Help buying a truck?
 

I currently have the 1995 escort in my garage here that gets decent mileage, but I"m getting married this summer and need tow capacity of up 2,000 lbs and room to haul stuff on a small scale. That particular escort is not an option for pulling more than itself down the raod as it only has 88hp which barely get it up to speed before getting run over.

That being said I'm looking for trucks that would get mid 20's if not 30's mpg's. So far I have found Chevy S10's to be closest to the mark. Amongst those, I would need dry transport space as I plan to use this to pull my boat. Would I be better off fuel mileage with an extended cab with open bed or soft cover versus a regular cab with a cap on the truck box?

Bottom line how much difference has been observed truck cap versus open box or suggest other kinda of trucks please.

Thanks

I'm a fan of the Tacoma 2WD trucks. I consistently get better than 25mpg... and I think it'll tow 2000 lbs. I've heard the Dodge Ram turbo diesel 2wd trucks get pretty good mileage too, with much better towing capacity.

The caps, from what I've read on here, make a ~5% difference in mileage vs an open bed w/ the tailgate up.

eco truck 2000 pounds, haha. sick joke.
if one existed, I'd make it a goal to have it.

the little s10 four cyl is a dud, you may hurt yourself with 500 pounds..better off with the escort at 88hp.

the 4.3 s15 could work, but crank is built lopsided, not a heavy hauler. 1 ton has its weight on the drivetrain.


you could go overseas and find an austrailian petrified turbo hilux, but that may get expensive. the rest of the toyotas are bent broke.

Hmmm.

there is a horse with a cart that could it...
subarus can too, just check the bodies first, must be in good shape or welded. in fact, that is the modern day marvel.

my dad has a tracker with 2 liter, just dump trips with trailer are taking a toll, much less than 2k pounds..and that is full bodied and framed.makes little Trucks seem even sillier...

a sensitive subject.

Um a cap won't move you to 30mpg.

Also given your requirements there are going to have to be some sacrifices.

In any event, actual labratory results are that my Dodge Ram V8 1500 goes from 14mpg to 18mpg using an aero cap.

Next are you planning on FABRICATING a vehicle, MODIFYING a vehicle or just buying one off a lot?

Because off the lot your S10 4 banger will have to be driven very gingerly to tow 2k often or likely transmission troubles. Both the T5 manual and GMs auto are rather crappy that they couple with 4 bangers.

That said my uncle drove a 92 Ford Ranger pulling loads a tractor should have pulled around his farms 70mph, much in excess of 2000lb, trouble is luck doesn't go to everyone.

Same story with a guy from our church who pulled a heavy old camping trailer 3500lbs with a Dodge carvan 190k without issues, again likely dumb luck.

So I guess what I am saying is are you willing to drive rather slow and light on the pedal for your s10 to survive or are you willing to pay potential repair bills to do it?

Also other possibilities exist if you are willing to do a little work.

The antique slow 6.2 diesels could deliver mid 20's in full size trucks and SUVs, I know because my suburban would get mid 20's. They can be reliable (i've put on 400k) but they are not powerfull. Despite that they are unlikely to fail pulling a 2k load around whereas a S10 may not like it after a while.

And there is at least one 30mpg 6.2 truck floating around on the dieselplace.com with a 5sp nv3500 manual.

If you are willing to install a 5sp manual transmission into an automatic 6.2 diesel you can net very good MPGs

A few things to remember, a 6.2 likes to drive slow, if you make it go fast it will die fast. Meaning turbos are generally not a good idea, they work but again if really used the motor will die. 6.2's are cheap and easy to fix, nuf said

So I guess the point of this post is

1. The trucks that get the best FE are rarely speed demons, the closest exception in the older Dodge Cummins but rather hard to get above 25 with those even under exceptional circumstances.

2. The gasoline trucks that get the best FE many times cannot reliably pull heavy loads reliably unless you drive more gingerly

So if you want to go fast pulling a trailer you either pony up for a Cummins which gets about the same FE pulling as not and normally not above 20 or you get your 8mpg and be happy with it.

If those don't sound good learn to live with slower driving and reap the rewards of your less powerfull platform.

Also an S10 with a 6.2 and proper suspension makes a great ecomodding setup, there are several who have done that swap sucessfully, except in your case don't jack the thing up, lower it down.

Cheers
Ryan

I'm lucky if my truck makes 88hp and it tows O.K. It's slow, but it has short gearing that makes towing tolerable.

What about a Jetta TDI wagon? The new ones can tow 2000 lbs. The older ones are fairly capable tow vehicles as well. And when you're not towing it's a 30+ mpg vehicle that's both kinda quick and fun to drive.

Also, look at a minivan. The Chevy Venture (even the 3400 V6 is a piece of trash engine and a maintenance nightmare) will get >30 mpg highway with quite a substantial load in it. For towing, get a transmission cooler, as the 4T65 is not meant to be run hot.

A '92 Ranger (2.3L, 5 speed) is rated to tow 1,580 pounds, so figure other small pickups to be in the same range.

However, if you can live without a bed, the Kia Optima is rated for 2,000 pounds, and pretty much all recent Subarus are rated 2,000 pounds or more.

Also, since it's not "cool" to tow with a car, manufacturers don't bother to test, rate or warranty their cars for towing, but there's no way that a Crown Vic should be rated for only 1,500 pounds (especially with the severe duty package, which includes a heavy duty transmission cooler.) Also, it appears that several Toyota models are rated to 1,500 pounds (including the Matrix and Corolla), and probably would handle 500 pounds more without an issue.

