Monday’s post by Jim Klein about a Ram 3500 with the optional diesel having 1,000 ft-lbs of torque generated all manner of comments.
CC has long been successful in bringing people of all backgrounds and lifestyles together so this is a collective opportunity for sharing and learning. This question popped into my head while chatting with Jim and we agreed it was too good to not ask. We’ve heard from those who have no need for pickups so let’s hear from those who do indeed need a pickup for whatever purpose.
What pickup do you have? What engine does it have? And, what do you use it for? Is there anything else about it you want to tell us?
Lastly, I would encourage anyone reading this who has never commented to do so. We are curious about your pickup.
Started with a 1986 F150 long bed, 302/auto, a stripper, out the door brand new at $12k. I always thought the twin fuel tanks were a bit quirky, but you could steal a hose from the other side of the gas pump and fill up at double speed (and tick off the guy that then pulls in on the other side). The bench seat got very uncomfortable on long trips and it was noisy in there with rubber mats and no insulation. Used it to pull race cars and fill up the bed with parts while junkyard diving.
Traded up to a new 1996 Ram 1500, short bed and long cab, with the 318 and a 5 speed. I had the wife and kiddos and all by then. $20k out the door new. Still have it at 180k miles, it is great at towing, but as a daily driver, the length (actually no longer than the F150) and the constant shifting in town were burdens. It does get 15 to 17 miles per, which is about to look good, because I compensated for the length and shifting by buying a 1999 Ram 1500 shorty, with the 360 and an automatic. Much easier to drive, maneuver, and park, but it gets a mere 12 to 13 miles per, and that adds up. Bought it out of CL for $4k a few years back with 100k miles, now my daily.
I figure that by having two old trucks, at any given time, at least one should be working. At least that is the excuse I give my wife (she looks cute in there driving one of them, when her car is out of commission). I still trailer old cars home, and I am now doing construction and heavy maintenance on a second home, so a lot of materials get shifted back and forth. The Dodges seem much more stout and strong than the old Ford did, but the sheet metal seems thinner. I like to use the old-school piece of plywood in the back of them as bed liners, they work just fine.
I bought my first truck in 1977 solely because I needed wheels of some sort. I found a local guy who asked for $200 for a 65 Chevy C10. Sold! While it had a 283 and Powerglide that $200 did not extend to a working heater, which is unpleasant in New York. A few months later I got a job at IBM and immediately ordered a new Ford. I did get $400 for my trade-in so I guess I made a profit.
For the next 36 years I just borrowed a truck when I needed one. I moved to Vermont in 2014 and after a while I realized I could use a truck so I bought a 1999 Ranger. Compared to the Chevy it is the height of luxury – automatic overdrive, 4.0 V-6, HEAT, AC,power windows/mirrors/locks, AM/Fm/cassette AND CD, 4WD, carpets, cloth seats, etc.
While the body is in good shape the last few winters have played havoc on the chassis and it may not pass inspection this year. I see a 2001 F-150 for sale around the block so I may upgrade.
I first got into truck ownership in 2014, when I bought my house. It was a beater ‘96 F150 for $900, to supplement my ‘99 XJ for various house projects. My house wasn’t a “fixer upper” per se, but needed the garage gutted and the landscaping was severely overgrown – so the truck quickly earned its keep. Also, having 5 full grown maple trees and no city leaf pick up meant I had to rake em, tarp em, and haul them away in the 8 foot bed. Although I am more of a GM guy, I was specifically seeking a Ford of this vintage for one specific reason: owning a vehicle with vent windows had long been a bucket list item. Fast forward two years and I have two aging cars and am someone who likes to road trip. I decided to sell both the Ford and XJ to consolidate into one vehicle, an ‘04 Silverado. More of the same came with this truck, plenty of house projects and helping folks move. The picture here is taking a bunch of my parents’ stuff to their cottage 3 hours away when they sold the house I grew up in a couple years ago. This Chevy has taken me all over the state of Michigan (Detroit to Copper Harbor and everywhere in between), all over the east coast, and many trips between Michigan and the DMV, having met my now wife shortly after this picture was taken and moved to Maryland. I fit everything I owned in it when I moved here to our apartment, and then when we moved 30 miles away out to the burbs. With that came more house projects, waste from demo-ing two bathrooms and again another overgrown yard has led to a plethora of yard waste runs. Next on the list is to tear down a dilapidated shed in our back yard and hauling it to the dump. I can’t imagine living without a truck, even now living in the congested DC metro area. However, my beloved truck will not pass the stringent MD inspection, and in addition my wife and I are expecting our 1st child this September. So the loyal Silverado will hopefully be handed down to family back in MI, and I’ve been bookmarking listings of 2014-2017 Silverados and F150s. 4Runners are also on my shortlist – driving my Dads makes me almost think I can get by without a bed. I bought the Chevy with 140k and it now has 182k, only needing brakes, belts, and a battery during that time. This era GM got a lot wrong but the trucks they did right, because it’s the one area where they can truly compete.
I should add the the addition of the folding tonneau cover increased the functionality for us tenfold, as we now take a few week+ vacations with it a year.
I should have read closer, the Ford was the 4.9 and the Chevy and 5.3!
