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.

 

[3930dave]

New trucks have lots of power and bling. Maintain them out of warranty ? Different story.

Just for giggles, try pricing replacing the main display screen in the dash, and the upstream module driving it.... :shocked:

Rgds, D.

 

[Jstpssng]

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

10-4. Having worked out of that sized truck I understand why they are getting hard to find. Try putting two people in one, and all of their gear to work on a rainy day. They aren't much more versatile than a Wrangler, although probably a whole lot safer.

 

[aczlan]

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.

They needed to have the block heater plugged in to start when it got cold, especially if one or more of the glowplugs were bad.

Aaron Z

 

[ultrarunner]

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.

My boss bought one new and really was impressed... put a lot of highway miles on it using it to deliver engines... usually 1 or 2 race set up motors... so it was most definitely used at a truck.

He used to haul with a van but the mileage was awful...

 

[DieselBound]

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.

When looking at used trucks I would often see "transmission rebuilt" on the automatics; those that didn't make that claim are likely close to needing rebuilds.

Pretty much depends on the environment one is working in. If you have a lot of highway miles then a manual is just fine. Stop and go is another story (automatic best).

My cars (MKIV TDIs) are manual because they're mostly highway cars. Automatics in these cars take a 10% hit in fuel mileage: and, they're not good automatics, most require a rebuild before about 150k miles (and once rebuilt don't last for crap). Everything that I put on the road is a manual. Everything that I operate off-road is hydrostatic (tractors and Polaris).

 

[inthe country]

The last truck I bought was a 2016 Ford F150 XL regular cab work truck. I was surprised to learn that intermittent wipers were optional. I ended up doing a dealer trade for a truck with a package that got you radio, cd, intermittent wipers, keyless entry, cruse, and a bunch of other electronic stuff I'll never learn to use. The package was $250 and got me what I wanted, the cruse, wipers and radio. It has the 6 cyl engine, 6' bed and tie down system. The dealer threw in a bed liner all for $23,000. I thought that was a lot, but it was the best I could find. I found it strange the manual had 7 pages on maintenance and 27 pages on how to sync your phone with the truck. I guess priorities have changed. It does gets better gas mileage than the 2012 Chevy I had before that.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Used Ford F-15 For Sale - CarGurus

After getting our 2010 F150 with the Max tow package I never cancelled the cargurus feed and the above popped up in Jasper IN. The dealership has it listed as a 2013 F150 EcoBoost 3.5 engine and is highly rated load wise and comes with the brake controller from Ford. While it has 5K more miles than our 2010 it has the EC engine that I know nothing about longevity wise or in fact I have never viewed that engine. They did not even repaint the receiver hitch but the truck in the photos does not look like a rust bucket but actually on the plain but clean side.

Someone looking for a sub $10K plain towing work truck in that region might check with that Cadillac dealership. We found our F150 at a Cadillac dealership actually. To most the 200K+ miles is too high of a wall to get over.

 

[3930dave]

I do plenty of recreational reading on BAT..... so far have stayed away from bidding..... if I had piles of spare cash, I'd end up needing a 50,000 sq. ft garage, based on what catches my eye on there....

Some interesting trucks pass through that site...... just one up right now....

No Reserve: Supercharged 199 Toyota 4x4 Pickup 3.4L V6 5-Speed for sale on BaT Auctions - ending August 8 (Lot #11,461) | Bring a Trailer

I've seen pretty much everything on that site, including things I never knew existed. There was a Studebaker (truck) up recently; didn't meet reserve though.....

Many trucks there (considering rarity today....) are too nice to be bashed on hard IMO, but I've also seen older trucks that have been maintained well, and have paint-fade expected for original paint. Some of those basic trucks would be something I'd consider as a work truck.

Recent Dodge No Reserve: 1976 Dodge D-Series Pickup for sale on BaT Auctions - sold for $5, on July 23, 218 (Lot #11,79) | Bring a Trailer

A lot of the older trucks still have good parts availability, with some parts very low priced compared to the norm today. Mainstream trucks will often have good aftermarket support on major items.... built transmissions, crate engines.....some of that older stuff has better parts availability than certain 5 to 15 y/o vehicles.

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Learned to drive 3inTree in one of these.....

Single Family Owned 1973 Ford F-1 for sale on BaT Auctions - ending August 7 (Lot #11,439) | Bring a Trailer

Drift ? Perhaps, but does illustrate how much things have changed....

Rgds, D.