Help me decided on a truck for the family and farm

And anyone who knows anything about diesel pickups sees exactly what the problem is in BOTH cases.

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~*~Erin~*~
SAHM, ranch wife, sub and quilt shop proprietress
the Back Gate Country Quilt Shop

like our Ford F150, bought it used and haven't had to put any repairs in it in the years we have had it..it is too tall for me though, i can get into the passenger side but not the drivers side (hip replacment)..guys were supposed to put in some steps for me but in all these years they still remain un purchased and un installed..

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Brenda Groth
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/

I second the opinion for an old Suburban. You can get them pretty cheap and with a gas 350 (5.7) cheapest engine to fix, good and strong and have been around forever. Trannies are good and strong too, and cheap to fix.

It is nice to be able to go and get feed when it is raining and not worry about it getting wet. Also a third row of seats will be really handy later when the kids want to have friends over to visit and you have you, your spouse your three kids and each one has a friend and there is still room for 8 bags of feed in the back.

I would avoid Dodge, a friend has a newer Dodge 1500 quad cab truck and he has had a lot of issues as it gets older that show it was designed as a city truck, built to last about 5 years and be traded in on another new one. Just not built heavy enough for sustained use as a farm truck.

Just my $0.02

Mike

Yep, used surbabns are fairly inexpensive. Get a 3/4 ton . Something with a towing package would be good too.

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We will meet in the golden city, called the New Jerusalem,
All our pain and all our tears will be no more.....

You have a mini van, I'm talking about a full size van. You can find vans all the way up to HD 1 ton models and Suburbans in 3/4 ton. Mini vans are not made to tow much if anything.

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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost

Id suggest either a full size 1 ton Diesel Van or a Station wagon perhaps a Mercedes Diesel?
In either case you can keep seating up front for 5 and have literally a TON of capacity let and still pull a trailer if you need.
Should be able to get a good one WAY under budget.

We use an Ford E-250 super extended body cargo van. This provides driver and passenger in cab. Seating for a crew of four behind them. A chest freezer behind that. Then the back of the van is fenced off with utility/cattle panel, fiberglass and plywood to be our animal transport space for hauling live pigs down to the butcher each week. The back space is also able to be used to pick up supplies. This works very well for us. I like it that everything is kept inside the shell of the vehicle and not exposed to high winds in our cold climate. With the spacious back area filled with hay bedding we can set it up so the animals can self-preload the previous night such that they're already to go at 4am when we hit the highway.

Suggested:
1. Snow tires studded - have
2. Heavy duty springs - have
3. Get an E-350 next time instead of E-250
4. Fiberglass the stock cage all the way up to make cleaning easier.
5. Undercoat

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/csa

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SugarMtnFarm.com -- Pastured Pigs, Poultry, Sheep, Dogs and Kids

Sorry for getting your name wrong, I don't know why I put Highlander.

Have you looked into coating the inside of your van with pickup bed liner? I'd say a do it yourself kit from U-Pol or Al's would do a real good job and make it so you could hose it out.

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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost

That sounds like one versatile rig.

never mind failed at posting a picture of bigfoot

We have 3 kids right now and we have a 1500 chevy silverodo. 2 wheel drive with a 350 or 5.7 for those liter folks. It is extend cab with the 3rd door. I keep a set of traction chains for when weather gets bad or need to get in the mud. Chains are cheaper then paying the extra the 4x4 drinks in gas plus I can go more places with the chains.. I haul 2300lbs of feed every month home in it. Pulls 4 4x5 rolls of hay on a 16ft trailer with easy. And the best part only put one big thing in it and that was a raidator. 250 or there abouts this is good since it has 380,000 as of last oil change. we had a 72 chevy before this ran great till granny forgot to check the oil for a year and locked it up.

I also have an old ford ton truck f-350 dualy only time that I ever use it is when the wife has the other truck and I MUST go out or when hooking to more than say 9500lbs I like to pull the much on a goose neck. But it is a 81 with a 74 motor in it. starting to get a little blow by but not much. But it has 310,000 ruffly on it. only thing ever done to it is a couple of clutchs other then reg maintaince stuff. Either way you go take care of it and it will take care of you. As for dodge never liked them. Never owned one but every one I ever knew who did trader it to a ford or chevy at some time. To me that say something.

Had a Nissan Frontier (Crew Cab), and it was a good truck, mechanically, however it would most likely be too small to accommodate all that you need to haul. Also its short wheel base made for a jostling ride most of the time. I now have a 2008 Ford F150. I bought it used. I love this truck. Believe it or not, I get the same (and sometimes a little better gas mileage with this Triton V8 than I did with the Nissan...(around 16-17mpg). It is super comfortable and there is room for 6. I have the extended cab model with the full size bed. Unless you have experience with several brands and models I don't think you can really compare. You probably just need to "shop around" till you find one you think will fill your needs. I will say my neighbor down the road has owned several PUs and has told me his Dodge was the worst truck he ever owned. That might be just a coincidence that he got one that wasn't so good, but he said he'd never have one again. He has owned a GMC sierra. He liked that truck a lot, but has since traded it in for a Honda Ridgeline, which he also likes, but he told me about two or three months ago, when he's done with this truck he's gonna go F150 next. Good luck. Lots of em out there to choose from.