’15 F150 Lariat 5.0 CC 4×4, my current DD. Love it!
It does everything I need it to do, whether handling the daily commute, weekend errands, or going out to dinner with my wife and friends to a nice restaurant. I tow a car hauler and haul all manner of stuff with it, take it hunting, and just use it like a truck at every opportunity. It does it all without breaking a sweat, nor do I break a sweat what with supportive cooled and heated seats and all the bells and whistles you’d want in its cavernous cab. Which is also why it’s our preferred road trip vehicle, along with its smooth highway ride, giant fuel tank capacity, and the quiet, supremely comfortable interior.
These modern trucks are truly impressive with their multi-talents and capabilities, and they are easy to live day to day. Well, except maybe for maneuvering around tight parking lots, and fuel economy is a bit of an oxymoron in a gasoline-powered truck.
Overall, though, I’m a believer and plan to remain a “truck guy” for as long as I can get in and out of the thing without needing assistance.
Yeah I have a truck. My current truck is a 2010 Dodge Ram 3500 Laramie. I don’t use it as a daily driver but I still enjoy all the luxury features when I do drive it. I use it for pulling my boat on weekends, I also haul a slide in camper with it. Frequently I have the camper in while I tow the boat. For those occasions is why I got the one ton. Either the boat or camper alone a half ton could handle, but not both together. For me 4wd was required, and really here in Canada it’s strange to see any truck other than a basic work truck in 2wd anyway. I go down rough roads in mine and also launch my boat sometimes in places where there is no ramp. Like as shown here.
Similar camper for our K2500 Chevy, an eight foot Four Wheel brand. I had it on a ’94 F-150 originally. The truck could haul the camper alone, but no reserve for towing at the same time.
I’m on my third pickup, first was a ’65 C10 I had in HS, second was a ’70 C10 I owned from ’76 to ’06, and current truck is a 2004 Titan (only truck I bought new in ’04). Its a 2wd King cab, base model. 5.6 V8, 305 HP engine, 5 speed auto trans. All Titans had same engine and trans in any trim level. Only has 16,700 miles in it, about 1000 miles a year is all it sees. Use a ’86 Jetta for around town driving, truck used mostly for hauling or road trips. Hopefully will last as long as I can drive, should be my last truck. Comfortable, powerful, useful to have around.
Right now, I have a 4WD 1994 Nissan XE-V6 King Cab with a stick shift, 208k miles, a heavy-duty Old Man Emu suspension, and good BFG all-terrain tires. It’s perfect for occasionally moving awkwardly-sized things that weigh less than a ton and is a nice, easy drive.
Before that was a 4WD 1989 F-350 Crew Cab with a 4″ lift, 33″ tires, a custom windshield-to-tailgate lumber rack, and an automatic transmission. It was good for moving things that weighed less than 4,000 pounds, but it was a bear to daily drive and park. And 7.5 mpg is awful, just awful.
Before that was a 4WD 1989 F-250 regular cab, dead stock, with every heavy-duty, extra-payload, and trailer-related option available. It was great for moving things that weighed less than 3,000 pounds, wasn’t too hard to park, and got 10.5 mpg no matter what.
Can’t say I ever have, but I’m not so bold as to say no to one. It would be nice to have a secondary vehicle I can toss whatever in, not care how it looks, and generally keep as the beater for whatever I may need it for. Given my meticulous care when it comes to my own vehicles, it would be nice to own something that I won’t worry about getting scratched or dirtied up.
As for what I would drive? Well, buying new would be out of the question, but I tend to lean towards the GMT400 1500s as my choice, which is the last great pickup (To me anyways).
I do have a pickup from the era when a pickup was a pickup truck. It is my 1965 F-100 Custom Cab. Bought it in 2006 when I needed something to transport materials to the dump and then from Home Depot to home. Was a large amount of fencing debris and then new fencing materials.
Once it served it’s purpose I restored most all of the truck. The only section not restored and painted was the truck’s bed. Since there is a tonneau cover no one knows yet I can put items of the bed floor and not worry about it. Pretty basic with a now 390-2V engine rebuilt up from a 360 that was in the truck when purchased.No power steering, no A/C, four wheel drum brakes and Cruise-O-Matic. Sometime this year it is slated to get a dual master with power booster from a 66 Slick. Have not done a COAL on it yet.
These era Slicks look down right puny next to a 2019 F-150. Yet I can reach over the bed rails into the bed so beat that…!
Lord no. Moi? In a ute? Pfft!
Which just makes me a cynic and a bit of a dill, because I seem to have driven an AWFUL lot of them over time. Old Holdens, Fords, Nissans, Mazdas, Isuzus, Hiluxes, a Landcruiser FJ40, a Peugeot, one Suzuki Mighty Boy (truly), a Land Rover, Falcons and Commodores, and just one F250 4wd extended thing (ex-firefighting base?) 25 years ago, the latter which was large even by today’s sizings and was literally comical then: I was in hysterics as I could not get it round any suburban corner without clipping things (and ultimately became wedged in a skinny inner-city side road where I thought we’d have to ask folk to pull down fences if not houses to get out, only rescued by a sweary and unhappy truckie in the end). These have all been in the course of moving others or myself or building stuff or helping others do the same (with some from being on farms).
