Truck advice needed

I used to work in Chicago area. 3 states. Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Harry B Blizzard and associates. (for those who remember). He would buy Vans. Usually 1/2 ton vans. We usually had 3 man crews. One thing he would often stipulate was NOT 4-wheel drive, buy a Posi-trac rear end. We could go some places with those things.

So, I suggest if you don't go 4-wd, get the positrac. I have it in my truck, and it can make a real difference.

Harry used a Station Wagon, Yep, it had positac!

N

What's wrong with a full size, like the F150?

We always go for the 3/4 ton. We have used Suburbans, but they cost too much for a work truck now. We are making the last batch last.

I have one of each,

1989 4WD Ford F150 with 300 six and 4 speed manual, towing package and camper shell rated 1/2 ton
2002 2WD Toyota Tacoma Extended Cab 4cly with automatic OD, offroad and towing package rated 3/4 ton

the Toyota is more economical and the Ford holds more tools

Ford turns smaller circle than Toyota.

Run 16in 235x85R AT 10 ply on both.

The Toyota is a whole different animal than American trucks with the way drive train and suspension work.

Toyota is made to run on lowgrade gas.

Both are assembled in the USA with US & foreign parts.

😉

Not sure about how things are where you live, but in StL a non-union truck on a construction site is not welcomed or appreciated.

My personal truck is a Nissan Frontier Quad Cab and I love it. Drives much better than the Taco. Stronger engine, better frame and more towing. I would suggest looking at the Nissan.

"What's wrong with a full size, like the F150?"

Nothing I like them, they are a great truck. I bought a new 2013 F150 supercab for my senior party chief. He drove a few days and decided he didn't like it. "Too high".
So I am going to take a $$$ beating trading it for two Tacomas. Oh well, that's the way it goes, I suppose. B-)

"He drove a few days and decided he didn't like it."

I think I'd switch Party Chiefs instead of trucks.

Dave

Cripes, I can't do that He has been with me for 21 years. I feel a moral as well as professional obligation to him. He is like kinfolk, I'd rather just eat a few grand.;-)

> He drove a few days and decided he didn't like it. "Too high".

He is right about that. I have a Ranger as the main work truck. I bought a F-150 as a personal truck knowing that it would serve as a work truck on occassion. I used the F-150 several times as an extra crew truck when busy enough.
It was entirely too high for me (5'-11") to comfortably work out of on a daily basis. It was very comfortable and a nice ride for a daily driver. Just not right for getting into and out of or accessing gear in the bed. The Ranger is perfectly sized.

My Ranger has 245K miles on it and is still running good. I will probably look at a full re-build when needed since they are no longer available. Unless there is another really good small pick-up on the US market by then.

> We run two man crews for construction surveying in single/multi-family developments. Nothing off-road unless lime rock base is considered off-road. Ford Ranger extended cabs have always been the crew’s preference.
>
> Since Ford decided to encourage everyone into F150s by discontinuing Rangers, small truck alternatives are limited.
>

I have a 2002 Toyota Tundra Crew Cab that I worked out of for 2 years. It is about the same size as the newer Tacomas. I enjoyed working out of it. The problem I had with the F-150 was that the sides were to high and was not happy trying to work out of it.

Just my 0.02

What is a non-union truck? Foreign?

I agree with My. Payne and Mr. Harris set-ups.

I have a Ford Transit. Too expensive for the value and intended use.

Any F-150 king cab or higher (F-250) I could only justify to carry around clients.

In Texas, the spouses do not mind going to the occasion or restaurant in a king cab.

few things: we just bought a truck after i'd been using the family car (honda element) for the past 6 months.

i spent every bit of a month trolling for trucks, driving them, etc. really wanted a tacoma or a frontier. problem, around here at least, is cost. the toyotas come in, at minimum, 6-7K more expensive than anything domestic, the nissans were at least 3-4K more, comparing fuji apples to granny smiths.

the other problem is what constitutes a "truck" anymore. we weren't gonna buy new (out of principle), but trying to find a truck without back up cameras, a chardonnay cooler, and a heads up pinterest display was nigh impossible. and any real "work" trucks available were fleet jobs- none had less than about 200K miles on them. on top of that, for whatever reason, apparently nobody in texas likes to park anything in their driveway short of a crewcab, which is just plain overkill for my needs.

ended up getting lucky after a month of diligent attention to craigslist, car gurus, and trucks.com- found an '11 extended cab white chevy silverado WT 4x4 with 80K miles. no power windows or locks (didn't think that was even possible anymore), vinyl floors, complete lack of bells and whistles. in short- somebody else bought a new fleet truck a few years ago, put a bunch of highway miles on it, and traded it in. and nobody else wanted it, i guess. i'm half-midget, so yeah, it'll be a little inconvenient on the bed access end of things, but i've spent my whole life riding bikes that were too big, sitting in chairs that were too low, etc, etc- i think i can deal with this. on top of the fact that this truck is essentially the same technology that's been in place for the last 40 years- i.o.w., i'll be the mechanic when needed.

oh, and one more thing- if you're looking at certified/used you might try this: see if you can find a suzuki equator or two. there aren't many of them, but they're out there. they're nissan frontiers with different logos on them, and suzuki motors went belly up last year. the people who have equators are dumping them for way less than you can get the exact same truck that says "nissan" on the front and back.

I don't know anything about your relationship with your party chief, but for cripes sake, have him help you pick out the truck, if his satisfaction is going to detrimental to whether you can use it.

Wait: I got it, it's you isn't it.....you're your own party chief. 😉

> ...but trying to find a truck without back up cameras, a chardonnay cooler, and a heads up pinterest display was nigh impossible.

But you still got the onboard APS¹, right?

¹Austin Positioning System - which gives turn by turn directions to: the trendiest food truck, live music by bands that haven't "sold out", and used cloths stores that haven't been discovered by the hipster posers yet.

no, i just got a 4x4- i run right over all that stuff, ala snowman at the choke'n'puke.

"have him help you pick out the truck"

It was he who suggested the Toyotas! That's what he wants, that's what he gets. B-)

I had a tacoma - not bad features. Got 600 miles away from the office to find out the
original dealership is the only place to replace a tire.

It seems full size trucks are following the market. They are simply too tall to make good work trucks. I would like to evaluate the new Nissan with the small diesel. I was a suburban fan until my conversation with the service department today. I will never consider another general motors product. My .02, Tom (not so proud owner of a 2010 cobalt)

Don't have a clue about the Tacoma but we have a 3 year old Tundra 4x4 and it has been a great truck. First problem we had was last month at 104K miles (just out of warranty), some pressure valve that controls the 4 wheel drive went out. Cost to fix was $2200.00 at the dealership but Toyota said that shouldn't be breaking and fixed it for free. Thank you Toyota.

I think you will like them just fine. Taso has one almost identical to the one you pictured and it is really nice. It has great power and mighty comfy. He had a Tacoma before the one he has now and it was a little smaller. Keep in mind it [the new one] is about the same size as an F150. Last time he got me for some work he sent me out with a surveyor chick (who I've worked with before). We're toolin down the interstate that day and out of the blue she says "you know, I REALLY like this truck!!" - like it was some sort of epiphany. 😉
I don't think you or your crews would be disappointed at all.
E