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"Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow the fields of those who don't."-Thomas Jefferson

I like Ford. Our last one got 248k miles with no major repairs (just batteries, tires brakes etc) before the engine started knocking. Even then it still ran and I sold it to a guy on Craigslist who wanted to replace the engine. Our current is a 2000 F150. It is a great little truck, I say little because it's more designed for small stuff than pulling loads. Having said that we pull trailer loads of 2 tons of manure with it, I can haul a flatbed trailer with 140 bales of hay with no problem, and it's going on 130k miles with no problems at all.

I like the f150 because it is better on gas, more like a ranger than a big truck. I am however keeping my eye out for a larger, maybe a 250, because we do haul a lot of loads and I know with time I'm gonna ruin this one But hey the price was right when I got it because someone had backed into it in the walmart parking lot and the previous owner couldn't get much for it with the big scrape dent in the side! It handles very well pulling loads, but we're not in the mountains, just foothills. 4wheel drive is a necessity on the farm also.

Also, a camper shell is a necessity if you don't want your tools etc to get rained on.

Maintenance on diesels is expensive. Get a stick shift because auto tranny is very expensive to replace.

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It's not good enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required. - Winston Churchill

Thanks everyone i will look into the suv . Im thinking were ready to get a way from vans we have had 3 vans each one needed transmission work. The one we have know has suddenly decide to start causing us trouble which were living with due to timing. We cant afford to fix it. If suv dont have much transmission problem i will diffidently look into one. Problem is i know hubby does not want one he says there gas hogs and guzzle gas like crazy. And this will be our main vehicle.

Full sized vans can be had for cheap. Look for a passenger van that was owned by a church, they often have low mileage and there is not much market for such monsters. They can do almost anything a truck can except haul a fifth wheel and they keep your stuff dry and secure.

If you are stuck on a truck avoid Fords 4.6 liter if you get a 4X4. My '03 extended cab would get 11 Mpg while my '06 crewcab with the bigger 5.4 gets 19 hwy. Sold the '03 due to the gas mileage, DW now drives an Explorer Sportrax which I think is an overpriced piece of junk.

SUV and a pickup are basically one in the same vehicle, same chassis and driveline in most cases. Maybe you need to stay with a small vehicle like an S-10 size or mini van size. A GM Astro or Safari van are good choices. They are rear wheel drive with a conventional drivetrain. Transmissions fail in every vehicle eventually, some just cost more then others to replace or repair. At the pull a part normal auto transmissions are about $70 if you take it out.

Do you need 4wd?

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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost

.................Do a google and find car trader.com , then do a search for a chevy 1 ton van with a Duramax diesel ! Look for years between 2002 and 2007 , before all the EPA smog equipment became necessary , look for low milage below 50,000 . They'll probably get 20mpg on the highway and can haul a bunch of weight , not too mention all the cargo room available . , fordy

f-150 - f-250 i have always had great experiances with them i will alway's stick with fords been screwed with a past dodge and personally dont like gmc or toyota might consider a chevy for the right deal though

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Your main goal is to be able to haul a lot of people, but you are looking at a one ton monster of a truck.

I can put 25 bags of seed/feed/etc in the back of a 1/2 ton pickup, I'm confused why you are looking at big heavy fuel guzzling pickups.

Something with duals like you are looking at is going to be geared for pulling trailers, and will use much fuel. The duals will be wasted unless you are pulling a gooseneck trailer. If you ever get slippery weather in your area, duallie pickups are _miserable_ to drive - with only 1/2 the weight on the rear tires, you lose traction on icey conditions.

Not arguing, just wondering, what is the plan here?

For hauling 5 people and up to 15 bags of feed or 'a bunch' of rabbits, surely a 1/2 ton pickup with crew cab will be the best overall investment for fuel, repairs, and maintinence?

Chevy, Ford, or Dodge, whatever. They all have lemons, they all have good ones. Not really gonna find a big difference, just luck of the draw. Couple of the Jap machines are real good too, but might be too small to seat 5 comfortably so hate to suggest them.

That's a nice truck their in your web site, big heavy truck with a very long lasting engine.

But seems very mis-placed for the tasks you have outlined - haul 5 people and a 750 lbs of feed bags. A 1/2 ton pickup with rear end gearing for normal travel, not trailer hauling, with a gas engine will likely give you a better bang for the buck.

Just my opinion, for the little that is worth.

--->Paul