What is a good small 4x4 pickup?

[IslandTractor]

BMW R100GS
Good luck to you!

I had a 1968 R60US and a 1994 R100RT. Love'd them. Drove the R60 cross country with a friend who drove a six month old Sportster. His gear box blew up outside Perry, Ontario so we rented a pickup and put both bikes in it and drove to Milwaukee. The factory customer service guys were about to leave for the weekend but we pleaded with them to look. Guy just touched the chain, decided it had been well maintained and told us to come back Saturday late afternoon. They replaced the whole powertrain and determined that someone had used the wrong size washer or nut in the transmission which had worked loose and destroyed it. After that he could only drive 50 and had to change speeds for about 500 miles. He was a wreck. I went all the way to CA but he had to turn around in CO.

Moral of the story: Harley's sound good. Beemers actually get you where you are going.:laughing: In fairness to HD, only an idiot would try to drive a Sportster cross country.

 

[Renze]

I have 30 years in High Tech (mostly hardware) and I've been an executive an a top sales guy. they are wasting my capabilities and I feel "put out to pasture"... I am totally underutilized...

I really don't want to just buy a crappy accord and commute with it...

1 + 1 = .....sounds like the economy is striking you too, and you're not going to adapt your way of life to the new situation ???.... Sorry to be this direct, couldnt help it after reading your complaint.. But no offense intended.

 

[IslandTractor]

M wife just popped off with a statement I shold go buy a Kia Soul or some super cheapo new car and burn it up commuting, That is not the soul I'm looking for, and I do NOT want another car payment.

I'm not meaning to drive you nuts or make you puke but you'd be surprised at how the economics of a slightly used Prius or other 40mpg+ car would work out for someone driving 160miles/day x 5 days a week compared to a 25mpg pickup. The gas savings on a 44mpg Prius vs Ranger would come pretty close to covering a $200/month payment. Even the new gasser Hyundai or Kia equivalents with direct injection engines come very close to 40mpg and those cars are only $20K new. If you drove the bigger pickup once a week to collect feed etc you'd still save on gas compared to a Ranger type pickup.

 

[clemsonfor]

I'm not meaning to drive you nuts or make you puke but you'd be surprised at how the economics of a slightly used Prius or other 40mpg+ car would work out for someone driving 160miles/day x 5 days a week compared to a 25mpg pickup. The gas savings on a 44mpg Prius vs Ranger would come pretty close to covering a $200/month payment. Even the new gasser Hyundai or Kia equivalents with direct injection engines come very close to 40mpg and those cars are only $20K new. If you drove the bigger pickup once a week to collect feed etc you'd still save on gas compared to a Ranger type pickup.

I pointed this out 2 pages back with real world #'s!! He wants his truck. I agree with you the gas savings alone would buy a new car or put $2k/year into his pocket if he buys a honda civic type car used. Im a truck guy as well. I have 3 of them, 2 on the road. One is a 1980 k10 gets 10mpg the other is a RANGER that gets 22mpg (same vintage he wants)!! There is no way with gas at $3.30/gallon that i will drive these on even my 52 mile a day commute!! I save a bit more than $1000 a year driving my saturn to work everyday. Yea id rather drive my trucks but i like cash!!!

Oh and the few times a year we get snow i can either drive a truck or reallly i just stay home, after all this is the south and it shuts down with the threat of snow!

 

[Diamondpilot]

I pointed this out 2 pages back with real world #'s!! He wants his truck. I agree with you the gas savings alone would buy a new car or put $2k/year into his pocket if he buys a honda civic type car used. Im a truck guy as well. I have 3 of them, 2 on the road. One is a 1980 k10 gets 10mpg the other is a RANGER that gets 22mpg (same vintage he wants)!! There is no way with gas at $3.30/gallon that i will drive these on even my 52 mile a day commute!! I save a bit more than $1000 a year driving my saturn to work everyday. Yea id rather drive my trucks but i like cash!!!

Oh and the few times a year we get snow i can either drive a truck or reallly i just stay home, after all this is the south and it shuts down with the threat of snow!

I agree with you guys. Buy a cheap commuter car and have your truck. I did just this putting nearly 200,000 miles on a pair of Saturns and leaving the brand new 06 F-350 Diesel 4x4 parked unless it was working. It now has low miles and looks like new.

The great thing about a commuter car like the guys have been pushing you towards is they are cheap to maintain. Even tires are 1/2 that of a Rangers tires.

Chris

 

[foreman Etexas]

Im on the other side of fence,buying a car is like telling you should ride this
,hey it gets 65mpg,runs 80mph and almost looks like a HARLEY:laughing:

 

[Dmace]

Boy you guys just don't give up...

