Truck Question

[Tony Eeds]

I am hopefully going to have a new Chevrolet Silverado SB 4x4 4dr Duramax in the driveway soon, which has got me to thinking ...

I put 55~60K a year on a truck now and I am tired of driving the wheels off of my good truck, so I am thinking about getting a small pcikup to drive the wheels off of and hopefully keep the Silverado for a long time.

So, I need suggestions. What small pickups are good? I would want an extended cab or crew and it should be able to last me 5 to 6 years which would equate to 275~350K miles by the time I sell it. I assume I would go used and hopefully pick up a clean truck with low to average mileage on it.

Ideas and/or comments?

 

[rickyd]

Im currently in a Nissan Frontier.. Good truck, so far i have put 38k on it w/no problems at all.. Tows pretty good, although you probably wont use it too tow if you have Duramax.. ONe guy at my work has an older Nssan truck w/over 300k on it.. Only part that has failed is the ignition switch.. He said it was simple and cheap too fix..
Rick

 

[JuliusPleaser]

If you opt for a Nissan, stay away from their automatic transmissions.

I'd buy a Tacoma if I had to choose a small commuter truck. Their automatics are bulletproof, also.

 

[sick 96 250]

I'd say a tacoma or tundra for driving the wheels of it.

Why not buy the Silverado SS, AWD, and every option possible and does good with towing. Got me one so I thought i'd throw it out there :laugh:

How do you drive that many miles? That is insane

 

[rickyd]

If you opt for a Nissan, stay away from their automatic transmissions.

.

not too hijack, but what have been the problems w/the autos??
Rick

 

[83MX80]

me 17 yrs old has a 88 GMC s-15 4x4, extended cab, 2.8L V6, 5 speed standard that im rebuilding. im planning on putting a 5 inch suspension lift and i have a 3 inc body lift for it, and hopefully be able to shove some 35's under it. i was just going with the bodylift, but after BDS came out with this new susp. lift i'd thought i'd go for it. then sell the truck for about $5,000 Canadian.

 

[Tony Eeds]

Why not buy the Silverado SS, AWD, and every option possible and does good with towing. Got me one so I thought i'd throw it out there :laugh:

I am getting rid of a '03 Sierra that currently sits at 91K+ and I have had it for 19 months ... I have to move it before I hit 100K or no banker will carry the note for someone else, so then I drive the wheels off of it. It has cost me too much money to want to keep it. Freaky things, but I am already out 4K for two repairs. Transmission problem at 55K and new transfer case (rock knocked a hole in it) at 85K. Time to move on.

How do you drive that many miles? That is insane

55~60K per year is about average.

Dallas, Breckenridge, Austin, Bandera, Sonora, Fort Stockton, Pecos, Fort Stockton, Odessa, Dallas this week and I am here all day today! Probably clost to 1,500 miles before I get back Friday night. I will not even mention how many meetings are scattered throughout the week.

JP: I had a 82 Nissan that I drove 280K. Sold it to a friend who used it for business and saw it a year later with over 350K on it. It was a standard. I am getting lazy, but could deal with a standard in a small truck. I wish I could find out which manufacturers still use cam chains instead of belts. My X tacoed a Honda motor because the belt broke at 115K. Kinda sucked because the car was still a nice ride, but not worth the cost of a replacement motor. I have heard that Toyota has more clearance built in and the valves don't get hit by the pistons as the vehicle coasts to a stop. Still a pain, but a cheaper pain. A GF had that happen to her Toyota at about 75K.

 

[Kav]

Tony: I'd like to toss in a vote for the Ford Ranger, I've known plenty of people that have had them and have driven them for ever. I curently have my '87 with 202K+ miles, and my '03 and it just ticked over 27K I've got the 3.0L in the new one and that is a OHV engine, and I believe the cam is chain driven. also that engine has been around sence the early '90's and is stone relibal. I get about 17-18 with my lead foot, but when I have a bike or two in the back it do as good if not better in most cases

 

[Moteaux]

I have had an 86 1/2 Nissan that I drove while in college and all I ever did to it was put a muffler on it and brakes. The brakes weren't bad, squeaking or anything, but at 100k miles I did it just to make sure. That truck with the 4 cyl. would get about 24 mpg on the highway.