I can not recommend a truck. The aerodynamics are absolutely horrible, and trucks weigh way more than they have to, if the job is simply moving people and towing 2000lbs. If it's a vehicle that you're going to use for commuting 90% of the time, it would be a real shame to have a truck.

I'm with Clev and LeCouch: most small and midsized cars can tow 2000 lbs, whether they're rated to or not. Check out the tow ratings in Europe: Towing Capacity Alfa Romeo,. Admittedly, those might be for towing at 55mph, while an American tow rating might be @ 75mph up a 6% grade.

So, any small car with a stick shift will do fine. If it has to be an automatic, install a larger tranny cooler.

You've already been told pretty much all you need to know.


My ony question is, how much towing will you be doing with the truck? And will you commute in it?

Just FYI, the US-Spec Honda Civic is not rated for towing, yet the UK-Spec car, which actually has a smaller motor, is rated to tow a trailer of up to 1,100 pounds without trailer brakes, and up to 2,650 pounds with trailer brakes.

the problem may be that we have more lawyers per capita in the US

A VW diesel rabbit pickup is rated for towing 2000lbs and gets ~40+mpg, but if someone's actually towing/hauling 2000+lbs then I think a 4cyl pickup w/ a frame rated for ~3000lbs would be a better bet.

This is probably way out in left field, but you can get a '94-'96 Chevy Caprice sedan
with 5.7L engine and it will tow up to 5000 lbs. I have a '96 Caprice and recently averaged 28 mpg on a 1100-mile trip. I've also towed our 4000 lb camper with it (only gets 13 mpg when towing). The reason they get such good highway mileage is they're much more aerodynamic than a truck and they're geared very tall.

The standard gear ratio is 2.56 and the "tow package" gear is 2.93. You don't need the tow package to tow 2000 lbs, though. They're pretty cheap now too.

Have you weighed the boat/trailer combo? Don't rely on published figures; weigh it with full fuel and supplies to have an accurate number. Get the tongue weight as well (if above 350-lbs get yourself a REESE "Dual Cam" weight-distributing hitch) as a 1-T truck or smaller REQUIRES it. Even a landscape trailer with a heavy garden tractor can wind up with a fairly heavy tongue.

I prefer the second seat in a pickup, and a close-fitting "aero" cap with plastic bedliner, and longbed. Check tow ratings on manuals, sometimes they are weak.

Truthfully, if getting married is the consideration ("I think it will be handy to have a pickup because . . . .") versus, "I regularly/daily have to haul materials" (IRS business deductible miles) a truck may not be worth it.

A used AWD V6 minivan can be set up to haul good sized trailers. See articles by Andy Thomson (Can Am RV) in online issues of "Hitch Hints" to see how tow ratings can be better understood in re "different" tow vehicles.

Bottom line is simple: Buy used, keep it ten years or more, and plan for fuel costs to double. All miles must be affordable . . thus the occasional rental may be better (or paying a friend -- with todays prices -- $1.25/mile -- all miles -- for use of his truck; his ownership cost is likely .60 to .90 cpm whether or not he understands that) as utility must pay for itself.

Fuel economy is a small part of overall ownership costs. Depreciation, repairs, maintenance, insurance, etc, (fixed costs) are the killer. While fuel economy is the variable most amenable to owner control, it has little meaning if the vehicle is not suited to the job requirements.

The last time I read the owners manual of an S-10 truck it stated that it's payload was a quarter ton... 500 pounds in the bed, 100 pound tung weight 1,000 towing weight.
If I remember correctly my civic vx is rated at 1,000 pound trailer weight and I've had a 1,500 pound trailer behind it at 60mph without any issue, you might even check the specs on a TDI golf as they are a bit heavier then the civic so they have better brakes and would be more stable and the TDI golf should get 40-45mpg the rest of the time is often a 4 door hatch back with lots of room in the back for cargo.
So it really depends on what you need, what the rest of your hauling it going to be, if you haul alot of dirt then you might want a truck instead of a car, if you haul alot of fluff then get a car with a hitch, if you tow your boat once a year then rent a truck.

Sorry for taking so long to get back. After much deliberation amongst friends and family I have found and purchased a 1995 s10 with the high output v6 that gets 24-28 mpg and supposedly he got 30mpg on a trip last summer. It is stick shift and has the soft bed cover. My first tank while enjoying some power and having temps in the 30's-40's was 22mpg. I will feel more confident in my mpg figures once the speedo is working again, right now I'm going off of my gps. The weekend of the 19nth I'm taking a trip of 500 miles each way, and we will see what it can do on the open road with summer tires. Thanks again for all the replys. I must say this is one of the warmest responses I've had on any forum. Perhaps with time and more money this summer I could see incorporating some sort of aero-cap this summer; however, working and buying a house and getting it ready for winter will be top priority this summer.

If its the 4.3 it will haul OK and the nv3500 is decent for hauling but it will be rather challenging to get 30mpg.

Cheers
Ryan

I had a 97 s-10 with the 4.3 and an auto, it was an extended cab and the sportbox bed with a cover, around town I would get 22-24 and open highway I would get 28,, if I was pushing it hard,, like late for a meeting,, like very late, and this was back before I had a cell phone that worked well and pushed it to the fuel cutoff the mileage didnt drop as much as you would think.. down to 24 or so.. towed a 3500# 6x12 enclosed trailer loaded very well but got about 15mpg then.. Kinda wish I still had it..

Rather odd that my buick gets the same FE that you list. And the motor is smaller and the car is more aero.