I caved on the nice-to-haves because I had looked for a while and the truck I found was in excellent shape with less than 120K on the clock.

I spent way more than $2500 (~$8K). But, it does what I need and I always can rely on it. If you are trying to tow ANY "real" weight...$2500 isn't going to do it..at least reliably. So, how much are you really trying to tow?

[beemercer]

I'm buying a 12v cummins this weekend, great option in my experience (not cheap though).

Just dont get anything with a ford 5.4, those spark plugs are evil.

[Audi4.2]

80s f250 FTW although the new f150s are not bad but definitively not to have for 2500

[monkeesa6]

my old man has a 97 dodge with the heavy duty suspension and the v10 gas motor. truck is a tank, tows three snowmobiles at 70 plus no problem, or the boat. or for that matter my 93 grand cherokee on my uncles big trailer for the tractor (break downs blow)
not impressed by my uncles power stroke when we used it to tow, didnt seem to have the same power and rode like shit. think his is the 7.3 f350 diesel.

[tedg04]

Do you need a full size? Honestly, for $2500, I don't think you can be that picky. Just find one that isn't beat to sh!t and go with it.

Edit: I have also had experiences like Eerie posted after me - though I've had better luck with 'yotas, I agree they aren't up for hauling anything other than yard scrap. All the trucks have their weak points. In the budget price range, just take the one least beat on and you'll be fine.

[EErie B6]

i have never heard a single good thing about an F-150, not even from ford guys. for that price range i say go tacoma or older version of a toyota. what are you towing? the tacoma will pull smaller stuff but certainly nothing massive. maybe look at nissan as well. if you need something bigger, go older dodge diesel, most of them are fairly bullet proof. just my .02

ok so i have heard good things about the late 80's diesel fords, they appear to be in your price range as well. i would go F-250...

That's funny. We have had them in the family for years and they just don't die. The 300 I-6 and 302V8 are both rock solid engines. The 7.3 Powerstroke is badassness, stay away from the 6.0... the 6.0 can be made reliable, but it does not come that way, and cost a fair amount of coin to get it there.
I had a shop teacher in High School that had a daily driven '86 F-150 with over 370k miles on the clock and the engine had never been opened up... this truck had been beat all its life and still came back for more.
My dad had an '87 F-150 that he eventually gave to my grandfather as a farm truck. This is another truck that has been through the ringer (including serving as my DD high school transportation where I personally beat the piss out of it) and currently has around 170k on the clock (with out an overdrive transmission - so every mile has been earned)... I'd trust it right now today to reliably drive me across the country.
When he gave it to my grandparents, he bought a used FS 95 bronco with a 302. same chassis, same drivetrain as the F150s of that year... it has also been nearly problem free. the only problem with it that I can think of was with the Ford "auto hubs" which sucked and were replaced with Warren Premiums... have not had a problem since. This truck also has around 170k miles on it and runs great. Currently he has an 09 F-150 that he is tickled to death with, so far its been a great truck, and shows no signs of being any different.

I have a few friends that have comparable era Chevy's with similar stories to my "Ford" ones. I do know the 87 and < ones had kinda weak flexy frames but they seem to hold up ok. the later 88-95(or 96) were pretty solid and relatively easy to work on.

Toyota and Nissan is the ticket eh?
personally I am convinced the "Toyota truck reliability" is a myth. We have had a few of those in the family as well. 1 of them (an '86) was meticulously maintained since it left the car lot... and it was dead at 160k... this truck was driven by grand parents and NEVER beat on. My uncle had one that was an 89ish? and was on its 3rd engine at the time he sold it. (this one I blame on the owner not the truck) My wife has a 95 that has also been nothing but a pain in the ass. it has no power (it does get good mileage when it runs) but, if something under the hood isn't broke then a body panel is falling off - I hate that damn thing.

