7moore7

Ok so figured I'd see what everyone's opinion on here was-

I've been driving around AZ for the past 6 years with no A/C and it's time for an upgrade!

I was looking at something like Miata, but then I realized that it doesn't hold much more practicality than a motorcycle. I commute on the bike, and don't have a whole lot of people to haul around and realized that there have been more than one instance where I could have used a truck bed...

So, looking for a light truck now. The only two absolute requirements are that it has A/C and is a manual transmission. I'm not too much a fan of my automatic. I'm thinking that I want a smaller truck (you can strap a motorcycle on them if the tail is down, right?), I probably want a crew cab, and that's about it. So far I've been looking into American, but that's not a particular necessity: Range is up to about the $6k for the right truck, I would like to stay around $4k

So far the two that I keep coming back to are the:
1998-2004 Dodge Dakota
1998-current Ford Ranger

Any opinions or suggestions? The dodge actually gets pretty good reviews...

It's a pretty specific situation, but I like hearing people on this forum discuss things.

Stevebis1

A friend of mine has what I think is called a Ford Explorer sport track. Basically a small P/U with 4 doors. I have no idea what they go for used, but looks like it would fit your description

nothing

are you looking for a v6 or v8? maybe even an i-4 or 5-cyl?

7moore7

All of the above- aside from the obvious (fuel economy, power) are there any downfalls to either?

matt365

I bought a 2010 Ranger in September. My younger brother has an '03 ranger Edge & he's been happy with his.

Decent gas mileage, pretty much bullet proof.

Mines a 5 spd., AC, almost $18 grand out the door though, and that was a good price for a brand new truck.

i'd think you'd be hard pressed to find a Ranger, even an older one for $4 grand, but I don't really know what the market for trucks is like in Arizona.

Up here they tend to hold their value pretty well, I couldn't justify buying a couple year old Ranger when a new one was nearly the same price.

7moore7

Tons of Rangers down here for under 6K. I understand that spending 4K is optimistic, but I need something to tell the dealers . I'll be a little careful with the mileage, but I've never owned a car with under 100k either..

That Sport Trac looks pretty cool- you think a motorcycle could fit on the back of that? 50 inch bed...

Ridgeline would be sweet, but too far out of my price range to even get lucky on that one.

matt365

My brothers friend has an '03 Ranger with 203,000 kilometers on it... Whats that, like 130,000 miles?

No problems with that truck, general maintenance, and it just keeps going... looks good too.

He's had his snowmobile on the back for the past 2 months, and that suckers heavy.

I've had 2 dirtbikes, a large toolchest, and a bike trailer with a workbench on it, and the truck was fine pulling quite a bit of weight.

If you can get one around $6gs in good shape, that'd be my choice.

98VTRrider

I'm a die hard toyota fan, so that's what I would suggest. If you want crew/quad cab that would be a newer(2000ish and up) tacoma. Last fall I had two FZR600's in my brothers quad cab tacoma with no problems(tailgate down of course)

I myself am looking for a pre 1994 Toyota Pickup with the 22RE motor. That engine is damn near indestructible if you keep oil in it. I have had several with over 300,000 miles on the original motor still running strong. Being in AZ you could find one completely rust free, which is the older toyota's downfall

1971allchaos

I am with you on being a Die Hard toyota owner.. My last toyota (22RE, 5spd X-cab, 2wd) was a blue 1993. I bought it from 1st cousin- who was going over seas to fight, and I had just returned -That was in 1995(truck had 105k on it) I drove that truck to OK. about 6times from NC. And never a failing moment.. Drove it for 8 years and sold it to my younger brother for his first vehicle.. He finally traded in that truck in 2008 with 452,872 miles(original engine,transmission- after only 3 clutches, and countless sets of tires) That would be my choice.. If your gonna spend the money..BUY what you want....