Everyone likes to think a brand new car that gets 15-20 mpg more than a loan-free vehicle pays for itself but they also like to forget higher insurance (sometimes doubling those monthly payments), loss of resale (new cars depreciate a LOT faster than an old $2k truck), expensive repairs (emissions, faulty sensors, etc...), and giving a 2-3 year old $20k car to a first time driver in school is asking for trouble.

For goodness sake, he wants reviews and opinions on used compact trucks, not your agenda pushing idiocracies about foreign oil usage...

BACK ON TOPIC AGAIN...
Check out the old Nissan trucks of that vintage too, they were tough to kill as long as they weren't too rusted and had an ext cab version.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

1 + 1 = .....sounds like the economy is striking you too, and you're not going to adapt your way of life to the new situation ???.... Sorry to be this direct, couldnt help it after reading your complaint.. But no offense intended.

Wow...

Ok I'll not be offended then...

Seriously though DUH. Of course this disasterous economy is affecting me, I'm not living off of other people's money, I'm living off of my own earnings, and after 11 months with no contract for my own company, and recession, it was hard to get a job. Of course. Yes, my income is down maybe 40%, not because I am not capable of more, but because of the economy and the general decline of business in USA lately.

Yes I have 3 homes I cannot sell any one of them for what I paid for them, and yes I must keep 2 rented and live in the worst of them (but has most land). Yes this is because of the economy.

Your answer seems to be I should just adapt because it will be this way for the rest of my life now? That is depressing and fatalistic and I reject that thinking.

The USA will improve, and I will find a better job, and I will sell some houses and recover my sunk $$$ of capital.

Somehow the smiley faces are supposed to cancel out the negativity and insults, right?

Thanks for your depressing post :thumbsup:

David

 

[MossflowerWoods]

Im on the other side of fence,buying a car is like telling you should ride this
View attachment 266226,hey it gets 65mpg,runs 80mph and almost looks like a HARLEY:laughing:

I would NEVER do 80 mph on THAT!

David

 

[MossflowerWoods]

I'm not meaning to drive you nuts or make you puke but you'd be surprised at how the economics of a slightly used Prius or other 40mpg+ car would work out for someone driving 160miles/day x 5 days a week compared to a 25mpg pickup. The gas savings on a 44mpg Prius vs Ranger would come pretty close to covering a $200/month payment. Even the new gasser Hyundai or Kia equivalents with direct injection engines come very close to 40mpg and those cars are only $20K new. If you drove the bigger pickup once a week to collect feed etc you'd still save on gas compared to a Ranger type pickup.

I pointed this out 2 pages back with real world #'s!! He wants his truck. I agree with you the gas savings alone would buy a new car or put $2k/year into his pocket if he buys a honda civic type car used. Im a truck guy as well. I have 3 of them, 2 on the road. One is a 1980 k10 gets 10mpg the other is a RANGER that gets 22mpg (same vintage he wants)!! There is no way with gas at $3.30/gallon that i will drive these on even my 52 mile a day commute!! I save a bit more than $1000 a year driving my saturn to work everyday. Yea id rather drive my trucks but i like cash!!!

Oh and the few times a year we get snow i can either drive a truck or reallly i just stay home, after all this is the south and it shuts down with the threat of snow!

Island & Clensonfor,

Following Renze's thinking, Some people can get a little bit self righteous But no offence

I would NEVER buy a Prius, they are a HUGE scam and the world is just ignoring it.

#1 - First mistake is like Mr Euro you just assume I will have this horrid commute and job for the rest of my life, or at least for the 5 year terms of the DEBT I need to take out to buy a used Prius.

I am already speaking to a headhunter with at least one real opportunity which is a good fit, and I will be engaging more ASAP.

#2 - I plan to buy a vehicle for CASH, and I plan to spend as little as possible on that because, Yes, the economy sux, and yes my income is down, and yes I need to prioritize what I spend $$ on. Unlike our dear leader, I will not go get every nickle of debt some bank will loan me. I have PLENTY with 3 mortgages now.

Yes I might end up in a litte Civic putt-putting too farr and too often to work (and I will hate every second of it, and think of how right you were every time). Your math is not entirely wrong, only wrong in assuming I cannot do anything to change my situation for the better. Maybe I can't improve my situation, but I will still try.

Today I got 17.17 MPG in my F-150 covering the last 2 days commute. One day with the tonneu cover on, 1 day not. Next two days will be with and we shall see what impact it has.

But when I post asking what grapple should I buy, are you REALLY going to suggest I just buy 2 rakes and make do?

I deeply appreciate all your advice and math from both of you.

Thanks for the encouragement

David