Buying a used pickup truck

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Good deals on T100s are very hard to find around here. If they don't have a ton of miles then people want a lot of money. I spent a looooong time looking before I found mine.
 
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Late model Ford Rangers are worth a look for any budget minded firewood collectors. Plenty of inexpensive parts are available, with general repairs and maintenance quite doable. A trip or two more will be all that is needed for a cord, especially if the bed is the longbed. Heavy duty leaf springs are available, and also the timbren rubber springs and many similar items. One great thing about the ranger is that it will fit through narrow spaces in the woods. This opens up a surprising number of firewood gathering options that may be unavailable to those with full size trucks.
 
A ranger will fit down four wheeler/jeep tracks, I've had three and miss them.
 
rowerwet said:
A ranger will fit down four wheeler/jeep tracks, I've had three and miss them.
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Just be sure it's legal to do so in whatever state you're in . . . driving a truck down a signed ATV trail (or believe it or not . . . snowmobile trail in the winter) will result in a fine here in Maine if you are caught doing so . . . unless it is a marked multi-purpose trail.
 
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Don't be afraid to look at min 90's dodge with the diesel I have 369 k on my 96. One with the five speed even better. Plenty of power she has always turned over, doesn't matter how cold. Hauled a lot of wood, and still a daily driver. It's a great motor put in an ok truck but they run.
 
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2broke2ride said:
I am a master tech in a high volume private shop, I can't speak much about any of the newer batch of ford engines because we are just starting to see them (5.0, 6.2, etc) but the three valve triton engines from 04 to whenever they switched to the coyote motors are absolute crap. From cam phaser and timing chain issues to broken plugs the list goes on. Oh and don't forget about the lovely rotted exhaust manifolds with pre-broken studs....... On the older trucks I could simply pull the inner fenders and go to it, on the 04+ trucks the strut tower is in the way so if you have to do any extracting at all the motor has to come out. I'm a Ford guy three generations deep but they really missed the boat with that batch of trucks. Oh, and run far far away from any of the newer diesels unless you have really deep pockets. The only motor worth a chit is the Cummins but dodge puts a crap tranny behind it, the Chevy duramaxs that I've dealt with have glow plugs that go bad and break in the head, high pressure pumps that literally fall apart and leak and crap transfer cases. The ford 7.3 is a great motor but oil pans and oil coolers rot out and again the trannies are weak if pushed. the 6.0 is a raging pile of crap from head gaskets to injectors to egr cooler to turbo problems, the list goes on with those. Back to rotted oil pans on the 6.4 plus Pistons cracking and don't know much about the 6.7........ Phew, sorry for being long winded.
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Knowing all that......what would be your recomendation for a used truck?
 
Toyota if your looking for reliability, but not real heavy for a wood hauler. As far as the "American" trucks go, my first choice would be a Dodge 2500 reg. Cab long bed with the 5.9 gas motor after that, Chevy 2500hd reg. Cab long bed with the 6.0 gas motor before they went to the multi- displacement engine. I would steer clear of ford all together and like I said I'm not a diesel guy but if you forced me to choose it would be a dodge with the Cummins pre- common rail.

Here's my wood hauler, not very heavy duty
4c03b5a2455457da31ab212480d91a62.jpg
 
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