[Colby]

Looking for truck advice.
What do you guys think is a good pickup? I'm thinking a crewcab is good..but so is gas mileage. My thoughts are for a truck that can serve as a sometimes useful house rehab helper and a sometimes trailer hauler - like a boat or RV trailer thing.
Use as a daily driver - not really - if the gas mileage is hateful.
Used makes sense - keeps the cost. Used also makes sense due to the recent growth in size of pickups. I don't agree with the necessity of huge trucks for normal uses. Ten years ago sizes worked - why not continue with that?
Power? I'm not a racer. Don't consider any truck a race car. And consider that most any truck - even a six cylinder can haul adequately.
Some of the recent trucks had troubles - which would be good to avoid - like Dodge transmissions from approximately 8 years ago. What else is worth avoiding? A solid, reliable machine is a good thing.
Help??

[danf_fl]

I was looking at things other than the gas mileage when I purchased my Nissan Titan. I've had a couple of problems, but dealer corrected them in less than a day.

15-16 mpg and the ride (seems to me) to be a little top-heavy.

[bamashooter68]

My 2006 Dodge Dakota is a 4 door with the smaller back doors and flip down back seats. Not suitable for anyone over 4th grade size. It has a 215hp V-6 with decent power and mileage. Reality it gets 17/22mpg if you drive right. Had since new, its paid for and only has 35,000 miles. Probably give to son and drive my 96 Toyota truck. Boy is about to turn 15.

[Colby]

Originally Posted by bamashooter68

My 2006 Dodge Dakota is a 4 door with the smaller back doors and flip down back seats. Not suitable for anyone over 4th grade size. It has a 215hp V-6 with decent power and mileage. Reality it gets 17/22mpg if you drive right. Had since new, its paid for and only has 35,000 miles. Probably give to son and drive my 96 Toyota truck. Boy is about to turn 15.

Lucky son!

[sputnik1988]

It's hard to beat a early 90s GM full size. They last forever, aren't overly large, no expensive EPA garbage to break on it and no matter what breaks, it can be fixed in a weekend for under $500.

Thats exactly why I bought one, mine isn't a work truck, but all above applies.

[WebleyFosbery38]

Heres my 2 cents for what thats worth. Unless your kicking it bigtime, today isnt a great day to invest bigtime in anything that wont bring a guaranteed return. A $30K truck wont return anything unless your getting paid to tow or carry things.

Get an 80's truck with low miles, I like my 2002 Dakota but I liked my 87 and 82 also, its made for light towing not big trailers, love my 88 Mercedes 2wd Wagon also but its a money pit (IDK, Its my baby). If you dont need 4WD, dont get it, it adds 30%+ to the cost and the maintenance on an older one can get very expensive, they arent the best for towing either.

Good luck!

[Colby]

Originally Posted by WebleyFosbery38

Heres my 2 cents for what thats worth. Unless your kicking it bigtime, today isnt a great day to invest bigtime in anything that wont bring a guaranteed return. A $30K truck wont return anything unless your getting paid to tow or carry things.

Get an 80's truck with low miles, I like my 2002 Dakota but I liked my 87 and 82 also, its made for light towing not big trailers, love my 88 Mercedes 2wd Wagon also but its a money pit (IDK, Its my baby). If you dont need 4WD, dont get it, it adds 30%+ to the cost and the maintenance on an older one can get very expensive, they arent the best for towing either.

Good luck!

Do you mean the Dakota is for light towing? Not the 80's trucks? And by light towing what do you mean?

Thanks for this input.

[WebleyFosbery38]

Sure, No Prob. Light towing like <1.5K Lbs is pretty safe and easy. A couple snowmobiles or 4 wheelers would be fine, a motor home of any largess would not. If your towing more than that, make sure you get the 8 cyl, the six isnt beefy enough on hills under load. Also, unless you get the 4dw in the Dakota, you wont get the heavier frame and suspension (its about the same as the standard RAM Frame).

[Colby]

Originally Posted by WebleyFosbery38

Sure, No Prob. Light towing like <1.5K Lbs is pretty safe and easy. A couple snowmobiles or 4 wheelers would be fine, a motor home of any largess would not. If your towing more than that, make sure you get the 8 cyl, the six isnt beefy enough on hills under load. Also, unless you get the 4dw in the Dakota, you wont get the heavier frame and suspension (its about the same as the standard RAM Frame).

Thanks, again.
Would that Dakota with the v8 handle the larger stuff you are talking about - small RV or 18 foot boat - something like that?
And is the frame thing a limitation in handling this larger stuff?

Or maybe - is the Dakota too small? Need more weight to the truck...?

[WebleyFosbery38]

Originally Posted by Colby

Thanks, again.
Would that Dakota with the v8 handle the larger stuff you are talking about - small RV or 18 foot boat - something like that?
And is the frame thing a limitation in handling this larger stuff?

Or maybe - is the Dakota too small? Need more weight to the truck...?

18' light/ med fishing boat yes, 2 story cruiser, no. Big boats want a heavy truck to Tow but need it even more to pull the boats out of the water when its time to go.

Biggest consideration is how much are you really going to use the capabilities of it as a truck as compared to just driving it. Most often, you can rent a larger rig a few times a year much cheaper than owning and maintaining one.