1971allchaos

OH ! ! forgot ! brother trade the truck in for a 2009 crew cab tocoma(2.7 4cyl, 5spd, 4wd)

nuhawk

I would agree on the Toyota's. I owned a (still do) 94 Dodge Dakota with the 318 Mag V-8. This was a great truck and is now being completely ignored. Like most Detroit bullshit - they were made to be replaced. Only a complete rebuild bumper to bumper. Engine (rebuilt -but trash again), tranny is shot, rear-end next.

VTRsurfer

+1...My wife and I own 3 Toyota 4x4's:

86 Xtra Cab pick-up w/22RE (bought new by my wife before we met) with 370,000 miles. Had the engine rebuilt at 335,000. It was running great, but the timing chain was going out so just had it rebuilt. Keep the valves adjusted (40 minute job, max) and the oil changed and they run forever.

98 4Runner V6 with 266,000 miles (bought new).

07 Tacoma Double Cab Long Bed V6 with 90,000 miles (bought new).

7moore7

So would you go back as far as, say 95, if there were less than 150k miles and it looked taken care of for a Toyota? If I try to buy a Toyota made in this millennium they are too far out of my price range for comfort.

I have looked a little at the colorado, frontier, s-10, tacoma, ranger, and dakotas but have never been in the market for a truck before. Seems like the Toyota reputation hasn't escaped you guys either...

SD Hawk

Just traded in my '98 Ford Ranger 4x4 with 104K miles for a f150.....
Awesome truck with the excpetion of the stereo...

If you go the Ranger route, make sure all electrics are in order. Other than that a pretty bullet-proof little truck.

j shizzy wizzy

get a SUV, then buy a trailer. maybe?

98VTRrider

Personally, I wouldn't get a 1995 and later Tacoma(all toyotas pre 1994 were just called "Truck"). It's not that the 2RZ/3RZ motor in those have problems, they just don't have the reputation the 22RE does, also the 22RE is very simple to work on just about anything. As far as mileage goes, I wouldn't think twice about buying a toyota 22RE vehicle* with 200k-300k miles as long as it was well taken care of. *the 22RE also came in 4runners, Rear wheel drive Celicas, and Truck based MotorHomes

A few years back for $300 I bought a 22RE equipped 1983 Celica GTS off ebay with 282,000 miles from the second owner, who knew the first owner, a woman in the navy that took it to Iceland, Japan, and Hawaii. Drove it home with a slipping clutch and no power steering. A weekend later i was on the road with historic tags. It ran better and pulled harder than any other Celica I've driven(10+). I beat the hell out of it for 60,000 miles delivering pizza until it met it's demise at 340k. Would be running today, but I threw a belt and overheated it till it locked up trying to get home without stopping(long story short)

This past weekend I went a looked at a 1985 Toyota Mini-Cruiser Motor home. Fully loaded kitchen/bathroom, sleeps 4, 22 foot long. It had a 22RE with a 4 speed manual transmission. Now that really says something about the 22RE engine, being tough enough to lug around a giant motorhome body. and the guy said he's towed a motorcycle to florida, getting 15-18 MPG!!!!

side note- the guy also had 30+ bikes he wanted to sell, I'm considering trying to get one of them, a 1983 Suzuki XN85 turbo with 15,000 miles

sorry for the book, I just love the 22RE!

7moore7

I thought about that route- but don't really have a place to put the trailer, and only use the back seats of my car for 15 miles or less trips usually. I may even convince myself that a regular cab pickup is all I need, just that the back 2 seats sure are nice when I do need them.

Now I'm kind of getting into un-researched territory, but how easy is each one to work on? My dad has a Toyota and jobs on that thing are dang easy.
I can't imagine the Ford being hard, but have no experience with it. I'm kind of just discussing at this point... the interwebs should probably dig up some results...

Haha, I should probably avoid getting something that will allow me to buy broken down motorcycles

98VTRrider

Extended cab toyotas have small back seats. Older models can be found with a Longer bed.

