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Used Truck Suggestions

My cousin who lives in Reno and frequently passes through Donner Summit to visit has a 4x4, and he suggests nothing less for me as someone who's had both 2WD and 4WD vehicles. So of course, I respect his opinion.

But part of me has to wonder just exactly how often will I be braving substantial snow on the road? I mean as much I love snowboarding, I'd more often than not go only when the roads are clear and safe enough.

Holeshot, check your PM
 
Sane_Man said:
I have a 4x4 F150 Supercrew, and have never had any maintenance issues with it, although it only has 50k miles. We bought it so we don't have to deal with chains when riding to Tahoe or Reno. With the bed extender, I have had two bikes in the bed with no issues. If you replace the OEM extender with the Ready Ramp that turns into a bike ramp, you get double duty without having figure out where to put your normal ramp.

It will also carry five people in luxury if you get the Lariat model. :thumbup
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Same truck my cousin has I think, but my mother has instilled a deep-seeded fear in me since my adolescent years to avoid Ford due to her bad experience back in the 80's. :teeth

Maybe I should get over that.
 
ianG said:
An Astro van holds two bikes, plus gear. It's shorter than an extra-cab truck (about the same length as a sedan) so parking is a snap, and mileage is decent, about 18 mpg average. And the motors are bullet proof.

Resale is low, so you can find 4-6 year old vans with relatively low mileage for around $6-8k. You'll have to get over driving around in a soccer mom van, but it's easy to deal with the first time you drive to the track in a downpour with your bike nice and dry inside.
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Ok so the astrovan or AKA GMC Safari is a AWD vehicle, so it is both 4WD and fuel efficient, locks up your gear, and all of the above.
 
sinncere said:
Same truck my cousin has I think, but my mother has instilled a deep-seeded fear in me since my adolescent years to avoid Ford due to her bad experience back in the 80's. :teeth

Maybe I should get over that.
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If Donner Pass or Echo summit are open, a FWD car with chains will get through no problem. If its not open, you are SOL anyway.

4x4s are good if you are not sticking to the main roads, but if you are going to the ski areas, thats not an issue.

When I was in finland (now that's a COLD area), most of the cars were FWD, and almost no 4x4s were present.
 
nweaver said:
If Donner Pass or Echo summit are open, a FWD car with chains will get through no problem. If its not open, you are SOL anyway.

4x4s are good if you are not sticking to the main roads, but if you are going to the ski areas, thats not an issue.

When I was in finland (now that's a COLD area), most of the cars were FWD, and almost no 4x4s were present.
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+1, I agree, thats why the locker on my Pre-runner is great, cause the only thing a 4x4 does differently than a 2x4 is help it start out better, and if the roads are open in Tahoe, my locker helps me start out almost as good as 4x4. No complaints. Your all just 2x4 truck haters :twofinger
 
sinncere said:
But part of me has to wonder just exactly how often will I be braving substantial snow on the road? I mean as much I love snowboarding, I'd more often than not go only when the roads are clear and safe enough.
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Hi, I'm in Canada!, we get snow here!

I've got an open diff on my 2WD Frontier and, while I can slide it sideways on command, I have no fear of driving thru deep snow.

4wd only gets you moving forwards at a faster rate than 2wd in very low traction conditions. But you still can't stop or turn any better. Every winter it's the same: in the ditch are all the 4wd SUVs and 4wd pickups.
 
SpikedLemon said:
4wd only gets you moving forwards at a faster rate than 2wd in very low traction conditions. But you still can't stop or turn any better. Every winter it's the same: in the ditch are all the 4wd SUVs and 4wd pickups.
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Exactly. I think tires matter more than drive wheels. I slapped snow tires on my RWD, open-diff Miata and E30, back when I was caged, and would pass AWD vehicles on all-seasons that were stuck by the side of the road.

http://www.roadstergal.info/images/miatasnow.jpg
http://www.roadstergal.info/images/e30snow.jpg
 
SpikedLemon said:
Hi, I'm in Canada!, we get snow here!

I've got an open diff on my 2WD Frontier and, while I can slide it sideways on command, I have no fear of driving thru deep snow.

