Using A Light-duty V6 Truck As A Work Truck... No Problem?

Michaeljp86

I agree get a full size chevy 1500 2wd. I use my jimmy alot with the little trailer. The trailer is easier to load then a pickup. But at the same time I could probably get the same or better mpg with a 2wd 2500 fullsize truck and not need to drag around a trailer.

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I am just a vessel from which genius flows -Homer Simpson

Global warming is a myth, like evolution and the metric system.

Relic

i drove a 1/4 ton mazda (2wd,v6) until yesterday. it was totalled at four a.m. by a drunk driver who actually flipped his car right into the backend of my truck. must have been going 40mph! anyways, i added two leafs on either side of the back end, and built a box that had four compartments and a rack that allowed longer material to barely clear the cab. it was perfect, except that the padlocks i installed were a tight squeeze to get on and off. empty that truck did 28 miles to the gallon, highway. anyways, it was more then enough truck. there were times that i probably had close to two thousand pounds on the roof, plus me and my employee, plus tools.

now that its gone i'm thinking of downsizing. i think i might go for an old jetta. plenty of trunk room plus the backseat, roof rack for materials. any big loads i'll just get delivered (saving me time and effort), and usually its free for orders over $ 1,000.

i'm a contractor, building everything from decks and fences to gazebos, kitchens, and bathrooms. it's true there are times that a big truck would be handy, but most of the time a big truck is a pain in the ass when you're trying to get around in the city. not to mention the gas mileage (i'm worried more about the environment then my wallet). the one thing i'm concerned with is the idea that serious contractor needs to drive a serious truck. but i've got work lined up till next summer, so who the hell cares?

if my worktruck could be a bicycle it would be. when are contractors going to start thinking about what they need, and the environment rather then what everyone else is driving?

Winchester

I've worked out of a Pontiac Sunfire GTX 4dr for a while now, but I'm starting to get more serious business and I can't go on without a truck. Delivery charges suck, and I've had to rent a truck a few times to deliver stuff like cabinets I've made.

Tomorrow I'm going to the Toyota dealership, I've been approved for financing on an '08 Tacoma. I'm not even gonna look back.

One of the trucks I rented was a Dakota V8 Quad Cab. Not a very long box, but I bought some plywood sheets and a couple sheets of panelling and they all fit perfectly fine leaning up on the tailgate. I initially wanted a long box but after the Dakota with Quad cab I definitely would sacrifice leaning my materials up on the tailgate for the extra room inside. I have lots of power tools that I wouldn't feel comfortable bringing any other way than inside my truck.

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Ryan

Red Adobe

My siding truck is an 88 chevy 1500 2wd. 4.3 with a 5 speed. 31" 8ply rear tires. It gets around 22 mpg average intown but straight hiway at 75mph (1800 rpm) it gets almost 30. The 4.3s put out the same power or close to it as the 305 or 350 and are lighter and better MPG (less rotaing mass and higher compresion)

I did a scrap run awhileback and the scale said 4715# when the scrap was off. I have big cross box and 2 6' side boxes loaded with everything plus some lol but the springs are holding up well and the ride is pretty smoth

If your going to pull trailers you want the manual the 700r4s dont like heavy loads all that much. Ive pulled skid loaders, back hoes, amd many race cars before i retired the hitch lol The brakes suck and need rebuilt in the rear again

Michaeljp86

I think in 91 they went to a 4L60 transmission instead of the 700r4. The 4L60 was a better transmission.

__________________
I am just a vessel from which genius flows -Homer Simpson

Global warming is a myth, like evolution and the metric system.

Winchester

Had my tacoma for 2 weeks and it's working great for me

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Ryan

Michaeljp86

Dont those run on rice ethanol?

__________________
I am just a vessel from which genius flows -Homer Simpson

Global warming is a myth, like evolution and the metric system.

Red Adobe

Not anymore, them Yota's are as american made or morso

I see ranchers using them alot nowdays...... saw 1 pulling 6 round bales of hay awhile back

If i was going to buy new it be a yota hands down and id use it to pull the chevy to the races and not feel anything about it

TBFGhost

older post but just to put my 2 cents in here. I have a 1996 Ford Ranger XLT Ext Cab 4x4 3.0 V6 (wish I had the 4.0), and 5 speed trans with 175,000 miles on it. Org motor, trans and rear. I use it as my work truck. I have a ladder rack for it I got off criags list and a slim line Kobolt tool box in the back. It works great for me. It has seen is share of heavy loads. The most It has ever seen was 1368 lbs on the way to the dump. It has also pulled many 600 to 700 lb loads up to New Milford, PA from here, which is about 2 hours of up hill high way driving. While I wish I had the 4.0 for the power, the 3.0 is dead reliable. If you are just starting out, I say go for it. The biggest pain in the ass is transporting the 12" sliding miter when it is raining...I just recline the passenger seat and strap it in there....


