Searching for any TCL favorites in 'round town trucks

[coderedcomputing]

Evening folks, looking to tap the collective knowledge-base and search for a 'beater' truck. About to buy another house, have 2 DD already, and looking for a truck to add to the garage for basic home use. Planning for mostly trips around town, getting plants, mulch, fences, kitchens, and other appliances...the typical house-related tasks. 2wd is fine, nothing fancy needed.

Last truck I bought for this sort of work was a Nissan Frontier 4x4, it fared well but rusted out VERY quickly. I'd love to avoid this as much as possible. Hoping for a truck that will last a few years, and one that is easy enough to work on myself.

What sort of recommendations does TCL have for a sub $5k beater?

[emmettlodge]

At sub-$5k, you won't have to worry about it eventually rusting out because the rust will already be there.

[BRealistic]

I like the older F-150s (late 80s to mid 90s) as work trucks as they were designed and engineered back when trucks were trucks- and are durable and easy to repair/maintain.
But they are getting very hard to find in good condition...


Here is a long bed 1998 F-150 with a V6 and manual (later gen than the really durable ones).
Long beds make great work trucks, and the long bed usually makes them cheaper since they don't look as good.

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/n...012772141.html

[coderedcomputing]

At sub-$5k, you won't have to worry about it eventually rusting out because the rust will already be there.

Very true, guess the question is more - is truck X known to rust in spot Y so check there or just pass that model up....

Similar to knowing old civics rust out in the wheel wells.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note

[retro_rocket]

Since you are not picky about having 4WD, you should be able to find a decent early to mid-00's Silverado in work-truck spec, with higher mileage, in your price range.

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/n...026313023.html
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/n...026798469.html
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/n...023478020.html

[Jrod511]

Just hunt your local CL and buy the nicest, cleanest, anything not too oddball that you find. That means stick with mainstream brands (Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Nissan, Toyota) and buy on condition; good tires, clean paint, a bedliner, interior not destroyed, etc. ANY 2WD truck will do what you want it to do; no sense saying "Go find a Ranger" if you find a destroyed ranger when a clean basic Silverado is available in tip-top shape.

[BRealistic]

Very true, guess the question is more - is truck X known to rust in spot Y so check there or just pass that model up....

Similar to knowing old civics rust out in the wheel wells.

Well, we don't get the rust issues in my area that they get up north.
But the spots you usually see rust on older trucks (or trucks from up north) are the rocker panels, cab floor, truck bed and over the rear wheel wells.
The cab mounts are a common but dangerous spot for rust on older trucks.

[efrie]

If you're looking for something under $5,000 you've got a plethora of trucks to choose from.

Hell, I bought this for right around $1,500. No rust, it's a little rough around the edges, but the AC works, electric windows and door locks work, 4x4 works, what's not to love?





I threw some headers on it and an intake just for sh*ts and giggles, sounds great.

[BRealistic]

Just hunt your local CL and buy the nicest, cleanest, anything not too oddball that you find. That means stick with mainstream brands (Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Nissan, Toyota) and buy on condition; good tires, clean paint, a bedliner, interior not destroyed, etc. ANY 2WD truck will do what you want it to do; no sense saying "Go find a Ranger" if you find a destroyed ranger when a clean basic Silverado is available in tip-top shape.

True... and it is easy enough to search any one model/year to see if they have any major known issues to watch out for.

On that note.... if the OP can get this for $5k (and it is in great shape)...

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/n...026152185.html

I had a base 02 Tundra longbed.
But mine was the automatic.
A manual would made made it more enjoyable to drive (engine needs to rev to make power so tranny kicks down a lot)..
But this truck even in base vinyl and rubber interior form was very comfortable and very well put together.
I was impressed.
That being said- look for rust on the frame.

[efrie]

My dad has a 2001 Tundra, 2WD, 3.4L V6 with the 5 speed manual. He's right around 195,000 miles now and the truck still runs like brand new.

With the stick shift it really does have more than enough power. These earlier Tundras weren't built as heavy as the new ones, so they're relatively light compared to their domestic counterparts.

[BRealistic]

My dad has a 2001 Tundra, 2WD, 3.4L V6 with the 5 speed manual. He's right around 195,000 miles now and the truck still runs like brand new.

With the stick shift it really does have more than enough power. These earlier Tundras weren't built as heavy as the new ones, so they're relatively light compared to their domestic counterparts.

But I was a bit pissed off that even REAR WHEEL ABS was not standard on the Tundras back then.
My 88 F-150 has that (and it still works).

[efrie]

The rear end on the manual Tundra can get pretty happy, especially with the manual trans. It's hard not to let them slip if it's even a little bit wet.

[coderedcomputing]

I've noticed that many of the trucks being bantered about here are V6... more power is always good, but any reason to not look at 4cyl models?

I just got done looking at a 90's Ranger V6 that had rust issues in the cab mounts and the bed/frame area looked suspect as well. Passed on that one, even at $1k it looked ... iffy.

Of course, then I come across things like this:
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/n...026908396.html

[Live-Wire]

I threw some headers on it and an intake just for sh*ts and giggles, sounds great.

That's some goooooood frame flex right there!

Awesome find for $1500 tho!! The old F150's don't last up here in Ontario... salt eats them alive. Basically, you don't find old pickups here in general - people tend to use them for work, and drive them year round - they get destroyed after 400-500k kms and 15 years of salt/hard work.

I'd be shopping 10 year old Silverado's... They seem to hold up the best as far as 10 year old trucks go. See a lot of older Dodge's too, but I hear suspension on them is not an if, but a when... among other things. Don't see very many 10ish year old F150's tho (from the rounded off style era)... I always wonder why, since they supposedly outsold the GM trucks (which are everywhere).

[efrie]

Yeah, truck had no rust that I could find. Only leak was the rear main, and it just sweats. I put 5,000 miles on it after the last oil change and it only went down 1/4 a quart.

She's sitting pretty at 163,000 miles right now. I think I got the better end of the deal.

[urbancynic]

Just hunt your local CL and buy the nicest, cleanest, anything not too oddball that you find. That means stick with mainstream brands (Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Nissan, Toyota) and buy on condition; good tires, clean paint, a bedliner, interior not destroyed, etc. ANY 2WD truck will do what you want it to do; no sense saying "Go find a Ranger" if you find a destroyed ranger when a clean basic Silverado is available in tip-top shape.

That's basically what I did when I bought used trucks. My budget was way less than 5k though.

In my case I went for cheap, decent shape, easy to work on and as simple as I could get. First one was a 74 f250 with a 460. Fantastic truck. But I bought it to sell it.

Second time around I wanted another one but couldnt find one in decent shape. Ended up with my 73 c10.

I personally like the 73-85, and 92-96 Ford full size trucks as well as the 67-87 Chevrolet full size trucks.

Beyond that I haven't seen a Toyota I didn't like besides maybe the t100.

[BRealistic]

Beyond that I haven't seen a Toyota I didn't like besides maybe the t100.

Why is that? The t-100 seems to have a loyal following.

[muffintop]

Get one of these bad boys:



Make sure your tetanus shots are up to date.

[urbancynic]

Why is that? The t-100 seems to have a loyal following.

There isn't really any rhyme or reason to it, I just don't like them. Could be due to lack of experience with them, but they've never caught my attention.