Hey Everyone, So, I'm getting serious about racing. I've been running a rotax kart around southern california for a few months, and have done a few track days in my daily driver, an E46 bmw 323ci. Unfortunately, transporting and storing the kart is a challenge, as I'm living in an apartment with one parking space, and relying on borrow my parents' F150 to transport it from their house, 2 hours or so south of me. As you can imagine, this is a big pain. So, I'm considering trading my bmw for a pickup. This sounds painful but, honestly, having driven on a track a good amount now, driving a sporty car on the street becomes rather boring. The freedom to load up the kart and go whenever I feel like it is a very tempting proposition. (I'm not too keen on towing with the bmw...) I figure if I sell the car, I can take half of what I get for it and buy a decent truck to drive. The other half, I can put in the bank and save up for something more interesting - maybe an Elise, in a few years? who knows. Anyway, I wanted to ask you guys what brands you would reccommend. I'm looking for a very basic, no-frills compact pickup. I'd be looking for something in the $8-10k range. Thanks very much, in advance! Dan
Dan As a Toyota technician I obviously have to recommend a Toyota. The Tacomas are really reliable and damn near idiot proof. They may be close to the top of, or above, your price range as they really hold their value. An interesting truck you might look into is a T-100. You don't hear much about them but they are a solid value. The V6 is plenty strong to haul your carts around and the bed is larger than the Tacoma or the regular Toyota pick-up. They were Toyota's first foray into larger trucks. It's not as big as a Tundra but bigger than the others. I like the Nissans almost as well as the Toyota's. I just feel the Toyota's are better trucks. Personally, I would run and hide from the American compact trucks. I find them to be close to garbage. I like big American trucks (F150 and the Silverado) but despise the smaller trucks. my .02
Compact pick-up? eeeew. I have a Ranger and hate the darn thing. Drinks like a big boy, but can't keep up when I load it or tow (blew a tranny when towing 3 snowmobiles...). If you really have to go compact ... Toyota. Get yourself a Tacoma and you're all set. I personally will never get another compact pick-up. Next one is 3500 duallie diesel and manual. Now that should hold up to some abuse! Have you considered an enclosed trailer? There are some little trailers that you could pull behind your bimmer, store your toy in along with the tools ...
I found myself in a similiar situation as you when I moved here to Vt. I bought a snowmobile and needed something to tow it with so I faced facts and decided that I needed to bite the bullet and buy a truck. I'm not a truck guy at all have no interest in them so I really had to force myself. I ended up buying a 94 toyota 4x4 with the 22-RE and have never regretted it. I use it to tow my snowmobile (462 lbs dry weight) on the trailer and I'm guessing it would be a simiar load as your go-cart on a trailer. I have never had a problem it has consistantly pulled the load up mountain roads without incident. The truck has also lived up to it's reputation for me in 7 years of ownership and 80,000 miles the only things I've had to replace are the front brakes, starter, couple of u-joints,fuel pump assembly. The rest of the ign. fuel, drivetrain have never been touched and even the exhaust is factory original. The T-100 that was mentioned is a great idea also it will fall into your price range and it has a good size bed. Two pieces of advice for you one is do yourself a favor and get an extra cab. I was told this when I was looking and I didn't get one and wish I did, that extra space behind the seats is invaluable. The other thing is there were certain toyota V-6 models that had head problems so if you decide to go with a V-6 look into which years the problems were, I'm not sure which specific years the problem occured maybe the tech who posted previously here can shed some light on the subject.
Toyota! Can't be beat for small trucks. We've owned a bunch of them (1978 pu, 1985 pu, 1988 22re pu, 1990 4Runner, 1996 Tacoma) All went 100K miles+ with no problems at all. All of them tolerated plenty of idot off-road moves and ran like new the whole time. My wife and I will be in the market for a full size diesel soon and are keeping our fingres crossed that the rumors about a new FULL size Toyota around '07 are true!
