Best little truck

[AHarris]

Thinking about getting a little truck for daily driving and keeping the CTD for towing and camping (looking at upgrading to a 5er). Which ones do you guys like the best and would recommend?



I'm kind of leaning towards the Tacoma.

 

[TRoss]

Tacoma's are great trucks. The Nissan Pickup was also a good little truck. I don't much about the Frontier, but my dad has had an 92 for ten years and never done anything to it. I had a 95 Pathfinder that I really liked until a deer zigged when it should have zagged one night on I-94 in North Dakota. I had to change the water pump right after buying it and it had an electrical issue that would drain the battery in a couple of days, had finally laid that issue to rest the week before I totaled it. Altogether, I have good things to say about them. 17 mpg pretty consistently in both the 95 and 92.

 

[Alphacowboy]

my suggestion would be to take a few on a test drive, and pick the one that feels the best. Had a GF once that had a Ranger, not a bad little truck, but after driving it for a day, I couldnt stand it. My knee hit the turn signal, and I felt cramped up with not enough foot room. I had dakota, and loved that, plenty of room.

 

[Regcabguy]

Death cabs for you.

The four banger 2wd little trucks get 20-25 mpg. If you get into a six,you might as well get a half-ton gasser. The munchkin cabs are a reality on the reg. cabs of all varieties. My friend's T-100 4 cylinder got totaled and he replaced it with a five year old reg. cab Tacoma. This truck in an accident will spell instant death. No lingering in the hospital hooked up,surrounded by grieving relatives. :{

 

[NVR FNSH]

Define 'little'. I have an '85 Toyota 4wd p/u that's been in my family since it was new and I think it's a great 'little' truck.



Brian

 

[Regcabguy]

Define 'little'. I have an '85 Toyota 4wd p/u that's been in my family since it was new and I think it's a great 'little' truck.



Brian

I had the same truck for four years. You do indeed own a good little truck. Glad you've enjoyed it. They're diesels in Australia.

 

[Matt400]

I'm kind of leaning towards the Tacoma.

Those are a real good truck as long as you find one that has not been beat.

The 3. 4 v-6 is an excellent dependable motor and the 2. 7 4cly is good too except for the valve issues on those.

The 2. 7 valve adjustment is so expensive and time consuming that most don't have it done so what happens over time is the exhaust valves will burn and you need a valve job. Not always but I have seen it enough to comment about it.

 

[Breed]

I had great luck with the Ford Ranger (1984) drove it for years very little problems. Good Luck!

 

[MMeier]

Define 'little'. I have an '85 Toyota 4wd p/u that's been in my family since it was new and I think it's a great 'little' truck.



Brian

Took over my sis' lil 4 WD 4 Runner 5 years ago that she bought new back in '89. 330k miles on the 22-RE and 5 speed. Head has never been off and it does not leak or use any oil. I would not hesitate to take it cross country tonight if I had to!

 

[mberry]

I have to second, third, fourth, etc. the Toyota option. Year, engine, drivetrain, and cab size are personal choices.

 

[AHarris]

Define 'little'. I have an '85 Toyota 4wd p/u that's been in my family since it was new and I think it's a great 'little' truck.



Brian

That's another idea... find one of the older ones. That 22R 4 banger is the CTD of 4 cylinder gassers from what I've heard. Have a couple friends who have put over 400K on them.



I'm in no hurry and I don't have the wife's approval yet so this may just stay a pipe dream.

 

[AHarris]

The four banger 2wd little trucks get 20-25 mpg. If you get into a six,you might as well get a half-ton gasser. The munchkin cabs are a reality on the reg. cabs of all varieties. My friend's T-100 4 cylinder got totaled and he replaced it with a five year old reg. cab Tacoma. This truck in an accident will spell instant death. No lingering in the hospital hooked up,surrounded by grieving relatives. :{

Hmmm... I'm getting 18+ on the highway with my CTD and a lot more room and comfort. Just not much fun at the parking lot. Is it really worth 2 mpg? Methinks maybe not. I wish they still made the T100... that was a nice truck and I liked those. I liked the Tundras too until the 2007 redesign. Toyota really screwed the pooch with the new Tundra... man that thing is UGLY! Not only that, CR rated the 2007 model with the V8 as "very poor" on reliability!

 

[MEby]

If you have to have a "little" truck, get a 1st gen cummins 2wd. you will get better economy than with a ranger or toy, etc. and have a lot more fun.

