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Alright fine threadgoers it seems I'm moving to the boonies soon and we'll need a truck for light small farm related goodness. I highly appreciate your expert advice. New England Snow Truck Proposed Budget: The truck is an absolutely required vehicle so the budget is somewhat flexible. New or Used: Used Body Style: Pickup truck How will you be using the car?: - Light-use farm truck (in the sense of not having to haul anything large or go up horribly steep grades, we'll rent heavy equipment to do any kind of very occasional hard work) - We'll primarily be using it to get around in the winter but want the dual utility of having a truck as well. - Commutes will be one hour bi-weekly. What aspects are most important to you? - Traverse through up to 26 inches of snow (October 2011 Storm) in an emergency. (I'm hard pressed to think of a situation where we would need to ever go out in the middle of 26 inches of snow but the person financing the vehicle purchase wants the capability) - The truck needs to have enough weight to not slide around in the snow too easily (we had to put a ton of cinder blocks in the back of the old little ford ranger) but there is no need for any sort of huge truck. - Plow attachment capability in case plows cannot reach our location. - 78.96 = Average snowfall per year (another source: http://www.stevesauter.com/40yearsnow.htm) - 61.55 = Average days with 1 inch or more of snow depth - The primary use of the truck is pure utility. Function over form. - Creature comforts, space, etc. is not a factor we care about. - The truck does not need to be a recent model year as long as it is well maintained and fairly inexpensive and simple to repair. My general idea is a mid size truck, use snow tires during the winter months, and have some snow chains ready in-case it's really horrible. Raxmus fucked around with this message at 23:26 on Sep 5, 2012 |
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Sep 5, 2012 22:51
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:What's wrong with another, potentially newer Ranger? RWD with an extremely light back end in the snow. Yeah I can throw a few hundred pounds in the back of it but I'm not entirely sure that's a smart idea. The conditions where we'll be moving are aren't as bad as where we used the old ('99) ranger. Also the roads aren't as windy or steep and we had trouble with the old ranger here even with weight in the back and studded snow tires (yeah I know we wanted snow tires not studded snow tires) On truck forums everyone screams 4WD, is there a reason for that? I heard something about it not mattering while you're moving anyway. e: That said the ranger does have some 4WD models. I'm curious as to why the CG rating is so horribly low on it? It might not mean anything but I'm curious why that is. Would something like a 2010 4WD XLT ranger be a decent choice? We can go older but apparently 2010 added traction control, anti-skid, and side airbags. Raxmus fucked around with this message at 17:53 on Sep 6, 2012 |
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Sep 6, 2012 16:53
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Thank you very much KYOON GRIFFEY JR and Iowncalculus, you have been very helpful. Is is okay to post specific vehicles or ads in this thread if we find something?
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Sep 6, 2012 20:28
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Well it looks like the Ranger XLT 4WD has been vetoed as "too small". For a quick comparison: 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Work Truck Regular Cab Pickup 4.3L V6 4-speed Automatic 6.6 ft. Bed: Width: 79.9 in. Height: 73.6 in. Length: 205.6 in. Ground clearance: 7.7 in. Front track: 68.1 in. Rear track: 67.0 in. Wheel base: 119.0 in. 2011 Ford Ranger XLT Regular Cab Pickup 2.3L 4-cyl. 5-speed Manual 6.1 ft. Bed: Width: 69.3 in. Height: 66.2 in. Length: 189.4 in. Ground clearance: 8.9 in. Front track: 58.5 in. Rear track: 57.3 in. Wheel base: 111.5 in. It turns out they're both around $16,000 with comparable mileage.
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Sep 7, 2012 00:57
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leica posted:I would be looking at base model 4WD F150's with the EcoBoost. That seems like it's a good idea. I've been leaning toward fords for parts/service anyway. I'm guessing 4WD means service is going to be more expensive and some additional possible repairs. Are ecoboost engines known to cause any additional issues? Honestly I would be more than fine with a ranger XLT 4x4 but "we" have vetoed anything Dodge, Nissan, or apparently small. I was dreading the fuel cost so the ecoboost is a welcome addition. The bottom line is I need to research 4WD vehicles and what kind of service / driving style they require.
