I’ve read a few different sites online. Some say all Toyotas, some Nissans, some Chevys, some years of F150s and Rangers, and some years of RAM and Dakotas are reliable.
Some posters say any truck is good if you maintain it. Some sites rank any newer truck best.
Obviously opinions can differ, and they do.
What do you recommend to someone looking to buy a very reliable used truck (used for weekly furniture transport and sometimes pulling a medium flatbed trailer)?
Very simple! Toyotas are the most reliable.The Tacoma is great
used truck, used car, does not matter
what is your budget
buy as new a truck as you can
buy a truck with as low miles as you can
buy a truck with a proven service history
Agree with @Cavell - Of all the things listed, for a used truck, the service history is the most important.
And, always, always, always have your mechanic, not the dealer’s, inspect the truck before you buy it. Best money you will ever spend!
service history is nice. but what is 1st criteria you start with? price?
ya, that 2017 denali sure is nice. but its 45,000
what is 2nd thing salesman asks you after your name? what is your budget?
Usually, they say… What would it take for you to buy this vehicle today?
That is my signal to walk away.
he wants to know if you are lost in new truck showroom and needs to find the budget/used up dept
im going to dealer right now to pickup a factory oil filter. gotta keep my warranty up
One of the best mechanics I know would be asked who makes the best vehicle. His answer never changed. “They’re all junk”.
My only concern about Toyota pickup trucks is the problem of frame rust. I know Toyota did replace the frames on affected models. In fact, I was at the Toyota dealer earlier this week and saw a stack of new truck frames.
In my area, the Ford and Chevrolet pickup trucks seem to be the most popular. For a used truck, this probably means that parts are more readily available for these makes.
My '87 Toyota pickup runs as well as new without any major repairs. It has lived all its life in California and New Mexico, so rust hasn’t endangered it. Consumer Reports gathers information on repair history. You can check them at the public library. if you buy used, how previous owner(s) treated it matters more than anything.
If you’re only going to use it weekly, consider renting.
Ford are number one for a reason. They last. Value
I’m assuming this will be a used truck, so Toyota is out of the question . . . because you pay through the nose and it will be used for work, not value retention
I’d go with a Ford full-size truck, perhaps a F-250 Super Duty with the gasoline engine
It should go without saying that whatever truck you buy, you need to follow the severe service maintenance schedules, no ifs ands or buts
I don’t know anything about trucks but like I said before, if I look around to the trucks in the area being used for heavy duty work, a lot of them are Fords, gas not diesel. They must be doing something right.
Depends on the year and the weight you plan to tow, in my opinion. Personally, I’d avoid GM 2007-2013 5.3 liter engine for the active fuel management. Lots of problems with that. I’d also avoid the Ford F-150 with the 5.4 liter 3 valve engine (2004-2010) for problems they had with the timing system, cam phasers, whatever their deal was exactly. Tacoma’s are great. But expensive and won’t tow as much (if that matters). I didn’t really care for the pre 2007 Tundra, myself. 2007 and up are great. But pricey.
So GM with 4.8, 5.3, or 6.0 up to 2006 would work. Ford 4.6 or 5.4 up to 2004 would be good. I don’t know much about Dodge, past the late 90’s. I owned a 98 Ram with the 5.9 liter. The engine was great, the transmission wasn’t. A gas 3/4 ton from any of them should be good. I don’t think they got the fuel saving gimmicks that sometimes failed and made the engines less reliable.
Chevy Silverado, Ford F150, Toyota Tacoma would be the three I’d focus on for used trucks. Pretty much any pickup truck will be able to haul furniture, a small load of firewood, a few bags of cement, etc, but to pull the trailer, depending what’s on the trailer, you’ll have to do a little research on your proposed truck’s hauling specs. I like @db4690 's suggestion above to keep the Ford F-250 on the short list.
Ford F-250 gas engine is a good choice. I like the Silverado / Sierra 3/4 tons with the 6.0 gas engine better, though. If you’re gonna drive a big honkin 3/4 ton truck and burn a lot of gas, might as well get the bigger motor.
Or you could get the f250 with the v10 like a friend of mine did!
Strange that we went from Toyota Tacoma to 3/4 tons on recommended trucks. I have found that used 3/4 ton gas engine trucks are often reasonably priced though, because everybody wants a diesel in the 3/4 tons.
Most late model Tacomas have a very small cargo box, not practical for delivering furniture unless you can find one with a stake bed.
Buddy of mine at work has a 2001 Ram 1500 he’s wanting to turn into a mud runner and he was telling me today about the engine/transmissions in those trucks. He said the transmissions- at least for the 2001 year- aren’t very robust, and that the 360(5.9L) is at the very edge of what those 46RE transmissions can handle as far as power goes. The 318(5.2L) engine was okay to upgrade, but it was also the same transmission they used with the 5.9L.