How do you decide what your "ride" is?

[SS396driver]

If you go back to my original post, I said Toyota not Tundra anyway. They build things for overseas that don’t make it here.

Dodge almost and should’ve went belly up around 08. Don’t you remember they bailout? Gm almost did too that’s why Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer was killed off.

Toyota does not and never has made a true 1 ton pickup for ANY market . So I stand by my comment of they would need a new platform. Hino's are their big truck and are sold here . I dont see many around .

 

[JRM]

Dodge almost and should’ve went belly up around 08. Don’t you remember they bailout? Gm almost did too that’s why Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer was killed off.

By your standards GM should also have went extinct. For the record I do not agree with much of the bailout details. But to let them just go belly up would have meant much, much more than just GM and Chrysler employees losing their jobs. Contract manufacturing, dealerships, food and entertainment, the list is extensive. All told 100s of thousands of jobs if not millions would have been affected if the govt didn't step in and do SOMETHING to keep the lights on. That's a tough stance to take on the future of so many people.

 

[PasoRoblesJimmy]

By your standards GM should also have went extinct. For the record I do not agree with much of the bailout details. But to let them just go belly up would have meant much, much more than just GM and Chrysler employees losing their jobs. Contract manufacturing, dealerships, food and entertainment, the list is extensive. All told 100s of thousands of jobs if not millions would have been affected if the govt didn't step in and do SOMETHING to keep the lights on. That's a tough stance to take on the future of so many people.

Have you been brainwashed by the organized-crime thugs of the United Auto Workers (UAW)?

The rotten anti-USA management of GM used its U.S. bail out money to build a Buick plant in China.

Please expain how a Buick plant in China is good for jobs in America.

 

[PasoRoblesJimmy]

I love it

Here's mine

View attachment 983292

nowhere near as nice as yours....but 55+ years of living in the rustbelt will do that to a vehicle....
But it's got nostalgia, was my dad's for many many years. My first 3 on the tree I learned to drive on, the linkage eventually got so sloppy I ended up replacing it with a newer Landcruiser 3 speed on the floor linkage.
Eventually when the kids are grown I will rip the body off and give it some much deserved TLC.

I gotta say the brand loyalty on this forum is intense! Pretty strong convictions, particularly from the pickup crowd. I think if we are honest with ourselves we could all agree that they are ALL junk...yes even the Toyotas. It comes down to learning to live with and repair what ya got. Planned obsolescence has been a thing for.....ever.

The "J" in the Toyota FJ Landcruiser sands for "Jeep". Great vehicle for off road, not so good on the highway.

 

[PasoRoblesJimmy]

Yes they are super simple. My comment was more in reference to the newer generation stuff - the older Japanese Era steel in these parts have been off the roads for decades now except for the rare one that's been stuffed in the back corner of a barn, like mine. It gets used to run the property, back roads and lease roads and an occasional trip to town in the summer. It hasn't seen a snowflake in probably 30 years and that's a good part of our climate. It spends a lot of time sitting for preservation purposes.

Unfortunately the newer stuff doesn't last any better. This is farm country - no one, and I mean no one drives a Tundra. It's a race to the scrap yard between which will rot out faster, the body or the frame. To Toyotas credit they did step up and put new frames underneath the earlier generation. But when you walk by a mall crawler at the local gas station on a couple year old truck and the fenders are already blistered up, holes in the bed floor and the bumper wouldn't survive a fender bender with a Hot Wheels car it doesn't instill much confidence.
For all the problems the big 3 have they have all stepped it up in the corrosion department. Gotta have a workable platform to be able to keep it on the road.

From what I understand, the rusted pickup frames that you rust-belt inhabitants keep harping about was corrected years ago.

So please explain how the composite beds in Toyota Tacoma pickups get holes in them from corrosion.

 

[JRM]

Have you been brainwashed by the organized-crime thugs of the United Auto Workers (UAW)?