And this means even though I think they’re not for me, it turns out in retrospect that at least one purchase of a roughie would have been muchly cheaper than the hiring paid or beers provided or other miscellaneous services rendered over all that time.
Anyway, I’ll confess that a short spin in a 2012 Ford Falcon XR6 manual turbo ute (that’s 4-litre twin cam straight six with giant factory snail, 360+ hp for maybe 3500 lbs) was one of the most exuberant bits of fun I’ve had in any car, ever.
I’ve owned 13 pickups since my first one in 1984. I’ve commented about them many times already, and really should try a TOAL series. They all have their own story.
Currently my only vehicle is a 2016 F-150 extended cab in XL trim with the 6-1/2 ft bed. Pretty basic, but with a little garnish. It’s 2WD with the base 3.5L V6. I was a landscaper for 25 years, and while I’m out of the business since 2012, I still keep a loaded 6×12 single axle utility trailer loaded with enough equipment to go back in business if need be, but I just keep my toes in the water, so to speak, doing favors for select friends. I tried getting out of it, but they keep pullin’ me back in. Hahaha. That said, I occasionally pull the 3000 pound trailer around with no problem; the base V6 engine is plenty adequate here in flatland Florida. When I was in business, I found a 6 cylinder was indeed adequate, but for day in, day out, all day, every day trailering, a V8 was necessary, after throwing a rod bearing at only 126k in a ‘00 Silverado with a 4.3L V6. I briefly owned a gasoline F-250, having always wanted a 3/4 ton truck, but it quickly soured on me for several reasons; mainly being just too much truck for my purposes. Now that I only tow once or twice a week, if that much, I think a V6 will be okay. I bought this truck as a fresh trade at the Chevy dealership I work at. It may seem funny, working for Chevy, driving a Ford, and I get ribbed about it, but even the dealer principal doesn’t care; as long as I bought from him. LOL. Honestly, I would have preferred a Chevy, but nothing in stock struck my fancy or budget when I needed a new ride, the Ford did. Fact is, Ford makes a fine product, too. I’ve had it almost a year, racked up around 17k miles so far (it’s at 57k now), with not a single problem. I should add, I removed the factory side steps (don’t like them), the tool box (takes up valuable bed space), and a rubber bed mat (a truck bed without scratches is queer). Also, the previous owner had tint professionally applied to all the windows. I hate tinted windows; I paid $100 to have it all removed. I am looking for a headache rack; the mass produced ones just don’t look all that “protective”, I guess i’ll have one custom made like I used to.
Having driven pickups my entire adult life, once I got in the car business, I bought a car, a ‘08 Impala, and then a ‘12 Grand Cherokee. They’re another story, but I’m back to daily driving a truck. I haul everything from furniture to dirt. I like the versatility. One thing I sacrificed when driving compact trucks was bed width. No more. I’ve just gotta have at least 48 inches between the fender wells for the ability to load standard-size pallets. I will say, I’d prefer a regular cab with a 8 ft bed, but they’re hard to find used in decent shape. To be honest, the back seat in the extended cab does comes in handy.
Two things I’ve never owned are a 4WD or a diesel. Diesels are all fun and games until something goes wrong, then for the cost of a diesel repair, you could rebuild a gas engine. Besides, I’m not pulling houses around. It’s a good thing I didn’t have 4WD when I was younger, Now that I’m older, I realize 4WD is for getting you out of trouble, not in it. While I could use it sometimes, the lack of it makes me think twice when I’m in a sketchy situation.
I like driving a later model vehicle mainly for dependability’s sake, but I also like having the later model style for the image. In addition, I prefer my truck more on the “plain” side than a top trim model. The difference is usually just bells, whistles, and moldings. Lastly, while I see a lot a friends agonizing and fretting over scratches and dings in their new trucks, I’m not one of them. I’m ready to throw a load of loose bricks in the back of mine before the temp tag expires.
No pickup at present but I have owned three over the years. The first was a 1964 International Harvester 4X4 bought in about 1971-72 after I got out of the service and went back to school in Southern Illinois. My then girlfriend, later spouse, and I drove that truck all over the US and up to Canada. For many years we lived in an old farmhouse surrounded by the Shawnee National Forest and heated with only a wood burning stove for heat. The truck was necessary for that life as reaching the house from paved roads necessitated travelling several miles of unpaved roads, not plowed when there was snow, and fording two creeks. With a permit from the Forest Service I was able to gather dead and down trees from certain areas in the forest accessible only with four wheel drive and the truck made it possible to stay warm all winter with an expenditure of a lot of my time and effort but very little cash. I don’t remember when exactly I parted with the truck but the ending of a marriage and the needs of a child necessitated changes in life style the mission of the family vehicle changed. That IH was a real work horse, got good mileage with a small V8 engine, was pretty easy to work on and actually pretty great to drive long distance (as a fit young man!)
