Learn Me: Small Trucks
 

Gents,

I'm looking at getting a small pickup because I'm tired of borrowing my brothers truck to do random stuff around the house etc. The Rangers/B series seem to be the cheapest of all the bunch with decent reliability and cost of operation, but does any one have any experience or things I should know? Is it worth it to spring for a Tacoma? I'm looking at spending $4k or less to just have something to tool around it and do random things with. Wife may drive it occasionally.

Sam

any decent tacoma will be way over 4k
I've not much experience with trucks, but had a 99 ranger v6 auto a few years back. bought it dirt cheap, 2200 with 130k or something on the clock. did all the basic maint, cleaned it up, and it ran absolutely perfect for the time I had it. then sold it later for 3k. win win win.

S10 with a vortec v6 from mid to late 90's. I had 2 of them and was satisfied.

had an '88 ranger V6 that i got for $500. it was a beast, and ran forever. truck fell apart around the engine. still have the engine... truck is long gone though.

Had a 1998 Tacoma V6 Extracab, 2wd, stick shift that was pretty nice. Bought it for $3200.

Current truck is a 2000 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab 4WD V6 automatic. It's had a few little issues mostly high-mileage related (brakes, MAF sensor, etc.) and one issue that wasn't mileage related (tie rod popped, fortunately just as my wife was pulling out of the driveway and not while she was driving on the road).

Still, both have been good trucks. Frontiers can be had a bit cheaper than Taco's.

Rangers with the 2.3l are cheap and reliable. The older v6s (2.9l) had head and head gasket issues.

3L or 4L? That sounds like exactly what I want.

Dis is Berry true... had to replace my head gasket... was good after that though

crap, I don't remember. I'll see if I can find some old documents from it

I have an '07 B3000, probably too new for what you're thinking. Mine is a manual 2wd 3L with an 8.8" 4.1 torsen rear, DS package. Its great for doing anything you ask including towing a 4-5000lb trailer and it's good on gas compared to trucks and suvs (~9.5l/100km).

A buddy is looking at getting rid of his ram for one as he only has a 17' boat and the ram is getting 12-16mpg. If you don't need more than 2500lbs towing get one with the newer mazda 2.3 (01+), with manual they were rated for ~43mpg when I got my truck.

An old ranger would work well. The 4 cyl is surprisingly torque-y. The nissan/toyota 4cyl trucks are very reliable, but rot pretty bad.


Where do you live? Do you need 4wd? How about any towing needs? Are we just talking about moving dirt and wood around?

Frontier owner here. 2001 2.4-ka24de w/ 5spd manual 2dr

Bought it with 80-90k miles and just went over 162k last month. It has been extremely reliable and maintenance is dirt ass cheap. Bonus is that I can get around 27mpg (mostly highway) regularly and my best was right at 30mpg. Being a 2dr manual this thing is so much damn fun to drive.

I've had over 500lbs in the bed and it still had enough torque to backup a steep-ish hill at the transfer station. Stock clutch. I've done this dozens of times.

You really can't go wrong with Tacomas, Rangers or Frontiers. It's all about how the PO treated their car.

Edit: Yes, I've contemplated turbo'ing it many times. No, I will not do it....(mantra)

You should turbo that thing...definitely.

Just keep the boost low to protect the weksauce ringlands.

No seriously...DO IT

I agree, I looked at a bunch of frontiers with the same reasoning. Ended up finding a crazy deal on a '98 B4000 though. /Thread. Thanks for the input guys.

I owned a 2000 Ranger XLT 2wd 3.0v6 5-spd, 4dr x-cab... was just about the most awesome compact pickup I could imagine. I had a K&N, pulleys, and a Gibson catback... was about to splurge on JBA Headers when I got hit.

On one x-country Navy move, I had a 450lb Aprilia in the bed, and a 3500lb trailer behind it... like buttah.

NOW... I've bitched and complained before, even sent a letter to Ford about 5 years ago. If they would sell a 4dr Ranger diesel in the states, I'd own one for the rest of my life. The 3.2litre turbo makes 347ftlbs, and several companies make aftermarket stuff.

America misses the Ford Ranger | TFLCar.com: Automotive News, Views and ReviewsThe Fast Lane Car

Recognizing that Sam TIIs immediate quandary has been solved, let me say one thing:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1367381152

If you just need a small pickup for occasionally hauling shit around in the bed, don't need to tow a 5,000 lb boat, and you can find one with no serious rust (not generally a problem on these bodies), then a first-gen diesel Rabbit is what you want.

Seriously. When the universe itself finally decays into a state of complete entropy, these little suckers will still be running. They redefine the concept of "slow" in ways you cannot imagine, and have as much curb appeal as a gangrenous leg wound, but they'll do 60 MPG all day long and were forged out of a solid billet of pure indestructium.

First ride was a 90 ranger 2.3 5M. That thing was awesome. It survived me learning to drive, without a clutch replacement.

Nice tip Dads: If your kid is learning how to drive a manual, use a near-dead battery. Push starts make for a great time to reflect on poor technique. Its also a wonderful way to teach push-starts and get some exercise.

Don't spring for a Tacoma if it means significantly more $. I have a 2000 Chevy S10 now and its been amazing. I got a good deal in PHX and bought it with 90K on the clock for 3 grand. Its the 2.2L, 5M. It now has 150+K miles, no issues. I have put gas, tires, and oil in it. NO maintenance. I suspect its the OEM clutch and the OEM water pump/timing setup. I drive it sort of carefully, not going beyond 4K. Which is pointless with that engine anyway.

These vehicles are so under-powered they have hard time hurting themselves. Idiotic driving is pretty much the only surefire way to destroy them. Just get the ultra-lame base model with a manual and 4 banger.

Had a Mighty max back in my DSM days. I sort of regret not making it a drag whore death trap.

I hate Nissan. Does that help?

:vash::vash::vash::vash: You bitch!
Luis C.K. "I HATE VERIZON!!!"