New truck #@$%@#&

[3930dave]

Lots of people will laugh but one of the best trucks I ever had was a 1982 VW Rabbit diesel. It was low on hp but enough torque. It got 45-50mpg highway, never gave trouble, few simple things like glow plugs, timing belt. I still have special tools I bought to adjust valve lash...shims. It handled well and was very low so easy to load stuff.
Of course light duty but great.

I remember Patrick Bedard writing in C&D years ago about how it doesn't always make sense what cars will resonate with you.... his example was that VW diesel pickup, and how he had a blast driving one on a multi-State long run.... up on the rev-limiter much of the time, but the fact that a racer who drove exotics for a living got such a kick out of it matches your comments Fuddy....

Not many of them left. Even un-restored but in reasonable shape, they command surprising money today.

For those of us who don't regularly pull a tri-axle float, some of us yearn for compact old-school diesels as personal trucks..... some of that daydreaming can be found at:

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/trailers-transportation/288903-compact-diesel-trucks-we-cant.html

ROW got the diesel Ranger something like 5 years ago.....

Rgds, D.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

Winner Winner :thumbsup:

$4100 wouldn't pay the sales tax for a new one up here....... sadly.....

Bonus points for the floor shifter...... Double Bonus points for the floor-mounted 4x4 shifter :drink:

Rgds, D.

People really seem to love the manual trucks lol, I don’t care for the manual trucks, I would prefer it to be automatic with the Tuff Torq 5 speed trans.

 

[hawkeye08]

Used trucks seem to get expensive after the cash for clunkers got rid of a bunch.

 

[Jstpssng]

Had to have the frame repaired on my '06 Chevy Colorado last year after it failed inspection. I'm looking to replace it in a year or two. Chevy doesn't sell 4x4's w/manual trans anymore so I'm going to settle for a 4x2 w/manual. They run in right around $25k. Toyota still sells the 4x4 w/manual trans.

I believe this is the last year though. I just went to their website and you can't even build one with that option anymore.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Used trucks seem to get expensive after the cash for clunkers got rid of a bunch.

Good point at least in these parts.

 

[dnw64]

Lots of people will laugh but one of the best trucks I ever had was a 1982 VW Rabbit diesel. It was low on hp but enough torque. It got 45-50mpg highway, never gave trouble, few simple things like glow plugs, timing belt. I still have special tools I bought to adjust valve lash...shims. It handled well and was very low so easy to load stuff.
Of course light duty but great.

I see you're in VA. My father's experience, in VT was slightly different. Getting stranded in freezing weather is no picnic. Granted, his, I believe, was an 1980, so maybe they had fixed it 2 years later... Oh, and his was just the basic Rabbit 2-door, but same chassis/drivetrain AFAIK.

 

[3930dave]

People really seem to love the manual trucks lol, I don稚 care for the manual trucks, I would prefer it to be automatic with the Tuff Torq 5 speed trans.

Mis-posted here instead of lawn-trac forum ?

What I didn't like about the old Ford manual design was the placement of the slave-cylinder... PITA to change.

Rgds, D.

 

[LightningCamaroGuy]

IMHO a Ram Power Wagon Tradesman edition offers great bang for the buck. No you can't get a Cummins in it, but the 6.4L is no slouch. You get all the goodies of the Power Wagon in a basic, bare bones Ram 2500. It's a Power Wagon without all the fluff.

And BTW I'm usually not much of a Dodge guy, but I do like the Ram Power Wagons very much and find them to be a great value for an extremely capable Off-road 3/4 ton truck with a warranty.

 

[dfkrug]

I believe this is the last year though. I just went to their website and you can't even build one with that option anymore.

Six speed manual only with TRD Sport Taco. No manuals on Tundras it seems. Sadly 2-door pickups are
gone across the board (Toyota).

 

[Cataclysm]

I just spent the last year or so thinking about buying a new 1 ton dually 4x4 diesel to work out of and trading in my almost pristine 2000 7.3 dually 2WD with 185K on it.

One of my friends has had several new trucks in the last few years. He just uses them for transportation and occasionally tows an RV. There's always something going wrong with this sensor or that little controller and putting it into limp mode.

With that and a few others I know having trouble with the components of the newer trucks it scared me off from having a newer truck after the warranty is up.

I decided to just keep the 7.3 dually for work and found a pristine 2000 7.3 6spd 4x4 super cab long bed with only 66k on it. I'd still like one of the newer trucks but these two will probably last me quite a while and I'm handy enough to keep them running.

It is very unfortunate that no one makes a basic truck at a reasonable price anymore.