Best little truck

[OKish]

I have a 92 nissan pathfinder (same as truck but with wagon body) absolute brick and will not break, front end its tougher than 3/4 ton chevy's. Independent front suspension is not so great off road, but i swapped in a solid axle.

 

[WMonroe]

I had a Dakota (a 98) before my 97 CTD. It was a great truck and I used it pretty hard. A buddy of mine had a Ranger (can't remember the year, 2000?) and it was also a good truck.

Will

 

[NVR FNSH]

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!

I'm 6'4"/240 - my current daily driver is a '97 Honda Civic EX (2 door) that I bought for $4K with 94K miles on it. I put gas/oil/air in it and don't worry about anything else - it gets 30+ mpg on the highway at 'reasonable' speeds.



My Toyota p/u gets ~21 mpg at best and isn't as comfortable as the Civic.



Brian

 

[DodgeWarlock]

One of the best trucks I've ever owned was my 93 Dakota sport with the 2. 5 4cyl and a 5-speed. It got about 30mpg on the hwy and had plenty of power. I once towed a 74 Chevelle station wagon about 25 miles with it. It pulled it fine but was a little touchy to stop with no brake controller. The cab was roomy and comfortable and it rode and handled quite well. Before you mock the 4cyl it had the same peak hp and torque of the 350 v8 in the wagon.



As for the Ram 50's, I own a 87 that I need to get running again. These were good little trucks. Torquey but not a lot of hp especially at hwy speeds. The biggest drawback is the feedback carb that is almost impossible to get worked on anymore. Mine is a longbox 4wd with the 2. 6 and a stick and it got 21-25 on the hwy. Right now it needs a carb and an intake swap. I really want to find a small diesel to try a repower on it.

 

[AHarris]

One of the best trucks I've ever owned was my 93 Dakota sport with the 2. 5 4cyl and a 5-speed. It got about 30mpg on the hwy and had plenty of power. I once towed a 74 Chevelle station wagon about 25 miles with it. It pulled it fine but was a little touchy to stop with no brake controller. The cab was roomy and comfortable and it rode and handled quite well. Before you mock the 4cyl it had the same peak hp and torque of the 350 v8 in the wagon.



As for the Ram 50's, I own a 87 that I need to get running again. These were good little trucks. Torquey but not a lot of hp especially at hwy speeds. The biggest drawback is the feedback carb that is almost impossible to get worked on anymore. Mine is a longbox 4wd with the 2. 6 and a stick and it got 21-25 on the hwy. Right now it needs a carb and an intake swap. I really want to find a small diesel to try a repower on it.

Repowering that Ram 50 would be a great project but not sure the front suspension would handle the extra weight of a 4BT or VMotori. As an alternative, could you put a later model Chrysler F. I. system/ECM brain on that 2. 6? I know the 2. 6 was also used in F. I. form on later model Dodge Caravans, and some of the Chrysler/Dodge/Eagle cars in the late 80s/early 90s. Probably tons of those at the junk yards for the taking.



That 2. 5L 4 banger they had in the Dakotas was a bulletproof little motor.



Both the old Dakota and Ram 50 are just good basic no nonsense little trucks that get the job done.