Need advice on pickup trucks; your experience

[DeltaV]

I am considering the purchase of a pickup truck for use as my daily commuter; and odd weekend trips to Lowe's/etc. No towing. The last time I had a new vehicle was 1989...a 2WD 360 Ramcharger with 3.55 gears and it was great! I am "cheap" and no longer buy new cars, but used pickup trucks here in Georgia are too expensive even for high mileage examples. So, I am looking for your advice on brands/models, but I am only interested in the lowest purchase price. Fortunately, there is a glut of 2017 makes/models and there are lots of sales here in Georgia, as well as Hilton Head and Charleston, South Carolina. Sales prices are currently ranging from $19,900 to approximately $24,300 for Fords and Rams; and GMC is slightly higher.
(1) Ram 1500 regular cab Tradesman?
(2) Ford F-150 XL?
(3) GMC?
(4) foreign?

Other than reliability (and lowest purchase price), my only requirements are:
(1) 8 foot bed
(2) 2 door models, not 4 door models
(3) air conditioning
(4) combined city/hwy fuel economy above 20 mpg.

Feel free to pm me if you prefer that over posting a reply here.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[moparcrazy]

That's really neat man 89 !! hats off to you sir !! 98 was the first & last time i bought new $13500. out the door for a stripped Nissan Truck, power nothing, no radio, only A/C but i do love my 04 Hemi short bed reg Cab, Bought it for $15K with 15K miles, currently has 200K+ miles runs Good no major problem ever !!

 

[Kern Dog]

You may be limited to Fords. The Dodge/Ram trucks in long bed 1/2 ton configuration is not very common. Years back I considered looking for a 2007 Ram 1500 4wd longbed. An online inventory showed NOTHING west of the Mississippi river!
Why would you want a long bed for a commuter truck? Almost everything comes with A/C. The 4 door quad cab is the most common. You are in for a tough search. Good luck.

Oh, I have almost 296,000 on my 2007 Ram 1500 regular cab short bed truck.

 

[SaddleLight]

Well tundra's are out of the question then. My best mpgs are 15 with the 5.7 and 4wd. Its as reliable as a Kansas tornado, but not efficient.

 

[Bb70charger500]

Hmm write me a check . I have the truck of your dreams! 2003 ram 2500 8ft. Bed single cab. It has the 5.7 hemi v8 and the auto dana rear out back 96,*** miles the dana is completely rebuilt the motor is basically new two (in 03 they had a huge issue with valve Springs braking) I had both heads completely rebuilt as I did this job I replaced a bunch of other parts too. Did I mention it has cold a/c too! Oh I also up graded the brakes with heavy duty brakes sloted rotors bigger calipers ect. She's not perfect but shes a worker I tow with it and get 22 mpg with a loaded trailer (72 charger on trailer) if I obay the signs I can squeeze 25 mpg out of it .I seriously go down the highway at 70 mph at 2000-2100 rpm. I love this truck! But I would consider sellin

 

[Don selleck]

ram 1500 with the hemi, truck is fast as hell and gets the gas mileage if you keep your foot out of it. I have a 14 had a exhaust leak they fixed a few weeks ago for free 80k miles other than that nothing. kern is right about an 8'box 2 door though, 3/4 ton is available, but then your gas mileage goes. wouldn't own another chevy had 4 gmc's new were nice trucks but gm service sucks. (the dealers I dealt with anyways) they only like to sell them. fords are good if your pulling a heavy trailer.

 

[moparedtn]

You may be limited to Fords. The Dodge/Ram trucks in long bed 1/2 ton configuration is not very common. Years back I considered looking for a 2007 Ram 1500 4wd longbed. An online inventory showed NOTHING west of the Mississippi river!
Why would you want a long bed for a commuter truck? Almost everything comes with A/C. The 4 door quad cab is the most common. You are in for a tough search. Good luck.

Oh, I have almost 296,000 on my 2007 Ram 1500 regular cab short bed truck.

The heck you say!
Fleets of standard cab long bed Rams out there, man. Seriously.
In my line of work, those are the bread and butter of service vehicles.
When someone is looking for a used pickup with "known" service history, I point them to companies like Fastenal, who literally have hundreds of their fleet nationwide for sale constantly - and their corporate policy is regular maintenance and selling them off before they get too many miles on them (typically 50-60k).

DeltaV, you can't go wrong with a half ton long bed Ram, especially with the 5.7 hemi. The 4.7 does not gain you any fuel economy (trust me, it doesn't) and has a sketchy history.
Don't cheap out, get an SLT at the least. Much nicer interior & has power doohickeys galore. Those can be had for less than $15k with around 60k miles from the fleet services and are damn nice trucks.

