[Aggressorblue]

So, as it’s looking increasingly likely my work will be highly remote post covid, I’m looking to trade our Subaru Forester for a truck. Remote work means that my daily commute isn’t a factor, so I’m thinking what constitutes a ‘half ton’ truck these days makes the most sense, vice the compromise of a midsize. It’ll primarily be used for typical suburban weekend warrior duties; supporting tractor ops (fetching mulch, gravel, dirt, etc), occasional firewood run, supporting wifes thrift store habbits (lots of great furniture finds over the years), light lumber hauling for project work, and hauling home my ever expanding collection of implements found online. Towing duties are non exisitent at the moment. My 1025R is the only ‘toy’ I have and have any near term intent to have. No boats or ATVs or campers. Even then, only immediate reason for the tractor to leave the property would be for dealer service, and at ~$200, I can pay the delivery fee several times over before getting to the cost of a trailer.

It does need to have 4 seats though; enough room for rear facing child seat if a front seat is pulled up a bit. The van will be the primary family-mobile, but the truck needs to be a backup in case she’s down for service or in emergencies.

Would like at least 6‘ of Bed. Would let me haul a 4x8 sheet with the bed down. Full blown 8’ with 4 seat cab is likely too long though. Anything that can’t be hauled with 8’ likely makes more sense to just have delivered.

4x4 is a need-to-have, V8 is a want-to-have.

For budget, I’m thinking ~$25k. Can stretch to $30 for the right vehicle. Not “new truck“ spend levels, but not “rusted farm truck’ either. Thinking I can snag a decent mid milage (sub 100k) low luxury half ton ready for it’s second chapter in life.

US News shows Ram as leading the used truck pack, followed by GMC, and incedently those are the two brands I tend to gravitate towards.

https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/rankings/used/full-size-trucks-1

Open to general thoughts from the group though, and any and all brands welcome. Also any tips on “watch out for X year and Y brand as Z tends to be a weak point there”



As additional background, I previously leased a ‘16 Tacoma as my first foray into trucking. At the time I was doing weekend wheeling (mainly light weight fire roads to get to my RC based wheeling), but didn’t own land or a tractor. I also had time on the weekend for such things. Fast forward ~4 years, and that Taco has been turned into a Minivan, used to tow the toddler that has come along in the mean time. The Forestor was my wifes car of choice to daily, but when truck became minivan I inherited the Subi. The sacrifices we make for our family...

I leased the Taco as I wasn’t sure a truck was right for me. I’m a data analyst by trade, and was coming from daily driving a VW GTI. I figured it would be a way to have a lower risk ‘learning experience’ on truck ownership, and it was!
I learned a few things:
-Trucks are good! I like Trucks. I was afraid after the ‘new truck smell’ wore off I’d be pining for my sporty GTI back, and while there are times (eg. onramping to a highway) that I missed the GTIs pep, I had just as many moments I whispered out loud to no one “I love having a truck) (eg. taco laughing it’s way over a pot hole that would decimate a wheel on the GTI, or the sound of a tailgate opening signifying “it’s the weekend!”)

-Even before I owned land I found that there was about once a month that having the truck bed came in handy.

-3rd gen Tacomas are bad. Their engine is bad; they use an otto cycle V6 that is asleep below 3k RPM, and the all the sudden wakes up and surges forward above that. Add to this a transmission that’s in business for itself, and workmanship that saw the gas pedal annoyingly vibrating in the low powerband, on top of poor cabin ergonomics, and you have a vehicle that feels like what it is: Toyota rushing to catch up with a suddenly-reawakened mid-size truck segment with a half baked update to a dated platform.

