truck questions - 4x4 vs. 4x2, etc.

I'd go for 4wd. Ranger is an Okay truck, For $5,000 or so more than the discounted Ranger's you can get a 4cyl/4x4 Tacoma. I almost bought one but decided on a used V6/4x4 for 16k.

yeah but then its a used truck eh?

ford are better equiped/more refined than 10yrs ago,they have come UP in quality and toyota has gone DOWN cuz Toyo's are not the made in japan vehical's of the 90's

Think about the quality issue ,buying brand new vs used,add in the big discounts … ford is a more reasonable alternative [HTML_REMOVED] buying a Toyota is no longer the no brainer it might have been 10yrs ago

I had a 90 4-runer and I liked it so nothing against toyo BUT the game has changed IMO

The Ranger has its shortcomings but for what it is its a very reliable and useful little truck. If you can get away with having a small cab, there isn't a better option on the market, especially when price is the factor. Shit, you can buy a Ranger and a brand new moto for less than than a new Taco or Frontier.

The Ranger has its shortcomings but for what it is its a very reliable and useful little truck. If you can get away with having a small cab, there isn't a better option on the market, especially when price is the factor. Shit, you can buy a Ranger and a brand new moto for less than than a new Taco or Frontier.

i just couldnt live with the cheapness of it..
that is if i was buying a new truck i would want it to be as nice as it could be. where as a new ranger isnt any better than my 93 nissan which cost 2 grand and not 20..

I'll second whoever said to avoid a short box. Our friends had one that she was given from work, so she didn't have a choice with it. They used it to haul their horse trailer, which worked fine, except that their prius had as much space as the fucking retarded little 4 ft box.

Go big or go home. Get a big ol' dodge, ford etc long box, crew cab, diesel, dualies, 4X4.

Its a truck though. I like to have to care so much about the interior that I have to wear my ballerina dress before I get into it.

i just couldnt live with the cheapness of it..
that is if i was buying a new truck i would want it to be as nice as it could be. where as a new ranger isnt any better than my 93 nissan which cost 2 grand and not 20..

they come with abs/esc/sat radio/AC/4.0L/16inch mags and a 5 yr warranty SO …your 93 nissan has these features ?

Nice = expensive ?

Y'know the redneck lady (who is so far into debt and that lifestyle they will never retire ) next door was laughing about my little truck but its exactly what I need SO redneck lady is sleeping alone and buddy the redneck is somwhere in a camp running a piece of heavy equipment to pay for the big truck instead of going skiing …like I am about to do

AND I like the rubber floormats

quality wise I would say the truck is on par with the japanese car companies which make everything in north america and no defects …I havent had to go back to the dealer

It should be as Ford Ranger=Mazda b-series. It has been that way for years.

I've always had a 4wd for off-road use up until summer of 2008 when I sold my last 4runner and drove only my full-size Dodge ram van. We had a decent amount of snow that winter and I did tons of riding in places with pretty decrepit roads (big water bars, lots of big rocks/crawling, etc), and with meaty all-terrains, a gentle foot, and a methodical approach I was able to get the big, lumbering van through just about all of it no problem. You can get 2wd's pretty much anywhere with good tires and technique, but you have to put a lot more care into driving hazardous conditions.

That said, I decided I wanted a 4wd again just to make rowdy shuttle roads easier on the bike, and so I didn't have to be so careful when offroad. Not wanting to spend a lot of money, I crossed the Toyotas off my list and ended up with a Nissan. I really like my '99 Frontier for shuttling, road-tripping, camping, etc. It handles great on the logging roads, does pretty good in the snow, has good mid-range power for winding roads/fireroads, and it was a hell of a lot cheaper than a Tacoma.

If you go for an older Frontier, I'd avoid the 3.3l V6 if you're shopping for an older one. I searched for months for a KA24 (4cyl) and couldn't find one in 4x4 pretty much at all, so I sucked it up and bought the V6. Not only does it have a timing belt that I'll need to spend $900 to have changed in a few years, but the mileage is pathetic. I'm getting about 17mpg with stock size all-terrains, driving mostly highway with the cruise control on, though I have a hightop (albeit aero) canopy. My bud's Tacoma 3.4l gets 22mpg driving like an idiot. I also have just the regular extended cab and the room in the back is pretty limited.

Also, most importantly, absolutely no way should you buy one with the dogshit worthless 4ft bed. It's sketchy putting two dirtbikes (gotta rest em on 2x8's) in the back, you can't close skis or bikes in the back at all, and you can't sleep in it. If you need good interior space, you'll want to go for one of the 01? or newer when you could get a quad cab with a 6' bed.

All that said, for under 10g USD, if I were to do it again, I'd buy an older 4cyl hardbody Nissan, a 2wd Tacoma, or a Silverado. I have a few friends with Silverados and they can manage 20mpg pretty easy, plus you have a real backseat, and way more bedspace. The Fords seem a lot harder on gas than the Chevys, and the Chevys feel more capable off-road.

for a city ripper bike and ski hauler the rangers are pretty good. no room in the back seats though. a taco and nissan can tow way more and fit full sized people in the back seats if thats what you are looking for. if you need to carry things and do truck type things a 1/2 ton is as light as I would go.

get 4WD. carry chains. make sure it has a tow package. for a 1/2 ton, nothing less then a 6.5foot box. buy some sort of box cover, be it a canopy, tonneau cover or locking tool box. some way of keeping stuff in the box and making sure it stays there.

trucks cost money, they are not cheap to buy and they are not cheap on fuel and when they break down they are not cheap to fix. just the way it is

Sideshow's memory isn't too good, it was just a short while ago he was looking for someone to pull his truck out of the ditch.

Fair enough, but I woulda been in the ditch with a 4by as well. I ditched on purpose before shit got ugly.

That night a brand new Dodge 4by slid off the road after the driver bailed out.

The only difference for me right now is that I have to swap my chains from back to front before I descend.

When I ditched my chains were on the back. All the 4by guys just put them on the front from the get go. So its about 5mins a trip difference.

My best friend was a tow truck driver for a long time and he said 80% of the vehicles he pulled outta the ditch were 4bys.

My best friend was a tow truck driver for a long time and he said 80% of the vehicles he pulled outta the ditch were 4bys.

thats because most people think 4X4 replaces brains. if it's nastie enough to require 4X4, you should tone it down a little, doing 120km/h in 4x4 is never a good idea.

this is a simple, you just have to lift the legacy.

Tis a winning suggestion,ATB,but having done this on a GL,I learned that you will now have to replace CV's at every 2nd oil change