Hi all,
Since most of you seem to have 4x4 pickups or trucks, you might be able to help me.
I'm looking into buying a 4x4. Not decided though if I'm gonna go for the pickup or smal 4x4. The problem is that in Canda, fuel isn't as cheap as in the US! I need a truck that won't eat my money alive with gas.
I was looking in a small size truck. like Tacoma, Ranger (<-- probably)...and that's about it since I don't want NO GM car. Don't try to make me change this, I won't get any S10 or Sonoma.
So here's the question, how many miles/gallon can you get with your trucks, differences between auto/manual, 4cyl and 6cyl (forget about 8...well almost).
Was looking also towards a Jeep YJ.

Thanks for any info

 

You are not going to find a large difference in fuel economy between a 6 cyl. and an 8 cyl. you will however get quite a bit of difference in performance with an 8 cyl. Whatever small gains you might see with a 6 cyl. will be lost as soon as you hook ups you trailer. I have a 99 Dodge Dakota with a 318 ci. They do not offer the 318 anymore but they have replaced it with a another small block v-8 out of the Grand Cherokee line up. I added a set of helper springs in the rear to increase the payload. Right now it is rated at around 2500lbs. As far as fuel economy iget between 14.5 mpg and 16 mpg with or without a load of any kind be it a trailer or a full bed. whe we went elk hunting in Colorado this year we had about 2000 lbs of gear and a trailer with 2 4-wheelers on it and we averaged 14.4 mpg over 2400 miles and this includes driving over the mountains.

I would not suggest getting anything with a 4 cyl. engine you will regret it. Look closely at the torque ratings of the engines. Horsepower is not as important. be wary of foreign vehicles that boast 200 hp engines. they tend to be very high strung and hae low torque ratings. What i mean by that is that what little torque they have they turn out only at very high rpms, which usually means you will be well out of the power band during ordinary driving. The plus side of foreign( japanese) engines is that they will have slightly better fuel economy.

The Toyota Tacoma top engine is a 3.4@ 190 hp 220 lbs of torque.

The toyota Tundra top engine is a 4.7 @245 hp and 315 lbs of torque.

Dodge Dakota 4.7 @ 235 hp, 295 lbs torque
Dodge Dakota/Ram 5.9 @ 245 hp, 345 lbs torque
Dodge Ram 5.9 diesel @245 hp , 505 lbs torque.
Dodge Ram 8.0 310 hp, 450 lbs torque.

Ford Ranger3.0 v6 150 hp, 190 lbs torque
Ford Ranger 4.0 v6 207hp , 238 lbs torque
Ford 1/2 ton 4.6 220 hp, 290 lbs torque
Ford 1/2 ton 5.4 260 hp 350 lbs torque
Superduty 6.8 310 hp, 425, lbs torque
Superduty 7.3 diesel 250 hp, 505 lbs torque.

japanese engines ten to run bwtween 14-20 mpg.

All of the domestic 8's are rated between 13-16 mpg. The 10's get between 9-12. Diesels are hard to say. My brother in law gets about 16 off of his ford Diesel.

there is a pile of info, now the decision is yours. Best of luck. I got all of this info off of the manufacturers website if you want to dig a little deaper.

 

Zorro, Even though I'm a GM man, I certainly won't try to change your mind. GM makes good full sized vehicles. When it comes to small cars and/or trucks they tend to be crap.

Anyway, buddy of mine has a Tacoma and it has held up very well.

 

Dont get a 79 Bronco like me, i get between 8 and 10mpg if i am lucky.

 

well i probably can say that i have the worst gas mileage on my tow velicle. I average about 6 to 6.5 miles the to gallon. If you go to my pic link below and look at my bus you will know why it is. I get this poor mileage pullin a 12 foot trailer with 3 quads on it.

 

FKNA,

What year is your GM? I am really familiar with their line up from 1989 to about 1998. I don't know much about their new trucks. Do you have a newer version? If so what do you think of it. How does it pull a trailer? how does that variable transmission work for you? Thanks

 

My Ford Powerstroke Diesel gets 16-18 mpg's, and my truck weighs over 6,000lbs!! My Dad has a Dodge Cummins that gets similar fuel mileage. Both are automatics. I'll never buy a gas powered truck again after owning this Ford diesel!! And like you I'll never own anything made by GM (Garbage Motors)!!

 

My dad has a Dodge Dakota 4x4 gets about 20 running empty where overdrive is usable, 17 on country roads, & about 15 pulling a light trailer.

I have a Ram 250 4x4 Cummins Diesel (94). Best milage I ever got (flat, with tailwind) was 26mpg. I average about 19 or 20 on open roads where I can utilize overdrive, and about 17 to 18 pulling light trailers. It drops down to about 13 or 14 pulling the big cattle trailer (18,000 pounds fully loaded, but don't tell Dodge or my warranty is toast)

 

Let me explain 2 things:

first. I don't want a full size truck since we'll get one next summer (probably a Toyota Tundra...or Sequoia, or Ford F250 V10, or Ram V10 or Cummins...well, a full size).
So for now I only want a truck that's gonna haul my ATV/snowmobile once in a while since I have a trail at the end of my street. A ranger V6 Auto sounds sweet, doesn't look too bad...nice. What's your experience with it? Looking also towards a Toy Tacoma V6 also. I know Toyota is tough, reliable (we've driven a LJ73 Land cruiser for 400 000 km...and sold it when coming to America).
One thing, I'm looking for a used car...don't care about any warranty, just loss of time, and it would make me sick buying a car that's gonna loose 1/3 of its price within 3 years.

Second. Why I don't want no GM.
We've had 2 GM cars (we still have the latest...not for long). The first is an european car, the Opel Astra Cabriolet, and the one we still have is the well know Pontiac Montana 97. The conclusions are the same. Hardware is good and very reliable. Hardware is engine, transmission, general ability to resist to tough treatments. This is good/excellent. But when it comes to electricity..baaaah come on! Non sense all around!! To change the roof fuse on the convertible, you had to get your hand on the other side of the fuse box, and change it without even having seen it or where it goes...stupid! The Montana is even worst. Why can't I have recyle air and heat? Why do the inside lights go on on right side turns? Why does the radio ask me the code that I forgot about the day we go on summer holiday? Why did the CD player consider there was no CD inside and didn't even want to eject it (there was a disc inside)? Why can't I put a cassette to play my minidisc? Why...and on and on and on...
I don't know for the trucks, but we won't be getting another GM car!

Remember guys...SMALL 4x4

 

Zorro if I were you I'd go with toyota, I own a '91 pickup w/extra cab and it has over a 150,000 miles on it and still runs like new.
If your looking for a full size go with the tundra with a vented tail gate to lower wind resistance. Doing so will boost your gas milage buy 2 to 4 mpg, that with get you in the 20's with your gas milage.
Can't beat toyota's reliability.

2000 SCRAMBLER 400 2X4

SCRAMDADDY400