Good old beater truck?

[winland]

Looking for suggestions on buying a used, good old beater truck to haul firewood.
Obviously needs to be a 4x4 to get in and out of some dirt trails.
But if you were looking for a "less than $2000" pickup truck to haul firewood/logs/rounds
what make/year/engine would you be MOST likely to be interested in?
What old beater 4x4, long bed, pickup did you sell that you wish you had back?

Chuck

 

[brenndatomu]

This is gonna be interesting...opcorn:

 

[tld400]

I would tell you to get a older 1980s chevy 3/4 or 1 ton truck. Cant kill them and you can get parts for it anywhere.

 

[dustytools]

Ive got a 1986 Ford F-150 4X4 with the inline 6 and bulldog tranny. I stole it for $400 and wouldnt take $2400 for it. It is a wood hauling mo-sheen!!

 

[Rockland Farm]

In that price range I would look at any of the big 3 from the 70's to early 80s . I have owned examples of them all and just like that time period truck for a beater . Not a big fan of one over the other when looking for a work horse . Currently running a 78 f150 4x4 . It had a new Jasper motor and tranny in it when I traded the original owners son 3 cords of wood for it .

 

[z50guru]

Im recommending any toyota pickup with a 22r 5spd. Great durability, and it gets in the tight woods like a side by side. No huge hauling capacity here, but with a gas sipping motor, i just make a couple trips. :msp_thumbsup:

 

[camr]

Had a '75 Chevy 1/2 ton 4x4 years ago. Had to cut a couple of sheets of CDX to throw on the floor of the bed to keep stuff from falling out on the ground. It sure did haul the wood and it didn't matter if you rubbed it against a tree or a fencepost. Sold it for a profit to a guy that was going to hang a plow on it and push snow.

 

[stihly dan]

Must have locking rear end.

 

[srb08]

Im recommending any toyota pickup with a 22r 5spd. Great durability, and it gets in the tight woods like a side by side. No huge hauling capacity here, but with a gas sipping motor, i just make a couple trips. :msp_thumbsup:

You need wheelie bars on that thing.

 

[dustytools]

Im recommending any toyota pickup with a 22r 5spd. Great durability, and it gets in the tight woods like a side by side. No huge hauling capacity here, but with a gas sipping motor, i just make a couple trips. :msp_thumbsup:

And it has POWER steering to boot!!:smile2:

 

[unclemoustache]

Toyotas are the best, but not known for their ability to haul a big load. I'd go with a Ford, but not a 150 - at least a 250 or preferably a 350. I've got an F-350 4x4, and love it. I bought it from someone in Missouri where they have to pass certain emissions tests. The older trucks have a harder time passing, so if you live just outside of Missouri (like me) or some other state that has emmission laws, then that might help lower the price.

 

[mizzou]

Toyotas are the best, but not known for their ability to haul a big load. I'd go with a Ford, but not a 150 - at least a 250 or preferably a 350. I've got an F-350 4x4, and love it. I bought it from someone in Missouri where they have to pass certain emissions tests. The older trucks have a harder time passing, so if you live just outside of Missouri (like me) or some other state that has emmission laws, then that might help lower the price.

I've never had to have an emissions test, and have lived in Missouri all of my 54 years. We do require a safety inspection every 2 years. Maybe it's a st. louis thing.

 

[srb08]

Toyotas are the best, but not known for their ability to haul a big load. I'd go with a Ford, but not a 150 - at least a 250 or preferably a 350. I've got an F-350 4x4, and love it. I bought it from someone in Missouri where they have to pass certain emissions tests. The older trucks have a harder time passing, so if you live just outside of Missouri (like me) or some other state that has emmission laws, then that might help lower the price.

The emissions garbage is only in the large metropolitan areas. It only affects a few counties in the state.

 

[mizzou]

The emissions garbage is only in the large metropolitan areas. It only affects a few counties in the state.

I figured that as soon as started posting. Glad it's not required in Lafayette county.

 

[MeanMark87]

I'm biased, I've been a Ford guy all my life.

Cannot go wrong with an older 3/4 ton or 1 ton Ford truck. If 2000 is your budget you'll have tons to choose from.

For example I just went on my local craigslist and found this (obviously these are just examples, I don't know where you're located):

1994 Ford F250 pickup, crew cab

122k, 460 V8. 4x4.

Or an older one, little cheaper:

1988 Ford F250

Wish I was in your spot, man....I wanna trade up my truck for a fullsize pretty badly. :smile2:

 

[Jakers]

ive had all three of the big names and they all have thier place. i would much prefer to have a chevy from the mid 70s to 86. parts are cheap and easy to find. workin on them only requires a shade tree degee and they make good power. Ill second what stihly dan said, make sure you have a locker in the rear end at least. best to have both F/R lockers. if all your planning on doing with it is hauling wood and dont drive on the pavement loaded very often a welder can fix an open rear end quick and cheap. warning: do not weld the front end or the pickup will be next to impossible to steer in 4X4. another thing to do is to add a few extra leafs to the rear packs. i used 3/4 ton leafs in my 86 1/2 ton chev by taking apart the packs and saving the 1/2 ton top leaf then using the 3/4 pack. i ended up trimming the second leaf from the top of the 3/4 pack to fit under the 1/2 ton top leaf. MAJOR improvement in hauling!!!

this stuff can be done to any make or model with rear leaf suspension.

things to stay away from are independant front suspension and most 1/2 ton auto trannys. i built my own chevy autos so that wasnt a concern but if i didnt have the ability it woulda been costly to own and use that truck the way i did. I own a 87 ford F-250 with a 6.9 and a 5 speed manual now. love it except for the ford IFS stuff needing ball joints at the moment. the front springs seem to sag on them pretty bad too but thats just an add-a-leaf fix.

had a 98 dodge 5.9 cummins 5 speed for a while too. loved the truck but it was a short box and somebody had twisted the rear end out before me and it was an open rear diff so it was almost useless off road. had lotsa motor trouble and major repair bills made me hate it in the end so i sold it cheap just to be rid of it. had a 95 1 ton 5.9 cummins reg cab long box auto 2x4 for a while that would haul like nobodies business. that one had the locker so it almost did better than my 98

whew... thats alota readin just to say try to get solid F/R axles and a locked rear end in what ever you get. the lower the gears the better. try to find a manual tranny too. the older ones are way better than the newer aluminum cased ones. i do know lotsa guys that have used the 88-up chevys with IFS but they have plenty of trouble too. know more than one that has broken the frame on 1/2 tons hauling wood

 

[unclemoustache]

The emissions garbage is only in the large metropolitan areas. It only affects a few counties in the state.

Ah, thanks for setting me straight.

 

[JeffHK454]

OP , what part of the country you from?

A friend of mine has a 96 F250 4x4 460/5spd for sale pretty cheap. It would make one heck of wood hauler if you could aford to put gas in the thing.

 

[Jakers]

OP , what part of the country you from?

A friend of mine has a 96 F250 4x4 460/5spd for sale pretty cheap. It would make one heck of wood hauler if you could aford to put gas in the thing.

googled his location as a zip code and came up with Tiffin, OH

 

[JeffHK454]

googled his location as a zip code and came up with Tiffin, OH

Good job on paying better attention than me at the little "location" space..I though he had a huge post count..