beginner questions on truck.

[rnln]

Starting family, home. I am sure I will need to do some minor contruction at home. I think I need a truck which can be able to haul big/heavy things such as furniture, bed, refrigerator, concreate, etc. Beside that, I need to to be a little economy too, not a gas sucker, and not a high maintenance one. I don't expect to work on often, not even as close to how I take care of my 911.

Is this something I should get? I feel the truck bed is a little too short. Do you guys think so? But I can get my kids in there once in a while.
Why the price is so low?
Fantastic Condition 2002 Ford F-150

or something like this, and cary no one with me.
1992 Ford F150 TRUCK Long Bed White

[74-911]

Originally Posted by rnln

Why the price is so low?
Fantastic Condition 2002 Ford F-150

It's a scam.... Run

[vash]

i think that first one is a scam.

the second rig, "feels right" for a beater junk hauler. you add a contractor's tool rack on the back, and you could do it all. imho, moving a fridge without a tool rack is downright scary.

[JavaBrewer]

Seriously consider how many times you will actually need the truck before you buy one. Don't get me wrong I love trucks - owned both a full size and import - but you can't get out from under the miserable MPG. You can easily rent a FS truck from Enterprise (or even HD or Lowes) for when you really really need one.

Finally, that first truck you linked won't haul much of anything with that tiny bed. Certainly a queen size bed+frame won't fit without fancy loading.

[YTNUKLR]

I'd say a truck is very handy about 2-3 times per year for moving large stuff. Probably less frequently if I wasn't in college and moving every year or so to a new place. Each time I've rented a truck from Enterprise and it has been painless; they give you a new, low-mileage truck for about $80-100 per day, you get your job done and move on.

Additionally, you don't have to live with a truck on a day-to-day basis, getting low MPG and driving a lumbering truck that is hard to park. You don't have to store it at your house. And you don't have to worry about maintaining it or washing it.

Unless you really need a truck, every day, I'd say you would be miles ahead just renting one.

My 2˘.

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

I'd really suggest you investigate why you need a truck (we have a 3/4 ton diesel to haul 12,000 pound loads). Small trucks might seem OK, but will likely not get any better fuel economy than a full size. Insurance/registration costs might be different. I know very little about small trucks.

When you get into full size, stay away from v-6 imho. The economy is worse than or same as the v-8. The capacity is lower (smaller engine) and the demand is not there on re-sale. My experience is Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Indiana, Michigan. Yours might vary.

[Dave L]

Buy roof racks for your car and rent the truck or van from homedepot when you need it. I finished my basement renting a truck once to bring home the drywall, everything else came home on the racks.

[URY914]

Trailer

[Tim Walsh]

{thread tanget}I WANT MY HILUX{/thread tangent}

Another options is what my dad did, buy a 4cyl 2wd mid 90's tacoma. 29mpg for his daily commute, and still has a bed big enough for most things. Fridges, plywood, etc all fit, just with the tailgate down. Heck just last month he went and picked up some topsoil for me. Sure it's not sexy, big or capable of towing much, but he doesn't need any towing capacity, or need to haul 5000lbs in one go. And the few times he's needed that in the 10 years he's owned it, he's either borrowed or rented a big truck. All he needs is something to get him to work efficiently, and a bed big enough to pick up some 2x4's or plywood from Lowes.

Me, I want that and the ability to tow 5K, but the only way I can get that is in a small diesel. I really really want a ranger/f150/Tacoma Turbo Diesel but nobody sells them here.

Originally Posted by YTNUKLR

I'd say a truck is very handy about 2-3 times per year for moving large stuff. Probably less frequently if I wasn't in college and moving every year or so to a new place. Each time I've rented a truck from Enterprise and it has been painless; they give you a new, low-mileage truck for about $80-100 per day, you get your job done and move on.

Additionally, you don't have to live with a truck on a day-to-day basis, getting low MPG and driving a lumbering truck that is hard to park. You don't have to store it at your house. And you don't have to worry about maintaining it or washing it.

Unless you really need a truck, every day, I'd say you would be miles ahead just renting one.

My 2˘.

Does Enterprise rent trucks that can be used for towing with a Class 3 hitch? When I told U Haul I wanted to tow my car trailer, they told me I couldn't do it.

Another drawback to owning a truck is suddenly people come out of the woodwork asking you to help them move.

[A930Rocket]

That first link is a definate scam.

I like my truck (2091 F150 SuperCrew). It has 173k miles and has run great, hauling everything under the sun. MPG in the highway us just over 15.

[rnln]

Thanks for all opinions. It's not that I never seen new truck before, just that I never pay attention. Today, while at Home Depot parking lot, I came close to look at the different between 2 seaters truck and 4,5 seaters one. What the different. Those 4, 5 seaters modern type truck is not a truck. The bed is way too short for the trucking purpose.

I am back to the Tacoma. My brother has one so I know how "weak" it is, but it is very reliable. How about Ford F150 or Ranger? Is it as reliable as the Tacoma, at the age of 150k+ miles? Since this is something I need to be able to rely on when I need to, I don't want it to rely on me for repair/maintenance. I am thinking of between $2k to $3k or so, so maybe around 199x year model.

