Used Pickup Recommendations

[Underdog 1,593]

I am looking for a used pickup with an extended cab that can tow a small trailer, maybe about 3500 lbs.   I might consider an SUV with towing capabilities.  This will be a secondary vehicle and used on the weekends, etc.  Would be OK with 6 cylinder if it is good enough to tow with.  My budget is probably under $6000 for this "recreational", utility vehicle.  Might consider something a little nicer.  I was thinking an F150.  Any thoughts, recommendations?  Need to put 2 kids and a golden in the extended cab if it is a pickup.

[Kevin125 4,772]

Some thoughts on older pickups.

 

I've seen a lot of rusted out older Dodge pickups that seemed too new to be rusted so badly.  So they wouldn't be on my list.

 

I've owned a couple of Ford Explorers. '02 and '04.  The '02 was a transmission disaster.  '04 is said to have the same problem, but I made it to 250K without a trans issue.  Had other issues though. If it had a 2" receiver, I'm pretty sure you could tow 3500 lbs.  '05 to '08 should be in your price range.  Most have ton of extras plus a 3rd row seat.  They require a thorough inspection.  I've had to replace a throttle/accel assembly. $1200 for the part. Plus a few other smaller items over the years for typical stuff you'd expect on a vehicle with 250K miles.  I wouldn't recommend buying something with 250K miles though.  You can probably find one with 100K or so and a few years newer than mine for your target price. Some of these are V6..  Many are V8.  Mileage for the V8 averages 16 local.  20 highway.

 

You'll probably have a lot to choose from if you look for a Ford F-150.  So many out there.  I was shopping for a new one a year ago and saw so many basic F-150s. My feeling is some of these that aren't too old might be bought for a good price.  If you want some extras, you might have to go with something a few years older.

 

That's all I got for ya.  Good luck.

[JayWilling 33]

I picked up a 2008 Chevy Silverado basic model about 3-1/2 years ago and it has been fine. It was low mileage though and I paid 16K-  still a good price though.  I tow a 10 by 6' trailer with it...probably close to 3500 lbs but not sure.

[Malsua 1,422]

The only problem I see for you is that ANY car that costs less than $6k these days is either a mechanical problem on wheels or has at least 150k miles on it.    150k miles isn't so bad if it's been in Florida, but up here, that's a lot of salt.

 

I was going to suggest a 4th Gen Toyota 4Runner.    They have 5k towing and extra seats.   It won't kill you on repairs and will go 250k miles with basic maintenance.   3rd Gen(2001 and earlier) had severe rust problems as well as some up to '04.  2005 and later shouldn't have any issues.

[W2MC 1,699]

Some thoughts on older pickups.

 

I've seen a lot of rusted out older Dodge pickups that seemed too new to be rusted so badly.  So they wouldn't be on my list.

 

 

You'll probably have a lot to choose from if you look for a Ford F-150.  So many out there.  I was shopping for a new one a year ago and saw so many basic F-150s. My feeling is some of these that aren't too old might be bought for a good price.  If you want some extras, you might have to go with something a few years older.

 

That's all I got for ya.  Good luck.

Concur with the Dodge/Ram .... I had two 2004 Durango's - both were RUSTBUCKETS!  Also beware of the 5.7 hemi - they have 'issues'

 

In recent memory, I have had a 95 ford E150/Club Wagon and now a 99 ford F250 extended cab.  Both, while they had issues, ran and ran and ran-well over 200k on the van, and currently 109k on the F250.  Best mileage down the road on the van (with a 302 v8) was about 15-17 - the F250 (with the 5.4) is 13-15 (i.e 13 around town, 15 on the highway).  The van towed pretty good, but not as good as the F250.  I pull a horse trailer (7000 lb gvw) and pulled two cars on trailers back from South Carolina...the F250 dropped to 10 mpg, but did not really care about the weight.  The van also dropped to 10 mpg, but you did know the weight was back there.

 

Major work (so far) with the f250 has been ball joints (ford truck ball joints suck....expect to have to change 'em every 100k miles) and the ^(%^ driveshaft has a CV joint on the front, rather than a universal joint.  Had to send the whole driveshaft out to rebuild the CV - about $450 or so, rather than a $20 universal joint.