After moving to Alabama for a job in 1985 with just my daughter and I in the household I needed reliability for taking her to school and me to work. It seemed like the best vehicle available for the lowest cost was Nissan pickup so I bought a base model with AC as the only option. The truck provided excellent service until 1993 when I went abroad to work for a year. I sold the truck to a fried in Chicago who had is own building renovation/maintenance business and he used the truck for many years until it was T-boned at an intersection and totaled by the insurance company.
When I returned from the year abroad, in China, I bought a lightly used 1993 base model Nissan pickup. That truck also was extremely reliable. I didn’t really need a pickup although I used it for various house projects and in assistance to many friends and colleagues who did not have a truck. Aging a bit started to sneak up on me. I wondered why my shoulders ached after making a fairly frequent 700 mile drive from Alabama to Chicago to visit my parents and brother who lived there. Finally figured it out, a bit of arthritis and a lack of power steering combined to make the drive less comfortable. At the same time I got together with a wonderful woman who became my wife and she could not drive the truck with its manual transmission and lack of power assist so I added a car and the truck fell into disuse except for my commute and I sold it a few years later. parked it in front of the house with a for sale sign and a reasonable price and sold it to a craftsman working in the neighborhood just few hours later.
Have an SUV, based on a pickup, a Ford Everest, at present but would like to have a Thailand spec Ranger as well.
here
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/toal-1996-dodge-ram-the-truck-of-my-lifetime/
and here
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/toal-2004-dodge-ram-1500-the-blue-truck/
I also briefly had a ’78 Power Wagon and a ’95 Ram 2500 CTD and if a ‘Lil Red Express happens to find its way into my garage, then so be it.
I recently picked up a clean, low mileage 2000 Sonoma for my daughter’s first vehicle and have been driving it until she gets her license. I wish they would still make a pickup like that; simple, small, handy, easy to drive and park. Even the new Tacomas seem like the size a ’90s F150.
Pretty much any homeowner could use a pickup.
I’ve had many over the years. I just gave my son my 2003 Tundra Regular Cab. V6, 5spd. 2wd. The odo said 214k miles….but it had alot more. I love that truck. I supplemented that with a 1994 Toyota Hilux 4×4 in the winter. It was a V6 5spd. I use my truck for work, and in the winter, need fwd. I sold it, gave my son the tundra, and bought a 2014 Tacoma 4×4, by, 6spd man.
Not sure I like as well as the Tundra, but I bet I do this winter!
2007 Honda Ridgeline. All the truck I need. Mostly kids stuff and Lowe’s runs are what get hauled.
I had three consecutive Nissan hardbody trucks all kingkab models beginning with a ’88 4cyl 5spd. When I bought it in 1991 everyone said it was a stupid idea. Then suddenly everyone needs something moved. I hauled a lot in that truck since old Datsuns were still showing up in the boneyards. Tree and brush removal and all sorts of jobs. Mostly I just hauled air though.
Next up was a ’93 v6 5spd. It had a little more grunt than the 4cyl and the fuel consumption was very close so not really any difference. Still only occasionally hauled things around. It was the first and only new vehicle purchase for me.
Last one was a ’94 v6 4×4. Also 5spd Now this one had a fuel consumption penalty attached to it. I bought it months before the city tore up my street for water main and sewer replacement. I always managed to get in the driveway during the project. Still occasionally hauled stuff with it. I flat towed an El-Camino and a load of parts for it 500+ km. That was a fun trip.
So, continuous small truck ownership from 1991 until 2005 or so. I was hauling less and less and sedans made more sense and I was renting roll off bins for large projects where I used to haul crap myself. I would eventually take the advice of a friend and get a utility trailer for those times I needed to do dump runs and drag things home. Saved myself a couple of bin rentals so it’s paid for itself. Again, people need things moved.
Last year’s car search had me looking at trucks again. Full size trucks don’t appeal to me and the choices are limited in small trucks. What’s out there in my area on the used market are either high mileage and flogged to near death for cheap or like new with low mileage for more than I was willing to spend. The trailer makes even more sense now.
I bought a full size pickup 10 years ago to pull a camper. Well that didn’t really work out (wife is not a camper) but as a family of 5 I enjoyed having it so much I kept it and when it came time to replace it there was no question I wanted another one. I kind of wanted to downsize because full size trucks can be unwieldy in parking lots which gets annoying at times. But small trucks weren’t any cheaper on dealer lots, the fuel economy difference was only 1 to 2 MPG, if that, and the beds and interiors were considerably smaller while the exteriors were not exactly compact.
So I ended up with another F-150, a 2018 XLT 4×4 Crew Cab with the 2.7. Simply a great truck engine with excellent performance while returning 19-20 MPG around town. I am a bit concerned about the longevity of all the economy-minded technology but so far I am enjoying it. It just does everything I ask of it easily and comfortably. Except parking, lol.
Both times I had a pickup, I found reasons to use it rather than needing it in the first place. Like putting red mulch around all the trees because now I could fill up the bed with red mulch, instead of buying a bunch of bags. I could bring a refrigerator home myself and keep it upright, stuff like that. But the Town & Country (long wheelbase) with the seats out could do 90% of carrying duties just as well. I never had to carry bricks or anything super-heavy. Once I had many sheets of wooden lattice and it fit fine in the van, but was a nightmare because it kept getting tangled in the rear seat belts. For that a pickup would have worked better.
