Truck Experts?

[North East Goon]

You have $30,000 give or take a couple of thousand and are looking for a Crew Cab (4 door) 4X4. What would you go with, full and or smaller size?

[Sliver]

A. Buy in the States for sure.
B. Smaller trucks aren't that much better on gas than a full-size. Maybe a couple of MPG but that's it, which I thought was kind of weird when we were looking last year. Taking fuel economy out of the equation, then, I guess why do you need a truck? Hauling people/toys around? Then go full size. You want to park in your garage? Get a smaller truck.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

I assume you're looking used? If not, then I think your budget is a little small.

Can't go wrong with an F-150 that is a couple of years old.
There is a reason why most work trucks in the oil and gas biz are Fords.

As for smaller trucks. Right now I drive a Tacoma, and they're great, but they're pretty pricey, so I'm not sure what you can get for $30k, but if you can find one that is a couple of years old, have at 'er they're great tucks.

I used to drive a Colorado, it was a pretty good truck but I was pretty hard on it and it just didn't hold up the way I had hoped it would.
If you're looking for something to haul hockey equipment that is good in the snow, it's great, but if you're looking to use it on more than paved roads, it's not the greatest.

I should add that both the Tacoma and Colorado are fine for space. You can put 4 adults in them pretty easily, though the Tacoma (granted I'm talking about an '09 so an older one could be different) is a bit bigger.

[burn_this_city]

For $30,000 you could get a diesel truck from 07ish with 50,000km. Thats what I'd buy, you can get amazing mileage and the fuel is on average 10 cents cheaper a liter.

[North East Goon]

Anyone drive a Nissan Truck?

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by North East Goon

Anyone drive a Nissan Truck?

I worked with a dude who owned a Titan, and he swore up and down that he'd never buy another one again. He said it was gutless, the suspension was bad, and that it was a bit of a lemon. Now granted that's all I've really heard of it, but it was pretty damning testimony.

[Hevishot]

Go out and get a decently loaded Ford F150. You wont be dissapointed

[mikey_the_redneck]

Originally Posted by North East Goon

You have $30,000 give or take a couple of thousand and are looking for a Crew Cab (4 door) 4X4. What would you go with, full and or smaller size?

Just be careful about buying used 4x4 trucks. Many of them come from the oil patch where they were abused pretty heavily, including idling them all day, and some of the previous owners even wind back the odometers.....

[burn_this_city]

Just dont buy a white one. Thats how you tell it was a rig truck.

[Berger_4_]

Just make sure you don't buy the run before last (I think 04ish to 07ish) Chev Duramax Diesel's. Or if you do, just be ready to replace a bunch of suspension components. Pop's bought one brand new, and it's been in the shop 4 or 5 times with stuff wrong with it. A whole bunch of stuff has gone screwy with it (mainly suspension, but I know the A/C went once, and some other computer stuff). The thing is, it isn't even driven that hard. It pulls the odd cattle trailer, the 5th wheel camper, and augers and such.

mikey is spot on about the patch trucks. You'll find the odd good one, but most of them aren't in very good shape. They're leased for a year or two, then sent back...I wouldn't buy a truck that was in the patch I don't think.

One place that might be alright to look is the City of Calgary...I know the county back home put a lot of trucks and equipment up for tender whenever they'd get something new in. That might be worth a look.

[TRIX]

Originally Posted by Berger_4_

Just make sure you don't buy the run before last (I think 04ish to 07ish) Chev Duramax Diesel's. Or if you do, just be ready to replace a bunch of suspension components. Pop's bought one brand new, and it's been in the shop 4 or 5 times with stuff wrong with it. A whole bunch of stuff has gone screwy with it (mainly suspension, but I know the A/C went once, and some other computer stuff). The thing is, it isn't even driven that hard. It pulls the odd cattle trailer, the 5th wheel camper, and augers and such.

mikey is spot on about the patch trucks. You'll find the odd good one, but most of them aren't in very good shape. They're leased for a year or two, then sent back...I wouldn't buy a truck that was in the patch I don't think.

One place that might be alright to look is the City of Calgary...I know the county back home put a lot of trucks and equipment up for tender whenever they'd get something new in. That might be worth a look.

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Just dont buy a white one. Thats how you tell it was a rig truck.

I use my '05 chev 2500HD CrewCab for work, and have for two years, no problems here!

stay away from patch truck and city trucks, both for different reasons, all patch trucks arn't always white though, just company ones....just for info

[Berger_4_]

Originally Posted by TRIX

I use my '05 chev 2500HD CrewCab for work, and have for two years, no problems here!

stay away from patch truck and city trucks, both for different reasons, all patch trucks arn't always white though, just company ones....just for info

You're a lucky man then haha. Dad's has been a piece...and from what I've heard from BSing with a few mechanics, garbage suspensions are the norm, not the exception.

[TRIX]

well sweet, glad mine is the exception! lol

[bossy22]

I'd look in the states if you can. Dealerships are allowed to sell previously owned to Canadians. You'd save alot of money going that route. Most trucks are made in the states, so you don't have to worry about duty, and the dealerships in montana are set up to do all of the paper work for you.

