kristuphir
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Lake Elizabeth, CA
So. In addition to my regular daily driver (an '08 Mazda3 hatch), I have a '74 Ford F350 Supercab 2WD monster that I love, and my '87 Renix XJ that I...well, I guess I'm more ambivalent about it than I thought I'd be. I live out in the country, so I use the truck for runs to the hardware store, the dirt place, the nursery, and the garage sales. I've had it for a little over a year and the XJ for almost one...both approaching records for second and third cars around here (call me fickle).
In the fall my fiance will be going back to school 25 miles away. Normally we carpool everywhere, but that won't work all the time while I'm working and she's...schooling. She's small, and hates driving the truck (and parking it especially, and I can't say I blame her).
The pickup's gas mileage can be most accurately measured in feet per gallon, maybe yards per gallon on a good day. It gets driven 2-5 times a month. The Jeep will get in the low 20s, like most XJs. It probably gets driven even less, and off road even less than that (and way less than I imagined when I bought it).
I kind of wonder if, economic times and upcoming living situations being what they are, it wouldn't make more sense to do a little consolidating. I love the pickup, but I could sell it to a coworker for what I have into it, and be able to visit/borrow it whenever I want. Like I said, I'm neither here nor there on the Jeep. I'm kind of wondering if I should sell both, and use the cash to buy a cheap, somewhat older midsize 4WD extended cab pickup that can fulfill all three roles at least adequately, thereby reducing insurance, registration fees, and vehicles to buy parts for.
I've been doing some research, but there's so much out there. I could spend maybe 3 grand, thereabouts, which brings all kinds of stuff into reach. There are Toyotas from the 80s-early 90s. There are Rangers/Mazda Bs, and S10s. There are Comanches, of course, although I don't think they can be had with an extra cab. There are Nissan Hardbodies.
The problem with all of those is that I don't think they have the payload capacities to safely haul heavy stuff - they're mostly rated in the 1300-1600lb range. We have a pellet stove and we buy pellets by the ton - they come on a shipping pallet that way, and I'd need to take them home (20 miles) in the truck. The rig would also need to be able to handle a scoop of dirt or gravel, things like that.
If you factor in payload, I think the only thing that's really out there is a 92-96 Dodge Dakota. I would be looking for a V8 4x4 extended cab, most likely, but their V6 is supposed to be a great motor too. Both are reasonably efficient for what they are, at least double the mileage of my current truck and pretty close to what the XJ can pull. The V8 has a payload of 2600lb. I believe the 4x4s come with an NP231 and a D44 out back, which would suit me just dandy. But I wonder...do they suffer from Dread 1990s Mopar Auto Transmission Failure? I'm having trouble finding a comprehensive site for them like this one. Also, the trucks don't seem to be that common anymore, which makes me uncomfortable. But it's impossible to spend more than 4 grand on one. Any Dakota folks here?
All the other choices, though, are common as hell. For my price range I could buy 90s Rangers and S10s all day, in nice shape too. But would I be playing with fire with some of the heavier loads in those trucks?
Am I missing anything here? What would YOU do? Am I overthinking it and making my life more complicated than it needs to be (almost certainly)?
Some exceptions: I would not be seen in a '94+ S10, or a 2nd gen Dakota...ick. I'm typically a Ford guy but not for any particular reason, so I am being openminded about this.
So: medium duty hauling/occasional light towing/occasional moderate offroading/camping/reasonable 2nd vehicle/$3K = what?
In the fall my fiance will be going back to school 25 miles away. Normally we carpool everywhere, but that won't work all the time while I'm working and she's...schooling. She's small, and hates driving the truck (and parking it especially, and I can't say I blame her).
The pickup's gas mileage can be most accurately measured in feet per gallon, maybe yards per gallon on a good day. It gets driven 2-5 times a month. The Jeep will get in the low 20s, like most XJs. It probably gets driven even less, and off road even less than that (and way less than I imagined when I bought it).
I kind of wonder if, economic times and upcoming living situations being what they are, it wouldn't make more sense to do a little consolidating. I love the pickup, but I could sell it to a coworker for what I have into it, and be able to visit/borrow it whenever I want. Like I said, I'm neither here nor there on the Jeep. I'm kind of wondering if I should sell both, and use the cash to buy a cheap, somewhat older midsize 4WD extended cab pickup that can fulfill all three roles at least adequately, thereby reducing insurance, registration fees, and vehicles to buy parts for.
I've been doing some research, but there's so much out there. I could spend maybe 3 grand, thereabouts, which brings all kinds of stuff into reach. There are Toyotas from the 80s-early 90s. There are Rangers/Mazda Bs, and S10s. There are Comanches, of course, although I don't think they can be had with an extra cab. There are Nissan Hardbodies.
The problem with all of those is that I don't think they have the payload capacities to safely haul heavy stuff - they're mostly rated in the 1300-1600lb range. We have a pellet stove and we buy pellets by the ton - they come on a shipping pallet that way, and I'd need to take them home (20 miles) in the truck. The rig would also need to be able to handle a scoop of dirt or gravel, things like that.
If you factor in payload, I think the only thing that's really out there is a 92-96 Dodge Dakota. I would be looking for a V8 4x4 extended cab, most likely, but their V6 is supposed to be a great motor too. Both are reasonably efficient for what they are, at least double the mileage of my current truck and pretty close to what the XJ can pull. The V8 has a payload of 2600lb. I believe the 4x4s come with an NP231 and a D44 out back, which would suit me just dandy. But I wonder...do they suffer from Dread 1990s Mopar Auto Transmission Failure? I'm having trouble finding a comprehensive site for them like this one. Also, the trucks don't seem to be that common anymore, which makes me uncomfortable. But it's impossible to spend more than 4 grand on one. Any Dakota folks here?
All the other choices, though, are common as hell. For my price range I could buy 90s Rangers and S10s all day, in nice shape too. But would I be playing with fire with some of the heavier loads in those trucks?
Am I missing anything here? What would YOU do? Am I overthinking it and making my life more complicated than it needs to be (almost certainly)?
Some exceptions: I would not be seen in a '94+ S10, or a 2nd gen Dakota...ick. I'm typically a Ford guy but not for any particular reason, so I am being openminded about this.
So: medium duty hauling/occasional light towing/occasional moderate offroading/camping/reasonable 2nd vehicle/$3K = what?
) with answers to every question you could possibly have.