The problem with Toyota V6's used in Toyota trucks from 1989-1995 was a head gasket issue. Toyota implemented a service campaign VO6. If you are considering a Toyota truck manufactured between 1989 and 1995, and it has a V6, call a dealer and have then check the VIN. These head gaskets leaked internally, and the first clue to failure is white smoke from the tailpipe immediately upon startup. Also check for condensation on the inside of the oil filler cap. If the VO6 has not been done, it can be a positive possibility. Toyota is replacing short blocks on vehicles having well over 100,000 miles. If the block shows pitting in excess of .004, the block is replaced. A sweet deal if you have a high mileage truck. Cylinder heads are replaced if pitting on the head surface exceeds .006. In 1995 Toyota introduced a new V6 midyear, and the early (new)1995's had a head gasket issue also. However, these gaskets leaked externally. The campaign for these vehicles was the XO1. There was not a pitting problem with these so only the gaskets were replaced. If you are looking at a 1995 truck, you could have either the older engine (VO6) or the newer (XO1) Most all of the affected vehicles have been repaired by now. There are likely a few floating around that have been missed, but I haven't seen one in my shop in quite awhile. I hope this is helpful
Doc The T-100 was built between 1993-1998. It was Toyota's first "big" truck. It was sort of a mid-sized truck. It was larger than the Tacoma but smaller than todays Tundra. The Tundra's have been bulletproof. I have not even seen the inside of an engine or transmission yet. There have been no Special Service Campaigns or even serious Service Bulletins. The most major issue so far has been a brake vibration that Toyota has rectified with a service bulletin that replaces the calipers with larger units and bigger rotors. Pretty minor. I would go so far as to consider the Tundra's a bit too good. I am truly making less money due to a lack of service issues. Trucks make up over 50% of our sales, and the damn things don't break.
Steven thanks for the info. I'm glad to hear the info. on the Tundra I was thinking of upgrading to one but wasn't sure of the reliability. IIRC the reason the T-100 didn't sell well was because it wasn't offered with any higher h.p. motors basically it was underpowered.
Jennie has a 2001 Tundra that I abuse the heck out of! It has been perfect. We've put 80,000 hard miles of commuting and hauling race cars on a monthly basis. I hate when they call a Tundra a "pickup", the thing is a brute and I would take it on against any standard American half-ton. Has a 8,500 tow rating and when the enclosed trailer and Challenge car I use quite a bit of that rating. I hauled the RX7 on a flat bed trailer to Kansas averaging 78 mph with no problems, even up the Southern Oklahoma "mountains". We had rotors changed at about 50k miles and we had a fuel pump go at 70k (which is common with the Tundras) that was covered under warranty. The highway ride is really good too, one reason it has so many miles is the highway ride is better than the BMW, so we leave the German at home. I think the American trucks are great, but my racing friends report issues here and there while the Tundra has almost been perfect. I admit I really want a 3/4 or 1 ton to be capable of a 35 ft+ enclosed for two cars. Toyota will be making one within the next several years, but I don't know if I can wait that long.
I just ran an appraisal and ours only came out to $13,774. Which is very very affordable. It is completely decked out with the Limited and Off Road Packages. All leather, 6 Disc changer, Captains chairs, and color coded bumpers. Car has about a dozen little dings or small dents as it has been used hard. That's one reason the price is lower. National Base Price $16,917 Optional Equipment $991 Metallic Paint $0 Off-Road Suspension Package $44 Power Driver Seat $99 Captain Chairs (2) $182 Privacy Glass $83 Sliding Rear Window $74 AM/FM/Cassette/CD Changer Audio System $93 Leather Seats $416 Color Adjustment Black $-18 Regional Adjustment for Zip Code 76092 $-249 Mileage Adjustment 80,000 miles $-1,510 Condition Adjustment Average $-2,357 Total $13,774
I drive a '95 GMC extended cab pick up. I bought it in 1997. It's got a little over 150,000 miles. I've replaced the alternator, belts, brake pads, and a leaky A/C pressure valve. I've never had a more reliable vehicle. I have towed dozens of vehicles on my 16 foot double axle trailer with no problems. However, the instructions say to only TOW with the transmission in third gear; not overdrive. I drive my vehicles carefully and try not to abuse them. When I tow, I don't just floor the accelerator and try to go 70mph. When towing, I usually keep it around 50mph because in third gear the RPM is around 2200. In overdrive at 70mph, the RPM is around 1900 or 2000. But you can't tow in overdrive. A local transmission shop told me that they see a lot of burned up transmissions from people towing in overdrive. If I was doing a LOT of towing, I think that I would pick a newer GM truck that would tow in overdrive at 70mph without running the RPM up higher all day long. But I'm just an amateur, so my truck does fine. My friend also has a 1997 GMC Z71 pick up with 4WD, and it has performed well for him also. No major problems. I think that many people abuse their trucks like work horses and cause their own problems. I treat mine well and it keeps going.