 

[Dieselnut59]

Mahindra (who makes the tractors in India) is bringing a little diesel only truck in to USA soon. It is around the size of a Dakota by what I understand with a 4 cyl diesel.

I like my daily runabout, my Liberty CRD. Have gotten as high as 30 mpg on the interstate and never get under 20 mpg with my "normal" driving, whch is pretty "hammer down". It is strong enough to tow a decent size trailer (I have a 8000# GVW and 3500# GVW), rides well, has nice features, is nimble, easy to get around town with and surprisingly POWERFUL. It is a 2. 8L 4 cylinder diesel, with automatic (unfortunately) and 4x4. I bought mine as a 2 year lease return for $19,000 out the door with 32,000 miles on it. I love it! I split my use between it and the '96 when I need to haul something. Rarely ever use the '03 anymore.

 

[AMink]

I had an 87 or 88 Dodge D50 made by Mitsubishi. It was a great truck, but too small when the first kid came along. Don't know what Mitsubishi is making now, but you might take a peek there too.

 

[sarj]

I'm partial to my 59 power wagon. Mileage isn't quite as good as those little Asian trucks, but the up side is it isn't a little Asian truck.

 

[rumblefish]

I had an 87 or 88 Dodge D50 made by Mitsubishi. It was a great truck, but too small when the first kid came along. Don't know what Mitsubishi is making now, but you might take a peek there too.

afaik mitsu is using rebadged dakotas, which do not come in a reg cab. ext or crew only.

 

[Troubleshooter]

In the interest of thinking "outside the box" is there a particular reason why this NEEDS to be a truck? For example, do you haul tools, etc for your work or is this just a commuter vehicle? Does poor weather or snow /ice play into the picture? (Unlikely in Monterey, but I don't know where else your work takes you).



My CTD hauls the 5'er and construction materials just fine. But on days when I'm just going back-and-forth to the office carrying nothing more than paperwork and my lunch sack, I take a 2-seater convertible. It sips (currently less expensive) gasoline, gets 32mpg even with 276K on the odometer, and as a bonus I can drop the top on nice days.



This doesn't directly address your question, but I raise it as a possibility which you may wish to consider depending on your precise needs.

 

[AHarris]

Prius

In the interest of thinking "outside the box" is there a particular reason why this NEEDS to be a truck? For example, do you haul tools, etc for your work or is this just a commuter vehicle? Does poor weather or snow /ice play into the picture? (Unlikely in Monterey, but I don't know where else your work takes you).

My CTD hauls the 5'er and construction materials just fine. But on days when I'm just going back-and-forth to the office carrying nothing more than paperwork and my lunch sack, I take a 2-seater convertible. It sips (currently less expensive) gasoline, gets 32mpg even with 276K on the odometer, and as a bonus I can drop the top on nice days.

This doesn't directly address your question, but I raise it as a possibility which you may wish to consider depending on your precise needs.

I just like a truck. But am also thinking about a car for this purpose as well. Don't laugh, but I rented a Toyota Prius one time when I was traveling and really liked this car. Everyone I know who has one says they are 100% reliable on top of the incredible gas mileage. With gas prices coming down, this might be a good time to get a good deal on one. I won't let my wife buy another SUV (ours is starting to get old) until she test drives a Prius.

I wish they had a diesel version!

 

[AHarris]

Dodge Ram 50

I had an 87 or 88 Dodge D50 made by Mitsubishi. It was a great truck, but too small when the first kid came along. Don't know what Mitsubishi is making now, but you might take a peek there too.

I had a 1987 Dodge (Mitsubishi) Ram 50 for 7 years. 5 speed with a 2. 0L four and a carburetor. My first new vehicle, I bought it brand new on my 20th birthday and drove it until I was almost 28. That truck didn't need anything until it had over 100K miles on it. 30mpg on the highway every day. I sold it to a friend of mine with 185,000 miles on it in 1994 before I went into the Air Force and he drove it commuting for about 80 miles a day for 5 more years, then passed it down to his son who drove it until a few years ago when the transmission finally locked up and the Michigan rust took over the rest of the truck. When the poor thing finally gave up the ghost in 2002 it had 475,000 miles on the original engine (with no maintenance except spark plugs, hoses and timing/fan belts) and transmission.

IMHO that was the best compact truck ever built with the possible exception of the Toyota of that time.

God I still miss that truck! Why Mitsubishi abandoned their own great design and started selling crummy re-badged Dakotas remains a mystery to me.