Pick-up Truck search

[Thrifty Angler]

Uncle Sam was good to me this year. I'm in the market for a small pickup truck.

A couple major factors:

1) I want a shortbead truck. Leaning towards 4 ft cause of good gas mileage. And it has to be an automatic. Don't want to spend the extra cash to have a stick converted to auto.
Late 80's - Early 90's.
Thing is...my son is a little over 6 feet tall. Which (American) companies have small pickups that will accomodate his height comfortably?
A 6 foot bed would be my alternative.

2) I've been told to purchase American because of the ease of altering the suspension. I want to be able to drive on the beach to fish.

Thanks Guys

[mdram]

dodge dakota

[Shooter]

So your saying you are looking for a "Full size truck"= Half ton truck but short bed, the bed length shouldn't make any difference in fuel and it needs to be 4 wheel drive for driving on the beach and it needs to be ready to be jacked up for some bigger tires???? Well if your tossing in 4 wheel drive and big tires there is no need to worry to much about gas mileage. Lots of trucks out there to fit that bill now we just need to know how much ya planning on putting into this here sand dune runner so we can help ya be on the look out. Good luck

[RiverOtter]

I may be a little partial to Toyota since I have a Tacoma, but you might want to consider one of the earlier toyota pick-ups. Some of the early ones had a solid front axle that's easy to lift...and the later ones aren't too terrible to lift either. They're lightweight compared to a lot of the others, and get pretty good gas mileage.

Really though, the thing I question is why you would want a 4 foot bed when you're taking it fishing. You really want the extra 2 foot at least to put your rods in the bed...I know I couldn't fit mine in a 4 foot bed, which was the deciding factor of why I got an xtra cab with the 6 foot bed, vs the double cab which only has a 4 foot bed.

[repair5343]

I have a Dodge Dakota now but I want to get a Toyota Tocoma for the new features it has, with that said go with the Dodge for your son.
And stick with the 6ft bed, more room.
The short bed I feel is a waste, if you want to put a bike in the back you have to remove the front tire to fit it in.
The short beds are want to be trucks.

[fishrulemylife]

Back in Nov I started my search for a fishing pick up. After looking for 3 months and at well over 20 vehicles I purchased a '94 Ford Bronco XLT. It's perfect for fishing and there's plenty of them available. There were some pick ups that would have been nice too. Mostly Fords or Chevys, late 80's early 90's, all 5L-5.7L engines, automatic trans, some were lifted, some needed work.

The small size pickups I looked at were Ford Ranger, Chevy S10, Dodge Dakota, Toyota Tacoma, and Nissan Frontier. I looked at these in the beginning but after test driving a few and really thinking about it, a bigger truck makes more sense at least for my use.

The larger size pickups I looked at were Ford F150, 250, 350, Chevy Silverado, Toyota Tundra but they were too new and over budget, Dodge Ram, and maybe a few others.

Then came the SUV's. A few Chevy Tahoes and Suburbans, Ford Explorer, Jeep Cherokee, but could find anything within my budget or with reasonalbe mileage on them. Then a fullsize Blazer and Bronco caught my eye. So I started thinking how perfect one would be. Tons of space, a back seat if I need it, powerful, easy to lift, and best of all, the cap comes off and makes it like a pickup. And there are convertible tops for them so you can take the cap off and still have it covered in case it rains. I took it onto the beach two weekends ago and with the stock suspension had no problems at all. The only reason I'd want a lift kit is if I'm going to go muddin.

And as far as gas mileage, anything with a V6 is going to use almost as much as a V8. I compared my Bronco to a Ranger and we get nearly the same mileage/gallon. And my wifes Nissan Xterra is the same way.

Take a look, tell me this ain't the perfect fishing vehicle.

[Kenmefish]

Get yourself an older Toyota 4x4 or any small pickup for that matter as long as it is 4 wheel drive and in good shape. You do not need lift or big tires to drive on the beach. Just drop the air pressure to 18 or 20 lbs and go fishing.

[Dr. Bubba]

What Ken said!

I'm partial to toyota as well, I have a 98 tacoma and it does very well on the beach. The older models are nice trucks as too. Salty had one go to 325,000 before he sold it and bought the new tacoma. From what I hear, that old truck is still running. Maybe it'll hit 400K

[Thrifty Angler]

Checked out a couple trucks in the afternoon. None was the "perfect" fit. Tacoma does have a good rep. Thing is, I wasn't comfortable. Neither was son.
The smaller model pickups seem to be what the doc ordered. Knee problems....= I'm don't want to have to climb on board. I drove an 8 foot Silverado. Did well with it while it was in drive. Didn't fare too well when it came to parking. And never mastered the curbside parking factor. Nor the backing up with ease factor. I figure smaller will be better....for those reasons.

I know I'll be trading cargo capacity....but I do want to downsize. And a truck is my vehicle of choice. I like to yard sale shop and I need to have the open back of a truck.

Now a 6 footer...I may have to compromise on that one. That size will get lots of use......and should be easier to park/reverse. Dakota....haven't checked that one out yet. But next week I'll check the want ads. Would love to do it today....but weather is a factor. I don't do well in sleet/snow/slushy conditions.

Thanks guys. I'll keep yall posted.

Oh, BTW.....I appreciate the helpful info. I'm gonna try and locate the right one in the $2500 range using yall's tips.

Thanks a bunch :)

[fishrulemylife]

So have you found a truck yet?

[Thrifty Angler]

So have you found a truck yet?

Not yet. :( I've seen a few I liked. But they weren't automatics.

[combatcatcher]

You can get a short bed truck and add on an extender like my frontier has. With tailgate up 4 feet with tailgate down and extender flipped into position its a full 6 ft. works great and can clamp on rod holders to the extender instead of having to buy a 250$ rod rack. Just a thought. My frontier stock handled the OBX beaches just fine this past weekend.