I will keep my Colorado, or upgrade that to a 3/4 ton. Either way, I want something which costs less to buy, fuel, and repair for when I'm just running around or going down to my mother's house 200 miles away.
pickup truck size
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Creamer
Elite Member
I have looked at trading my 05 Silverado 2WD WT (Reg Cab, 8' bed, 4.8L V8 Automatic and 3.18 rear end that gets >20 MPH after all these years if I don't push it too hard) a few times as it has 245,000 on it but all of the new ones have a much higher entry and loading heights that they were not what I wanted so I keep my old one which is still running great.
5030
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All well and good until what you are hauling falls out in the road and the guy behind you hits it.Ours with its 6ft box is close enough to 8. We simply leave the tailgate down when we need more.
5030
Rest in Peace
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I look at short bed trucks with 4 doors as 'Wannabe soccer mom trucks'.. Status symbols for suburbanite dwellers that want to role play and the only 'cargo' hauled in the back are grocery bags anyway. Totally useless for me. I like 4 doors and a backseat but I have to have an 8 foot box as well and of course a GN hitch in it.
aczlan
Good Morning
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We have a 2002 F350 with a 6' bed and the shorter of the extended cab (has suicide doors vs separate doors for the back doors and no B pillar).
Would have preferred a long bed with a crew cab, but this came available with under 75k miles and it fits our needs.
Its a 3rd vehicle, so if we need to move something bigger, it's not a big deal to hook onto the trailer.
Aaron Z
WM75Guy
Elite Member
Same with us. Got tired of having to swap vehicles when she wanted to tow the horse trailer. So she got a new truck. We recently bought a 2017 Acadia for road trips into Dallas and for my work trips. Used to be a 20 mile round trip, now I am having an 80 mile round trip daily to teach classes for about 10 weeks.
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I drive thousands of miles in my company 4 door short bed pickup with snowsled or ATV in back. Just because something is useless to you doesn't mean that it won't work for somebody else. I would not want to go back to hauling all of my winter clothes and gear in the bed of the truck, and I sure don't want some behemoth with the extra cab and 8 foot bed on some of the roads I drive. Besides, that extra 18" bed isn't that important; my snowsled would still be sticking out the back.
MoKelly
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Torvy
Super Member
Another pet peeve...using very old terminology that means nothing on the truck. There are no 1/2 ton trucks. Even the lowly Tacoma has almost 3/4 ton payload. Caused serious problems lending on trucks. Payloads over a certain amount (1T) are considered commercial. Different financing and different insurance. Trucks kept getting bigger, but dealers and customers kept referring into the antiquated terms. Many lenders just ignored the rules to make money.
Cat385B
Silver Member
That’s interesting. So, if a new Ford F-350 is actually a ton and a quarter or one and a half, what is done differently if it’s being bought by someone who is just using for personal transportation?
DieselBound
Elite Member
Had a neighbor who bought a Hemi Dodge truck and took it back. He got a Cummins. I asked him why. "Not enough power", he said.
HP ain't what makes a truck. (just like HP isn't what makes a tractor- it's torque and gearing)
I don't love machinery, but I continue to be impressed over these many years with my VW TDI (ALH engine). Slight performance mod, perhaps 120hp; around 250 ft-lbs. 51.5 mpg over 100k miles. 800 miles per tank. It's a tool; no other tool can compare to it (for my needs). For an economy car it's stout, and it's enjoyable to drive (because of the torque).
My truck is a work/farm truck. 12v Cummins. Appreciate the engine. Don't appreciate the rest of the truck (Fummins is the best truck!).
Alan46
Elite Member
2014 F-350 crew cab long bed 84,400 mi. LOVE THAT TRUCK best one I ever had!!!
Enough said
Enough said
DieselBound
Elite Member
People are being smart, when they become homeless these newer trucks will have a lot more value! (easier to sleep in)
I've owned only three trucks in my life. ALL three didn't have engines made by the badged manufacturer. 1958(?) Ford 1/2 ton had a Chev 283 in it, 3 spd on the floor: it was the definition of "beater," bought because I needed something while I was rebuilding a car at the time. Next truck was a 1993 Ford IH (International Harvester), 3/4 ton. Now I have a 1994 Dodge with a 12v Cummins: last truck? hoping so... (I was thinking of going pretty new and getting a travel trailer, but decided that being home in my own park is a lot better than traveling out on the roads of chaos.)
