A few times a month I actually need a truck. It might be loading up the back with firewood, buying trees, buying pavers, hauling my tractor, etc. The rest of my driving is taking kids places, buying small items at target, etc.
I currently have a 2003 Tacoma and it's falling short for the larger hauling tasks. I'm thinking that the ideal combo would be a truck and a car. (Or maybe a big truck and my tacoma)
(FWIW, I've decided that a $50k+ truck that I'm afraid to throw wood into isn't right for me.)
I keep coming back to this 1999 F250 on Craig's List:
1999 FORD F-25 SUPER DUTY, CREW CAB, LARIAT, 4X4,SHORT BED,7.3 DIESEL
It wouldn't be a daily driver. Instead I'd use it weekly-ish when I actually do truck stuff. My question is, "Would this be a mistake?"
I'm looking to have a family asset on call when I need to pull a trailer or haul a load. But at 17 years old will I find myself declaring it unreliable junk in 3 years? Is it unreasonable to think that if it's properly maintained that I'll get 10 years of occasional use (every week or two) from it?
A Suburban or Excursion with a towing package is way more usable and versatile for a family than a pickup.
We went through this same thought process many years ago. We had a car and a pickup truck. Then we had kids. Going anywhere with kids, you get more kids (friends, teammates, etc...) and an extra parent, or grandparents, etc... So we sold the pickup and bought a conversion van and a car hauler trailer. But the problem with conversion vans is the seats don't stow too easily, so we switched to a Suburban. Never regretted it.
The nice things about a Suburban or Excursion is:
- You can seat 5-9 depending on seating options (ours seats 5 standard, we have a removable bench in the back that seats 2 more adults, or 3 small kids).
- You can fold the split middle seats down, and still seat 2 (or 3 depending on options again) in front and haul 4x8 sheets in the back.
- You can fold down the split middle seat on the short side and still seat 4-5 and haul two stacks of 8' boards inside.
- You can fold down the split middle seat on the wide side and still seat 3-4 and haul three stacks of 8' boards inside.
- You can haul groceries, sports equipment, sacks of cement, suit cases, antiques out of the rain, etc... most of the time behind the 3rd seat.
- You can haul TONS of groceries, sports equipment, sacks of cement, suit cases, antiques, a dog kennel, big screen TV, etc... behind the middle seat with either the 3rd row seat folded down or removed, again OUT OF THE RAIN! That's the key feature. People AND cargo OUT OF THE RAIN at the same time. :laughing:
- You can tow a car hauler trailer to get way more volume than you can ever get in a short bedded (or long bedded) pickup truck bed. Car hauler trailers with a solid deck and some 2x10 side boards can easily haul several yards of loose material, long logs, firewood, tractor with an implement or two, etc...
- A Suburban or Excursion is much more comfortable sitting in the rear than a pickup, too.
- The only time the pickup would be a better choice is if you had to haul something that exceeds the Suburban or Excursion tow rating, like a large camper, fifth wheel, heavier trailer with tractor, etc...
Having owned cars, pickups, a van, and the Suburban with the trailer, I can honestly say I will never purchase a pickup again in my life. We'll always have a car that's "suitable for funerals and weddings" (my wife's exact words
) and a working Suburban with the car hauler trailer. :thumbsup:
Now don't get me wrong, that's a nice truck you're looking at and it may suit your needs to a T. Just think out what you'll need to do in the future. If you never have more than 5 people, and you get a trailer, it may be just the ticket. But you'll need a cover for the bed if you want to take people and cargo. Good luck in your decision. That's a nice looking truck.