I just remembered I did carry bricks once in my S10. Once I carried them in my ’92 Mustang coupe too. I shouldn’t have because it was comically overloaded. That was when I was without a pickup, obviously. I replaced the rear shocks after that as it pretty much ruined them.
I had a 1995 Dodge Dakota SLT V6 extended cab back in the day. It was great when my kids were little, but when they started growing, there was no place to put their legs!
By that time, I’d moved and the new property was smaller and far less maintenance intensive. Since then, we’ve done everything with a combination of SUV and minivan hauling capabilities and the yearly delivery of mulch from the local garden center.
Overall, I liked the truck a great deal, but in the end, I really had a poor usage case for it.
We have a small company and our shop/home is on 80 acres, so we have a little fleet. My wife is the primary driver of a 2019 F250 crew cab diesel 4×4. It’s used to pull a horse trailer and our flatbed for work or hauling tractors around. You will also find her schlepping the kids to school in it, as it gets the best mileage of anything we own. Recently I went from driving a 2013 Raptor to a 2013 4Runner. The 4Runner has been working very well for me. It great on the roads around our place, just enough smaller than a full size that it’s easier to park and manuever around town, and it holds the tools or small parts I might need to shuttle around to my guys in the field. The two real knock around work trucks are a pair of 2012 F150 extended cab 5.0 4x4s, retired from the state. One long bed, one short. They just keep going and earning their keep. The long bed is up to 180k now with no major repairs, and the short bed is at 135k. No cars in the fleet at the moment, as they just won’t last out here.
Previous trucks have included a Ecoboost F150 (great power, terrible reliability), the aforementioned Raptor, which worked well, but was just too expensive for my tastes, a mint 93 F350 5 speed (beautiful and fun, but too slow for serious use), a 2003 F350 (best diesel I had owned. We’ll see how the 2019) stacks up, and my first work truck, a 1997 F150 regular cab short bed (still miss it), among others.
Here’s a picture of the current fleet.
I have a 2016 F250 Lariat Ultimate 4×4 with the 6.7 Powerstroke.
Unfortunately, as much as I wish I could say otherwise, I primarily use it to commute about 20 miles one way. I did have a 2004 F150 with the 5.4 and the diesel gets a little bit better gas mileage. I get sometimes around 20mpg on the highway, if I drive it right.
Occasionally it does get use towing a boat or hauling furniture, but it’s really an interstate beast. I’ve even hauled a couple cars with it. It really does it effortlessly, a lot better than the Tahoe I had. But like the Ram he tested earlier this week, this truck has more luxury features than my BMW X5 or my mother’s Volvo, so I can’t really complain.
Also cannot figure out why that picture posted sideways.
“You can always find use for a truck, either as a 2nd vehicle, or as a truck.” –me, about 1997.
I’ve had two trucks in my life, and intimate knowledge of a third. The first was my dad’s 1975 Toyota Hi-Lux SR5 with 5-sp manual, and a ‘Corolla’ engine. I would use it each time I came home from school or post-grad programs since he and my stepmom had their DDs and the truck was a 3rd set of wheels for ‘dirty’ projects. Pop had it from about 1982 to 1996. Damn thing was fast on the highway and easy to put into a skid because of its light weight. The standard cab was incredibly roomy because the doors were thin as the windows. It looked beat to hell when Pop got it and looked the same when he gave it to a friend who was way down on his luck; pop went over to the dark side of minivans after that and used those as his covered truck (he get one and take the back seats out). The HiLux experience is what convinced me to get my own in 1984.
My first truck was a 1982 Toyota SR-5 longbed with the insinkable R-20 I4 motor and 5 speed manual. It had bucket seats, a center console, gauge package (oil pressure and voltmeter); it did not have power steering but “power-assisted” brakes. Red with coal black striping. I got this in August, 1984 after my first car, a ’73 VW Type III squareback, burned out its bearings on my drive home from Philadelphia earlier in the summer. Since I envisioned a lot of moving in my future, I figured I was better off with a truck. I found it in a paper edition of the local autotrader. I was hoping it would last at least through 1990; I would have it through late 1998. It came with a camper top which was a deliberate choice, given that I’d need the storage (I quickly discovered that that the campertop did not give a good seal at the gunnel (top of the truck bed wall) and anytime I moved stuff interstate, anything below that line needed to be in plastic like a garbage bag in case of rain). It was my only vehicle from 1984 to 1997, and my DD to hospitals and rotation sites at all hours and any weather. Never failed to start in 0F cold in Wisconsin. It was towed twice only because of parking fascists, not from anything mechanical. It went East coast – West coast and back, and TNTC (too numerous to count) trips up and down the eastern seaboard. It was a decent handling vehicle for local and interstate use. I got about 360 miles / full tank regardless of whether it was loaded down or not. The only niggling problem I had with it over the years was the thermostat was prone to sticking when I would go on long interstate drives, and replaced it about 4 times which didn’t always fix the problem (it was never an issue in local or short highway drives–it would happen occasionally after maybe 4 straight hours at highway speeds); but when I’d pull off for gas and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes before starting, the problem would resolve and never see it again for the rest of the trip. I made an unwise decision of getting a leased vehicle (1997 Accord, a thoroughly decent car) with a mileage limit, and used my truck to conserve miles on that vehicle. When my luck ran out and I made the choice to leave NY state for home (Atlanta), my truck was pretty much worn out (except for the R-20) and rusting to death (13 of the 14 years were in rust country); I put just about 100K miles, and cried the day I handed the key and title to a friend of mine who helped me pack my life’s remains for the trip home. I had 6 months left on the lease and I drove the Accord home; for the first time I didn’t think my truck could make the 1000 miles. I can still hear the hum of 5th gear sometimes.