 

Major work with the E150 was a little trans slippage that a fluid flush fixed (an E4OD - the flush brought it right back, but gave me a $$$ scare), above mentioned ball joints, shock absorber lower mounts (the things are swadged-on, and have a nasty habit of breaking) and the oil pump quit at about 150k miles (with a horse on the trailer....had to drive it...but......the thing lived another 50k miles with just a new pump!)

 

Oh, and when the speedo goes bananas and you think something is really wrong with the gauges...its the sensor on the rear differential...20 minutes and $20 to fix.

 

Chevys are also a good choice...but i haven't had one recently.

 

My neighbor pulls his boat (pretty good sized one) with a ford explorer.  those are everywhere, and seem to run pretty good.

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot 358]

Watch out for the '04-'05 F-150's with 5.4L V-8 Triton engines that will show up in your price range. The cam phaser issues will give you grief.

[DeerSlayer 241]

Watch out for the '04-'05 F-150's with 5.4L V-8 Triton engines that will show up in your price range. The cam phaser issues will give you grief.

Even more fun than that is when the spark plugs break off in the head. Or going back a couple more years to 02 or older on the triton engines the plugs blow out of the heads with the threads, and a coil pack ejects into the hood.

[DeerSlayer 241]

My 05 ram got the rusty bed wheel well. I replaced the entire bedside. Now the passenger side is starting to do the same thing. I'll probably be replacing that side as well. But it's still better than a Ford or Chevy in my opinion. It's really been a great truck. Don't buy a hemi before 05 the first couple years had top end issues. Mine just turned 100k and other than a water pump, an EGR valve, and one 02 sensor it's been solid over the decade I've owned it.

[302w 83]

The only problem I see for you is that ANY car that costs less than $6k these days is either a mechanical problem on wheels or has at least 150k miles on it. 150k miles isn't so bad if it's been in Florida, but up here, that's a lot of salt.

 

I was going to suggest a 4th Gen Toyota 4Runner. They have 5k towing and extra seats. It won't kill you on repairs and will go 250k miles with basic maintenance. 3rd Gen(2001 and earlier) had severe rust problems as well as some up to '04. 2005 and later shouldn't have any issues.

You would be surprised. I consider the second generation explorers to be a steal. I paid 2300 for one with 83k.

[Malsua 1,422]

My 05 ram got the rusty bed wheel well. I replaced the entire bedside. Now the passenger side is starting to do the same thing. I'll probably be replacing that side as well. But it's still better than a Ford or Chevy in my opinion. It's really been a great truck. Don't buy a hemi before 05 the first couple years had top end issues. Mine just turned 100k and other than a water pump, an EGR valve, and one 02 sensor it's been solid over the decade I've owned it.

 

My '04 Ram looks beautiful on the top, but underneath it's pretty rusty.   I just did a brake job.  4 calipers, 4 rotors, pads, all 4 rubber brake lines plus the rubber line to the rear axle, main brake line from front to back, lines from the MC to the anti-lock module and the line across the rear axle.   The one rear caliper was rusted solid.  I literally was beating it with a 2lb and huge punch to get it off the bracket it had rust welded itself to.    I also had to use a giant gear puller, heat, pb blaster and a hammer to beat the rotors off.  It took about an hour a wheel just to disassemble.   It was a rusted mess.   Of course then the throttle flakes out..ugh.

[Krdshrk 3,877]

I was going to suggest a 4th Gen Toyota 4Runner.    They have 5k towing and extra seats.   It won't kill you on repairs and will go 250k miles with basic maintenance.   3rd Gen(2001 and earlier) had severe rust problems as well as some up to '04.  2005 and later shouldn't have any issues.

 

My mom has an '04 4Runner.  They replaced the whole frame under warranty as it rusted through (body is solid).  Doesn't even have 100K miles on it yet (for daily driving around town).  This is in Vermont too so lots of salt.  They also replaced her whole dashboard - it's almost like a new car... 

[DeerSlayer 241]

My '04 Ram looks beautiful on the top, but underneath it's pretty rusty. I just did a brake job. 4 calipers, 4 rotors, pads, all 4 rubber brake lines plus the rubber line to the rear axle, main brake line from front to back, lines from the MC to the anti-lock module and the line across the rear axle. The one rear caliper was rusted solid. I literally was beating it with a 2lb and huge punch to get it off the bracket it had rust welded itself to. I also had to use a giant gear puller, heat, pb blaster and a hammer to beat the rotors off. It took about an hour a wheel just to disassemble. It was a rusted mess. Of course then the throttle flakes out..ugh.

I painted all my calipers when I bought the truck. Always lubed the slide pins and stuff. Anti seize on all my cross drilled and slotted rotor mounting surfaces. And replace one front brake hose during a brake job once.

 

When I had the bed off the frame I used a needle scaler on the entire back side of the frame. Then painted everything with Por15 chassis black. I did the underside of the bed with Por15 gray. And threw on a set of bilstine 5100's while they were easy to get to. Looks like factory under there again.

[Malsua 1,422]

I painted all my calipers when I bought the truck. Always lubed the slide pins and stuff. Anti seize on all my cross drilled and slotted rotor mounting surfaces. And replace one front brake hose during a brake job once.

 

When I had the bed off the frame I used a needle scaler on the entire back side of the frame. Then painted everything with Por15 chassis black. I did the underside of the bed with Por15 gray. And threw on a set of bilstine 5100's while they were easy to get to. Looks like factory under there again.

 

I'm going to do some Por15 for the oil and tranny pans as well as whatever I can get a brush on, I just need some time this summer.   That stuff works great.

 

I am the 2nd owner on this truck and it sits a lot.   I painted the new calipers that I installed, but the old one were beyond repair.      The salt up here is brutal and it probably doesn't help that I push snow with it.

[DeerSlayer 241]

Por15 makes the chassis black in a rattle can, I just bought some for my wrangler. Going to try it, seems less messy than the brush and can.

[1LtCAP 4,262]

ford first. don't buy anything under a 250. avoid the diesel like the plague.

chevy second. don't buy anything under a 2500. their diesel seems ok.

toyota third. i don't know how they rate theirs.....

 

 

 i would stick with a v8 for sure. won't be much difference in mileage between the two, and the v8 will always have more torque than a v6.

[Kevin125 4,772]

I can tell you I like my Tundra.  But it's a 2015.  I'm not sure how the older models are.  Seen a couple of rusted Tundra's.  Older body style.  Maybe 6 yrs old?

 

Also, the Tundra's are equiv to F-150's capacity wise. So if you want a 250 like truck.. pick something besides a Toyota. 

 

Maybe some car guys like 1LtCap can confirm this, but with a V8 you may end up with a better trans than with a V6.  If that's the case, maybe a V8 is better for towing.

[W2MC 1,699]

Just seen on the 'new Jersey Hunter" page - a 98 Explorer, a little over 100k miles, asking $1800

 

http://www.newjerseyhunter.com/forums/130-classifieds-non-hunting-fishing/200171-hunting-truck-sale.html

[EWC88 24]

Sorry to post something not dealing with what OP is asking, but DEERSLAYER please post your review on the aerosol of POR15. I need to do my truck and that would help in a lot of areas!

 

 

I also on a Dodge Ram, only body part that was harmed by rust was rocker panel and that was just replaced. Otherwise she has 128k on her and riding strong!

[410guy 5]

I had an F150 with the 4.2 V6. Had for about 6 years and it proved to be a good motor and very depenable truck. Did not burn a drop of oil between oil changes, even at 150k miles when i sold it. It was a nice truck and I still kick myself for getting rid of it. Although it was a 6 cylinder, it was a gas hog regardless and didn't really have any fuel economy advantage over the V8 models. If you do get a 4.2 model, avoid the 97-98 model years as they were known to have gasket problems.

 

Also, The Ford 4.6 V8 is generally regarded as a pretty bulletproof motor. All the trucks at my old job were Ford's with the 4.6 V8. Many had over 200k miles and were still running strong.

 

I don't have experience with the 5.4 V8, so can't really comment on those models.