Do I Want A Used (Small) Truck, Or Something Else?

In My Humble Opinion
1

So I’ve been wanting a second vehicle for a while now. Our only vehicle at the moment is the family car, a sedan that we’ll be replacing down the road, but that’s a discussion for another day. I used to have a Ford F-150 long ago, but I’m not looking for another, just a vehicle for me to go off on my own and futz around with, without leaving the family ‘stranded’ without a car.

Neither my wife nor I work anymore, so a regular commute to a job is not a factor. There are other considerations: I’m too old to be climbing up into the cab of a truck, and that seems to be the majority of the truck market. I guess everything is lifted for off-roading or whatnot. I want a vehicle that can carry like a truck, with its bed, but if something is really heavy or bulky, I’d have that delivered (see Too Old again).

So I’ve mostly been trying to look at small trucks, used, as the current market doesn’t seem to do Small Trucks. I’ve idly looked at some SUVs or even vans, but not seriously. Such older models don’t come with the modern toys I’m used to: electric windows, touchscreen radio, etc.

Let’s look back at my List of Must-Haves:

Must be able to haul/carry large-ish stuff (maybe table and chairs, or a window AC unit, say).
Must be lower to the ground (No climbing for me; not sedan-low, but not far from it either), so no ‘lifted’ vehicle.
Lack of modern toys is not really a dealbreaker.
I have never and will not be towing anything.
Two doors is fine or even preferable.
Should be fairly reliable.

All of that seems to bring me around to a short list of small trucks (Ford Ranger, Toyota Tacoma, etc.). This vehicle would see light use, so the fact that it might be 15 or 20 years old wouldn’t seem to be a problem. I’m using you guys as a sounding board to decide whether I do indeed need a used small truck or is there another vehicle I haven’t thought of that ticks my boxes.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice, suggestions, and opinions.

2

I almost never wish I had a pickup truck (specifically) but a minivan would be useful to me at least a couple times a year. Passengers, cargo, side door(s), low step height, car-like maint schedule.

I do have a very favorable memory/opinion of the mid 90s Ford Rangers.

3

I drive a 2010 Ranger with wind-up windows and AC;… no other amenities. It is as reliable as a hammer, and cheap to buy but Do NOT get one with V-6:… they are gas hogs.
Get the 4-cylinder.
If I ever replace mine I will get a Ford Maverick with a plug-in hybrid drivetrain. Much of my driving is inside city limits and I hate spending $ on gas T

4

Would you want to be able to carry something like a 4’ X 8’ sheet of plywood/drywall/paneling?

5

Small vans are on the market.
They are popular with small contractors, like electricians.

6

Yes, things like that.

7

Do you need to carry 4x8 sheets of plywood or stuff that would have to hang out the back of an SUV or minivan? That’s why I’d like to get a truck right now. I’ve had a couple or pickups and a couple of SUVs. It was only large stuff that needed an open bed that made a difference.

8

This is the way. The new Mavericks sound like just what the OP wants. Can carry bigger items, but are low enough to the ground as compared to all the lifted 4x4s. A new Maverick costs about what I paid for my used F-150 in 2019.

There are similar small trucks from several of the major manufacturers now, so worth taking a look at them all.

9

I can carry plywood if I lay a couple 2X4’s in the bedliner to raise them above the wheelwells. I must also leave the tailgate down as well. I carried home 1 Cu Yard of fill dirt in my truck but I had to place a 1X4 board on top of the rear axle.

10

For the record, my Father in Law replaced his F150 with a Maverick for many of the same reasons. He went with an option with more features than the base version, but largely wanted a light duty truck for hauling around stuff to and from his forge (blacksmith) rarely, but frequently for my Mother in Law’s big garden.

Much better gas milage (which isn’t a key thing for the OP), good carrying capacity, less bells and whistles (he doesn’t care about those). And, my MiL has had multiple hip surgeries, so she’s a lot happier getting in and out.

I would say that the one time I rode in it that it would probably be somewhat uncomfortable if you had a long daily commute, or did long trips in it, but they like you have an other city car (SUV) which would work fine.

11

You should check out the answers at Jalopnik, or its offshoot Autopian. Both are car sites for (relatively) normal people. theautopian.com has a series called “What Car Should I Buy?” where “Hoob from Hooboken needs a truck, but here are his parameters…” and the “car dudes” weigh in, as do a ton of wise commenters. I often peruse the archives.

My experience is that I have a lot of friends who thought they needed a truck (might be a guy thing), but most haven’t actually run into the 4x8’ scenario. One dude is getting by with a used Honda Fit (the “Magic Seats” fold down to nothing and result in a huge cargo space).

And the last time I saw a neighbor toting a dining room table, it was sticking vertically out of his Miata.

So I say get the fun car you’d like to tool around in (I’d get one with adequate daily cargo space), and for the rare times you need to carry someone’s living room, rent a trailer (or even a truck), or borrow a friend’s!

12

When I had trucks I’d hear from more friends right around the time they needed to move large things, or just move to live somewhere else.

In one truckless time a friend offered to use his brother’s truck to help me take home a bunch of commercial shelving. His brother’s truck wasn’t running so he came with his boat and we hauled it all that way. Around these parts I have more friends with boats than trucks.

13

This sounds like a job for Ford Maverick or Honda Ridgeline in modern models, or an old Ranger/Tacoma/S10 etc before they got bigger. But sometimes the used truck market is a little competitive.

14

I noticed that Home Depot stores have a couple of rental trucks parked out front that can be rented for only an hour or two. Given that most people might need to get lumber only rarely, it might be enough to rent when needed.

15

I think this is a really good point. It reminds me of the Electric vs ICE vehicle debate. Most people who have range anxiety is about rare, edge case scenarios. But the vast majority of the time, it is a non-issue and the edge cases can be planned for. If not Home Depot, you can also rent a pickup from Uhaul for a day, and with just a bit of pre-planning, probably take care of all pickup-related needs within a day or two, most likely far less.

Credit to @Dewey_Finn for out-of-the-box thinking. Not to mention all the additional bennies of not needing to store, maintain, and insure a new vehicle that may not be getting a lot of use!

Although only the OP can confirm how frequent the need is, and do the math on the above issues versus all-the-time access.

16

How about a hatchback?

You can haul quite a lot in my Subaru with the seats folded down. And a fair amount with them up.

A lot of lumberyards will also deliver.

17

Definitely. Perhaps if you’re actively rebuilding your house, or work in construction, you need to transport lumber all of the time. But the average homeowner?

18

I’ve been known to carry 10’ long 2x4’s on my ten-speed (bungeed to the cross bar and rear rack… with the back half just hanging out in the wind).

So… I guess you shouldn’t look to me for sensible advice.

19

Nissan Frontier. The first one only lasted 350k miles. The door handle wore out. Finally blew a head gasket. Repairable, and would be on the road if someone want to tackle the job.

The next two are both over 200k and reliable as anvils. I got mine, the ex got hers. Carry a good load, comfortable. Easy to change stereos.

Resale values are kind of high on these Devils. They have a following. But they are worth it in my opinion.

20

Would something like the Hyundai Santa Cruz interest you? It’s sort of a pickup-SUV hybrid.

https://images.app.goo.gl/A95CqX323BsyDTSt7