If that isn't an option then I'm not sure what you could get in a crew cab for $30k. I have a honda ridgeline and I love it for the most part. It's decent on gas. The trunk comes in quite handy. I went with the ridgeline because I can fit my family and my gear (camping and bikes) quite easily and didn't need the power of a fullsize because I don't tow anything. I don't like the box design though. I'd like to be able to get a good tonneau cover, and you really can't with the ridgeline. By good, I mean heavy duty fiberglass one so I can install a bike rack system on top of it.

If I were to get a fullsize, my first choice would be a tundra (way beyond $30k) and my 2nd choice would be a f150.

[TRIX]

Originally Posted by bossy22

If I were to get a fullsize, my first choice would be a tundra (way beyond $30k) and my 2nd choice would be a f150.

Personally, I hardly consider 1/2 tons as a classified full size

Cannot really compare a true full size, 3/4-1 ton Chev/Dodge/Ford, to their 1/2 ton counterparts or that of the non-domestic manufactuers, both towing and payload capacities

You have $30,000 give or take a couple of thousand and are looking for a Crew Cab (4 door) 4X4. What would you go with, full and or smaller size?

Personally I would go for a 3/4 ton diesel, you CAN get them at that price in the 05-06 years depending on km's/miles...4x4 crew or extended cab (both technically 4 doors)

diesel over gas for MPG, if you chip a diesel for economy you can easily get 22-24 on the highway, diesel also cheaper per unit volume

my tips

-the Ford 6.0L powerstroke, headgasket problems later in engine life, just be prepared for it, almost a forsure thing

-Dodge 5.9L HO is pretty decent, depends what you want for ride quality as they are the roughest trucks out there, air bags fixes this though, also they have the smallest quad cab until you get to the mega cabs...not sure what year they came out though thinking 07 year,

also with the dodges the way the rear seats split causes an issue with me, the 40 is behind the driver instead of the 60, makes more sense to me to have the 60 behind the driver so you can sit a third passenger on the lady side and have plenty of space for gear with easy access for the driver on their side of the vehicle...you know? dodge only of the domestics to do this

- chev's, not many complaints, main things to go wrong are electronic, seat heaters, 6 disc changer etc, easy fixes but the hardware costs a lot, chev's have the lowest ground clearence, so if planning to upsize tires you will have to level it out a couple inches minimum, chev also have the best design (or did in those years) of load securment points built into the box of the trucks, basically ease of access and the ones that simply make the most sense and are usable in various situations

that's all I got for now

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by Berger_4_

Just make sure you don't buy the run before last (I think 04ish to 07ish) Chev Duramax Diesel's. Or if you do, just be ready to replace a bunch of suspension components. Pop's bought one brand new, and it's been in the shop 4 or 5 times with stuff wrong with it. A whole bunch of stuff has gone screwy with it (mainly suspension, but I know the A/C went once, and some other computer stuff). The thing is, it isn't even driven that hard. It pulls the odd cattle trailer, the 5th wheel camper, and augers and such.

mikey is spot on about the patch trucks. You'll find the odd good one, but most of them aren't in very good shape. They're leased for a year or two, then sent back...I wouldn't buy a truck that was in the patch I don't think.

One place that might be alright to look is the City of Calgary...I know the county back home put a lot of trucks and equipment up for tender whenever they'd get something new in. That might be worth a look.

Can't say Ive had the same dmax issues on my 07. I've got 90,000km on mine with no issues. Plus its been to the track a half dozen times and driven at 500+hp for 80,000km. Not bad for a truck running at 40% over stock hp. Tell your pops to stop babying a truck thats meant to be abused. Honestly its not good for a diesel to drive it gingerly.

[automaton 3]

A couple of comments in this tread to look in the US...I recently bought a new truck and looked extensively online in the US and some dealer's lots in Great Falls.. and in my case once the exchange and fees were added in, could not find anything that beat the rock-bottom price my local dealer was able to give me (the incentives were great, ended up getting about $13K off of list) plus the benefit of zero hassle.

Something to check into.

Also, after looking around and comparing I ended up buying a Silverado. It has been superb truck so far. The G-80 locker, autotrac, better fuel mileage, superior warranty and onstar/bluetooth were features that helped pull the Chevy ahead for me.

[T@T]

They might not be "sexy" anymore but for 30 grand you can get a 2-3 year old dodge 2500 with a cummings diesel. 1000 clics to a tank and pretty much maintenance free, throw a $300.00 chip in it and it's even better. I sold my 97 to a buddy and it's going strong with 810,000 km's on it.

Best truck/engine combo on the planet for the money IMO.

[TRIX]

if you could mate a 5.9LHO to an allison 6 speed on a chev platform...oh man!

[Titan]

I drive a Titan. It is ok. I have some issues with it but mostly minor things. The front dif went but it was under warranty. The tailgate sucks in the cold weather. the heating system is probably better for Georgia than Alberta. Things like that. I really like the ride and comfort. I had an F150 before and after riding in my buddies 09 I think I would go with Ford again. It depends what you want it for and I think it is easy to "over-buy". If you don't need a big rig for a specific reason you might find yourself with a big, gas guzzling beast you don't really need. Just IMO.