Chore Truck Recommendations
10-29-11, 08:43 AM
#1
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
Chore Truck Recommendations
I'm thinking of adding a chore pickup to my personal fleet. Want to spend under $10K, preferably under $8k. Won't be used for commuting. Won't be garaged. Will be loaned out to family members and friends for hauling, moving, towing, etc. May sit parked for a couple weeks between uses.
Requirements:
- 6.5' or 8' bed. Nothing shorter.
- Reliable. No Dodges. (Sorry, Josh.)
Preferences:
- Probably full-size, unless I can find a mini-truck that meets the bed requirements. My old Dakota was OK in size, but is one of the sources of requirement #2 above.
- Extended cab, though a regular cab would probably be OK for this use. Probably avoid crewcab as folks may want to borrow it to haul people as a replacement for their regular car.
- Gas engine, probably V8. Paying the premium for diesel doesn't make sense (both for the vehicle and fuel cost) for a truck that will probably be driven about 3-5K miles per year.
- Cloth interior and minimal power options. Less to break or use power when parked. My old Dakota had manual door locks and the only power use when parked was keeping the radio memory.
- RWD or 4WD would be OK. RWD may be preferable as they are usually a bit lower, making it easier to reach into the bed.
- Probably a 1500 v. 2500 as the 1500s were often not heavily used. My barber's husband just bought a used Chevy 2500 plow truck, complete with plow and salt spreader. It probably had a hard life already.
Options currently under consideration:
- Old body style Chevy/GMC 1500 through 1998: The 5.7 V8 was a great engine, but I'd have to find a southern truck as the bodies rust badly. Limited room in the back of the extended cab and only 3 doors (at best).
- New body style Chevy/GMC through 2006: The extended cab trucks are pretty roomy in back. (I owned two of them in the past.) The gas engines tended to have cold start knock, though.
- Ford: Don't know enough about what years are good/bad. Have heard to avoid the 5.4 engine due to spark plugs blowing out of the block and the 6.0 diesel.
- Pre 07 Tundra: Don't know much about them.
Other suggestions to consider or avoid? I'm in no rush and will probably start looking seriously over the winter.
Requirements:
- 6.5' or 8' bed. Nothing shorter.
- Reliable. No Dodges. (Sorry, Josh.)
Preferences:
- Probably full-size, unless I can find a mini-truck that meets the bed requirements. My old Dakota was OK in size, but is one of the sources of requirement #2 above.
- Extended cab, though a regular cab would probably be OK for this use. Probably avoid crewcab as folks may want to borrow it to haul people as a replacement for their regular car.
- Gas engine, probably V8. Paying the premium for diesel doesn't make sense (both for the vehicle and fuel cost) for a truck that will probably be driven about 3-5K miles per year.
- Cloth interior and minimal power options. Less to break or use power when parked. My old Dakota had manual door locks and the only power use when parked was keeping the radio memory.
- RWD or 4WD would be OK. RWD may be preferable as they are usually a bit lower, making it easier to reach into the bed.
- Probably a 1500 v. 2500 as the 1500s were often not heavily used. My barber's husband just bought a used Chevy 2500 plow truck, complete with plow and salt spreader. It probably had a hard life already.
Options currently under consideration:
- Old body style Chevy/GMC 1500 through 1998: The 5.7 V8 was a great engine, but I'd have to find a southern truck as the bodies rust badly. Limited room in the back of the extended cab and only 3 doors (at best).
- New body style Chevy/GMC through 2006: The extended cab trucks are pretty roomy in back. (I owned two of them in the past.) The gas engines tended to have cold start knock, though.
- Ford: Don't know enough about what years are good/bad. Have heard to avoid the 5.4 engine due to spark plugs blowing out of the block and the 6.0 diesel.
- Pre 07 Tundra: Don't know much about them.
Other suggestions to consider or avoid? I'm in no rush and will probably start looking seriously over the winter.
10-29-11, 08:48 AM
#2
Lexus Test Driver
Your blue print already made your choice for you 
Comes down to what is the best deal you can find when your ready to buy.
Other option is get a utility trailer and an suv \ small truck to tow it, even though I keep a pickup for utility \ tow, I also have a large utility trailer since the 6.5ft bed seems like a lot to those without a pickup, but it really does not haul much.
Comes down to what is the best deal you can find when your ready to buy.
Other option is get a utility trailer and an suv \ small truck to tow it, even though I keep a pickup for utility \ tow, I also have a large utility trailer since the 6.5ft bed seems like a lot to those without a pickup, but it really does not haul much.