My current truck is a 2001 Nissan Frontier XE 4×2 regular cab with I4 and 5 speed manual. A/C and a CD player. I bought it new in Sept, 2000 shortly after I bought my first house. I had looked at the S-10 (was not impressed) and was appalled that a 2 year old Tacoma cost more than a new Nissan truck. I don’t ever remember looking at Rangers. I was driving my dad’s 1978 Datsun 810 sedan (a car so worthy of a COAL) and homeownership was pushing me to get a truck again. I told the salesman what I wanted (regular cab, manual transmission, everything else is optional) and he pointed at this little truck in british racing green and with the nose of a ballistic submarine. It was the only truck in the lot with manual transmission, and most everything else was extended cab. It had a bed liner which I thought was a good idea, and really liked the aluminum wheels. It turned out to be a decent highway vehicle but the bench seats are getting less comfortable in comparison to everything else I ride in. I’ve had it now 19 years and 286,000 miles. I’ve replaced the radiator once (partial blockage) and the usual wear items, like tires, battery and brakes. And three transmissions (one rebuild, two replacements) because these little trucks weren’t build to tow trailers. Lesson learned–it does fine completely loaded down, but suffers mightily with a Uhaul 5×8 trailer behind it. My 2010 Toyota Venza AWD with the 3.5 L V6 and tow package is the designated tow vehicle now, and it doesn’t break a sweat with a trailer. My Venza is like putting on a better set of clothes to go out, and that’s now my DD, but my Nissan, I try to drive it about once a week and over the weekends when I have to fill some propane tanks or haul a lawn mower or a trip to Home Depot (my wife gardens and likes messy stuff like soil and pine straw). My niece asked me if she could have my mom’s old couch and if I could deliver it in my truck. Sure, Kiddo, but have some help where I take it.
One reason I disliked SUVs (other than the people who drove them) was that they were becoming gargantuan, but they heralded the next big thing, bigger and higher and longer trucks. Growing up in the 1970s, a full size truck for daily use was a F-150 and Chevy boxbodies; something like a F-250 (or bigger) were seen around construction sites driven by guys in hardhats and thick boots hauling metal, lumber and concrete. Now today’s 150 seems bigger than the old 250s, and most need a step up to get it. During the early 2000s when I was looking for a truck for home use, I was dismayed that most trucks on the market and the road were big like the Tundra, whereas I was looking for something as small as my dad’s HiLux which weren’t being made anymore.
And today these big trucks are a pain in the parking lot because they jut out so far into the lane. Each one I have to maneuver around to either turn to another row or into a space, I’m so tempted to paste a bumper sticker on it like “my truck is so big because everything else I have is so small.” I doubt most of them have ever pulled something. All hat, no cattle.
The picture is from 2013, hauling my mom’s bed from NC to GA. Though I prefer driving my Venza for long trips, when I need to I can still get in my truck today to go out of town, and it doesn’t cross my mind whether or not it’ll make it to Point B.
Picture, take #3
Try reducing the picture size if possible — it often won’t load, and won’t give an error message, if it’s a very large picture.
Yet again
Yes, I have a 1992 Mazda B2600i 4×4 LE-5, purchased in 2013 after I moved to California. The undercarriage is virtually rust-free, something that wouldn’t have been the case after even one winter back in PA. Bought with about 120,000 miles for $4200, now has just under 150,000 miles, as it’s my second car.
It needs a restored driver’s seat and a respray in Sunrise Red, as the paint has been buffed so many times that primer is showing through. It could also use a new windshield as it was pretty well sandblasted by its previous life being towed behind a motorhome.
Just in the time since I bought a house near Long Beach (but in Orange County) I’ve had four different people leave notes on the windshield asking to buy it. I don’t intend to sell it any time soon. The only way I would is if my wife elects to replace her 1999 Dodge Durango (with 245,000 miles on the original engine and transmission!) with a new Ram 1500, but at this point she is leaning toward a Suburban, as though we love camping, we are unlikely to bit a trailer large enough that we’d be better off with a fifth wheel.
Of course, MY preference would be for her to keep the Durango going indefinitely (again, nothing rusts here) or buy something not so good for towing, and instead put the Mazda back behind a motorhome again, this time preferably a nicely kept GMC Motorhome (Palm Beach edition with green interior, please!)
2018 Nissan Titan Crew Cab. I consider it my modern day full sized 4 door car. 2-240 adult males and 2 Yellow Labradors use this as our only vehicle. I bought a toolbox to use as the “trunk”. It’s roomy, easy to get in and out of and serves our needs perfectly. I’ve had probably every manufacturers truck model over the years, I bought the Nissan because they take massive amounts of $ off of the sticker price and it has a 10 year/100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty.