As far as i know, Nissans are relatively reliable (don't take that to the bank though as I know little about them) nothing bad to say about them. one memory comes to mind comes from this year at a local truck pull where I saw one snap an axle during a pull in a light weight class. The guy thought he was hot shit till everyone heard the pop. Not a good sign if I was looking for something to tow with.

While they might be "reliable", IMO: Toyotas and Nissans are just not up to the task of being a good tow rig. (just my opinion - based on my experiences with them)

I'm buying a 12v cummins this weekend, great option in my experience (not cheap though).

That era dodge had issues with the engine stress cracking the frame. If you are buying an auto, be prepared to replace the transmission at least once in your ownership. The trannys in them were garbage.

[MYDWAGON]

my old man has a 97 dodge with the heavy duty suspension and the v10 gas motor. truck is a tank, tows three snowmobiles at 70 plus no problem, or the boat. or for that matter my 93 grand cherokee on my uncles big trailer for the tractor (break downs blow)
not impressed by my uncles power stroke when we used it to tow, didnt seem to have the same power and rode like shit. think his is the 7.3 f350 diesel.

Depends on what year powerstroke.I regularly tow 16k with mine and have pulled over 25k.My allroad can pull 3 sleds at 70.

[EErie B6]

^sleds dont weigh much.

Allroad will probably pull them at 120 if you want it to. Lol

[LY7Y]

I owned a '89 F-150 for almost a year and he never
let me down. Was a 5.0 EFI auto and I went once
170km/h but I was scared to death. Ha Ha Ha


Have a great day

[khalimadeath]

Dude when i bought my house i was like "man i need a truck". Bought one and then figured out i didnt it. Expensive on gas and didnt really use it. IDK what your intentions are with the house but i just borrow a friends if i need something. Just my experience.

[estomax]

i also bought a truck when i bought a house a few years ago. i use it to mostly haul yard crap from sky nursery or go to the mountains in the winter (although now i can use my Audi i suppose!). Any time i need to move something or haul bigger car parts around its super convenient. my budget was 2500 also and i got a 94 nissan hard body king cab 2.4L 4x4 5spd. the motor is easy to work on albeit noisy and i average between 18.5-19.5 mpg usually. best tank i got when i went camping and that was 23mpg.

if you are going to do any work around the house the truck is a must, if you are buying a cookie cutter condo style house where you can't/don't need to do any work/yard work then the truck is mostly pointless.. also if you need to tow a car then 4cyl won't cut it. in fact they wouldn't rent me a car tow dolly at aurora rents when i tried..

if you need a truck, then the early 90's f150 with the 4.9L inline 6 and 5 spd 4x4 are a pretty good choice. my parents have one and it's a beast, but the gas mileage is going to be 16mpg TOPS and less if you tow or drive around town a lot. so far the only work that it's needed has been ignition cylinder and radius arm bushings that i've done. Also can easily tow a car, had a 3200 lb volvo on a dolly and i was passing semitrucks without a sweat.

diesels probably are going to be out of your price range at 2500 unless you go 25+ yrs old on the thing..

Marko

[khalimadeath]

i also bought a truck when i bought a house a few years ago. i use it to mostly haul yard crap from sky nursery or go to the mountains in the winter (although now i can use my Audi i suppose!). Any time i need to move something or haul bigger car parts around its super convenient. my budget was 2500 also and i got a 94 nissan hard body king cab 2.4L 4x4 5spd. the motor is easy to work on albeit noisy and i average between 18.5-19.5 mpg usually. best tank i got when i went camping and that was 23mpg.

if you are going to do any work around the house the truck is a must, if you are buying a cookie cutter condo style house where you can't/don't need to do any work/yard work then the truck is mostly pointless.. also if you need to tow a car then 4cyl won't cut it. in fact they wouldn't rent me a car tow dolly at aurora rents when i tried..

if you need a truck, then the early 90's f150 with the 4.9L inline 6 and 5 spd 4x4 are a pretty good choice. my parents have one and it's a beast, but the gas mileage is going to be 16mpg TOPS and less if you tow or drive around town a lot. so far the only work that it's needed has been ignition cylinder and radius arm bushings that i've done. Also can easily tow a car, had a 3200 lb volvo on a dolly and i was passing semitrucks without a sweat.

diesels probably are going to be out of your price range at 2500 unless you go 25+ yrs old on the thing..