As far as working on the 22RE, I've done a headgasket, clutches, timing chain, ect in my garage with hand tools. Accessory replacement like Power steering pump, Alternator, AC compressor is a snap. Easy valve adjustment.

Their Achilles heel is the timing chain guide, it's plastic and when it wears through at ~180k they break, and the chain rubs the timing cover and wears a hole into the water pump mixing oil and water. I've had that happen, replaced/welded the parts and kept going. If caught before that it's a non-issue.

I stick with 80's/early 90's vehicles....once you venture into OBD-II territory things get more complicated for the garage mechanic, in my opinion.

98VTRrider

and with the money you save buying an older vehicle, you can afford quite a few broken down motorcycles

trackdayhawk

I'll jump on the Ford Ranger bandwagon, they are pretty stout. Mine is a '05 V6 auto std cab rwd w/ crank windows. It's had everything from the Hawk to a BMW 1150RT in the bed, it pulls my bike trailer just fine, although I wish it got better than 20-21 mpg.

CruxGNZ

I would say try looking at the S-10 Crew Cab. I have a '02 and love it. The engine and transmission are bullet proof. Just keep it maintained and you won't have any issues. The only bad thing is the brakes. They are just a horrible design in my opinion. You need to take the brakes apart and lube the caliper slider pins as often as you change the oil. All in all, its a good truck. A motorcycle fits in the bed with the tailgate down too.

If you feel like opening up your options more, get one of these for your bike:


If the image doesn't work click here

nothing

my buddy's dad just picked up an 04 taco for $8000, barley no options, 5 spd, 75k miles, 2wd. pretty pricy imo I would stick american unless you can find a killer deal then I would go with the taco.

lazn

I am doing the same thing.. Looking for a small truck in AZ, only mine must be 4x4, and I don't care how old (I am mostly looking at 80's Toyotas or Samurais) or if the engine is shot.. That is because I am going to be rebuilding mine as a offroad toy.

jonnyd

I've had my 2000 Dakota quad cab since 50k, and now it's got 140k on it.

I've got the v6, 4wd. Mileage has slipped down to about 15mpg on the highway (probably needs a tuneup) but otherwise this truck is awesome! Its done everything I've thrown at it and then some. I've replaced the clutch, transfer case, rear differential, and some other random smaller parts. It's got 32x11.5's on it. It carted my hawk with ease (tailgate down), and the quad cab is pretty handy for carting friends around.

All that said, I wish I had a small side storage box on it for the jack, extra fluids, etc that anyone with a 4wd in Colorado should carry. There is quite literally NO room under the rear seat for this stuff.

I would buy another of my little truck in a heartbeat!

RCVTR

I have an '01 Toyota Tundra 4WD Xtra cab, that I bought used in '02 with 25k miles.

It has 195k miles on it. I put a new set of Bilsteins on it, so I could finally get rid of the POS Ranchos I had on it for 100k. I'm getting ready to put another timing belt/water pump in it as PM, but nothing has ever gone wrong with it - except a plugged fuel injector.

I have an '04 automatic transmission with 25k miles on it in my garage, in case I need it, but my original transmission seems to be bulletproof.

Maybe I'll be done with it at 300k miles, but the thing runs and drives the same as it did when I bought it.

lazn

Toyota tends to overbuild their transmissions in my experience. Heck, both the tundra & tacoma can get TRD superchargers without any transmission changes and keep their warranties.

lazn

7moore7:

Yuryur had a Dakota that he replaced with a Toyota double cab. The Dakota was ok, I helped him replace a clutch on it once, that was a PITA, but no more so than any other vehicle.

The Tacoma has been solid, zero problems, since he got it ~4 yrs ago and a nice upgrade in comfort and offroad capability. (he has an toytech lift & old man emu suspension on it) And it carries 2 bikes no problem, even as a double cab short bed.

One thing to remember is that Dodge/Chrysler paint will go bad in the AZ heat. Just look at any older dodge here that hasn't been repainted. They must use crayola to source their paints.

Mattaua