Why buy small trucks?

[tac]

Or move.

I wish.

 

[Tony617]

I have a 1993 Nissan King Cab 4x4 that I bought slightly used from the dealer. It was driven by the parts manager and he was a smoker so I got a huge discount for it at the time. It has the automatic transmission and has the lower compression engine that the Nissan Maxima had in it. My only complaint that the side view mirrors must be adjusted manually. But when we get snow we just slow down to 20 MPH or slower under and shift into 4 wheel drive. Back in the day the old style 4x4 trucks you had to get out the truck and manually lock the lugs. I would like a bigger pickup at some point though since the pickup gets only 17 miles per gallon and even less when you switch to 4 wheel drive mode.



Definitely need to clean up all of the boxes in the garage.

 

[sabasarge]

This is the Jeep Gladiator concept I waited for, and wish they'd have made........

Classic Jeep Trucks

Jeep enthusiasts will like these pictures of vintage Jeep trucks, beginning in the mid 1940's.

www.liveabout.com

 

[CamoDeafie]

This is the Jeep Gladiator concept I waited for, and wish they'd have made........

Classic Jeep Trucks

Jeep enthusiasts will like these pictures of vintage Jeep trucks, beginning in the mid 1940's.

www.liveabout.com

This is probably the closest you can get to that concept... and the way it looks, seems like it'll be capable of having a safari style soft top that goes all the way back, a la Land Rover safari. Still not a regular size bed but more usable size than the normal JK 4 door stuff

 

[ilikegunspdx]

FYI Re mpg, I was looking at gas mileage as a factor and if u drive 10,000 miles per year the difference between a 30mpg highway hot hatchback vs 25mpg Jeep or small pickup is only $250 per year or so.

Contrast that with depreciation, which Is roughly 5,000 per year on average for a 40,000 vehicle. So in the big scheme of things in terms of $, depreciation is a much bigger factor (in the US) than mpg.

I was looking at what vehicles have the least depreciation in the first five years. Here's the list (note that no cars are in the top 10):
#1: 2019 Toyota Tacoma
#2: 2019 Jeep Wrangler
#3: 2019 Toyota Tundra
#4: 2019 GMC Sierra
#5: 2019 Toyota 4Runner
#6: 2019 Chevrolet Silverado
#7: 2019 Honda Ridgeline
#8: 2019 Chevrolet Colorado
#9: 2019 Ford F-Series
#10: 2019 Porsche

Source: https://www.kbb.com/new-cars/best-resale-value-awards/best-resale-top-10-cars/

 

[ZigZagZeke]

I got rid of this one a couple years ago. It was a great little "go anywhere" truck, but I had to have a separate tow vehicle for RVs and boats.



Got this GMC 2500 4x4 to replace both the Toyota truck and the 3/4 ton Suburban tow vehicle. I'm a happy camper.

 

[Deviate6]

I was confused for a bit before I remembered you call them trucks 4wd here lol my work truck weighs nearly 40 ton loaded , add a puppy dog on the back .

 

[The Heretic]

Trucks are trucks, whether they are tiny or large, just like an airplane is an airplane, whether it is a Piper Cub or a 747.

 

[jbett98]

I bought a cherry 1990 Toyota 4x4 for my son-in-law last year and before I could fix the clutch slave cylinder issue, him and my daughter up and moved to Texas.
I've been meaning to sell the rig, but I'm starting to grow fond of it. I have no use for it and it's taking up room in my shop, but I like working on it.
I pulled out the bench seat and installed some bucket seats and center console from a 4 Runner.
I just installed a special LCE short shifter kit that shortens up the length of movement when shifting. It now feels like a new transmission.
While everything was out of the cab, I cut in a new custom vinyl flooring mat instead of carpet, which to me is better then always trying to keep carpet clean in a 4x4 truck.
The previous owner had spent over $2,700.00 in brakes, shocks, radiator, hoses, fluid changes and front end wheel bearings, so I didn't have to deal with that stuff.
The only reason he was selling it was that he was moving out state. He told me that he had only used the 4 wheel drive a couple of times when it snowed in Portland.

 

[Pandaz3]

That's an interesting little jeep truck. I love the looks of the gladiator pickup with the top off. Really don't like the looks of the gladiator with the top on at all. I guess that's why on the TV ads they only show it with the top off.

But that little jeep truck looks pretty cool. I used to have a comache pickup back in the day which was sort of like a cherokee with the back turned into a pickup. It's 4.0 L engine was reliable but gas hungry.

View attachment 627663

I owned a red Sport version, bench seat, automatic, 4x4. Mine had a serious electrical problem, you would be driving at night and the head lights and tail lights would just go out. still switched on, just auto revert to stealth drive. Brake lights would still work. The Dealer worked on it under warranty for a day and called AMC and got a second day authorized to warranty work on the issue then spent two more dealer days on it and finally after asking me, spliced in a self resetting circuit breaker. It was then usable, but I was leery of it. The wife would get in and move easily slide the seat forward to drive, she left the seat forward and I could not het in. Standing outside trying to slide the seat back was problematic. Should have kept it anyway.

