[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by HoovDaddy

My neighbor has a Tacoma and I was looking for one 2 weeks ago, the nearest access cab 4X4 was 275 miles away. I inquired and they wouldn't sell to an out of state customer. A 6' bed was a must for me. There were three 2023 Ranger XLT extended cab 4x4s in Michigan and I ended up buying one of them. Based on comfort and driveability, I now like the Ford better.

People really, really love these little Toyota pickups. About 6 years ago I bought a standard cab short bed 4-cyl one. 5 speed manual. It had just received a new fitted frame from Toyota and was literally new underneath. I paid $1500.00 for it and was driving it home from the seller with the for sale sign still in the window. I stopped for gas and a guy came screaming into the gas station and asked if it was still for sale and what I wanted for it. I just threw a number out of the blue at him. I said $4000.00 thinking it was cool him off and make him go away. He bought it on the spot. I never even signed the title. I owned it for about 45 minutes. It was an OK little truck appliance, but nothing to get excited about. Two weeks ago there was a 1997 Toyota Land Cruiser on BAT. Just a plain white truck. Super low mileage but Geeez! It sold for $165,000.00. No, I am not making that up. Some people are just crazy.

[Greg Reid]

The Tacomas and Rangers from the 90s up to somewhere in the early 2000s really, really hold their values. My son had a '98 Tacoma extended cab sold to him by a high school friend for cheap. This truck had been loaned out to everyone they knew over a period of several years. I mean nobody did any maintenance whatsoever to it. It was pretty clapped out. With all of that, it never failed to start and go where you pointed it. My son drove it several times on 800 mile round trips when he moved from here to south Georgia.
In fact, he sold it last year to about the only friend he had that hadn't already borrowed it at some point. He was thrilled to get it for $1200. Claimed it was worth three times as much and he may have been right.

[77 TRASHCAN]

At my work, some of the vehicles I work on are pickups. All are full size, thankfully. Most are 3/4 tons, some 4 wheel drive. I'm 6'3" tall and I can barely reach the dipstick on the newest units. It's crazy....

The boss allowed me to purchase an overhead creeper. It allows you to climb up and over the grill or fender to work on the engine. Instead of trying to lie on top of the core support...

I have two Chevrolet C10's, a 1967 and a 1968......LOL...in comparison to these latest models THEY seem like small pickups...

[geeteeohguy]

It took me 9 months to find one, but I landed a 2005 4x4 Tundra in 2016 with 60k on the clock. Tow package, off road package, HD cooling/charging, a plain jane SR-5. Just what I wanted for my off roading and camping. It's the same size as the new Tacomas, but with a better v8 engine and much better seats for about 1/3 the cost. New trucks are HUGE. I'm 5'9", and the tailgates on many are at my shoulder level. I can't imagine loading a floor jack or motorcycle. I still have the '83 Toytota Hi Lux I bought used 31 years ago. It's still my daily driver and the perfect size for the chores and trips I do.

[misterp266]

Here’s one for ya Bart. Popped up on FB this morning.
Aren’t those the wheels you’re after?

[59safaricat]

Originally Posted by geeteeohguy

Attachment 616182It took me 9 months to find one, but I landed a 2005 4x4 Tundra in 2016 with 60k on the clock. Tow package, off road package, HD cooling/charging, a plain jane SR-5. Just what I wanted for my off roading and camping. It's the same size as the new Tacomas, but with a better v8 engine and much better seats for about 1/3 the cost. New trucks are HUGE. I'm 5'9", and the tailgates on many are at my shoulder level. I can't imagine loading a floor jack or motorcycle. I still have the '83 Toytota Hi Lux I bought used 31 years ago. It's still my daily driver and the perfect size for the chores and trips I do.

That '83 looks fantastic! I bet the shop who has to smog it runs the other direction when you bring it in though, lol. They did that when I used to bring in my '84 but sigh a big relief when I tell them it's fuel injected. Since I moved out of cali, zero smogging on any vehicles and it's a beautiful thing!

[b-man]

Originally Posted by misterp266

Here’s one for ya Bart. Popped up on FB this morning.
Aren’t those the wheels you’re after?

Actually I’m a big fan of the old school Centerlines on early VWs with the wide-5 bolt pattern. My truck has been converted to GM 5 on 4.75” bolt pattern (1984 Corvette wheels) but my 2 other ‘50s VWs are still original 5 on 205mm (wide-5).