Yes, I abuse the Tundra like crazy. Even used the cruise control. I still use overdrive all the time and go as fast as I do in the car (80 mph). Actually, we've been expecting a trans job since 50k and at 80k it is still going perfect. Dang it, I'll break it one of these days!
That's the good thing about Toyota's there really aren't any can'ts or don't do's associated with them. I could probably tow a trailer in reverse with mine for 100 miles and it wouldn't even hiccup.
I favor Dodge pickups. My family has a 84 with several hundred thousand miles on a 360, and I drive a 96 Ram with 170,000+ miles on it (V6). I don't use the V6 for towing, but it's been a great "throw something in the back" pickup. The only problem I've had was a tranny failure at 160,000, and that was my fault. The 84 has never needed major work, just preventative maintenance and a couple of starter motors.
Wow, thanks for all the great info, everyone! I think a tacoma is the way to go for me. It's going to be a daily-driver in the city (Los Angeles) and i'd rather have some more compact for paralell parking, etc. The kart itself is less than 200 pounds, so I doubt it'd have much trouble. I looked around, and high-mileage base-model I4s from 2000 and before are well under 10k. So, seems like a good solution. I'll look around for what I can find. Thanks again! Dan
For myself, it would be 2 trucks. One is the GMC Typhoon. It has a 4.3L Vortec V6 motor with a Garrett 20G watercooled turbocharger rated to produce 270hp, but purported to be in the 330hp/370tq range. 0-60 time is under 5 seconds, and it is AWD. 13sec 1/4 mile times. It is compact truck as well. Looking at ~11,000, possibly less. Other option would be a Dodge Ram. Strong and reliable, especially with the 5.9L motor. Not sure on the prices
I gotta recommend ya get a GMC. This old girl can tow anythin'. You just have to leave yesterday to get there on time. I love drivin' her into work on the 101 freeway. People either wave or flip me off. Definitely the other side of the coin from my FCar. Image Unavailable, Please Login
John, I'm gonna mention a couple things I noticed, not trying to launch an attack ... Did you mean Syclone? Because the Typhoon was more like an SUV based on the blazer, the Syclone was based on the GM compact pickups. Also, I don't know that you could count the Syclone as a pickup other than by looks alone, the maximum cargo weight was only 250 lbs. Hagerty had never insured one of these before, and when a client of mine bought one Hagerty wanted me to submit all kids of info so they could add it to their "approved" vehicles list... my client gave me a ride in his Syclone, it was wicked fast. If anyone out there isn't familiar with the Syclone or Typhoon, visit http://www.syty.org/faq.html
John, it's cool. SyTy, same thing. They were discontinued because they had a faster acceleration time than the Corvette.
Spent the whole day giving my much-neglected '93 Silverado (4.3L V6 5 speed, 175k mi.) a good working over. Our relationship has been on the rocks for a while now, because I've been working alot and taking her for granted. Been riding her hard and putting her up wet. I changed the oil, flushed the cooling system, replaced the thermostat, had new tires put on the rear wheels, installed new rear brake shoes, painted some faded exterior trim pieces, fixed some niggling little interior issues, and gave her a decent detail job. She went from being a hundred-yard looker to a 10 footer. I can't remember the last time I was walking away from her and stopped to turn around and take another glance. I did it tonight though! A friend of a friend has a freshly rebuilt 454ci long block for sale, cheap. I'm going to pick it up and hang onto it until the V6 gives up the ghost. My pipe dream someday is to drop a 454 in the front and throw a C4 Corvette IRS under the rear. (It fits perfectly, I've already measured. ) Image Unavailable, Please Login