The rotten anti-USA management of GM used its U.S. bail out money to build a Buick plant in China.

Please expain how a Buick plant in China is good for jobs in America.

Nowhere did I excuse the actuons of GM. Before making yourself look even more foolish than you already have go back and read what I wrote, word for word. If English isn't your native language Google translate is an invaluable tool. Maybe then we can debate what I said.

 

[JRM]

The "F" in the Toyota FJ Landcruiser sands for "Jeep". Great vehicle for off road, not so good on the highway.

Wrong, but nice try. The F is the engine type. The J is what denotes a Jeep body (who would have guessed it was the J and not the F!)

 

[JRM]

From what I understand, the rusted pickup frames that you rust-belt inhabitants keep harping about was corrected years ago.

So please explain how the composite beds in Toyota pickups get holes in them from corrosion.

I'm quickly starting to see a pattern here with you.
What year did Toyota (Tundra, not Tacoma) switch to a composite bed?

 

[jolj]

I am a truck man.
DW has a1997 Honda accord.
I had a 1995 Nissan pick up, the wiring harness went bad, so I bought a used 2005 Nissan crew cap truck.
I got tried of one or the other being in the shop, so I went looking for another used truck.
My son told me to get of some money & buy a new truck, to solve my problem.
So that is how I got a 2022 Toyota Tacoma, black, basics four cylinder, auto trans.

 

[Wat n Tarnation]

Yes they are super simple. My comment was more in reference to the newer generation stuff - the older Japanese Era steel in these parts have been off the roads for decades now except for the rare one that's been stuffed in the back corner of a barn, like mine. It gets used to run the property, back roads and lease roads and an occasional trip to town in the summer. It hasn't seen a snowflake in probably 30 years and that's a good part of our climate. It spends a lot of time sitting for preservation purposes.

Unfortunately the newer stuff doesn't last any better. This is farm country - no one, and I mean no one drives a Tundra. It's a race to the scrap yard between which will rot out faster, the body or the frame. To Toyotas credit they did step up and put new frames underneath the earlier generation. But when you walk by a mall crawler at the local gas station on a couple year old truck and the fenders are already blistered up, holes in the bed floor and the bumper wouldn't survive a fender bender with a Hot Wheels car it doesn't instill much confidence.
For all the problems the big 3 have they have all stepped it up in the corrosion department. Gotta have a workable platform to be able to keep it on the road.

Do they salt the roads where you live?
I'm in Australia, it snows a little where I live but not usually enough to settle on the ground for more than 1/2 a day. Lol

 

[JRM]

Do they salt the roads where you live?
I'm in Australia, it snows a little where I live but not usually enough to settle on the ground for more than 1/2 a day. Lol

We avg north of 100" a year snowfall. Fortunately we have warm spells in between where it melts off occasionally unlike colder areas where it just accumulates.

They use Salt and brine mixtures and calcium chloride, aka weasel snot
The stuff sticks to every nook and cranny and is worse on vehicles than salt, IMO. First snowfall is generally November but we have got some good ones in late October. Last snow fall is usually mid to late April, Last weekend we got a few inches but it melted pretty quickly. Hopefully that's the last of it.
That's a picnic table out there....3 days prior we were sitting at it having a fire

 

[PasoRoblesJimmy]

I love it

Here's mine

View attachment 983292

nowhere near as nice as yours....but 55+ years of living in the rustbelt will do that to a vehicle....
But it's got nostalgia, was my dad's for many many years. My first 3 on the tree I learned to drive on, the linkage eventually got so sloppy I ended up replacing it with a newer Landcruiser 3 speed on the floor linkage.
Eventually when the kids are grown I will rip the body off and give it some much deserved TLC.

I gotta say the brand loyalty on this forum is intense! Pretty strong convictions, particularly from the pickup crowd. I think if we are honest with ourselves we could all agree that they are ALL junk...yes even the Toyotas. It comes down to learning to live with and repair what ya got. Planned obsolescence has been a thing for.....ever.

