Herping vehicle

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pete
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 7:11 pm
Location: cape cod ma.

Herping vehicle

Post by pete »

My Toyota Tacoma is nearing the end of its life. I want-need a small pickup due to my predilection for placing fish,rocks ,logs and salvaged shrubs in my vehicles. Enclosed space doesn't work from an olfactory standpoint after a few years :lol: :lol:
Looking at nissan frontiers and ford f150, avoiding Toyota due to price,an issues I've had with current truck. To clarify my m.o. I buy new an drive till dead. Too much time on crappy dirt an sand roads to chance a used vehicle. I like to know that any damage is a result of my stupidity and not someone else's.

Thanks for any input!

Pete
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gbin
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Joined: June 10th, 2010, 4:28 pm

Re: Herping vehicle

Post by gbin »

I don't know how soon you're looking to buy, but I'm really intrigued by the fact that the new Ford F-150 is going to have an aluminum rather than steel body. Sounds to me as if they're making an already great vehicle even better. (Hint: If you trade stocks, consider adding Ford to your holdings. I think their stock is a decent bargain right now, and if you own at least 100 shares for at least six months then you qualify for a special discount on a new vehicle.)

Gerry
Craig
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Joined: May 19th, 2013, 4:39 pm
Location: Ohio

Re: Herping vehicle

Post by Craig »

I've been driving a '98 F150 4x4 with a 4.6L motor since I bought it new. Great truck. The new fords are supposed to be amongst the best pickups out there. The aluminum body sounds interesting. A lot of their engines also have the eco burst turbo. I think the only regular engine is the 5.0 V8 which is a fine motor in itself.

Craig
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Mark Brown
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Joined: June 8th, 2010, 2:15 am
Location: Austin, TX

Re: Herping vehicle

Post by Mark Brown »

I don't think you can beat an F150 for all around utility and comfort. They are dead reliable, very reasonably priced compared to any other big trucks, the high seating position is addictive and a bonus for road cruising, very comfortable (and they'll hold six people comfortably), and the new V6 models (regular and Ecoboost) get pretty good mileage without giving up any horsepower to the 5-liter V8 (though I'm always a V8 guy).

If you're going to be hauling a bunch of people around the super cab is good, but if, like me, it's going to be a go-to-work vehicle the majority of the time, you might want to consider a single cab. They never made much sense to me until I drove one and the difference between the long wheelbase extended cab models and my little single cab is startling.....better handling, much easier to park, tighter turning radius, better mileage, cheaper to purchase, and there's still enough room behind the seats for me to carry a week's worth of herping trip stuff.

I love this truck!

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rtdunham
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Joined: January 11th, 2011, 2:43 pm

Re: Herping vehicle

Post by rtdunham »

pete wrote:To clarify my m.o. I buy new an drive till dead. Too much time on crappy dirt an sand roads to chance a used vehicle. I like to know that any damage is a result of my stupidity and not someone else's.
Pete, I occasionally use a strategy that might address your concerns but also save you thousands.

I buy a two year old car. It's still got a year left on the new car warranty. That's plenty of time, imho, to shake loose any problems created by the first owner, or that the car suffers from but the seller doesn't disclose. (I also always have a dealer do a thorough inspection and test drive before pulling the trigger). I know these vehicles aren't in the category you're shopping, but the strategy worked great with a hybrid camry and then a prius. Big savings plus peace of mind.

I also go to the dealership where the seller got the car serviced, and ask to see the service records. With a VIN I've even gotten my local dealer to pull up those records on a car i was about to buy hundreds of miles away. I called and spoke to both the service manager and a mechanic at the dealership (Camry hybrid) and was convinced both by the service records and the opinions of the men I talked to, who knew the car well ( "buy it! it's flawless" and "the owner's fanatical about its maintenance").

Of course, if you're hot for the alum-body F-150, for example, then you have no choice but to buy new. I did that when the revised Subaru Outback came out in 2010, and for that car, at that time, that was the right strategy too.