-

 

[dodgeman]

Pretty tough to beat an F150 in my opinion. Looks like your from NJ where salt is probably used a lot. The big advantage of a 2015 F150 or newer is aluminum body. I own a 2017 F150, 4x4 supercab, 5.0 V8 6.5 foot bed. You would probably want the crew cab. The super cab has the smaller back seat and the smaller suicide doors in back, I think mine was roughly 37k out the door brand new. The crew cab has a huge back seat but normally a 5.5 foot bed. They can be had with a 6.5 foot bed but pretty rare. Chevy and Ram both make nice trucks too. 30k should get you a nice one.

 

[Nick 55]

I would say you can buy a lot of late model truck for $25-30k. You will have to search for a crew cab 6.5’ bed though. I spent a long time looking for my ‘15 F150 platinum with 4x4 and that configuration. I don’t know what you define as luxury, but I would say you can find a good Lariat with reasonable miles for what you are looking for. I like mine, payload is a bit low at just under 1600lbs but it works and it tows my tractor on a trailer just fine with my family.

 

[Aggressorblue]

Thanks guys! And it's very telling to get a nod to the Blue oval from someone with the handle of @dodgeman

I am a bit nervous about the bi-turbo V6 ford uses; two turbos to maintain seems a bit more maintenance heavy down the line than a V8. Very solid note on the AU body panels though.

I will say, the Bowtie is growing on me though... Loving this color and overall look with the color matched grille.

 

[coaltrain]

If you still want some of the feel of the pep from your GTI get an F150 Ecoboost. Either variation is a blast to drive on a highway ramp or overtaking someone.

The rest of the time it behaves exactly as a truck should.

 

[Aggressorblue]

Also, doing some googling seems to show that, while not ideal, the super crew can indeed haul larval humans in their rear-facing their auto-pods. Not ideal for the passenger, but Lowes/HD are all of 10 min from the house, so not a long term issue. If we're road-tripping, we're using the minivan anyway. Plus, the suicide doors likely make loading/unloading said child pod easier. Wife and I deffintly want to go see one in person and bring a car seat to be sure. I plan to test drive one from each of the 4 over the coming weeks/months as well, but again, never hurts to get the opinions of those who have lived with these trucks, and if the SCUT "what did you do with your tractor" thread is any indication, use them for the same purposes I would.

 

[ejb69]

just wait a bit. As gas prices rise I suspect many that don’t need trucks will be looking to trade for something more fuel efficient.

 

[dodgeman]

If you aren’t going on long trips a supercab will work for you. We are empty nesters so the longer bed was what I wanted. Crew cabs are actually more common. If payload is important, stick with an XLT. If not whatever looks good to you.

I’m mostly retired but we had Dodges and now Chevys at work, they are all decent trucks.

Maybe Dodgeman is because I’m from Dodge City Kansas?? Not really, I used to be a Mopar or no car kind of guy but not any more. We still own a Challenger and a 300c to keep us in the Mopar camp.

 

[Aggressorblue]

just wait a bit. As gas prices rise I suspect many that don’t need trucks will be looking to trade for something more fuel efficient.

Possibly, but the other trend that could run keep running counter is how ridiculously expensive new trucks keep getting. Even base models are going for mid 30s/low 40s these days. Most of the new truck inventory in my area seems to be in the 50s/60s. Even with the deep discounts the big 3 are known for on full size trucks, that's still pretty crazy. Plus, as we come out of covid, more folks who need trucks will start buying again. To me this means it's the folks with those mega expensive luxury SUVs with truck beds attached will be the ones ditching their gas guzzling mall-mobiles for a tesla. That dumps some nice trucks on the market, but ones still not within the realm of what I want to buy. Said another way, the market will swing to 60k trucks becoming lightly used 40k trucks, but 40 still sits north of my budget.

I will say I'm in no 'rush' though. I can wait for the right package to drift in front of me.

 

[MattL]

Drive all three (Ford Chevy, ram) They will all treat you well at this point. I'm partial to the F150, and have owned three 3.5 EB TTs. Never had a problem with the motors/turbos.

Get what is most comfy to drive for you!