My son owns a mint 1978 FJ40 with a bare hint of surface rust. It has an inline 6 cyl gasoline engine. In contrast to Oo, California puts sand, not salt, on its icy roads.

 

[FlyingDutchman]

Thankfully my life has evolved enough to boil me down to a point finally where I'm looking at everyone's favorite truck category, 30k and down 2500/3500 trucks.

Side business requires heavy towing occasionally. My 96 k1500 is broken down with a bad head gasket. So is the 2000 c3500 dump truck I bought last year, after spending tons of money on the dump fixing a misfire I couldn't figure out, the bottom end developed a bad noise. The dump truck has cost me all of the savings I had for the last 2 years before. So I'm just beyond upset and fed up.

Have my first kid on the way and no running vehicle. The dump truck and k1500 can't fit a car seat.

However, car shopping in this era with a budget is no fun. The ideal ones slip away and what's left is perpetually too expensive or junk.

The current target is a 2500 or 3500 2015 up Chevy/GMC gas truck. The ride is really good on the 2500 I tested compared to a Ram (from what I remember), which is my second choice, but I need to assess the ride on a Ram again. The roads here are the worst, so ride is very important.

 

[sean donato]

Thankfully my life has evolved enough to boil me down to a point finally where I'm looking at everyone's favorite truck category, 30k and down 2500/3500 trucks.

Side business requires heavy towing occasionally. My 96 k1500 is broken down with a bad head gasket. So is the 2000 c3500 dump truck I bought last year, after spending tons of money on the dump fixing a misfire I couldn't figure out, the bottom end developed a bad noise. The dump truck has cost me all of the savings I had for the last 2 years before. So I'm just beyond upset and fed up.

Have my first kid on the way and no running vehicle. The dump truck and k1500 can't fit a car seat.

However, car shopping in this era with a budget is no fun. The ideal ones slip away and what's left is perpetually too expensive or junk.

The current target is a 2500 or 3500 2015 up Chevy/GMC gas truck. The ride is really good on the 2500 I tested compared to a Ram (from what I remember), which is my second choice, but I need to assess the ride on a Ram again. The roads here are the worst, so ride is very important.

You need to keep looking. Picked up a nice escape for my wife for $900.00 this past July. Needed a few minor things. 165k miles on it. Very clean inside. Seen it on waste book and got ahold of the guy right away. Picked it up 2 days later. Took longer for the dmv to get me plates then took to fix it. Truck market is just ***** right now. Honestly you may just be better off fixing what you currently have and selling that to fund the next truck. If I were to replace my 96 f-250 with a comparable newer truck I'd be in the $30-40k price range. Even if I found something that was rough with high miles I'm still out $20k. Crazy times right now.

 

[FlyingDutchman]

Great job with the Escape, Sean.

Economy, gas and interest rates are going to tank the truck sales, I'm wanting to do something now but will just have to wait and bottom feed off it. There's some older crew cabs and Suburbans etc that could fit the bill as well

 

[Sierra_rider]

My 2 pickups(not county projects and yard art) are my '18 Tacoma and my '08 Dodge 2500.

Reasons for the Dodge...I wanted a newer diesel, but only wanted a Cummins...the other things I needed/wanted were a manual, long bed, 4wd, and a crew/quad cab. The Dodge fulfils all those requirements. I really wanted a 5.9, but the deal I got on my 6.7 was absolutely ridiculous...I basically paid $10k less than the going rate should've been for that truck(low miles too.) After the emissions components fell off on a particularly bumpy road, it's been a phenomenal truck.