It’s hard to find tire shops that will deal with mounting tires with tubes inside them (Centerlines often leak between the two halves) so I did them all myself. Tires are 135SR-15 Michelin XZX on 3-1/2” wheels and 215/65-15 Hankook on 6” wheels.

[98 SNAKE EATER]

I love my small pickup'em up truck









Best $500 bucks spent

[kingbuzzo]

lol my buddy had one of those - the external battery kept freezing and I thought I was going to die in traffic being LH drive

He loved the thing...

[ta6point6]

Toyota trucks have been living off of lore for years now especially Tacomas well even full sized Tundra. I had a Sonoma 4.3 and it ran great just have to change intake gaskets on those as they will leak eventually. I dont know about Ford small trucks but the GM 4.3 had more power and better hauling. There is a reason that some small truck Toyota guys swap out the 3.4 Toyota for the GM 4.3. The mark up for a used Toyota truck is out of range for the kind of truck you get compared from other trucks.

[kingbuzzo]

I completely agree...

I drove my 4.3 Jimminey for years until the rust caught up with her...great truck

The Canyonaro has been solid (knock on wood) but yes, the bed is almost useless but I couldn't justify a full size and all those kids...if I need to toe a load I have a utility trailer...luckily it's rare

[OZZIEVILLE 67 2 door]

As said before, the biggest selling car in OZ is the Toyota highlux.
All diesel-powered Ute's from all the Japanese manufacturers are made in Thailand.
Top spec Ute's are now getting close to $80k aud
Picture is my 3 year old Mitsubishi Triton @ 40k new.

Sent from my SM-X200 using Tapatalk

[kingbuzzo]

schlong bed on that mitsu...

[keith k]

Mine is probably only "small" compared to the trucks most people buy these days... it's a 2WD regular cab 6.5 ft box F150.
Dealers generally don't stock these, so you have to order them. I see few on the road, and frequently get asked what it is by people...

Mines got the DOHC 5.0 V8, and because trucks are so important to manufacturer's fuel economy averages, it's loaded with technology to maximize the MPG: aluminum body, all aluminum engine, active front spoiler and grille shutters, 10-speed trans, cylinder deactivation, auto start/stop, etc. I generally get 27 mpg highway and 22-23 around town. Not bad for a truck that can tow 12,000 lbs and run the quarter in the 13s.

[kingbuzzo]

never seen a two by four like that before...

[b-man]

My most recent adventure hauling with my 1966 VW single cab pickup.

I was transporting my 1957 beetle body shell to a backyard shop about 40 miles away through some local canyon roads. I enlisted the services of 5 of my friends to lift the body and follow me to the shop to unload the body onto a body cart.

[b-man]

As expected we ended up being in the way of some considerably faster traffic. A group of 5 supercars were waiting patiently until I could find a turnoff, then they zipped by. One of my helpers took a video in the chase vehicle so I grabbed a couple of still photos you see here.

We then unloaded the body at our destination, it was securely bolted down to the platform I built that’s bolted down to the bed. I was able to use the factory 8mm threaded holes that normally are used to bolt down the steel hoops that support the ‘covered wagon’ type canvas top enclosure.

Note in the last photo the plywood ‘running boards’ that were bolted under the body using 7 of the tapped holes that normally fasten the body to the floor pan on each side, I drilled through the plywood and bolted it directly to the platform in the bed of the truck using 3” long 3/8” lag bolts. The whole idea being not to damage my nice truck or my 1957 oval window bug body that I was driving in high school during my senior year 1977, and heavily street raced that following summer. My 1600cc engine handled the load easily, probably between the weight of the platform and the body I may have been hauling 700 to 800 pounds so really not all that heavy.

All part of the hobby, a lot of trouble and expense for something we want but really don’t need.

[misterp266]

Looks safer than this guy with the Corvair!
At least he stopped for the school bus . . . .

[b-man]

I’ve hauled lumber that’s just as heavy and stuck out just as far and even further out behind the tailgate before, it was almost like nothing was back there. The roof of the beetle body was maybe a foot and a half higher at most than the top of the cab.

Platform is solidly fastened as was the body to the plywood running boards. Not a problem or a worry that it would shift around or come loose.

[Greg Reid]

Hmmm.. Five friends plus b-man makes 6.
6, 12, 24 and 48 are all available quantities of beer and are also multiples of 6.... Coincidence???? ; )