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Sep 7, 2012 07:03
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It appears as if plans have changed a bit and now I'm on a budget of about $10,000 for a small-ish used truck that can manage in the winter. So far the choices are: Toyota Tacoma 4WD Regular Cab 6' Bed Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 Regular Cab 6' Bed Chevrolet Colorado Work Truck 4WD Regular Cab 6' Bed These all weigh around 3500-3700 lbs. I'm also thinking the fuel economy will be better on those than the 1 ton higher models such as the Silverado, Ram, and F150. If you had to pick one, which one would it be, and why? Would there be any other models else on that list? Also I was thinking something around 2004-2006 range with low(ish) mileage. Is that realistic? Thanks very much for all your help AI you are wonderful. Thwomp posted:I don't know enough about the Altima to give you a decent report. It was recently refreshed for the 2013 model though. For an anecdote we've owned a 2009 (put 60,000+ miles on it without a single hiccup) and now own a 2012 and they've been almost entirely care free. The recommended maint. is fairly minimal and well detailed in the manual. They're huge (often surprised what we can fit in it with the seats down), comfy, and the hands free bluetooth works really well. The 2012 was fairly inexpensive considering the 2013 redesign is being released. Accord seems to be almost identical, but the Altima was cheaper for practically the same vehicle. Bear in mind it's not very "fun" to drive though. It's a very practical car but not a very fun car. The engine is fairly small but you'll certainly have enough power to get where you want to go. Don't expect it to have any personality though, it's pretty drat hard to get it to slide on anything as evidently the traction control does all of the work for you. Raxmus fucked around with this message at 20:35 on Sep 7, 2012 |
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Sep 7, 2012 19:50
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:edit ^^ Ranger. More parts availability, you'll pay a premium on the Taco for higher miles, and the Chevy isn't as good. Nissan Frontier isn't bad but it's got a bit of a price premium as well. Your advice is greatly appreciated. I had been leaning toward the ranger as well. It seems Tacos here go for a lot of $$$. Most people ask above KBB private sale, but at least it's not as bad as the Subaru/Volvo fanaticism. I'm having a family member get me a zero interest loan on half the cost and they won't loan the money on a Dodge or Nissan truck. I can't be arsed to argue about it when there are multiple good other options. e: http://www.redbarncycles.com/2002_Ford_Ranger_Ludlow_MA_157406705.veh Found this, KBB is 6,500 private sale. I was thinking we'd offer $5,000 cash pending our mechanic okays it. That way I could put some very nice snow tires on it and have money for possible repairs. Opinions? I don't give two about the color, wheels, extended cab, etc. so it may be advantageous to just wait a bit and find something that meets exact specs (barebones) for less $$$. KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:ffffffffffffffffffffffffff a package-free XL 4WD EcoBoost is 31K MSRP, come on dude. It's going to be about 185 miles a week. We've decided to hold off on a heavier-duty truck (primarily for hauling smallish livestock like sheep, goat and chickens) for a few years. I'll be using the smaller truck as my primary transportation. You make an interesting point about the Ecoboost models costing so much more for power we probably won't need. Anyway that's a ways in the future so as of recent new plans it's off the table. Thanks again for all the help, we're truck idiots so this thread is a life saver on making an educated decision. Thankfully we have a mechanic family friend to take a look at anything we find used. Raxmus fucked around with this message at 22:11 on Sep 7, 2012 |
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Sep 7, 2012 21:22
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Unzip and Attack posted:Not very often at all - the occasional big purchase from Home Depot or to help people move things when needed. Mainly we just want something inexpensive and reliable - no frills or extras needed. In my own searches it has been a bit hard to find bare bones trucks as most people (at least in this area) buy them with some frills (in specific the XLT ranger is far more popular than the XL). Keep in mind none of the around 1.75 ton+ trucks have better than an acceptable IIHS ratings. If you can afford something larger (2.3 ton+) the F150 tests the best. Dakotas and Frontiers are pretty terrible in safety ratings. That said you don't need to haul anything so I'd suggest getting the lowest trim Camry you can. Better safety and fuel economy by far. At least that's what I take from reading this thread. Raxmus fucked around with this message at 05:22 on Sep 11, 2012 |
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Sep 11, 2012 05:17
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Always get a PPI. If you don't have a mechanic to do a PPI, make friends with one. I can't stress this advice enough. We ended up having a rather unscrupulous dealer try to sell us a car with multiple problems that ran fine on the test drive, appeared to be in decent condition, and had fairly low mileage. Mechanic did the PPI, told us what was up, and the dealer basically told us to go jump in a lake on a lower offer because basically he said someone else will be a sucker at the asking price. Rhyno posted:People who say "don't buy an SUV you won't need it" usually don't have kids. What ever happened to getting wagons? Raxmus fucked around with this message at 09:53 on Sep 21, 2012 |
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Sep 21, 2012 09:48
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