10-29-11, 08:52 AM
#3
Lexus Test Driver
Old Expedition + utility trailer your under 8k, if you have room for the trailer to store....( i know its a 5.4, just an example)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2000-...item4ab02ef1ea
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2000-...item4ab02ef1ea
10-29-11, 09:32 AM
#5
Lexus Fanatic
Originally Posted by caddyowne
RWD or 4WD would be OK. RWD may be preferable as they are usually a bit lower, making it easier to reach into the bed.
ALL pickups, IMO, should offer a center-differential 4WD/AWD system, IMO, at least as an option, but several of them still refuse to do so. SUVs have all pretty much converted over by now, except for perhaps the Jeep Wrangler.
Last edited by mmarshall; 10-29-11 at 09:35 AM.
10-29-11, 09:37 AM
#6
Dysfunctional Veteran
I will tell you what, I will make a reccomendation, and still leave Dodge out of it entirely. 
I say, Ford F-series, any year/vintage, but I am personally partial to 1986-1996 with either the Inline-6, 351, 460 or powerstroke. You can beat the ever loving **** out of those trucks, and they smile at you and take it all day long.
When they do finally break, its easy/cheap to fix, transmissions, axle's, everything is everywhere for them. Junkyards have them readily in stock, and autozone carries just about every part imaginable for them. My dad has a 1987, a 1995, a 2002 (all F150's) and a 2011 F-450 Dually. The '87 used to be mine, has pretty near 500k on the clock, 4x4, and is just stone solid reliable. sits for months now but starts whenever its needed, the 95 and the 02 needed a tranny at one point, but other than that, rock solid.
For-beat-the-hell-out-of-it-year-round-all-the-time, the only 2 trucks I would ever consider are Ford's and Toyota's. I personally would not be afraid to buy either a Ford F-Series or a Toyota Tacoma/T100 without knowing its history, that has more than 200k on it. They are that beasty.
Last edited by ArmyofOne; 10-29-11 at 09:44 AM.
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10-29-11, 09:44 AM
#8
Lexus Test Driver
10-29-11, 09:55 AM
#9
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
I'll remember that. One of my buddies buys / sells / collects old printing presses. He's borrowed my trucks in the past to pull trailers to pick up / deliver presses. (He finds businesses or private parties that will give him presses and type so long as he takes EVERYTHING.)
10-29-11, 10:38 AM
#10
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
LOL, it happens. Haters gonna hate. I will tell you what, I will make a reccomendation, and still leave Dodge out of it entirely.
I say, Ford F-series, any year/vintage, but I am personally partial to 1986-1996 with either the Inline-6, 351, 460 or powerstroke. You can beat the ever loving **** out of those trucks, and they smile at you and take it all day long.
When they do finally break, its easy/cheap to fix, transmissions, axle's, everything is everywhere for them. Junkyards have them readily in stock, and autozone carries just about every part imaginable for them. My dad has a 1987, a 1995, a 2002 (all F150's) and a 2011 F-450 Dually. The '87 used to be mine, has pretty near 500k on the clock, 4x4, and is just stone solid reliable. sits for months now but starts whenever its needed, the 95 and the 02 needed a tranny at one point, but other than that, rock solid.
For-beat-the-hell-out-of-it-year-round-all-the-time, the only 2 trucks I would ever consider are Ford's and Toyota's. I personally would not be afraid to buy either a Ford F-Series or a Toyota Tacoma/T100 without knowing its history, that has more than 200k on it. They are that beasty.
I will tell you what, I will make a reccomendation, and still leave Dodge out of it entirely. I say, Ford F-series, any year/vintage, but I am personally partial to 1986-1996 with either the Inline-6, 351, 460 or powerstroke. You can beat the ever loving **** out of those trucks, and they smile at you and take it all day long.
When they do finally break, its easy/cheap to fix, transmissions, axle's, everything is everywhere for them. Junkyards have them readily in stock, and autozone carries just about every part imaginable for them. My dad has a 1987, a 1995, a 2002 (all F150's) and a 2011 F-450 Dually. The '87 used to be mine, has pretty near 500k on the clock, 4x4, and is just stone solid reliable. sits for months now but starts whenever its needed, the 95 and the 02 needed a tranny at one point, but other than that, rock solid.
For-beat-the-hell-out-of-it-year-round-all-the-time, the only 2 trucks I would ever consider are Ford's and Toyota's. I personally would not be afraid to buy either a Ford F-Series or a Toyota Tacoma/T100 without knowing its history, that has more than 200k on it. They are that beasty.
10-29-11, 11:00 AM
#11
Dysfunctional Veteran
yeah, regular cabs are good, try for the Inline 6 in those years. Solid engine, that. Torque monsters too. They actually had more torque out of the I-6 with the 4spd manual w/O/D than they did out of the 351 in 1993, 94 and 95.
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