Possible almost literally new work truck in my near future?

[EssExTee]

So, some of you might remember my post about how I spent my Christmas and New Year's. Now that the the funeral is all set we've turned our attention on what to do with the property and assets. Between the house, 100+ acres, 11 vehicles, and multiple tractors there is a lot to divvy up.

One such vehicle is a 2003 Ranger with, get this, 18,000 miles on the odometer. Stupid me didn't take any pictures but I've verified the odometer and condition myself. It belonged to an uncle who bought it new and only used it for weekend grocery/church runs. After he passed it went to his brother who's funeral we just went to. It's spent the last eight or so years as a surplus vehicle, sitting in a car tent and only occasionally being driven. It's grimy from sitting but is otherwise barely broken in.

It is unfortunately a 2WD automatic (who the hell in Minnesota would buy a 2WD pickup?) but is otherwise kitted out, being an XLT with the V6, extended cab, and a bed cover. It looks as pictured but it's beige.

Anyway, we've been looking for a new company vehicle since the Fusion I've been using is too low for some of the roads around here. My Mom's husband (son of the deceased, and co-owner of our family business) is going to ask his brothers for the Ranger. It'll basically be ours for the cost of getting it from MN to MA.

[SilentbutnotreallyDeadly]

@essextee as someone with a 2002 Nissan Patrol cab chassis with 75,000 km on the clock that was a deceased estate (stepfather) I know how this works.

[WhoIsTheLeader]

Wait, which V6? If it's the Vulcan, it won't be fun. The Cologne can actually scoot a little. I still say go for it. They're very USEFUL things to have around, though not terribly desirable.

[SilentbutnotreallyDeadly]

@whoistheleader since it's supposed to be a work ute then fun is not a requirement. 'Practical usefulness' and 'affordable' are the key criteria. And, by those measures, it's only missing the flatbed in my book.

[EssExTee]

@silentbutnotreallydeadly This is actually perfect for what I do. I'm not a field tech but my job often involves picking up or delivering people and things to job sites. A small and relatively economical pickup is what I need.

[EssExTee]

@whoistheleader my memory miggt be failing me but I think it was the 4.0

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@silentbutnotreallydeadly said in Possible almost literally new work truck in my near future?:

@whoistheleader since it's supposed to be a work ute then fun is not a requirement. 'Practical usefulness' and 'affordable' are the key criteria. And, by those measures, it's only missing the flatbed in my book.

Except the Vulcan is such a dog that it hampers the truck's usefulness. You can't tow anything and it struggles under load.

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@essextee said in Possible almost literally new work truck in my near future?:

@whoistheleader my memory miggt be failing me but I think it was the 4.0

Good. The 3.0 Vulcan is only good for not talking apart, but the 4.0 Cologne can do that too and you get lots more horsepower and torque.

[BicycleBuck]

@whoistheleader said in Possible almost literally new work truck in my near future?:

@silentbutnotreallydeadly said in Possible almost literally new work truck in my near future?:

@whoistheleader since it's supposed to be a work ute then fun is not a requirement. 'Practical usefulness' and 'affordable' are the key criteria. And, by those measures, it's only missing the flatbed in my book.

Except the Vulcan is such a dog that it hampers the truck's usefulness. You can't tow anything and it struggles under load.

As the owner of a 3.0 who drove it for 18 years and put 269,000 miles on it, I call BS on your claims. It may not win any races and it won’t tow a travel trailer or large boat, but it it runs just fine and is practically unkillable.

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@bicyclebuck emphasis on unkillable. It just doesn't have the grunt you want, especially with the automatic.

[Shop-Teacher]

@essextee said in Possible almost literally new work truck in my near future?:

(who the hell in Minnesota would buy a 2WD pickup?)

Me. I've been driving 2wd pickups in Chicago winters for the last 20 years. Ain't no thang here in the flatlands. The first five of those were in a truck with an open-rear diff on all season tires. I only got that stuck once, when I buried my '98 S-10 extended cab V6 auto in a snow-drift up to the frame.

I made sure when I bought my new Sierra that I'm still DDing 15 years later, to get one with a locking rear end. That makes life a lot easier. I made the move to winter tires 9 or 10 years ago. I love having them, as they make winter so much more fun. I would hardly call them essential over a good set of all seasons though.

That's a great truck. I hope you get it.

[BicycleBuck]

@whoistheleader said in Possible almost literally new work truck in my near future?:

@bicyclebuck emphasis on unkillable. It just doesn't have the grunt you want, especially with the automatic.

Perhaps you aren’t takin into consideration what it was meant for. I have plenty of stories of my truck hauling everything from dirt and rocks to uhaul trailers filled with everything I own. It was never lacking for grunt. I wasn’t trying to haul a travel trailer or a large boat, but it did everything else just fine.

Maybe it’s just your generation. My first truck had 70 horsepower. My 3.0 more than doubled that. Kids these days are spoiled with their 300 hp F-150s. Frankly, it’s overkill for what 90% of truck owners actually do with their trucks.

[EssExTee]

@shop-teacher I drove thru chicago twice since xmas. I should've stopped and waved hi from a safe distance

[Shop-Teacher]

@essextee said in Possible almost literally new work truck in my near future?:

@shop-teacher I drove thru chicago twice since xmas. I should've stopped and waved hi from a safe distance

Yes, you should have

[RallyDarkstrike]

@bicyclebuck said in Possible almost literally new work truck in my near future?:

Frankly, it’s overkill for what 90% of truck owners actually do with their trucks.

This.

Reminds me of the t-shirt design I just submitted to Blipshift a week ago that they politely informed me this afternoon they would pass on because 'they didn't agree with message it protrayed'...

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@bicyclebuck A Vulcan's Ranger with the auto has 4 more horsepower than my current car. And weighs about the same. I don't think my car is excessively slow. The Ranger feels excessively slow. A lot of noise and not a lot of motion. I get your point though. I just think the Vulcan doesn't have enough torque, especially on the low end. My standards for quickness aren't as high as many of my contemporaries but I still consider the Vulcan to be inadequate.

[Jordan]

@bicyclebuck Yeah, it's certainly not meant to fast. My 4Runner when new took 16 seconds to hit 60, yet it's rated to tow 3500lbs and has around the same payload as a new Ram 1500(which is low admittedly). You don't buy trucks like that with the intention to tow often, but with they knowledge that in a pinch it will do the job.