Marko

lol i suppose since my front yard was landscaped and is maintained by the HOA that saves a lot of hauling. Im just gonna use my Dad's truck when i re-do the back yard.

[A6Avant]

F150 isn't number one because they are garbage.

exactly....

I have built a house from the ground up over the last three years... (and when I mean build I dont mean call a contractor and pick out colors. I mean design it, dig the hole erect it, use all raw materials nothing from home depot) and I did it all WITH OUT a truck. would it have helped... at times for sure... Over all not needed and over rated. Get a good allroad or in my case a C5 avant and a Eurovan....

This is what I built with out a truck....









Like I suggest... Get an allroad.

[8520]

An allroad is NOT in the budget. I can't haul gravel/dirt, move big furniture, or carry an atv in an ar. I would love one, but one c5 is enough for me.

As for the other trucks mentioned, I want a manual because I HATE automatic transmissions with a passion. I don't trust them because there is no long transition from working to not, it's pretty much BAM you need a new transmission. A manual on the other hand, as long as it's treated well, will last hundreds of thousands of miles and only need a clutch now and then.

A toyota/nissan/mazda pickup is not really in the cards for me. I want to be able to tow cars if need be and as such want a full size pickup. I've hauled bigger cars (ie 95 eclipse gsx) with a mazda b2000 before, and it was sketchy at best.

As for my budget, I could see spending $3500 if need be, I'm just not sure what I should be looking at for my money for what I want.

[A6Avant]

Then its simple....

1985-1999 F-150/250.... no matter what year just make sure its clean and cared for.

[EErie B6]

^ um, you just said they were garbage.

theres a lot to be said for an allroad or any C5 and a 6x10 trailer. You could do quite a bit with that. ...but then you gotta store a trailer somewhere. Its still a cheaper alternative to a truck like bed.

We bought a house 3 years ago and 95% of the time we dont need a truck, The other 5% we really wish we had a full size one. Our toyota truck is just too small to do anything worthwhile. I recently bought some insulation for our house (both ridgid foam, and blow in) and the allroad hauled it all... But it took I think 4 trips to get it all home. Luckily Home Depot is 10mins away. Thats still an 80min commute, and i had to precut all my foam board before i left the store so it would fit in the car.

[MYDWAGON]

^ um, you just said they were garbage.

theres a lot to be said for an allroad or any C5 and a 6x10 trailer. You could do quite a bit with that. ...but then you gotta store a trailer somewhere. Its still a cheaper alternative to a truck like bed

I prefer my trailer over a truck a lot of times.Its easier to load/unload.You can carry longer material.You can drop it and unload/load at your convenience.Also you can get a dump bed.My allroad is my work truck

[A6Avant]

^ um, you just said they were garbage.

read a little closer...

I prefer my trailer over a truck a lot of times.Its easier to load/unload.You can carry longer material.You can drop it and unload/load at your convenience.Also you can get a dump bed.My allroad is my work truck

That is so true. Material length can and most times does extend past 10' in length...

[EErie B6]

read a little closer...

Someone said the F150 was garbage and you agreed.

anyways...

640sqft. of R-19 (less 1 bag for picture purposes) in an allroad anyone:



...if the bags weren't labeled, it would look suspiciously like a border run.

[G Men 08]

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

[A6Avant]

Someone said the F150 was garbage and you agreed.

anyways...

What was said was... "The F-150 ISN'T number one because they are garbage."..... Meaning that something cant be garbage if it is considered #1.... Hence its NOT garbage.

Thus the reason I agreed that the F-150 is the way to go...

...if the bags weren't labeled, it would look suspiciously like a border run.