I hope Nissan is around long enough to honor that warranty (based on yesterdays news).
Not now, but I used to drive a really sharp, straight, clean ’89 Dodge D-100 with an 8-foot bed. Bought it in ’04 or so, about 90 minutes’ drive away from home; sold it in ’10 or ’11 to a guy who worked a block away. It had a 318 with pathetically primitive TBI, a 3-speed Loadflite (i.e., Torqueflite in a truck or van) automatic with locking torque converter, A/C, FM-AM-Cassette-CD, sliding backglass, and a bench seat. It and certain nonstandard parts on it—some visible, others audible—will be subjects of forthcoming posts here on CC.
I currently have two pickups. My ’59 Chevy Apache I’ve had for 37 years. It’s a 235 6 cyl. with 3 speed column shift. I usually put between 700 to 1,000 miles per year on it between spring and late fall. Living in southeast PA, it isn’t driven during the winter months. It’s always been very dependable and I’ve had it so long now that it would be kind of hard to part with it. My other pickup I bought new. It’s a ’95 Chevy S-10 LS 2.2 4cyl with 5 speed trans. Just turned over to 148,000 miles and I love it. It also is off the road during winter months. After all these years it’s brilliant blue paint still shines and there are no dents or rust. Air conditioner blows cold and gets great gas mileage. I don’t ever intend to part with it. To be honest, I tend to get attached to my vehicles. My winter transportation is a ’95 Olds Ninety Eight with 86,000 miles also in very nice shape. Two and a half years ago I bought a ’61 Rambler American which I love to drive also during spring thru fall. Since I only drive about 12,000 miles per year, and I’m 60 years old, I don’t think I’ll ever own anything newer than my two ’95’s and that’s ok with me.
My current truck is a 1971 F100 longbed, mildly decrepit yet roadworthy, with a 302 engine and 3-on-the-tree transmission, used for dump runs, hauling firewood or lumber, and for the occasional drive when I feel like using it. It is a work in progress, and always in need of some type of repair, but it starts, runs, and stops more often than not. Unlike my daily driver Subaru, it earns frequent positive comments, and occasional inquiries from potential purchasers.
It is my second vintage vehicle, the first being a shortbed 4WD 1970 F100 in an advanced state of oxidative damage. Though not the wisest vehicle purchase I have ever made, it has helped me to sharpen my skills as a home mechanic by giving me opportunities to replace body panels, engines, brake and electrical systems, and even to do challenging repairs on bitter cold nights to get it ready to push snow the next day. This one is not roadworthy, and I will likely get rid of it, as I have grown weary of putting so much work into a vehicle that sees relatively little use outside of pushing snow and providing mouse habitat.
My first pickup was an early 80’s S10, shortbed, dark brown, extended cab, with a 2.8 L V6 and 4 speed manual transmission if memory serves. It was purchased to replace a Chevette that got me through many of my college years, and did a good job hauling bicycles and occasional work use hauling material for the landscaping company I worked for then. My most persistent memory of the S10 was dragging it to a gas station where I worked and using their lift to help replace the clutch. A friend and I did it, with basic tools and no prior experience, and it lasted the rest of the time I owned the truck. It was a capable, comfortable little truck that did what I needed it to do at the time.
Its replacement was a considerably larger, more comfortable and capable F150, 4WD, extended cab, longbed, with a fuel-injected 302 engine, automatic transmission, and the XLT Lariat options package, that served as the work truck for the landscaping business I owned at the time, and also my personal vehicle. It was the largest, nicest, most comfortable vehicle I have ever owned. It hauled heavy loads, pulled equipment trailers, and took me and my friends on road trips in style and comfort.
My fondest memory of the F150 was the last trip I owned it for, in which my friend and I drove from Connecticut to Vermont in a blizzard. We loaded some wood in the back for ballast, stocked up on food, fuel and beer, locked the hubs and headed out just before the governor closed the highways. It handled the deep snow with ease, and we were soon the only vehicle on the road for many miles. The truck rode like a dream, hour after hour through the deep and drifting snow, stopping only for us to relieve ourselves and grab fresh cold ones out of the back.
I passed it along to my business partner when I moved away to go to graduate school and determined that a large, expensive, fuel-guzzling truck was not a practical choice for my new life at the university. It made it to over 200K miles under his ownership.
The contrast between the F150 and its evolutionary ancestor the F100 is stark. Though they both have engines of the same displacement, they are miles apart in comfort and reliability. As much as I like my F100, driving it is a workout, and non-power drum brakes mean that stops need a bit more planning than is the case with more modern vehicles. I would not want it as a daily driver, even if I owned it when it was in better condition. The F150, with its creature comforts, reliability, and visibility, was easy and fun to drive and very useful to me at the time. Its main disadvantages were its size, thirst for fuel, and the cost (relative to cars) of parts.
I’ve only had one truck, a 1985 F250 2WD 6.9 diesel cab and a half longbed, XLT Lariat with captains chairs and yuuge center console up front.