[MotoSook]

I paid $1000 for a 94 F150 with 125K on it. Rusted and well used. I love it! I've already re-lanscaped yhe front yard and part of the back yard. Hauled over 6 yards of mulch and stepping stones...no problem. The thing about having the truck is I don't have to plan my day around renting and return or borrowing. For $1000 I don't care if I have to pub a couple hundred into it now and then, and the truck is so simple I can fix it with a hammer and pliers

The insurance on it is just liability and it's probably $300 a year IIRC. I don't use in for commuting, but if I'm going out to a construction site or way out location, the fuel cost is acceptable for not having to tear up a nice car. (and I can expense te mileage)

Old trucks are everywhere for cheap.

[oldE]

rnln,

A run-of-the-mill F 150 will do what you want. I have a '98 with the 4.2 V6 and a 5 speed.

The good points are the 8 foot box and it can tow the horse trailer or whatever I need to drag around.

The bad stuff with these trucks would be the weak tie-rod ends (replaced at 90,000 kilometers, one of them came apart while my wife was driving) and the not-so-great milage from the 4.2 less than 20 mpg. I had an '88 chev with a 5 liter which did better.

I notice the new F 150s offer neither a v6 nor a manual transmission.

I avoided the 98-2002 GM pick-ups because of the corrosion problems of their rear disc brakes here in Eastern Canada. YRMV.

However, as stated above, if you don't need it every week, you might be miles ahead just renting one when you need it.
Good luck

Les

[The Gaijin]

2 -3 times a year, just to haul stuff? Yup, go rent one.

Itching to own something and have the parking space??

Buy a really old pickup out of Hemmings or someplace.. It is amazing how cheap they are.

Model T pickup, 50's era pickup.. Use it lightly and care for it and suffer very little depreciation. I imagine it would be cheaper to insure as well.

[rnln]

Soulkus,
That is what I want, not to have to worry about fixing/repairing it and can haul things. But you are lucky on the $1k and 125k miles part.

OldE,
one of them came apart while my wife was driving
O_O OMG. Was she ok?

Honestly, I have been using truck as less as once every several years. But now I am getting older, and family, I will be repairing the house so I think I will need it more often. Beside, when I feel I need it, I usually put it aside by telling myself "will do it when I have a truck".

Originally Posted by Soukus

I paid $1000 for a 94 F150 with 125K on it. Rusted and well used. I love it! I've already re-lanscaped yhe front yard and part of the back yard. Hauled over 6 yards of mulch and stepping stones...no problem. The thing about having the truck is I don't have to plan my day around renting and return or borrowing. For $1000 I don't care if I have to pub a couple hundred into it now and then, and the truck is so simple I can fix it with a hammer and pliers

The insurance on it is just liability and it's probably $300 a year IIRC. I don't use in for commuting, but if I'm going out to a construction site or way out location, the fuel cost is acceptable for not having to tear up a nice car. (and I can expense te mileage)

Old trucks are everywhere for cheap.

[rnln]

Can this replace the pick up truck?
I can tell that it is required no gas, no ins, no maintenance. I am thinking of hooking it up to a minivan when need to. Is it convenience and easy to drive? Do you have to drive differently if you hook it up? Like wide angle turn.
1997 heavy duty all steel Trailer 2 wheels great 4 construction

or as low as these:
Trailer
GRANDPA'S OLD TRAILER - $450

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Rent one as needed, don't buy.

[look 171]

Plannning the day just to go and rent is a big pain in the rear. Had my first little truck in college because I wanted to do construction to make money and was also fun. I have had one or more ever since. You will be suprise how often you will find yourself driving it. Even when you don't really need it, why teat up the minivan with just 2 pieces of 2x4 or a bag of gravel for your yard. I see that you are in CA, if you have the room, I say get the truck. I can't live without a truck or a large vehicle. I am in the construction business, but do not really need a pick-up too often. Instead I drive my S2000 a few times a week.

You could find a Ford or GM full size crew cab, or whatever you call them with the rear seats for 3-4k in pretty good shape. One of my men just bough a Dodge 3/4 ton truck like that 4 months ago for 3200 bucks and the thing was well taken care of and in very good shape. It had 120k miles. no problem yet and he drives it everyday. If you can find a good older diesel truck ( I have a older cummins), they last a long time without too much maintance. I drive my truck once every 3 weeks or so. It starts right up and have not put much money in it. It just turned 100k miles.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

To each their own. I owned a truck for several years (GMC 3/4 ton). I found it to be an awful vehicle - piggish, difficult to maneuver in traffic, difficult to park, terrible on gas, impractical in virtually all respects. People also tend to overstate the effectiveness of 4x4 in snow. Pickups are terrible - there's no weight over the rear axle. Also, consider that as soon as you have one, you'll start getting requests from "friends" to help them move stuff. It's a pain having to tell people "no" all the time.

Never again.

I rent one when I need one. Dirt cheap nowadays and I don't have any remorse about loading the snot out of one with whatever I need to haul. I recently did this with a few cords of firewood. Sprayed the back out with a pressure washer when done and returned it. They were none the wiser. I think it cost me 40 bucks.

But if you really like them, go ahead.