4wd only gets you moving forwards at a faster rate than 2wd in very low traction conditions. But you still can't stop or turn any better. Every winter it's the same: in the ditch are all the 4wd SUVs and 4wd pickups.
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I think those are the people who are over-confident that 4x4's can do anything, and the ditch proves them wrong. I used to own a 4x4 Ranger when I lived in Wash. D.C. area, and I used to blaze past people at 70 during a snowstorm were everyone else was barely doing 25. In hindsight it was a stupid thing to do, but the truck would holeshot and stop on a dime. :teeth

Roadstergal said:
Exactly. I think tires matter more than drive wheels. I slapped snow tires on my RWD, open-diff Miata and E30, back when I was caged, and would pass AWD vehicles on all-seasons that were stuck by the side of the road.

http://www.roadstergal.info/images/miatasnow.jpg
http://www.roadstergal.info/images/e30snow.jpg
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I just installed some new M&S all-terrain tires on the truck. The OEM street tires weren't all that great on the snow, but I didn't have any issues with them.
 
rjbrittain11 said:
The extended cab seats are small, but loading up for people to go to tahoe has been done before in my truck and its manageable if they aren't 300 pounds.
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I can second this opinion. I have a newer Tacoma with the 'access cab' and standard bed length. Having those access wing doors make it far easier for passengers to enter/exit, the seats and legroom in back is superior to extra cab trucks of old. A trip to Tahoe with folks in back is definitely comfy enough.

I picked the access cab over the 4 door Toyotas because it is a great compromise between moto hauling and carrying passengers. Nissan Frontiers have a similar access cab setup at a lesser cost. Chevy Colorados were also on my look-see list when I was shopping.

For the track I fit an SV1000 and an EX500 in the back of my truck at the same time with plenty of room. I think the tire of the SV was too far back to close the tailgate but there was no actual bike weight on the tailgate at all.

Regarding insurance, you will get raeped on insurance rates if you get a 4x4 vs. 2 wheel drive. It's as though they expect you to flip it or take it to the Rubicon or something insane like that.
 
Getting some humor out of the 2WD comments!
 
I had a 2WD truck and got stuck 1) in the mud, 2) in the sand, and 3) in the snow. I put chains on it, a major hassle in a snow storm, and drove in hellacious blizzard conditions. The front wheels hunted all over the place.

I got a 4WD truck and I've never stuck it. When I hit the snow, I push a button. (That right there is worth it!) It corners with confidence. I've driven it through 15.5" of fresh.

Being higher, the 4WD is more difficult to load and unload bikes. Being high with firmer suspension also contributed to spinning it getting on a freeway (bay area rain, not mountain snow).

FWIW, here's what I recently packed in a Tacoma x-cab on a trip to Fernley: 2 bikes, work table, 2 stands, 2 5 gallon jugs, 1 3 gallon jug, mix jug, EZ-UP, 4 sand-filled paint cans, carpet, chair, 1 milk crate of tools, 1 milk crate of chemicals, full-size ice chest, spare parts bin, 2 tool boxes, large gear bag.
 
Mickey_D100 said:
I gather the 4WD is strictly for the snow. However, if you truly do ride a lot, you should be looking at a mid-size SUV-with-trailer combination - it has the room you're looking for for a few friends with snow or moto gear, has the towing capability for two bikes on a trailer, and won't suck as much in the snow as a big-ass long bed with no weight in it.
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Winner.

For you who are bashing AWD. How many miles have you driven with tire chains?
 
I have an AWD cadillac wagon. I just punch the gas and go, IN ANY WEATHER. The only thing that stops me is the gas station. I never have to think twice about loosing grip taking off from a stop light in wet weather, or driving in snow past the "put your chains on" roadblock. I will NEVER buy and every day vehicle again without AWD unless i move to a different climate, or buy a sportscar .......... or motorcycle for that matter, but wait, do they make a AWD motorcycle (i know the answer).
 
Like Holeshot and others have said unless you LIVE in snow country, a two wheel drive will be fine you don't need 4wd. to go snowboarding.
 
My 2000 Toyota Tacoma Prerunner has been through hell and back, and still runs as strong. The area to worry about with Toyotas is in the aux electronics. Lots of fuses blown. No biggie though--should have been fixed by now. :thumbup
 
I'm not sure if anyone has said it (i didn't really read the thread), but I'll add three things.

1. Don't buy gas, go diesel if possible. With all the "blue" cars coming to the US, and all the mid sized (toyota, nissan, etc) who'll have diesel motors soon, I can't imagine that gasoline trucks are anything but dead. Seriously, gas ain't going down, diesels will get better and better mileage every year, and they last LOTS longer (did I mention the beds of the F250's are HUGE compared to the 4runners and they get near the same mpg despite the 250lbs of torque difference?!).
2. If you're going diesel all the brands are solid, but if you're going gas, do your homework as companies that make good diesel trucks also make shit gas trucks...
3. If possible, get a good van as you can sleep in it, haul with it, leave your stuff in it with less worries, etc.

Oh, and of course you don't need a 4X4 unless you're consistantly going through snow or you actually going 4X4'ing, and not just off road.
 
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