I also had a 1990 Nissan Ext. cab 4x4 that was a 6 cyl that I had about 170k miles on it. It would get about 18 mpg on the highway. I bought this one used and was driving it to the docks offshore. Only reason I sold it was to help with a little extra cash when buying my Harley. That truck is now doing duty somewhere down in Mexico..

I have never owned another brand of small pickups, but my experience with the Nissan would lead me back if ever I were looking for a small truck to drive up and down the highway. If all you are going to do is run the highways, I would probably opt for the 4 cyl. Nissan. It was plenty peppy, drove great and rock solid. I am not trying to diss Kav's Ranger as I am a Ford man by heart, but when I first moved to Louisiana I was given a 1994 4 cyl Ranger to drive. It was anemic... The Nissan 4 cyl had it hands down. I haven't driven 6 cyl Ranger in 16 years, but I do have two friends that own them currently and they are the newer models (2004s). I have ridden in them plenty of times. The extended cab seems roomy enough to contend with and it has plenty of power with the 3.0 6 cyl. My only bone of contention with it would be gas mileage as his 6 cyl and my small V-8 Chevy get the same mileage.... I can't believe I just admitted to owning a Chevy in public :|

I guess this is a long post to say that I would consider a newer 6 cyl Ranger, and definitely consider a 6 cyl Nissan or even the 4 cyl 5 speed Nissan.

Good luck Tony

 

[TwinSpar]

Dallas, Breckenridge, Austin, Bandera, Sonora, Fort Stockton, Pecos, Fort Stockton, Odessa, Dallas this week and I am here all day today! Probably clost to 1,500 miles before I get back Friday night. I will not even mention how many meetings are scattered throughout the week.

Jeez man! Ever think of getting a light plane and a pilots license?

 

[junkjeeps]

I had a '90 Nissan extended cab, auto trans that I bought used with 180,000 on it. I kept it for 2 years and sold it with 225,000 and never changed anything but the tires(and the oil of course). It had the 6 cylinder in it and it had more power than any small truck I've ever driven. I used to pull my 18ft bass boat with it with no problem. Used to get about 18 mpg to boot. I bought it for $1800 and traded it in on a newer ride and got $2400 trade in. I still see it driving around town. I'll have to stop the guy next time and ask him what the mileage is. BTW Tony, could you send me some pics of the board you have across the front bed of your truck for your bikes. I remember seeing it when you picked up the tent and was wanting to do something similar on my new truck. Any tips or tricks or things you would do different if you built another one would be appreciated. Thanks.

Mark

 

[Patman]

I'd be inclined to go with a 4x2 Toyota 4 cylinder with stick. Or maybe even look in to something like a Honda CR-V.

The Toyota FJ is cool but not around just yet, too bad.

 

[sick 96 250]

Jeez man! Ever think of getting a light plane and a pilots license?

Now theres an idea

 

[JuliusPleaser]

Nissan had some serious prob;lems with their automatics in the late 80's and early 90's. I had two friends with Nissan pickups, and both of them replaced transmissions twice within 2 years. My bro-in-law had an 96 Infiniti that blew the trans with 75K on the clock. I'd drive a 5-speed Nissan, though.

I don't know how the modern autos hold up, but the old ones broke constantly down here in the South.

Tony, I had the same belt problem with an 86 BMW 325. I let the belt break beacuse I wasn't aware of the close tolerance issue. Cost me $1200 to fix it, but the car was still pretty new.

 

[mtk]

There is a reason they put replacement intervals on those belts. Don't replace it on schedule, don't cry when your engine grenades. It's not rocket science, folks.

You also won't find any non-interference engine worth a crap on today's market because you'd have to set the compression ratio too low to give the necessary clearance to prevent pistons and valves from getting intimate. The resulting engine would be a dog and dogs don't sell. But then again, if you maintain it properly it's not an issue.