Good luck!
ToddB
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Joined: April 26th, 2014, 6:32 am

Re: Herping vehicle

Post by ToddB »

Looks like everyone likes the F150, so I came here to show some love for the Frontier. I recently picked up a 2014 Frontier and love it. It was technically used, but only had 4500 miles on it. This is my 3rd Nissan in a row and they've all been good for me. You could probably get a Frontier for less than a F150 with similar features. The F150 would be bigger, but I've noticed that the "mid-size" pickups like the Tacoma and Frontier seem to have grown over the years. You probably would be happy with either, just wanted to throw in my $.02.
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mrichardson
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Re: Herping vehicle

Post by mrichardson »

ToddB wrote:Looks like everyone likes the F150, so I came here to show some love for the Frontier. I recently picked up a 2014 Frontier and love it. It was technically used, but only had 4500 miles on it. This is my 3rd Nissan in a row and they've all been good for me. You could probably get a Frontier for less than a F150 with similar features. The F150 would be bigger, but I've noticed that the "mid-size" pickups like the Tacoma and Frontier seem to have grown over the years. You probably would be happy with either, just wanted to throw in my $.02.
I have owned a Nissan Frontier (badged a 'Navara' in England where I live) for over 8 years which I purchased from new. I'm nearing 100,000 miles on the clock and I'm yet to have any serious mechanical issues. My truck is a diesel (as are most UK and European trucks and SUVs these days) so probably not comparable the Frontiers Stateside. However, I think it's a great small pick-up.
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klawnskale
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Re: Herping vehicle

Post by klawnskale »

I own a 2000 Subaru Outback Wagon that has 0ver 205,000 miles on it and still running well. Some of that mileage is from herping. Granted, it is not a high clearance vehicle like a pick up or SUV, but the AWD handles loose sand and mud very well. I can't vouch for the reliability of the newer Subarus but the engine on this one just refuses die and is happy with regular oil/fluid changes :thumb: They are not cheap, however I have found this one to be a solid investment that has paid me back many times over.
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Duggles
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Joined: February 18th, 2011, 4:09 pm

Re: Herping vehicle

Post by Duggles »

Image

One more vote for Frontier......My 2004 has about 125k on it right now. Previous Nissan pickup (1992) had 250k on it when I sold it and got this one....
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pete
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Location: cape cod ma.

Re: Herping vehicle

Post by pete »

Thanks for all the replies!
I ended up with the frontier, I like it! Gotta figure out a better way for the dog to ride though. He liked the bench seat in the Toyota. :lol: hopefully i can put 200,000 miles on it before it falls apart. My first car was a Datsun 510. I put 270,000 miles on that car an couldn't kill it.
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Brandon La Forest
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Location: Arizona

Re: Herping vehicle

Post by Brandon La Forest »

Two words.

Toyota Tacoma.
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klawnskale
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 7:09 pm

Re: Herping vehicle

Post by klawnskale »

Brandon La Forest wrote:Two words.

Toyota Tacoma.
The original poster indicated he had one and it became past its prime and couldn't afford another one so he went with the Frontier.
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Biker Dave
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Re: Herping vehicle

Post by Biker Dave »

Even though the OP said he wasn't interested in Toyota, I vote for the Tacoma as well. Mine is bullet proof. As long as you stay current on maintenance you really shouldn't have any problems with it. Yes they can be a little pricey, but you get what you pay for IMO.
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pete
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Location: cape cod ma.

Re: Herping vehicle

Post by pete »

I had a Tacoma for the past 8 years and 205000 miles. I had a wealth of electrical issues, front end problems( kept blowing seals on front differential) and the throw out bearing in the clutch assembly kept going way before the clutch. My experience was quite different than the majority of Tacoma owners. It still pissed me off enough not to get another Toyota. That's the reason I changed manufacturers. Nothing is perfect or infallible,but for the money spent on a vehicle today I should feel comfortable about the product.
Thanks again for all the suggestions!
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Biker Dave
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Re: Herping vehicle

Post by Biker Dave »

Well that sucks! Sorry to hear about the problems....

Anyone else who has a Tacoma check out http://www.tacomaworld.com . The forums are full of money saving ideas as well as inexpensive fixes to expensive dealer repairs that do the job as well or better than the dealer! Plus there is a lot of custom tips and tricks available too! I know I probably saved well over a grand in stupid simple fixes to problems the dealer would make you think were worth spending hundreds of dollars on to repair!
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regalringneck
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:20 am

Re: Herping vehicle

Post by regalringneck »

... seems like this topic was pretty well proven : viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17457&hilit=xterra ... :P
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