The Tacoma...I drive a lot, but don't always need a big truck. I tried the commuter car thing, but the winters are too harsh here and I ended up driving the Dodge a lot. Even then, 2500/3500 trucks don't work so well in mountain snow...plenty of times that I couldn't even get out of my own driveway in the Dodge w/o plowing. I looked at all the mid-size pickups except the Ranger, I wasn't happy with my previous Ford product. Considering that I'm a manual transmission snob, the Tacoma was my preferred choice. Sure enough, I found mine with the 6 speed manual, also 4wd, quad cab, and TRD OR package(locking rear diff.) It's been a great little pickup, it does really well in the snow up here.

 

[sean donato]

My 2 pickups(not county projects and yard art) are my '18 Tacoma and my '08 Dodge 2500.

Reasons for the Dodge...I wanted a newer diesel, but only wanted a Cummins...the other things I needed/wanted were a manual, long bed, 4wd, and a crew/quad cab. The Dodge fulfils all those requirements. I really wanted a 5.9, but the deal I got on my 6.7 was absolutely ridiculous...I basically paid $10k less than the going rate should've been for that truck(low miles too.) After the emissions components fell off on a particularly bumpy road, it's been a phenomenal truck.

The Tacoma...I drive a lot, but don't always need a big truck. I tried the commuter car thing, but the winters are too harsh here and I ended up driving the Dodge a lot. Even then, 2500/3500 trucks don't work so well in mountain snow...plenty of times that I couldn't even get out of my own driveway in the Dodge w/o plowing. I looked at all the mid-size pickups except the Ranger, I wasn't happy with my previous Ford product. Considering that I'm a manual transmission snob, the Tacoma was my preferred choice. Sure enough, I found mine with the 6 speed manual, also 4wd, quad cab, and TRD OR package(locking rear diff.) It's been a great little pickup, it does really well in the snow up here.

Snob....
I'm not a chevy truck guy in the least. But had to pick between this old wt1500 and a sprinter type van..... rather shift gears.

 

[artbaldoni]

My main "ride" is actually a RIDE... I ride year around down to 15f. I have a ratty old Subaru and an F250 for snow and ice and heavy hauling.

 

[Sierra_rider]

Snob....
I'm not a chevy truck guy in the least. But had to pick between this old wt1500 and a sprinter type van..... rather shift gears.

I'm actually an old school chevy/gm fan...those older trucks were so simple. I've got a couple of old trucks, a 72 k20 and a 71 k2500. The k20 is a project in my shop right now...I swapped the th350 for a sm465 4 speed that I rebuilt, small block, disc brake 14 bolt in the back, shackle flip, suburban tank, etc I'm going to build a flat bed for it and make it my tree/firewood truck. I'm trying not to do a full-blown resto on it, just making it a clean driver.

After I finish the Chevy, I'll move onto the old jimmy. This one is going to get restored to stock/original condition. I originally bought it as a parts truck for the 72, but it has too many uncommon options for me to part it out. Factory AC, dual batteries, 350/4speed, bucket seats, saddle tanks, factory tach, it even has a dealer-installed cruise control. It's in rough shape, but isn't missing anything. Also as rough as the body is on it, it doesn't have any rust...the other truck actually had more rust in it.

 

[jolj]

I'm actually an old school chevy/gm fan...those older trucks were so simple. I've got a couple of old trucks, a 72 k20 and a 71 k2500. The k20 is a project in my shop right now...I swapped the th350 for a sm465 4 speed that I rebuilt, small block, disc brake 14 bolt in the back, shackle flip, suburban tank, etc I'm going to build a flat bed for it and make it my tree/firewood truck. I'm trying not to do a full-blown resto on it, just making it a clean driver.

After I finish the Chevy, I'll move onto the old jimmy. This one is going to get restored to stock/original condition. I originally bought it as a parts truck for the 72, but it has too many uncommon options for me to part it out. Factory AC, dual batteries, 350/4speed, bucket seats, saddle tanks, factory tach, it even has a dealer-installed cruise control. It's in rough shape, but isn't missing anything. Also as rough as the body is on it, it doesn't have any rust...the other truck actually had more rust in it.

Reminds me of my 1966 twin beam Ford F100 truck.