 

[XRpredator]

do you have to have a pickup? What about a little car?

Just a thought.

 

[evenslower]

The brakes weren't bad, squeaking or anything, but at 100k miles I did it just to make sure.

That's a pretty intense maintenance schedule right there Randy. :laugh:

I'm on my second Nissan and have nothing but good things to say about the both of them. Drove the wheels off the first and plan to do it to this one. Of the small pickups I've owned I also had a Ranger with the 3.0 in it just before this Nissan. The power that thing had (or lack of) did not justify the fuel mileage it got. If you're going to keep tallying up mileage like you do I'd go Nissan or Toyota.

 

[Patman]

How about THIS

OR

THIS?

 

[Green Horn]

I vote for Patman's idea. :)

 

[dirt bike dave]

C'mon - he does 55k-60k miles per year! I like to ride, too, but that's just too much.

FWIW, my dad has a late '90's Ranger extended cab with the 3.0 and he's got well over 200k on it. Besides regular maintenace, a few smog sensors failed and had to be replaced and it started to burn a little oil about 150k.

Pesonally, I like the quality of the little Nissans and Toyotas better than the Ranger, but I think you could expect a long life out of any of them.

 

[rickyd]

The Toyota FJ is cool but not around just yet, too bad.

Those look pretty cool.. wonder what they are going too go for..

 

[Tony Eeds]

do you have to have a pickup? What about a little car?

Just a thought.

I have thought of that. Honda S2000 has some appeal.

The bike would be nice. I would ride one if I thought I could stand it for even half the mileage. I do have to carry a fair amount of crap though when I am gone for a week. I guess I could get a sidecar ...

Funny, you guys are quoting low 20's for mileage and my GMC Duramax is currently getting 21 on the highway. I just can't see getting a new one and putting the same miles on it as I have this one.

Dang nice truck, but I am trying to make the next one last longer.

:fft:

There is a reason they put replacement intervals on those belts. Don't replace it on schedule, don't cry when your engine grenades. It's not rocket science, folks.

Wasn't my car, belonged to an X. My Nissan had a chain drive and it was at 350K the last time I saw it. Now that is a good interval. Certain part are alway made to wear out, but it would only raise the price slightly (if at all) to replace the belt with a chain. The Japanese don't care, They are unable to drive a car more than two or three years because of all the government inspections and restrictions. They sell their cars to brokers who ship them to 3rd world countries and get new ones.

 

[mtk]

Actually, changing from a belt to a chain is a pretty significant redesign. Chains need lubrication; belts do not. The current engine has the belt area on the other side of the oil seals to keep it dry. Now you have to provide a lubrication supply as well as a drain-back path. Plus you have to now seal this external part of the engine from oil leaks to the outside world. In other words, it's hardly a simple change. The belts are also generally quieter than chains, which brings up NVH concerns.

 

[Tony Eeds]

which brings up NVH concerns.

???, a term I am not familiar with.

I know it is more than a simple change. I twisted wrenches for 30+ years and know that steel will alway outlast rubber. Now I design buildings and they use steel for structure and rubber for isolation. ;)

My 327 small block pushrod engine was bulletproof. At least until I missed that shift anyway ...

I will admit that engines last longer these days than in the 60's but that cannot all be attributed to things like overhead cams etc. The engines that came out of Detroit in the sixties were junk as far as tolerances. The Japanese woke the Big 3 up from a 30 years slumber. We always blueprinted our engines back then. We had to ...

I drive a diesel so engine noise is not high on my list of things to be concerned about. Is also has AT tires, so they moan a bit as well. I just set the Bose at the proper volume.

I love pulling up beside cars that would fit in the bed.

 

[Patman]

Well Tony, if the mileage difference isn't that significant maybe consider running the heck out of the new rig because it should be good for 300K. That way you have a comfortable ride that is everything you need and more. Maybe switch over yo bypass filtration and extended oil change intervals to both lessen the burden of maintenance and significantly extend engine life past the 300K number.