I bought it off a workmate in 1997 and by then it needed a paint job, so off to Miracle it went. 1300 bucks later it came back with a pretty good clearcoat over metallic dark blue finish. I had a new headliner installed and resprayed all the blue plastic interior bits and turned it into a respectable family hauler.
It’s towed a 5th wheel, hauled lumber and drywall and was my daily driver for 5 years until diesel prices started getting ridiculous. But since I live out in the country I’ve always needed a truck for dump runs so i could never bring myself to part with it.
In the ensuing 22 years of ownership, body cancer at the cab corners has set in, the state Air Resources Board has offered me a grand to take it off the road and the clearcoat failed long ago.
But it won’t die. The AC still blows cold and though the tank selector module failed and I’m only running the front tank now, it does whatever i ask of it.
4 years ago i used it to bring home a 23 horse diesel Kubota, and with that i reworked the property to improve drainage, excavate for a deck and new driveway and rip out some 6 foot high shrubs i got tired of trimming.
All that topsoil worked out to about 80,000 pounds that needed to be removed and the truck hauled it all away, sometimes 4400 pounds at a time. Last month i brought in 10000 pounds of gravel for a new walkway and ive also brought home a couple of grand worth of fencing lumber and redwood 1 x 8s to upgrade the property.
I hauled a lot of air, probably for most of its life, but when i needed the hauling capacity it did the job and did it without breaking a sweat. A 6.9 can’t make enough power to hurt itself so at 170k it still runs well and never overheats.
But its days are numbered, and I’ll hate to let it go, but it will probably be sold this year and I’ll remember it fondly since we’ve sort of grown older together. Its one of the last honest trucks Ford ever built and the bricknose style and simple but nice looking dash remains my favorite.
I currently have (and have had) way too many.
Currently have:
-Red 1940 Plymouth. It’s got no bed, no rear wheels, and a rusted to hell paintjob. Unfortunately it has not ran since 1979(it was my father’s truck that he gave to me in 1997 after getting out of the air force)and I have not been able to fix it. She sits next to my old black ’74 Cougar. Has a weathered and probably not working 201 L Head.
-Blue 1991 Ram Shortbed. Bought it in mint condition from a Mopar collector in around 2000-01 for only like 4 grand. Had the 318 and (Somehow) black Torq-Thrust style wheels on it. Drove it as my main truck for a few years until I picked up a brand new Expedition in 2007. Best truck I’ve had. Good hauler for a 150.
-Dark Green 1996 Isuzu Hombre. This is my daily driver right now. Engine nearing 160k miles but its been running strong for the 4 years I’ve had it. Had to replace the muffler just about every month because the exhaust on this thing is shitty but other than that it’s great. Has a Vortek 4.3 engine swap out of a 1995 S-10 that was in when I bought it in 2015.
We have a 2016 Ram 1500 Big Horn, and love it. We use it around town and to tow our travel trailer.
Ours is sort of a unicorn. Big Horns come with cloth interiors; this one had an aftermarket brown leather installed, and then the original owner clicked damn near all the option boxes. It has the RamBoxes, the tow package, and the underbody shields, etc.
Neat truck. We will keep our Ram Unicorn as long as we can.
My daily driver is a 2001 Tacoma 2.4 liter 4 cyl with 5 sp manual. It is 2 wheel drive with the base suspension. It is an extended cab with the tiny jump seats in the back. The SR 5 option package means it came with a nicer radio and a little more chrome. Driving it feels like a more mechanical or visceral driving experience than some newer vehicles I’ve driven — I feel more engaged with the driving experience. I haul furniture, mulch, miscellaneous stuff, and a lot of air. I love the low bed height and being able to so easily reach over the side of the bed. I average about 22 mpg and have driven 157,000 miles over 18 years. Maybe I could have gotten by with a wagon, SUV, or many van, but I’ve enjoyed having a small truck that does its thing with no fuss.
If you ask if I own a pickup BED, I actually have THREE now: my 2011 Ranger (obviously), the Nissan Trailer (built from an ’85-’86 720), and most recently, another trailer built from a ’91 Chevy S-10 to go with my ’05 Astro. To be honest the Ranger is usually driven to work & back home 5 days a week with next to no load in the bed, and the trailers (the Wells Cargo Trailer included) spend well over 50% of their current lives parked under sheds. But when I DO use them, I make sure to make the most of their utility in order to justify having them in the 1st place, let alone all the work I’ve put into them (the Nissan Trailer especially) to give them their current functionality. When you’re able to pull 2 trailers with a 4-cylinder Ranger & STILL manage the EPA-estimated mpg or better you can’t be doing half-bad! 🙂
the Astro & S-10 trailer
What I have now: 1978 F100 Step-side. Currently has sandblasted doors, hood, and front fender panels. Rest of the body is grey, currently being prepared for red repaint. Stock wheels, original 300 straight 6 in it for the engine with a Summit 4 speed racing transmission. 190,000 miles on the body and the engine. This was the second truck i bought, in 1987. Put the transmission in a few years back. Going to keep this until I die.
I don’t have one that’s currently in operating condition, as my only other vehicle me and my wife have is a 2006 Escape.