If you had to buy a truck in the next couple of weeks... RFI

[Seven_Sicks_Two]

I'm not a truck guy, or even a car guy really... In the last week, I've gone from having no interest in buying a truck, to needing one for a job I'll be starting in a couple of weeks...

My new employer will be giving me $1,100 a month to cover the payment, insurance and some (or all) of the fuel costs. Much of the job will be driving, and the guys that I've talked to say that they put 30-40k miles a year on their vehicles in mixed business/personal driving. Much of the job will be on the road in the PNW, driving with 3-7' long product samples (hence the need for a truck bed). The weather in some parts of the territory can get a little nasty in the winter, so I'm thinking 4WD.

As an aside, I don't really have much in the way of experience driving/parking pickups. Previous vehicles have been a VW GTI and a Honda Accord.

So far I'm leaning to either an F-150 with some flavor of Ecoboost, or a Tacoma TRD.

F-150
Pros: good gas mileage for a full-size truck, probably the smoother ride between the two.
Cons: probably more size/capability than I need.

Tacoma:
Pros: Looks cool, sized right
Cons: about the same fuel economy as some full-size options. Expensive for the size.

I saw the previous truck thread, but I'm hesitant to be an early adopter, and some of those options aren't available yet.

Thoughts? Am I missing anything? Suggestions?

[NEPAKevin]

Much of the job will be driving, and the guys that I've talked to say that they put 30-40k miles a year on their vehicles in mixed business/personal driving. Much of the job will be on the road in the PNW, driving with 3-7' long product samples (hence the need for a truck bed).

Do you know if you are going to need an eight foot bed? If so, that may limit choices. Around my part of the country, the vast majority of trucks have short beds and full length beds are almost a special order option.

[TQP]

I don't know what industry you're in, but 'Buy American' might be a factor.

The mileage I'm getting on my Frontier is not much better, if at all, what guys here are reporting for their full sized trucks.

Given your 2 choices I'd lean toward the F150. If I had mine to do over again I would probably buy the F150.

[Duelist]

ive had an F150 before, and really liked it. If my employer were paying my fuel costs, and making part/all of my payments, I'd love to be back in one. If the fuel savings aren't there, and payments are similar/the same, it is hard to justify getting something smaller.

OTOH, my wife would rather drive a smaller vehicle, so the Tacoma would probably at least get a serious checkride. If it's big enough for the job, and there's any chance my wife would be driving it, I'd end up in a Taco. She drove my F150 maybe once a year in the ten I had it, because she didn't like driving a vehicle that size.

[rayrevolver]

Questions:
- Can your 7' samples fit in a short truck bed (5' or 6') with one of those bed extenders?
- How much off road capability would you need?

Lol, I am going to get roasted for this: But what about the 4x4-ish Honda Ridgeline? It is probably the closest non-truck truck there is.

If you need a long bed then the Honda is out. My F-150 short bed has the extenders which work well. The Ridgeline bed is a touch bigger than the short bed F-150 but obviously not near the long bed options available for most trucks.

Offroad is where the Honda is weak, but maybe viable.

https://www.edmunds.com/honda/ridgel...-test/mpg.html

Looks like the diesel Chevy Colorado or GMC Canyon have better mileage though, better offroad etc. And possibly a long bed option. But yeah, buy Murican and all that.

EDIT: Just looking at prices, it almost seems to point to fullsize trucks. For the Honda to get a backup camera is a $500 option, or standard with $41k package. Colorado doesn't come with the long bed, Extended Cab AND Diesel. Regardless, the crew/long/diesel is $41k with a bunch of options.

I want to say my 2013 F-150 Lariat was a $51k (!?!) sticker but actual price was closer to $41k with the discounts. Are the mid-sized trucks sold the same way, with a bunch of discounts?

[tanner]

I have owned trucks before. My 2018 F-150 4x4 with the 3.5 Ecoboost has exceeded all of my expectations. I highly recommend it without any reservations.

The Glock of the pickup truck world .

Also, if you get the max towing package, you get a 36 gallon gas tank. I like that feature a lot.

[Aray]

I've owned most of the makes over the years. The Ridgelines are in no way a truck except that they have a "bed" of sorts, I was unimpressed with the one we had. It was noisy and the fuel mileage was unimpressive. The Tacos are pricey but reliable if their size will do, small interiors compared to what I'm used to. In full size half ton trucks, the Titans have been problematic across the board, as have the earlier Ford Ecoboost motors, though it seems Ford may have that sorted out. Ford interiors have seemed more utilitarian compared to GM and Dodge in recent years, but YMMV. I went from a Silverado LT2 2500 Duramax Diesel to a Ram Big Horn 2500 6.4l gas and am satisfied with the Ram after 15 months and 24k miles.

[Seven_Sicks_Two]

I work in the outdoor industry, so we're talking about rifles and fishing rods here. I won't always need to be hauling samples, but when I need them, I'll need a lot of them. I think a short bed would work, but then I've never tried transporting a bunch of rods and rifles at the same time before.

I don't plan to do a lot of off-roading (I don't do any of it now), but I'd like the peace of mind of knowing that I'd be able to get from say Coeur d'Alene to Portland regardless of the weather or road conditions.

[Aray]

I work in the outdoor industry, so we're talking about rifles and fishing rods here. I won't always need to be hauling samples, but when I need them, I'll need a lot of them. I think a short bed would work, but then I've never tried transporting a bunch of rods and rifles at the same time before.

I don't plan to do a lot of off-roading (I don't do any of it now), but I'd like the peace of mind of knowing that I'd be able to get from say Coeur d'Alene to Portland regardless of the weather or road conditions.

That's going to mean chains on occasion. I'd stay away from 20" wheels.

[Peally]

How legal is it to grab some friends and plane tickets, raid a Taliban base for a few Hilux trucks, and ship them back?