Used truck?

[Huie83]

Hi everyone,

I bought my first house about a year ago and am finally starting the renovations!

The problem is I don't have a truck for Lowes/Menards runs so, I have started looking at getting one. I did some minor stuff last year and rented a pickup to haul stuff around. Renting gets spendy quick so I figure I should just buy a decent hauling truck.

I don't want a complete beater as I will use the truck to haul my hunting boat up to my cabin during hunting season, 200 miles each way.

I found a 1993 Ford F-150 XLT extended cab 4X4 in my price range, around $2800.

It has the 5.0 V8, auto trans , push button 4X4 etc. 112K miles. A little rust around the front wheel wells, I guess this is normal for these trucks being this old.

My main question is; are these any good? What would you all recommend?

I looked at chevy's of the same era and all the ones in my area are all beat up or have 200K+ miles...

Ford's in this area (Blaine, MN) seem to be well taken care of and have pretty low miles.

 

[JTK]

It doesn't sound bad. $2800 might be a tad on the high side and it might be REAL rusty underneath. If you want a beater. Stay below the 1996 model year to stay away from OBDII. Things are simpler that way.

Joel

 

[IndyIan]

I just used an old boat trailer with a 4x8 sheet of plywood on it. Two 20' culverts, 800 sqft of 3/4" maple flooring, 15 bales of insulation at a time, 14' steel roofing, etc, all made the trip behind either my 81 Omega or my 03 Tracker. Drywall for the whole house I got delivered and they put it in the rooms you want so it was worth the delivery fee to me.

If you really want a truck, then get one, but if its an extra vehicle to insure and maintain then a trailer makes sense to me anyways. Almost anything can tow 1500-2000lbs and a half ton is good for 2000-2500lbs in the bed? Unless you are hauling stone most loads are volume limited, not weight anyways.
Ian

 

[Huie83]

Thanks guys,

My other two cars are a 03 civic and 07 elantra, don't think they can tow much over 1K LBS.

Kinda wanted a truck to pull my hunting boat, get loads of mulch, drag yard stuff off to the recycling center etc.

That being said, I need recommendations on reliable trucks...

 

[firemachine69]

You seem to be in the exact same boat as me, I have a daily commuter, but would like a junk/boat/deer/gun hauler for my downtime.


See if you can haggle him down. Someone in the city where I am currently (Sault Ste Marie, Ontario) is selling the same thing, minus the extended cab, for $1500. I even managed to get him to say he'd get it certified for that price.


Just have no moneys right now. Currently in the process of moving in with my other half.

 

[addyguy]

My grandfather-in-law had a 1991 F150 just like up 'till about 2 years ago. Had about the same amount of miles, too. Seemed to be pretty reliable, and was still running well when he gave it to his son. Rust had gotten to the floor and bed badly - its being welded back together now.

 

[ViragoBry]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
my 81 Omega


Wow! Definitely not trying to threadjack, but you guys gotta admit...there's something you don't hear / read every day.

 

[Huie83]

haha I though the same thing..

Thanks for the replies. I think I am going to go look at the truck and see what kind of shape it's really in.

It does have some rust near the front wheel wells so, that can't be a great sign. It is a haggeling point though. He is pricing it @ good KBB price, with rust I can probbly get him down to "fair" price.

 

[01rangerxl]

92-96 F-150s are good trucks.

1995+ models with the 5.0 will have the better 4R70W automatic instead of the E4OD.

Overall, they are all reliable, but the E4OD must be well maintained and can only use Mercon fluid (no Mercon V).

If your boat is small, a Ranger might be a good option. With the 4.0, you can tow 5,000-6,000 lbs.

 

[Huie83]

01rangerxl,

a rangr might be a good idea. Can you fit a full sheet of drywall or plywood etc in your's?

I just heard back from the owner. HE has had it for 2 years / 8K miles, it was also his haulin truck.

It has new brakes including rotor up front and new WARN manual hubs. I guess the auto lockes were giving him problems.

I have never owned a truck with manual lockers, is is a pain?
How do they work? do you shift into 4WD then get out and lock the hubs?

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: Huie83
Thanks guys,

My other two cars are a 03 civic and 07 elantra, don't think they can tow much over 1K LBS.

Kinda wanted a truck to pull my hunting boat, get loads of mulch, drag yard stuff off to the recycling center etc.

That being said, I need recommendations on reliable trucks...

Did you know that your Elantra has more hp than a 1980 diesel chevy truck

A bit less torque though...

Just as a reference point, my buddy tows his 14' fishing boat with a 1955 15hp motor behind his toyota echo. We need 4th gear for some hills but overall its not a big deal. Even on the boat ramps it does ok with a very low 1st gear and I reminded him that tires are way cheaper than a clutch.

But yes, if he had a truck we would've used it instead.

As for buying an older truck, I would pay more attention to the condition of the truck your looking at than its reputation. I've made that mistake before with a snowmobile, and I kicked myself for quite a while...
Ian

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: Huie83
01rangerxl,

a rangr might be a good idea. Can you fit a full sheet of drywall or plywood etc in your's?


Not flat. It has to go over the tailgate and wheel wells.

 

[Huie83]

I found a 1999 ranger xlt step side extended cab.It has the 4.0, 4x4, automatic. 135K miles

The guy is asking 4K flat for it..?

 

[01rangerxl]

That sounds like a fair price, but the Flareside beds don't have much width.

 

[SnakeOil]

If you want something SOLID and actually work on it yourself with standard tools.

Find an old F-150 with the OL' 4.9L Inline-6

Ford replaced it with the head gasket blowing 4.2L Essex V6

The 4.9 makes peak power at 3,000 RPMs or something. It's hard to kill.

 

[Huie83]

OK a bit of an update.

A buddy of my Dad's is selling a 1999 Dodge Ram 1500 quad cab. I beleive it has the 5.2 engine, it is a 4X4. It also only has 88K miles.

Looks like it has been taken care of pretty well. Fluid changes etc are all up to date.

Price is $2.5K

Any Ram owners here, what do you think?

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: Huie83
OK a bit of an update.

A buddy of my Dad's is selling a 1999 Dodge Ram 1500 quad cab. I beleive it has the 5.2 engine, it is a 4X4. It also only has 88K miles.

Looks like it has been taken care of pretty well. Fluid changes etc are all up to date.

Price is $2.5K

Any Ram owners here, what do you think?


$2500 and you even have to ask? Deals like this don't come along too often!

 

[mstrjon32]

If I needed a light-duty "truck" I'd be all over a Jeep Comanche. Too bad they're so rare and hard to find.

 

[BadHabit]

Be careful with pre 2001 Rams...transmissions are disposable in a lot of those trucks.

The older Fords will run forever with minimal care. My 1986 F-150 4X4 went 302K before the motor gave up.

 

[Huie83]

Jeep Comanche's are sweet litle trucks but, i haven't seen one around here in opver a year or so. If I do see one, its almost completely rusted out...

I had a 96 grand cherokkee with the 5.2. The transmission went @ 90K. Pretty sure that SUV was abused before I got it though.

Since the Ram has been taken care of I think the transmission will last for a while.

lastly, what type of oil should I use? I just picked up 3 gallon jugs of castrol syntec blend 5w30 from Walmart for $11 each! Would that work?