 

[Aggressorblue]

Now idlely thinking about shifting the other way, going down market and trying to find something that is in beater territory, but still outside of "Project" land. hmmm..

Pretty clean looking for a 15 year old F150. And sub 100k isn't bad at that age either.

if the KBB trade value on our Subi is to be believed, would be a near wash to trade for that.

 

[Nick 55]

Also, doing some googling seems to show that, while not ideal, the super crew can indeed haul larval humans in their rear-facing their auto-pods. Not ideal for the passenger, but Lowes/HD are all of 10 min from the house, so not a long term issue. If we're road-tripping, we're using the minivan anyway. Plus, the suicide doors likely make loading/unloading said child pod easier. Wife and I deffintly want to go see one in person and bring a car seat to be sure. I plan to test drive one from each of the 4 over the coming weeks/months as well, but again, never hurts to get the opinions of those who have lived with these trucks, and if the SCUT "what did you do with your tractor" thread is any indication, use them for the same purposes I would.

That’s not even a Super Crew (SC) for short. That’s an extended cab. You will have far better luck finding a crew and the seats will fit better. We use my truck for road trips because it rides so smooth compared to my wife’s Mercedes GL63 for long trips. This is a super crew that I looked at before buying mine and the front seat is set to where someone 5’9” would sit. Kid is 5 in that picture for reference and that is a very large Britax seat we used to have.

Also, I was a tech for many years, you couldn’t pay me to own a Triton V8. My personal preference. Also, you can find trucks like you just showed that look nice on top but are rusted out underneath. I keep my vehicles for about 10 years so I tend to spend a bit more in the beginning and I focused on the 15+ Ford’s for the aluminum body and picked a Platinum because they depreciated a bit more than the Lariat but had the features I wanted (heated leather, power running boards, and the 360 degree cameras). You can get that in a Lariat but they were harder to find. Hit me up if you are in market for a 15+ as I did a lot of research for about 2 years deciding on a truck before starting to look at specific trucks to buy.

 

[Aggressorblue]

Another 'beater'; tough to find the super crew/8' bed combo:

Normally grainy photos and don't net a second glance from me, but this one in particular caught my attention, as it's 3 min from my parents house, and more importantly another 5 min from our trusted long time family independent mechanic. If I trust anyone to give me a fair shakedown of what condition she's in, it's him.


Hmmm....

 

[Aggressorblue]

Just to be clear then, in ford speak, "Super Cab" = extended cab, IE Suicide doors and smaller back seat, and Super Crew = 4 regular doors? If so, I still lean towards the supercab, and that's what I meant to say instead of 'super crew' in my post with regards to the child seat.

That’s not even a Super Crew (SC) for short. That’s an extended cab. You will have far better luck finding a crew and the seats will fit better. We use my truck for road trips because it rides so smooth compared to my wife’s Mercedes GL63 for long trips. This is a super crew that I looked at before buying mine and the front seat is set to where someone 5’9” would sit. Kid is 5 in that picture for reference.

 

[coaltrain]

Plus, the suicide doors likely make loading/unloading said child pod easier.

Do yourself a favor. When looking at a super cab (with suicide doors) make sure you park close to the next vehicle in the lot - just like you were in a parking space at the grocery store. I don't have any young kids but just loading groceries with those doors was a huge pain. Couldn't wait to get rid of that and get into a crew cab.

Another 'beater'; tough to find the super crew/8' bed combo:

Normally grainy photos and don't net a second glance from me, but this one in particular caught my attention, as it's 3 min from my parents house, and more importantly another 5 min from our trusted long time family independent mechanic. If I trust anyone to give me a fair shakedown of what condition she's in, it's him.


Hmmm....

View attachment 776118

That sure looks like a 2WD truck. I didn't read your original post thoroughly enough to remember if 4WD is something you want.

