I need to find a reliable used truck for my 20 year son to learn to drive on. He is 6’5", 300 pounds, and does not fit comfortably in most cars or trucks. The 2008 Toyota Tundra double cab is the only one we have found that is large enough. Is there an older cheaper truck that would work for him?
Ford F-150? Almost any year. I’m sure a comparable GMC product will be equivalent. Or Dodge. Or whatever.
You need to shop for a USED full-size pick-up truck. There are so many of them I can’t keep track.
Don’t even consider a 2008 vehicle for someone learning to drive. A USED vehicle is the best choice. There are so many to choose from! Have fun shopping.
I second mcparadise’s advice. A used full size sounds like the way to go, if he must have a truck. Ford F150, GM/Chevy 1500, or Dodge 1500. Find a 2WD model, they are simpler and usually cheaper to buy and maintain.
A friend of mine, who is about that size, owns a suburban, the mercury clone of a crown vic (whatever it’s called), and some new POS honda mini-van thing that his wife made him buy (no idea what they are called). I assume he fits in all of them.
Also look for trucks with a bench seat and a cab and a half rather than a single cab. The cab and a half gives extra room to move the seat back. Even a small truck; ranger/s10/dakota/tacoma, should work if you have a bench and extended cab.
Make a list of vehicles you may want to try out for size and come back on this site and click on the ‘Research’ link in the blue section above.
Here you will find any kind of vehicle and all the specs including hip/knee and headroom. Compare three vehicles side by side too.
I agree to look for a vehicle (p/u) with an extended cab. Unless he will be hauling family around he won’t need a crew cab.
Don’t laugh, but has he tried sqeezing into a newer Volkswagen? My dad is about that size and he drives an 2000-something Golf and is quite comfortable in it. I’m not quite that big, but it’s the only car I’ve ever driven where I don’t have to push the seat back all the way. I hear the Toyota Echo’s are also suprisingly roomy for big people. And something like a Crown Vic or a bigger Buick would have at least as much if not more room than most newer full-size trucks, some of which, like the earlier Tundras, I find to be suprisingly cramped.
Any of the pick-up truck’s leg room values are within about a half-inch of each other. You need to check then to see if any seat him better. I’ve also found that power seats provide a lot more versatility in seating. My BIL is 6’4" and his wife is 5’0". They both fit in the cars they buy, partly because of the power seats.
I concur. VW’s seem to accomdate larger/taller people quite well.
If it were not for your son’s size, I would not recommend any truck because of the high center of gravity. However, in your case I recommend you find a truck with stability control. It may not be easy to find, but look anyway. A new driver should have as many safety features as possible.
I have stability control in any car I drive. It’s my prudent right foot. ;^)
Are you a 20-year-old new driver?
When I was a 16 year old new driver, my motorcycle didn’t have stability control either. How did we ever survive without all that nonsense?
Did your motorcycle have most of its weight up front and a high center of gravity? Were you 6’5" and 300 pounds? Was that BC or AD?
“Did your motorcycle have most of its weight up front and a high center of gravity?”
Only when I hit the brakes (ever do a brakey, intentionally or otherwise?).
“Were you 6’5” and 300 pounds?"
Not quite, but I do seem to be getting shorter and heavier (I’m not sure what that has to do with anything).
“BC or AD”
Huh?
I’ve had top heavy SUVs without “stability control,” ABS, or any other marketing gimmicks. IMHO, most of that stuff is just more trouble than it’s worth. If you are going to own something like that, you have to drive accordingly, all the electronic toys in world aren’t really going to help you. These things are trucks with crappy handling. Either drive appropriately, or bring along a few friend to put it back on it’s wheels when it tips over.
Seriously, I would just find a car that fit me and forget about buying a truck (unless I really needed a truck for some reason). There are plenty of full size sedans that will fit just about anyone (safer, better performance, better handling, better mileage, etc.).
Why do you need a truck? I have a friend who is 6-4 and his son is 6-5 and weighs 265 lbs. He looked at many vehicles and found a Dodge caravan minivan to have the best access and legroom of all the vehicles he looked at. Some minivans are roomier than others, but they are worth a try.
“Were you 6’5” and 300 pounds?"
Not quite, but I do seem to be getting shorter and heavier (I’m not sure what that has to do with anything).
The point is that I wasn’t talking about you and what you drove 100 years ago. Times have changed and so has the available technology. Besides, motorcycles are very stable once they are moving and have nothing to do with the price of tea in China or the truck that the OP wants to get for his son.
“BC or AD”
Huh?
This was a jab about your age and your crotchety attitude that “what was good for me back in the stone age is good for today’s young people.”
I agree that a car should be fine, but the OP asked for a truck recommendation. What he got for his troubles is a bunch of crotchety old guys who insist on changing the subject and giving unresponsive answers.
“Are you a 20-year-old new driver?”
Of course not. And I did not have stability control when I was 20. :^)
I was assuming that the only reason he was asking about trucks was due to the size of the driver, but I may have been incorrect. I would still recommend a car, instead of a truck, for any new driver for all the obvious reasons.
BTW, I’ve always been crotchety, it has nothing to do with my age. Aside from my crotchetiness, I’m still not a fan of stability control in any vehicle. A high performance driving school is probably a better investment for a new driver. I know I’ve learned more in a very few hours on a track (porsche club driving school) than many, many hours of normal street driving. The concept of using gadgets to compensate for driver skill does bother me.
Now, now, Jeremy. I know that your really meant:
BC = Before Cushman was started
AD = After the inception of Ducati
Yeah man. That’s the ticket!