There's no substitute for a full-size 8' box in you ever plan on hauling drywall or any kind of lumber. You can load it up with 4x8 sheets of plywood and close the tailgate. And it fits between the wheel wells too. No compact truck can do that.

I haven't drove a stick shift in 30 years and that was a 6x6 army truck. No power steering either.

 

I think the only option I had on that 91 Ranger was vinyl.

The wife wouldn't drive it because it was a standard, had no power steering and no a/c. And she thinks it was an accident it didn't have all that.

 

If you want a mid-sized truck look at the Chevy Colorado with the I5 engine. I have one and pull a 16' trailer with 3 4x4 quads on it. I get 25 MPG on the HWY and average 20 - 21 in town. When hauling I get between 15 and 17 mpg. Right now I have 77,000 miles on it.

 

Given the two choices I'd go with the F-150 over the Ranger also. Even if it means you get a couple miles per gallon less than the Ranger. It's good to get a truck that can pull more than you currently have rather than a truck that just barely pulls the loads you have now.

I got one of the Titan Crew Cabs with the 7'3" bed. Got to say it has met my needs almost perfectly. I can fit a full sized utility machine in the bed with the tailgate closed or my 2-up Outlander Max with the tailgate down. The only modification I did to it was to get an extra leaf put on each side as I carry wet, fresh cut firewood in it and a half ton doesn't hack it in that circumstance. Sons helped me cut and did all the loading and it rode really nicely all the way home from VT to Mass. Nissan seems very willing to deal price-wise. I was able to get $9000 off the sticker price due to them having an incentive program and getting more off as it was a past year model. Been very happy with it.

 

Thanks for the help guys

 

OP you never said if you were looking used, I can only assume so since a ranger is in the running. Given a choice between the f150 and ranger I would definitely get the 150 as it wont be that much worse on fuel, but will yield more capacity.

Another choice for mid size would be a dodge Dakota, this will be cheaper and can be had with a v6, cab is a little bigger than a ranger.

As for the tundra.....yeah I wouldn't trade a wet paper bag filled with dog poop for one! I had an 07 and spent almost 2 years at the dealer wishing I never saw it. Yes, it was the first year for the new body and plenty of power but also plenty of problems!

BTW ...no truck is going to get fuel economy, plan for 15mpg and be happy if you see better.

 

I would go with the half ton. The ranger is a good truck but the f150 is more versatile due to the possibility of having a 8' bed and added payload. The mpg's will be a little lower than the ranger but both trucks are in the same mpg range. Odds are if you are looking for a 4x4 it will be a automatic. These days most standards are fleet trucks and usually they are not 4wd's. Prepare to be everyone's best friend....

 

I vote for a 1/2 T truck over the mini trucks. More load handling capacity, better brakes (because I would bet your first trailer won't have any), and more clearance since you probably will try to see how deep of snow you can drive in.

 

I bought a 2002 Dodge Dakota new, it was a crew cab with the short 5' bed. I kept it around a few years before I sold it and bought a Chevy Silverado 2500HD. I will never go back to anything under a full size truck again. The benefits of size, capacity, space, and power are to good to say no to. I can get 20-22 MPG with it too (diesel fuel rocks )

 

Congrats Rider77 for moving up to full size truck. For me there's nothing else that will do.

I don't think I mentioned this before but one of my brothers had a Dodge Ram made in Mexico that he said was the biggest piece of crap he ever owned. So he bought another one! I don't know where the new ones are made but I won't even consider a Mexican truck.

I think Fords are made here but Chevy and GMC both have a new V-8 that's supposed to get better gas mileage than the Ford EcoBoost V-6. One more reason I'll get another Chevy made by people I know here in Michigan. The 13 year old one still runs like brand new so it might be awhile. I'm waiting for something to break.