What is a good small 4x4 pickup?

[VA Orange]

I have a 1998 Ranger that has 183,000 miles and counting. Gas mileage is decent (~24) but it keeps going and going.

 

[logdog]

I think he should get a compact car with R1 tires, a gear drive, a dodge motor, chevy transmission, ford body painted Deere green with NH blue wheels and Kubota orange racing stripes. I think that should cover everything!

 

[RobertN]

What about finding a Ranger with a blown motor and shovel a Cummins 4BT in to it...

 

[Car Doc]

Here is what I am doing...

1) I am still considering the 89 Ranger or one similar...
2) I am aggressively looking for a new job (this is actually #1...)
3) I swallowed my pride and called my nephew in Richmond who is moving to Oregon in June and asked what he was going to do with his Civic...


David

I wish you luck man :thumbsup: it takes a big person to get on these forums with personal questions or situations and suffer the wrath of naysayers etc.

Btw I am all for the Civic I have rebuilt and sold lots and lots of them when I was a used car dealer. And I could sell a yard full of them now if I had em on hand with gas as high as it is etc.

fwtw My wife drives a 99 EX 4dr Civic now I bought wrecked and rebuilt fact I made one car out of two put a front clip on it 10 years ago gets 35 on the road 27 in town cheap reliable transportation that and they ride a lot better than Corollas which are the same class car. good luck

 

[clemsonfor]

What about finding a Ranger with a blown motor and shovel a Cummins 4BT in to it...

There is a guy that puts tractor motors in full size 80s erly 90s models ford trucks. I think he says he gets upwards of 30 mpg. He got a web page, lets see if i can find it...

Shade Tree Conversions at Shade Tree Conversions.

He sells the plan books that he has written about him doing it. I think he uses the older style ford deisel tractor motors in the trucks and mates them to the trannies.

 

[AGRIMAN]

WOW!!! This guy is not that far from me and it sounds just like something I would do.

I may have to check this out a little closer.

 

[aczlan]

I commuted 99 miles one way for eight and a half years in snow country. Buffalo gets real snow, I've driven full size pickups, Toyota pickups, ans smaller cars.
Honestly, my 2006 Nissan Maxima with 4 Blizzak snow tires was probably the best commute vehicle. Lost 4 mpg with the snows on in the winter, but it was completely unstoppable, I too have a long gravel driveway on a hill, and I never had a problem. My vote is for the TDI with 4 good quality snow tires.

I can agree with that.
My parents have an '02 Jetta TDI with a stick shift and over 200k miles on it. They also have a '04 Volvo V70 (wagon) with an automatic. They run snows on both cars and have no problems getting up their steep hill in the wintertime (as long as there is less than 8" of packed snow, at 8" the snow starts to pack under the car and high centers it). They have that much snow because they live out in the middle of nowhere and their town is the worst in the area at plowing snow in a timely fashion.
Personally, I have a '97 Volvo V90 (RWD, straight 6, automatic, wagon, limited slip differential) and with 4 studded Nokian Hakkapeliitta 2 snowtires on it, it will go through about 8" of packed snow as long as there is a firm base under it. My wife has an '02 Caravan and with 4 snows on it, it will go through about the same amount of snow.
My inlaws have a '97 Dodge 1500 4x4 and due to its higher ground clearance, it handles deeper snow than my car, but in less than 8" of snow (and with a non-muddy surface underneath), my car will handle better on or off road (my car also gets 19-26MPG vs 9-14MPG in the truck) and my car handles icy conditions better.

Just my $0.02

Aaron Z

 

[EE_Bota]

Zombie Thread alert!

I have brought this back to life because my commute has just gotten worse. I need to be in the beltway 5 days a week, approx 160 mile round trip daily.

I am NOW looking for a simple 2-door 4x4 small truck. In a couple years it will become my oldest daughter's car. Until then I will drive it MOSTLY freeway/highway back and forth.

I'm leaning towards the older Ford Rangers with the 2.9 V6, I hear they get 25-26 mpg.

My neighbor has a 1989 long bed that is solid running I tried to buy, but his nephew is using it...

My concerns are longevity, and MPG.

Speak out now or forever hold your peace!

David

A Subaru Baja may suit you if you can find one. They stopped making them in 2006. You will want the non-turbo model to get 26-28 mpg. In the back, you could haul 0.25 cord of wood, or a washer or a dryer, but not much else. I haul wood in mine, and have hauled a 500 lb wood stove.
That is an AWD vehicle, so it is ready for a slip at all times.

 

[IslandTractor]

I can agree with that.
My parents have an '02 Jetta TDI with a stick shift and over 200k miles on it. They also have a '04 Volvo V70 (wagon) with an automatic. They run snows on both cars and have no problems getting up their steep hill in the wintertime (as long as there is less than 8" of packed snow, at 8" the snow starts to pack under the car and high centers it). They have that much snow because they live out in the middle of nowhere and their town is the worst in the area at plowing snow in a timely fashion.
Personally, I have a '97 Volvo V90 (RWD, straight 6, automatic, wagon, limited slip differential) and with 4 studded Nokian Hakkapeliitta 2 snowtires on it, it will go through about 8" of packed snow as long as there is a firm base under it. My wife has an '02 Caravan and with 4 snows on it, it will go through about the same amount of snow.
My inlaws have a '97 Dodge 1500 4x4 and due to its higher ground clearance, it handles deeper snow than my car, but in less than 8" of snow (and with a non-muddy surface underneath), my car will handle better on or off road (my car also gets 19-26MPG vs 9-14MPG in the truck) and my car handles icy conditions better.

Just my $0.02

Aaron Z

Snow tires on a 2wd vehicle with appropriate weight over drive wheels is at least as effective in moderate snow as a 4x4 will all seasons IMO. The 4x4 may have an advantage driving through really deep snow but the vehicle with snow tires will always stop much faster and handle better on a snowy or icy highway. Folks get all excited about 4x4 or AWD and fail to use snow tires which is just kinda dumb. Off road 4x4 comes to its own but for winter commuting a FWD with good snow tires is certainly safer. I cannot tell you how many 4x4 trucks or SUVs I've seen in snow banks or causing rear end accidents after a snow storm. The real issue is stopping not starting. Many things you can do to get started if you lack traction. Not much you can do to stop without traction.

 

[Car Doc]

Just for conversation- As was just mentioned by Islandtractor One thing most folks are either unaware of or forget to mention is braking ability is so much improved when both ends are tied together in 4wd/AWD be it a truck or car.

Subaru's are superior in that respect in that they are all AWD and most later models have 4WAL. :thumbsup: