Thanks guys. good to hear it isn't unreasonable... and what do you mean we don't have cities? we have 16 of them, two are even larger than 40,000 people
Yup old vehicles are definitely a risk and need to be thoroughly looked over. one advantage though is once it becomes a 25 year old bucket of rust it will only cost $100 a year to licence and insure in Saskatchewan
My budget is about $12,000 so that leaves a fair amount of room for fixing minor things. I am not to worried about the body as I can chop and cover the front fenders and will be replacing the bed but the frame needs to be solid.
I am hoping to build this up into a offroad capable camping tourer with a flip-top camper on the back, or with a aerolid for general and winter duties. I wouldn't go overboard on either off-road or eco mods but would focus mostly on the camping tourer setup.
I might also get a firefly/metro for everyday use or possibly a small cheap motorcycle to puts around on as I realize I don't always need a truck, but they are sure nice to have when you do.