Best used Pickup value??

[Highbeam]

I actually think you left the criteria too open. There are plenty of trucks that will do what you want.

If you want the "occasional sheet of plywood" to fit inside the bed with the tailgate shut then you should say so since we have all seen sheets of plywood strapped to the top of a minivan at the home depot. I'll assume you mean that you want the sheets to lay flat but fully supported by the tailgate which is what happens with a full size truck, short bed, with the tailgate down.

Non gas guzzling. Well that's relative. You're price range will easily get you a late 90s on up 4x4 with a normal sized V8 rated to tow about 6000 lbs with an auto transmission. That truck will get just over 20 mpg on the highway and high teens in the city for regular people at regular altitudes. That truck will also save your life in a collision with an average full sized truck when compared to something like a ranger which they will just bury you in instead of trying to unwrap the steel.

The full size fuel heirarchy is Chevy, then Ford, then Dodge with Toyota or Nissan being low somehwere between Ford and Dodge. No reason to get a minitruck since as you noticed the mpg is minimally better at best.

I tow 7000 lbs and so I will be looking for a diesel next time but I am having a hard time letting go of my 98 full size chevy which I bought using very similar criteria as you. 152,000 miles on it now with all original running gear, very low operating costs.

 

[Volfandt]

You can't go wrong with a good condition F-150 for full size or Ranger for compact.
I've not priced any used trucks so I can't help there but I'll remark on my experience....

I traded my 85 F-150 4x4 LT for a new 98 F-150 Super Cab Off Road and it's been virtually trouble free for it's 115k miles. The 85's trade-in value was about 1/2 the new price. Since the 98 has the Off Road pkg it has the lower geared rear (3.55 limited slip) which gives great power transfer but at the cost of some MPG.
I've avg'ed 17MPG since the 1st tank full but I did record 18mpg on a beach trip once The 85 avg'ed about 11 MPG so I'm still not complaining

A friend of mine has a 2wd 99 F-150 XLT and he claims 21MPG.

A couple of tips on the F-150, in 99 Ford changed the heads on the 4.6L and which produced about 15 more hp with no loss of MPG. Also in 99 the Super Cab went to 4 dr. The 98 is a 3 dr. If my 98 Super Cab had given me reason I would have traded it in for a 99 just for these two benefits but the ole 98 has just been a great truck.

When I was shopp'n for a full size back in 98 I looked at the big 3 (Ford, Chevy 1500 & Dodge 1500) plus one (Toyota Tundra), all 4x4 & V8. The Chev (GM) was still running the old box style, a couple of freinds were having troubles with their Mopars and I didn't like the way I sat in the Toy so I stayed Ford.
Course I'll be honest and admit that I was somewhat biased as all my trucks have either been F-150's or Rangers

Good luck
Volfandt

 

[jyoutz]

I think you're missing out on considering good long-term value if you discount deisel trucks. My 99 Dodge 3x4 ton 4x4 quad-cab with Cummins consistently gets 20 MPG. It drops to about 15 MPG when pulling my 5th wheel trailer. More power than I need! What's more, if you tend to keep vehicles for awhile like I do, there's real value in a vehicle that will go 400,000+ miles without an engine rebuild. High service costs? I'm not sure I would agree. I change the oil about every 6,000 miles (filter = $10, 2.5 gallons Rotella oil at $8/ gallon), I have the fuel filter changed every 15,000 miles ($50 inc. parts/labor) and I change the air filter every 25,000 miles ($20). Valves need to be adjusted every 125,000 miles ($200). That's it so far as maintenance goes. As for repairs? In 140,000 miles -none so far. I'd never buy another gas engine 1/2 ton truck. Poor fuel economy, poor power/towing/load capability, and poor engine longevity (at 150,000 miles -MOST of these are shot or close to it).

 

[Pilot]

FWIW,
2 Rangers.

First was a '91, gutless 3.0L, stick shift, 19 mpg. Started pinging at about 30K, dealer said "give us a blank check, we'll see what we can do." I put up with it instead. No significant problems; sold it at 110K & it was still pinging & starting to use a quart of oil between changes. My '78 Volvo weighed the same, was faster & got 21mpg & still didn't use any oil when I sold it with 199K, so I wasn't impressed with the Ranger engine.
Second is a '97, adequate 4.0L, auto, 18mpg. Front end rebuilt for $800 at 90K, trans rebuilt for $2,500 at 99K. This is my last Ranger.

I wish Volvo made pickups.

 

[RonMar]

Late 80's Toyota 4X4... There were a lot of these sold and there are still a lot of these on the road. The 22R series engine is very trouble free and the toyota running gear is extremely durable. I have had an 86 with a custom extra cab added(seats 6) and an 88 regular cab. I still have both of these trucks sort of, as I gave the large cab one to my daughter to tote the grandkids around in. Parts are still redilly available from Toyota and since there were so many produced, parts are also easilly found in wrecking yards. Both mine are well over 200K miles with the higher of the two approaching 250K. I bought both of these vehicles used, the 86 back in the early 90's and the 88 three years ago.

They can be found for relatively low cost, the 88 I bought in excellent condition for $1K with a bad head gasket. I had it on the road the next week for under $100 in parts and new fluids, and it has been taking me to work every day since. They are fuel injected but still easy to work on, not requireing any particularly special tools(although I havn't had to do much on mine). I did overhaul the 86 at just under 200K as it was the turbo charged model and I upgraded the turbo from the expensive stock turbo to a Garrett T-3(much less expensive). I drove that truck pretty hard for nearly 10 years including towing an 83 4X4 toy(my first toyota truck) on a dolly from upstate NY to northern CA during one of my moves. Both trucks were loaded with houshold goods and the truck did a pretty darn good job for a turbo 4 cylinder. Both these trucks still get in the 22-25 range for mileage depending on how hard you drive them. With the ammount of money I have saved in car payments and insurance over the years, I could afford to put a new engine or transmission in them every year and still be money ahead, but I havn't had to hardly put anything beyond routine maintenance into them. The only EFI part I have had to replace is a fuel injector and that is because I dropped it and broke the nose cap while rebuilding the turbo engine.

 

[Egon]

Whenyou are talking used there is no best. It's a matter of looking, evaluating and deciding what will give you the best sevice.

Have you considered a check list with points for each item so you can rate the vehicles you look at?

 

[schmism]

Late 80's Toyota 4X4... There were a lot of these sold and there are still a lot of these on the road. The 22R series engine is very trouble free and the toyota running gear is extremely durable.

im kinda a 4x4 toyota guru.....

up to 85 was solid front axle. after that 86-95.5 was all IFS toyota pickups. in late 95 they introduced the "tacoma"

the 4cylinder 22re 5speed is the way to go. common and virtually bullet proof. my uncle has one with 300,000+ miles (an 87) ive got a 94 with 240K but its the V6.

you'll be able to tow a small 4x8 ulitily trailer fine, and it runs out of spring in the bed before power (ie you can load it up to the max with firewood and the little 22re will still get you home) as well as fire up on the first crank when its 10 below out.

for the ultimate in a little pickup add a locker to the rear, will make the "got stuck" part much less common expecially when retreiveing wood out of the woods.

oh price... rough ones are as little as $500-$1000. nice daily drivers are $3K-5K depending on age and millage. Often you can find them collecting weeds in some side yard for free. (the best kind) if your handy it usually only takes a couple $100 to get them running again.

note, rust is the enemy of these trucks. I have seen more than one frame broke from years of rusting away. (most in the North east though)