For sure, newer vehicles have a lot better base features. I was driving pre-90 cars that had heated mirrors and seats: manufacturer, European, also had headlight wipers and washers! I'd really appreciate having heated mirrors on my 94 truck.
Those who drive their trucks a lot are far more justified in having one that has more features. STUFF is meant to be USED (otherwise it's just "art").
I've owned only three trucks in my life. ALL three didn't have engines made by the badged manufacturer. 1958(?) Ford 1/2 ton had a Chev 283 in it, 3 spd on the floor: it was the definition of "beater," bought because I needed something while I was rebuilding a car at the time. Next truck was a 1993 Ford IH (International Harvester), 3/4 ton. Now I have a 1994 Dodge with a 12v Cummins: last truck? hoping so... (I was thinking of going pretty new and getting a travel trailer, but decided that being home in my own park is a lot better than traveling out on the roads of chaos.)
For sure, newer vehicles have a lot better base features. I was driving pre-90 cars that had heated mirrors and seats: manufacturer, European, also had headlight wipers and washers! I'd really appreciate having heated mirrors on my 94 truck.
Those who drive their trucks a lot are far more justified in having one that has more features. STUFF is meant to be USED (otherwise it's just "art").
LouNY
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Those that live in places were truck and car bodies last are usually
unaware of vehicle life and the increased maintenance and costs
that those who live in the rust belt.
unaware of vehicle life and the increased maintenance and costs
that those who live in the rust belt.
CADplans
Elite Member
I was thinking about this today,,
Back in the early 1970's, I used to haul over 400 bushels of wheat 75 miles to Norfolk VA for my BIL,,
That truck did not have half the engine (HP or torque) that my current pickup has.
My pickup has 2X as heavy a front end as compared to that 1969 F750 Ford that I hauled with.
The hood of that F750 was lower than my pickup. The cab of my pickup is also wider than the F750 was.
GM answered the question as to why they were building such a behemoth truck..
They replied,, "That is what the customer asks for".
Back in the early 1970's, I used to haul over 400 bushels of wheat 75 miles to Norfolk VA for my BIL,,
That truck did not have half the engine (HP or torque) that my current pickup has.
My pickup has 2X as heavy a front end as compared to that 1969 F750 Ford that I hauled with.
The hood of that F750 was lower than my pickup. The cab of my pickup is also wider than the F750 was.
GM answered the question as to why they were building such a behemoth truck..
They replied,, "That is what the customer asks for".
CADplans
Elite Member
Other than some very minor rocker panel rust,
my 1999 Silverado is as sound as the year I bought it.
Even though the body is almost perfect,, it is the "Trash Truck",,,
I did have a couple brake lines on the 1999 leak due to rust,,
I can not imagine what the "Rust Belt" owners do,,
There must be a LOT of brake failures.
DieselBound
Elite Member
Someone I know up in Nova Scotia pretty much figures that any time he has to wrench something that he will have to cut bolts (which also means replacing them). I'm fortunate in that my conditions see me expecting to NOT have to do such things (and when I do I'm not happy about it).
Cat385B
Silver Member
Every few years, in the spring, I roll into the shop and hoist it up. I then get under and start cleaning, priming, and painting.
It’s an ‘04 without any rust in Minnesota, owned since new. It is extra work to keep ahead of it, but it has been paid of for 14&1/2 years. If it was rusted out, I probably would of replaced it by now.
JPRambo
Platinum Member
A friend of mine had a chevy pickup bed in his yard for years. I asked him why and what he was going to do with it. He said "you want it, take it'. So I did. Another friend has a body shop, I asked him if he could use it. He said bring it over we sell them up north for all the PU bed that rust out. They take a dozen or more at a time.
When we started looking for a new truck (2019), we reall liked the GMC Canyon. We looked at a lot of the med size trucks. But several facts kept getting in the way of selecting a mid sized truck - First was tow capacity. Seemed to run from 3500 to 7000. Second was the fact that there was not much difference in the price. When I haul my tractor, I needed two capacity of 10K to 11K. A full size truck became the only answer.