 

[DeanMk]

FYI Re mpg, I was looking at gas mileage as a factor and if u drive 10,000 miles per year the difference between a 30mpg highway hot hatchback vs 25mpg Jeep or small pickup is only $250 per year or so.

Contrast that with depreciation, which Is roughly 5,000 per year on average for a 40,000 vehicle. So in the big scheme of things in terms of $, depreciation is a much bigger factor (in the US) than mpg.

I was looking at what vehicles have the least depreciation in the first five years. Here's the list (note that no cars are in the top 10):
#1: 2019 Toyota Tacoma
#2: 2019 Jeep Wrangler
#3: 2019 Toyota Tundra
#4: 2019 GMC Sierra
#5: 2019 Toyota 4Runner
#6: 2019 Chevrolet Silverado
#7: 2019 Honda Ridgeline
#8: 2019 Chevrolet Colorado
#9: 2019 Ford F-Series
#10: 2019 Porsche

Source: https://www.kbb.com/new-cars/best-resale-value-awards/best-resale-top-10-cars/

...also of note, All 3 Toyota's in the list are in the top 5.
Seems like you just can't touch one of these things without having to pay a mint for one.

Dean

 

[BrandonQuixote]

Little trucks are slick though. My 82 diesel VW Rabbit Pickup when i lived in CA. With the 5 speed i got 48MPG. I couldnt get over 55mph and it was so slammed i couldn't get over the speed bumps in my then girlfriend, now wife's apartment complex without scraping the oil pan, never stopped getting offers and people never stopped breaking their necks looking at me smoke down the street. Smaller trucks are handier, easier to park and maneuver on trails if that's your thing. Some of us don't want to buy more than we need and we don't need to haul around a trailer, huge pay loads or children- Tacoma's/Rangers are perfectly sized for that.They aren't without their downsides, but you're gonna retain a lot more value on a Tacoma than you will an F150 or Silverado, which is important for those of us who don't plan on being buried in their currently vehicle.

 

[zenbreath]

Basically a rebadged Isuzu truck
Apparently stopped making them in 2002, and replaced by a newer model that looks like could be useful in cities...

Isuzu Faster - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

How many of you have seen a LUV with a 350? I've seen two.

 

[DeanMk]

Mini Farmtruck is (was?) a LUV....

 

[ilikegunspdx]

I like the Jeep Wrangler rental. 2.0l turbo is VERY torquey but too loud for my taste. Doors are harder to take off than the old CJ7. Hardtop panels come out very easily. Did not take off the rear part of the hardtop cuz it looks pretty heavy. One thing I noticed is the mirrors come off with the doors, so you would have to get some type of aftermarket mirrors to drive it legally with the doors off.

If you had an aftermarket rubber "tub"/liner in the back, and if you didn't use it as a "pickup" that often this might be an o.k. solution. There actually is a lot of room behind the back seat. Imo even with some kind of tub in the back, it still we be a fun/offroader first, and family hauler/run around rig 2nd, and maybe a psuedo pickup third. That's speaking of the hardtop version where it's some work to take off the top (not as bad as the old broncos/blazers or early 4 runners though. Maybe the soft top would be easier to run around with it topless more I dunno. You would have to have a trailer to haul anything of size.

I think I would prefer this 4 door wrangler over the gladiator for my needs. I just can't get past the looks of the gladiator. Gladiator is definitely not for me. Here is the one I rented along with some pics of the gladiator FYI.

 

[CamoDeafie]

According to the yellow JK8 Independence kit photo; it has a cargo space close to the same size as my Kia Sportage with rear seat removed For the Kia, it only requires taking off 2 15mm bolts and 2 15mm nuts.

 

[CamoDeafie]

Old shot of Sportage cargo area with rear seat removed
To my recollection; 46 inches between wheel wells, and just over 54 inches from center console to gate.

Edit. If there were a bulkhead and a cut roof area with faired over rear window; it probably would be right in the ballpark of the JK8 Utility cargo area.. but that is a metric buttload of work that's not necessary

 

[CamoDeafie]

So. I had a thought. Why aren't there companies who makes sturdy watertight, easily removable tubs that fills the whole cargo area with seats folded down in large SUVs?? Those would make more sense to me than the Weatherguard series of mere rubber mats with nothing for the seatbacks or sides of the cargo area... which gets scratched and damaged whenever actually get used for hauling things like tools, metal, lumber, hardware?

Edit. Or make the carpeting and panels easily removable to have bare metal cargo boc area with tie downs

 

[DeanMk]

The idea of a tub in the back of a car, to creae a pseudo pick-up truck is not a new one.....



….Hudson offered that option back in the late 30's with their Terraplane model.
It was an addition that was bolted to the trunk and could slide in and out for convenience.
It eventually led to the creation of an actual pick-up truck that Hudson built just before the war....

 

[CamoDeafie]

Yea for Jeep I would use full rubber tub with tailgate side that folds down and ideally whole "floor" of cargo area rolls/slides outward. Then u could load crap onto it and slide it in. I realize the the "sliding" part would probably conflict with the "waterproof" function. Even without sliding yes needs to cover all the way up to top of seats and sides IMO.

If its built like a drawer, you could still have it waterproof if the external structure is sheetmetal with a sturdy bed liner style tub