which small truck for a small business?

[Deleted member 27831]

I'm looking for a new truck for my small ecological consulting and native landscaping company. I'm not really sure where to start, I'm not ever sure if I should be looking for something new or used. Seems my options include the Tacoma, Colorado/Canyon, Ranger or Frontier. Here are the factors that I think are important:

- Fuel Efficiency: being an environmentally conscious company that whole global warning/peak oil thing is important to me. I don't need a lot of power.

- Low Cost: I am a very small start-up, just me at the moment with (hopefully) a seasonal employee this summer. I need to save money wherever I can. That said...

- Reliability: If the truck is broke, I can't make money.

- Four-Wheel Drive?: I've never been happy with the performance of RWD trucks off-road and in slick road conditions. That said, most of my work right now is in urban/suburban areas, maybe some AT tires and a few bags of sand in the bed could get me through the winter?

-Largish Bed-Size plus room for a crew: I need room for a toolbox plus mulch and or plants, etc, and employees too, but they don't have to be too comfortable. I'm leaning towards an extended cab rather then a crew cab.

Does anyone have any strong opinions about any of these trucks or have any other sage advice?

 

[BC WetCoast]

I'm not familiar with the different models/brands, they are all pretty much the same to me. But I would suggest you go with used rather than new. The depreciation hit on new is too extreme for me.

You may want to consider a trailer as well for stuff like mulch. Mixing material and tools is a pita.

 

[dingeryote]

Goodoak,

On my last Job, the brass went with the GMC 4dr mini trucks after having bad luck with the Dodge Dakotas.

Guess what. Bad luck again. Ball joints, tranny, Transfer case froze up every time it would get sloppy out, odd bits broke.

The last decent trucks we had were a handfull of Chevy and Ford 1/2 tons.
They had minor issues, but kept running.


For the savings in gas on milage, you might be better served with a full sized truck with a more robust driveline. Prices on 3/4 ton trucks are good and low right now.

4wd is a must. If for nothing else, it reduces wheel spin on lawns.
It would also allow you to expand to residential plowing in the winter when things are slow.

For prices, see if any of the professional organizations you are a member of, offer group buys. Farm Bureau has discounts on Chevy and Dodge for instance.
I ended up going that route with my last Farm truck and saved a bunch.

You will be writing off fuel anyway, and the difference between 18MPG and 16MPG dosn't justify the smaller capacity and increased downtime.

Just my .02
Dingeryote

 

[A. Stanton]

Good, I would recommend a Chevy Silverado or the GMC sister pick up. Right now they are practically giving em away. I brother bought a new GMC this past summer, and now he says the same model is selling for 5K less. I had Toyota and Dodge pick ups, and I would say my Silverado has been the best. You don't touch the plugs for 100k miles; anti freeze is good for 5 years; and the exhaust is stainless steel--nothing to rust. Throw in the off road package with the locking differential and you got a nice package. My V-8 Silverado gives me the same or better gas mileage than my Toyota V-6 did. And putting a plow on it doesn't void the warranty, like a Toyota.

 

[Deleted member 27831]

OK, another factor here is that only a small truck is going to fit in my driveway and garage. My father has an F-150 and it barely fits in my driveway, doesn't leave enough room to move around it to load up tools and so forth. So its gotta be a small truck. Does anyone have any suggestions for a little truck they like better then others?

I agree with Stanton on the mid-sized trucks. At one company I used to work at we had a lot of problems with the F250 but the Chevy 2500's were a lot more reliable.

BC thanks for the advice on new vs used.

 

[A. Stanton]

Chevy Colorado with off-road package.

 

[chipperscompany]

a Dodge Ram 2500 with the cummins.

 

[custom8726]

The new 4.5L duramax there putting in the smaller GMC/CHEVY trucks and SUV's. Then you could run it on vegie oil and keep all the enviromentalist happy without sacrificing the ability to own a real truck.