Lighter pickups coming soon- but geez have they gotten fat!

[user removed]

The two I bought were strippers. Paid cash for them and sold them when the house was finished. Sold the house 3.5 years later for a 165k profit. No debt for 15 years.

My youngest brother (50) is a contractor and he drives a Tacoma with a stick. Always hauling a load of stuff and gets close to 25 MPG. Also debt free.

My oldest brother has a 1 ton 83 Toyota camper when the camper portion finally fell apart, we ripped it off and put a bed from an surplus Army trailer on the truck. Also welded on the rear half of the standard cab which had been cut off for the camper.
Running a stock engine and 5 speed, with a 1 ton dual wheel rear axle, he claims he gets close to 30 MPG, and has hauled 3000 pounds of lead (150,000 30 caliber cast bullets) in the trailer which I think is close to 5 feet wheel well to wheel well and something like 9 feet long.

People ask him all the time about the truck and where he got it.

Sure the manufacturers will make a truck to sell you if you want all the crap that working people don't need. If I was thinking about something in the 40k range (never) I would just get a Sprinter. Maybe one day a camper version if I decide to become a nomad for a year or two (doubtful with present wife).

regards
Mech

[slowmover]

Mech, I had less than $30k into a three year old diesel truck AND a '34 aerodynamic trailer when purchased. 15+ mpg at 63 mph on the flats. Had I slowed to my current 58-mph, I'd have broken 16 mpg. An early 2000's GM or Dodge diesel 2WD with stick is the key. (My current 90-day mpg average shown is all city miles). The better-built non-Airstream aluminum trailers (AVION, SILVER STREAK, STREAMLINE) are bargains . . and will last more than 30-years without major work. See also KamperBob's threads and info on his 5'er behind a small pickup, and on CASITA and similar trailers. The wife might not be interested, but you'll find plenty of good DIY reading if that's appealing.

Plenty of folks will be dumping these trailers in the next couple of years as fuel prices continue the inexorable rise, and, with the potential of smaller TD pickups (or DI turbo gas), the economy of this (both initial cost and long term) will be better than it has been for decades (1960's).

A pair of curves crossing in the night.

.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by The Rooster

Long ago, just like today, full size trucks out-sold small trucks. And just like long ago, compact trucks are built and sold today, however, the smallest of them sell the worse, aka Chevy Colorado, and the largest sell the best...aka Toyota Tacoma.

Except that those are not small trucks any more, if they ever were. Mid-size, at best. And if the Toyota sells the best these days, I expect that's because it's a Toyota.

And if "full sized" trucks outsold the small ones, where are they now? All gone to junkyards?

[aggie sig]

In Texas Trucks are still king. My dad and I both drove nissans (he is still driving his '00 frontier) but we've been in them since the early 80's. I went from a truck to a Jeep and learned how to be creative, I've hauled lumber, pea gravel and lots of other stuff, I can't go pick up a yard of topsoil for my garden anymore, but I've got friends with trucks and for a 6 pack or a meal they are usually happy to help. That being said, I would love to replace my civic with a hybrid el camino or better yet a high MPG 4wheel drive model like the old subaru baja.

[The Rooster]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Except that those are not small trucks any more, if they ever were. Mid-size, at best. And if the Toyota sells the best these days, I expect that's because it's a Toyota.

And if "full sized" trucks outsold the small ones, where are they now? All gone to junkyards?

The fact that small trucks have gotten bigger is my point. The manufacturers that have kept their trucks small have sold less and less of them. It's because people don't want them.

And the fact that full sized trucks have always outsold small ones is not even debateable. Anecdotal evidence of "I just don't see them on the road anymore" won't hold up against sales figures. The F-150 by itself has outsold all compact trucks combined for as far back as I can find.

And most trucks from 25 years ago, yes are in the boneyard. Only the most reliable, aka Toyotas, can manage to keep on the road.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by The Rooster

The fact that small trucks have gotten bigger is my point. The manufacturers that have kept their trucks small have sold less and less of them. It's because people don't want them.

And the fact that full sized trucks have always outsold small ones is not even debateable. Anecdotal evidence of "I just don't see them on the road anymore" won't hold up against sales figures. The F-150 by itself has outsold all compact trucks combined for as far back as I can find.

And most trucks from 25 years ago, yes are in the boneyard. Only the most reliable, aka Toyotas, can manage to keep on the road.

I have several 25yr old GM trucklike vehicles that were on the road up until a few months ago, one of the two will still be on the road shortly.

Main issue I had was not mechanics, it was rust.

[wdb]

Gosh, I'm disappointed. I waited and waited to click "last page" on this thread, to see the inevitable deterioration into political sniping. But you all are still talking about pickup trucks! Completely ruined my fun.

[Clev]

Originally Posted by wdb

Gosh, I'm disappointed. I waited and waited to click "last page" on this thread, to see the inevitable deterioration into political sniping. But you all are still talking about pickup trucks! Completely ruined my fun.

Spoken like a true Libertaripublicrat. ;-)

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by The Rooster

The fact that small trucks have gotten bigger is my point. The manufacturers that have kept their trucks small have sold less and less of them. It's because people don't want them.

There's a bit of chicken and egg going on here. People can't buy small pickups if the manufacturer chooses not to build them. Consider Toyota, which currently makes a mid-size pickup (Tacoma) and a large one (Tundra). The mid-size consistently outsells the large one:

In the first seven months of 2010, Tundra sales were about 54,000, and Tacoma's about 60,500. Toyota sees 2010 US pickup truck sales near 1.5 mln | Reuters

So people do buy the smaller truck. Couple that with the number of smaller '80s Toyotas still on the road, and I don't see how you can argue that there isn't a market for small trucks.

[UFO]

I park my '89 Toyota pickup on the street, as it's not my daily driver. I get people knocking on my door all the time wanting to know if I would sell it. No way, no how, you cannot get a nice small truck like that anymore. I keep it for the occasional bad weather and landscaping supply hauls. It gets high 20s mpg city and 30 on the highway. I'm keeping it.