I also agree with the above posts...my next truck will be a 'yota.

nailman

Toyota Tacoma and a camper shell for the last 5 yrs. Do a lot of trim work and it all fits. Nice and dry allso. Next truck, newer Tacoma and a trailer.

Winchester

My Tacoma has been pulling my 4x8 utility trailer with 4' sides full of jobsite rubbish, concrete and wood with no problems.

For my job this thing is great.

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Ryan

rfed32

i am interested if this is a joke or not...i have a 1/2 ton nothing crazy or to big it bulls my 16foot trailer with no problem other than i can get a skidsteer on it if needed so i have to borrow a truck so some people do need the big trucks not an ego thing but its what they need...i have not problem with my truck 9times out of 10 and i would never show up on a job site with a car...i think it looks very scrubish like jony carpenter and who knows if he'll finish the job even tho he has 1/2 the payment jmho

aggreX

My work truck is the Tundra extended cab 2wd 5sp auto and 6ft bed. The 4.0L V6 is strong and can tow up to 4800 lbs. IMO I'm glad I got the 2005 because newer models of ALL full-size trucks have grown too big to be efficient with a V6. Its not the biggest or toughest full-size truck but it handles all my needs, plus I average about 18-21 mpg overall on regular.

slowforthecones

I traded in my chevy express 2500 extended v8 for a new toyota minivan v6. Took out the middle and rear row seats, replaced with a knaack jobmaster 48 box and plastic storage bins. Been working out great for me (electrical contractor). I can carry 10 ft conduit inside the van or on top my roof rack. I replaced the stock roof rack with a thule true cross bar. Got 3 ladders stacked on the roof daily.

TBFGhost

Mine is the White Ranger, and the kid walking is one of the helpers from one of companies I work with. We were at a Habitat for Humanity....
Got the rack from Craigslist for $125. Its pretty strong, I have used it as a makeshift scafold for some siding I did on a personal project...just has 2 2x8-16s tied down up on top.

Romes

you could get a mid size truck with a 6cyl and add a leaf to the leaf springs so it can carry more weight.

KHouse75

A Truck? Who needs a truck? When things were slow in the early 90s I drove my father's 1987 Firebird with T-Tops and 2.8L V6 for a couple of years helping him on job sites. Luckily, I never had to haul plywood around. 2x's were no problem. I still have that car.

I'm still driving my 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab, 4.7L V8. That thing is rock solid. I should have bought the 8' bed, however.

I had to get rid of the three Toyota Tundras I bought for supervisor trucks. Those things were the absolute biggest pieces of junk I've ever seen. They were in the shop more than we got to use them. First time I've bought a vehicle from a foreign country and I'll never do anything but Dodge, Chevy and Ford ever again.

We went back to our 1998 GMC Sierra's with 4.3L V6's. I had the seats reapulstered, changed the oil and plugs, gave them new tires and they're good to good. They are rock solid just like my Dodge. One is approaching 400,000 miles and the other are around 350,000 mles. They're just not as pretty after 10 years. Especially the one where my brother tightened down straps too tight around some equipment using the wheel wells. I don't know if it was the 105 degree heat or what but as soon as he pulls back onto the lot I hear a loud "BANG" from the truck. We looked the thing over and couldn't figure out where the sound came from. It was running and driving fine. Then we took off the straps and saw that the metal was all dented in on both sides. Oops!

2ndGen

You'd be surprised at what one can do with the bed of a truck in "odd" circumstances. I once mounted a makeshift 60' ladder I made by tieing on a 20' section to a 40' ladder in the back of my bed to get an extra 2 or 3' of height for this monster Downspout replacement I did on an apartment building.

I was soooooo stupid when I was in my early 20's!

I think about that and laugh at myself.
I had no brains!

But, it wasn't the first time that I've incorporated the truck bed in an unorthodox manner.

And by the way...Ford needs to bring back the I6/300 motor!

Best work motor around!

Torque of a 302/5.0 V-8, economy of a 6cyl!
The best!

But...They do have a new small block V8 coming out that's supposed to get more than 20MPG while producing about 15% more horsepower.

Now that's an interesting beast...and it's "not" a hybrid.

Let see if this brings them back from the brink.

__________________
"I've been up on the roof. I know what those guys go through.
My whole life has been about making that profession respectable."
Ken Hendricks
www.SolutionsRoofing.com

2ndGen

I sold my 86 Firebird S/E with T-Tops to get my truck.
But bought a Trans Am with T-Tops right after my first job!
I used it as an estimate vehichle.
I'd stick a 20' extension ladder out the passenger side T-Top with the passenger seat and rear seat folded down.

__________________
"I've been up on the roof. I know what those guys go through.
My whole life has been about making that profession respectable."
Ken Hendricks
www.SolutionsRoofing.com

2ndGen

Aren't those Tundras made in America?

(Personally, I'm a Ford man myself)

__________________
"I've been up on the roof. I know what those guys go through.
My whole life has been about making that profession respectable."
Ken Hendricks
www.SolutionsRoofing.com