I have my own '04 Ram SLT 4x4 hemi, standard cab short bed (on factory 20's no less). Bought it with less than a year on it and have owned it ever since and LOVE my truck. Wouldn't trade it for anything.

 

[dvw]

Down south rust isn't an issue. I personally have a 1995 12 valve Cummins pulling close to 20,000lbs. You could easily buy a nice one like it if you search. That being said I have experience with both the 1/2 ton LS Chevy and the Hemi Dodge. Both work well with open trailer.
Doug

 

[garrett1308]

I like my 93 d250 12 valve. Extended cab, long bed, 175k miles. Pretty decent fuel efficiency, paid less than 5 for it. not sure if you want to go that old though.

 

[Don selleck]

i went to ram build a vehicle there is no option for an 8' bed in the half ton models. i couldn't find anything in the trademan line on an 8' until u go up to 2500 series which is 3/4 ton.

 

[727]

I had a 1999 Ram 1500 4x4 318 auto. Worst gas mileage ever!
Toyota anything, do not get good gas mileage.
I have a 2000 F250 4x4 7.3 and it gets about 14MPG with 100hp boost, Banks Turbo, and 4" exhaust. This truck won't die!
My brother loves the 2500 & 3500 Cummings trucks. He's has issues with them, engines included. To me 2003 and newer Dodge trucks don't impress. I like the ride, room and layout of the fords. If I can say that on this site.
I have a 1970 D100 /6 3 speed manual. Very reliable.
Owned a 1978 F100 bought it when I was 19 and drove it for 20 years. It was solid.
If you're patient and have cash you can find something to meet you needs.
Good luck with the search

 

[DeltaV]

The heck you say!
Fleets of standard cab long bed Rams out there, man. Seriously.
In my line of work, those are the bread and butter of service vehicles.
When someone is looking for a used pickup with "known" service history, I point them to companies like Fastenal, who literally have hundreds of their fleet nationwide for sale constantly - and their corporate policy is regular maintenance and selling them off before they get too many miles on them (typically 50-60k).

DeltaV, you can't go wrong with a half ton long bed Ram, especially with the 5.7 hemi. The 4.7 does not gain you any fuel economy (trust me, it doesn't) and has a sketchy history.
Don't cheap out, get an SLT at the least. Much nicer interior & has power doohickeys galore. Those can be had for less than $15k with around 60k miles from the fleet services and are damn nice trucks.

I have my own '04 Ram SLT 4x4 hemi, standard cab short bed (on factory 20's no less). Bought it with less than a year on it and have owned it ever since and LOVE my truck. Wouldn't trade it for anything.

I will definitely explore this option!

 

[451Mopar]

CTD or Hemi Ram. Avoid the 4.7L

 

[DeltaV]

CTD or Hemi Ram. Avoid the 4.7L

Should I avoid V-6 engines?

 

[DeltaV]

You may be limited to Fords. The Dodge/Ram trucks in long bed 1/2 ton configuration is not very common. Years back I considered looking for a 2007 Ram 1500 4wd longbed. An online inventory showed NOTHING west of the Mississippi river!
Why would you want a long bed for a commuter truck? Almost everything comes with A/C. The 4 door quad cab is the most common. You are in for a tough search. Good luck.

Oh, I have almost 296,000 on my 2007 Ram 1500 regular cab short bed truck.

Looking for a long bed because there are times that I need to haul a lot of pine straw bales (southern landscaping thing), plywood, studs, and bulky items.

 

[snakeyes]

I like this one found this on craigslist in Avon Lake Ohio $4500.00

https://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/d/1959-dodge-9-bed-duallys/6371004029.html

 

[snakeyes]

imagine in new paint and interior with either a new drive train maybe diesel or a maybe 440 hot rod style

 

[snakeyes]

you don't see very many of these with 9 foot bed and in dually form , I`m glad he didn't use the term rare one.

 

[SaddleLight]

Should I avoid V-6 engines?

V6 full size trucks: The gas mileage of a big block with the power of a lawnmower..... I've never met anyone that was happy with a v6 full size rig. Unless, of course, your talking about these new turbo diesel and Eco boost models. I cant really complain about those. They seem to be pretty impressive as long as your not listening to their exhaust.

 

[toolmanmike]

I have a couple 96 Dakota's that are still serving me well. A 2wd. as a 4 wheeler. Both 3.9 v6 auto trucks. They both haul anything I need to haul from car parts to sheets of plywood or drywall. The 2 wheeler gets 22 hwy and the 4 wheeler gets 18-20. Not too many of these around my neck of the woods in good shape because of all the salt used here. Your area might be different. The boxes aren't quite 4' between the wheel houses and you need to open the tailgate to get a 8' sheet in but they are both very comfortable to drive and ride in. More comfortable than the 97 and newer Dakotas.