 

[DaubsNU1]

I've owned two Silverado 1/2 ton's, both were extended cabs. They worked okay when my kids were in car-seats, and even better when they were in booster seats. +

Jumped up to 3/4 ton crew cab in 2004, had rear seat DVD...kids really LOVED that. Added room of the crew cab is essential now! Drove that truck for 16 years...sold it and got a 3/4 ton diesel / Duramax crew cab in Fall 2019. I pull ATV trailer, boat, and haul lots of stuff. Could I have done it with a 1/2 ton...sure...but I'd rather have it and not need it, vs. need it and not have it : )

About a month ago the wife started looking at her retirement...and figured she could retire at the same time as me (She's 6 years younger). So now she's on a kick to get a 5th wheel RV.

So now I'm glad I opted for the 2500HD / Duramax.

What ever you do, make sure it's a true four-door-crew-cab pickup. You won't be disappointed. A few buddies are Ram/Dodge guys, and a few are Ford guys. We rib each other non-stop...but in all honesty, all are good trucks. Even Toyota builds a good full sized truck. Look around, drive them all...and see what kind of a deal you can get.

And be sure to return to this post and tell us what you got! Good luck!

Pic of my current rig...

 

[Aggressorblue]

Actually, the more I think

Do yourself a favor. When looking at a super cab (with suicide doors) make sure you park close to the next vehicle in the lot - just like you were in a parking space at the grocery store. I don't have any young kids but just loading groceries with those doors was a huge pain. Couldn't wait to get rid of that and get into a crew cab.



That sure looks like a 2WD truck. I didn't read your original post thoroughly enough to remember if 4WD is something you want.

Sage advice regarding the extended cab! Hadn't even thought of that! Also, the Ad says "AWD" , but yeah, the roll down windows (indicating stripper work truck) and squatted front stance do point to a 2x4 drive train...

In any event, more I thought on it, not quite sure 'beater' market is looking that hot. $10k is a lot even for that first F150 with 100k miles and 15 years of age. My subaru is 10 years younger with ~40k miles and some decent options (eg. auto cruise control), and it's roughly the same by KBB standards. That's an apple to an orange comparison, sure, but the subaru cost low 30s new, and I'm betting inflation adjusted, that truck was only a few k north of that in it's day. More I browsed the low end of the market, it's clear the cheap trucks aren't any more. It seems the market is truck hungry, and the gap has been filled more in the past 5 years, so things seem to normalize more in that age range.

 

[Aggressorblue]

I've owned two Silverado 1/2 ton's, both were extended cabs. They worked okay when my kids were in car-seats, and even better when they were in booster seats. +

Jumped up to 3/4 ton crew cab in 2004, had rear seat DVD...kids really LOVED that. Added room of the crew cab is essential now! Drove that truck for 16 years...sold it and got a 3/4 ton diesel / Duramax crew cab in Fall 2019. I pull ATV trailer, boat, and haul lots of stuff. Could I have done it with a 1/2 ton...sure...but I'd rather have it and not need it, vs. need it and not have it : )

About a month ago the wife started looking at her retirement...and figured she could retire at the same time as me (She's 6 years younger). So now she's on a kick to get a 5th wheel RV.

So now I'm glad I opted for the 2500HD / Duramax.

What ever you do, make sure it's a true four-door-crew-cab pickup. You won't be disappointed. A few buddies are Ram/Dodge guys, and a few are Ford guys. We rib each other non-stop...but in all honesty, all are good trucks. Even Toyota builds a good full sized truck. Look around, drive them all...and see what kind of a deal you can get.

And be sure to return to this post and tell us what you got! Good luck!

Pic of my current rig...

Appreciate the advice! Between you, @Nick 55 and @coaltrain , Message received loud and clear on full blown crew cab. In my head, I figured full size truck extend cab = crew cab on my midsized tacoma, which did ok.