Would a border runner be smarter if they would have them wrapped in printed material and hidden in plain sight???? lol Living in B.C. I have known a few guys who have been regular delivery men.... they all get caught.


Back on topic.... Dre the F-150/250 is a great over all truck. You will not regret it if you got one.

I love this truck....

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

Only thing that would make it better is if it was an extended cab... I don't know about the states but up here those things are rare as hell in the extended cab.

[8520]

Been perusing truck forums.... It is painful by comparison.

Can the older f250 diesels get good gas mileage? Or is it about comparable to the f150's with the v8?

[MYDWAGON]

Been perusing truck forums.... It is painful by comparison.

Can the older f250 diesels get good gas mileage? Or is it about comparable to the f150's with the v8?

Depends on the rear end gearing.I've known people that have gotten high teens/low 20's in 99 to 03 7.3's

[A6Avant]

Dre no matter how you slice it your really not going to get good fuel mileage any way you look at it...

Since you have a DD that is not the truck I wouldnt worry so much about that as just getting a clean truck over all.

As far as the Diesels vs. the Petro... Honestly again with the dollar you have available to spend I would go with the gas. Diesel is expensive as hell to fix if need be and a $2500 Diesel will need fixing sooner then later.... Also teh power in those early diesels were honestly crap.

I have owned a '89 F-150 gas, '90 F-250 Diesel, '91 F-250 gas... Ill go gas any day in those years... ANY DAY

[jmgraham78]

Just splurge and get a new TUNDRA and pretend that the gas is not painful! =)

[8520]

Dre no matter how you slice it your really not going to get good fuel mileage any way you look at it...

Since you have a DD that is not the truck I wouldnt worry so much about that as just getting a clean truck over all.

As far as the Diesels vs. the Petro... Honestly again with the dollar you have available to spend I would go with the gas. Diesel is expensive as hell to fix if need be and a $2500 Diesel will need fixing sooner then later.... Also teh power in those early diesels were honestly crap.

I have owned a '89 F-150 gas, '90 F-250 Diesel, '91 F-250 gas... Ill go gas any day in those years... ANY DAY

Thanks for this input. I'm not looking for amazing gas mileage, I'd just rather not get in the low teens without a load. Maybe I'm being unrealistic, however.

Jason have you driven a new tundra? They are awful to drive just because your vision is TERRIBLE, and it is really tricky to gauge where the truck is.

[jmgraham78]

^ who cares? Just run shit over! LOL

[khalimadeath]

^ who cares? Just run shit over! LOL

this. Get an F250 with the 460 in it with an 8 inch lift and 38's. They are so much fun to run over shit with.

[Siricospeed]

I've had a few Fords, an 81 f150 with a 300 I6, an 89 f250 4x4 with the 7.3 non turbo diesel, and lastly a 98 f150 4x4 with a 4.6. Of all of them, the 98 was the best to drive and own. I consistently got 22 mpg on the highway, 16 around town. I was able to trailer my first A6 back from Georgia to New Jersey without wanting a bigger motor. It was comfortable to drive daily thanks to the extended cab, short bed and extra door in the cab. If it hadn't rusted out on me, I would probably still have it. I am currently looking for another truck as I have an old house and do all of the repairs and upgrades myself!

[EErie B6]

What was said was... "The F-150 ISN'T number one because they are garbage."..... Meaning that something cant be garbage if it is considered #1.... Hence its NOT garbage.

wow. I see it now. I totally read it in the wrong context.

[A6Avant]

No worries dude. Figured as much. It's the beauty of the English language... Confusion. ;)

[8520]

In theory, my del sol will be sold by Thursday, and the time of buying a truck draws ever closer.

It is quite the task trying to find the truck I want...

Early 90's ish f150 4x4, manual, long bed, power windows, and ideally the 6 cylinder for mileage reasons.

This looks to be the closest on Craigslist right now -

http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/cto/2823565723.html

I plan on emailing/texting him tomorrow.