I still want to check out the extended cabs, to be sure though. I figure if down the line kids are older and we're moving out of Van mode, that would be the time to jointly trade Van and truck in question for a newer crew-cab. But if extended cab isn't going to work in the short term, I might sacrifice bed length in the end, and then if I need more room go with a trailer for those occasions. Not ideal, but workable. Plus, sure, maybe at that point toys are in the mix, but I see major life changes like that pushing for a new truck all together.

Oh trust me, there are gonna be pictures, lol!

 

[sennister]

We have been long time GM owners. There hasn't been anyone in my immediate family on either side that has owned other than GM. I catch ribbing at family events but we traded in our Yukon Denali and Subaru WRX on a 2018 F150 Platinum. I got tired of GM trucks rusting out the fenders so I was intrigued by the aluminum body on the F150. I get the concern on the turbos and our use is a bit different but while the 6.2 V8 was nice in our Yukon, I noticed pulling out camper it was screaming going up hills. Sure more HP but torque is pretty close. I then swapped vehicles with a coworker once for a camping trip. He was going to borrow our camper the following week and this gave us a chance to get the hitch all set up for him. His was a 2015 F150 Platinum and I was shocked in the hills how it was so much more powerful towing. Even the kids had more room between their seats and the front seats compared to the Yukon. My wife was hesitant about loosing the 3rd row as she was going to step down to a CR-V in this deal but it hasn't been an issue at all. Heck the 0-60 times on the F150 with the 2nd gen 3.5 which is a bit more powerful than the 2016 and older isn't very far off from my WRX.

So we have left GM and really don't miss it. At least around here GM is fine if you are only going to keep them for a few years and trade them off. If you plan on running them longer term, I would plan on them rusting out. Just look around at trucks on the road in your area. There is a reason fender flares are popular on them as they age. It is to cover up the rusted out fenders.

I also have the 6.5 foot bed on my F150. If you go SuperCrew in a F150 your only options are 5.5 or 6.5 beds. The 6.5 bed isn't very common. It wasn't something I had on my list really it just happened to have one. A lot of people don't like them because if you live in suburbia, odds are it won't fit in your garage and be able to walk around it. We just built a new garage that I built knowing at some point we might step up to a 1 ton so it is 30' deep.

We just did a road trip from MN to FL and back a few months ago and it was a great ride.

Sure there was some concern over repairs on a more complex engine. The place we ended up buying it from included a 10 year 150K mile powertrain warranty which we upgraded to bumper to bumper. The higher the trim levels the more there is to fail. One of the common things on trucks that have them is the power running boards. If I have one board fail it will cover the cost of the extended bumper to bumper warranty and because they were standard (not optional) on the F150 Platinum they are covered.

The way things sound my commuting days are likely going to be slim to none going forward long term. Even if they don't this is more of a winter vehicle for me and I often commute on my motorcycle 9 months a year.

One thing someone mentioned was wait for gas prices to shoot up which they will. Then find someone offloading one. It will be interesting on that though because a lot of people are in the same boat with less commuting so it might not be as big of an impact. That said, prices are pretty inflated right now. I have read of people looking for used trucks. I bought mine right when the dealers opened I think in April. They were kind of hurting for sales because they had been forced closed for close to two months. We jumped in the market at perfect time and picked up our truck with 30K miles for $40K. There are people looking at similar age/mile/trim level trucks that are a lot closer to $50K right now. So it might be good to just let things settle down a bit and see if the prices drop down a bit. Used vehicle supply is just a bit strained right now. Between new vehicle production interruptions to low inventory, prices are high. Granted it might mean you will get a bit more for trade but it is hard to say.

 

[Tlyons83]

Have you looked at a GMC Canyon yet? I had a 19 Denali crew cab long box with the duramax 2.8, the truck was rated to tow 7,700 pounds, although a bit pokey off the line. This truck has tons of torque, and I could easily get 35mpg on the highway. My wife had a crew cab short box V6 version, the engine drive trail combination rips, I’d say better than my F150 work truck with the 2.7. Go do some test drives, and pick what you like. Cheers