Best "old" 4x4 truck for hunting? $5k range.

[Steve300xcw]

F350 460/5spd. Bought for $2600 IIRC. Set of $400 rims/bald 35's got me away from the 16.5's. Tossed a battery at it and used it for a year. Sold it last winter for $3500. Some kid flew up and drove the thing like 12 hours home



99 v10 on fresh 33's for $3k. Bought last spring. Tossed a battery, fuel pump and a few lil bits at it. Want to loose the lift at some point. So far been a good rig for my needs.




Guess my point is. At this price range its going to have high miles and be a bit on the used up side. You'll go broke trying to make a nice rig outta thing. If it starts an stops when you ask it to without catching on fire, just run it. Let it be the cheap beater that it is.

 

[WeiserBucks]

If it starts an stops when you ask it to without catching on fire, just run it.

You're 100% correct. Bonus points if all 4 tires hold air for a week.

 

[Steve300xcw]

I had a set of bfg's that were dry rotted enough that if you parked on the wrong spot they would leak through the cracks in the sidewall

 

[woods89]

View attachment 1020465Gen 1 sequoias are a great option. Just picked up this 05 with 296k miles for $4k. Not a spec of rust on the frame and the 2UZ v8 will run forever.

That's a great deal. If there is no documentation on a timing belt replacement thats about another $1,000 right out of the gate that should probably be done. That will make a great hunting rig, though!

 

[Steve300xcw]

$1k?

 

[Amos Moses]

That's a great deal. If there is no documentation on a timing belt replacement thats about another $1,000 right out of the gate that should probably be done. That will make a great hunting rig, though!

Yeah, needed timing belt and lower ball joints which are notorious for giving out on the early 2000s Toyotas. Plus side is it has heated leather seats which I don’t have in my 2021 Tundra SR5.

 

[Steve300xcw]

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[BLJ]

I had a set of bfg's that were dry rotted enough that if you parked on the wrong spot they would leak through the cracks in the sidewall

It’s been a long time ago.
I was working out of town so my pickup sat all week.
It rained on Monday and Tuesday. Dried up the rest of the week.
When I got home in Friday I could see where the cords showing through the rubber were rusting.
Had an orange ring around the outside of all 4.

 

[BreechFace]

You're 100% correct. Bonus points if all 4 tires hold air for a week.

That’s getting a bit too bougie

 

[Steve300xcw]

It’s been a long time ago.
I was working out of town so my pickup sat all week.
It rained on Monday and Tuesday. Dried up the rest of the week.
When I got home in Friday I could see where the cords showing through the rubber were rusting.
Had an orange ring around the outside of all 4.

I had this one tire that would just randomly be flat. Ended up driving slow through a puddle and soon as that crack opened up, it was obvious lol

But that was a rig who's value doubled when I put new tires on it..

 

[Steve300xcw]

OP...do you know how a crecent hammer works or are you going to bring this beater to a shop everytime it gets emotional on you?

 

[woods89]

$1k?

I'm a lot better at fixing houses than vehicles, and I have a good local shop..........

I'm sure it's a lot cheaper if done in the driveway, I just try to stay in my lane!

Edit-my guy did the water pump too since he had it apart, so that's included. This was the first one I had that I wrecked. The last one had it documented at 210,000.

 

[Steve300xcw]

I'm a lot better at fixing houses than vehicles, and I have a good local shop..........

I'm sure it's a lot cheaper if done in the driveway, I just try to stay in my lane!

Driving a shitbox....you better learn how youtube/forums works. The shops that will even work on a $5k rig will bleed you dry

 

[woods89]

Driving a shitbox....you better learn how youtube/forums works. The shops that will even work on a $5k rig will bleed you dry

Yeah, I've been trying to expand those skills as the need arises. The internet is quite helpful!

This 06 that I have now has honestly required very little in year and a half that I've had it.

With what my shop charges I'm better off staying on the job while they do it, if it's something substantial.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Oh I get it. I dropped off a rig a while back for a leaky upper radiator hose I never even popped the hood and looked, had better shit to do!

Still if you own a shitbox. You had better be willing to tear into the thing, or buying one is pointless

 

[BLJ]

Still if you own a shitbox. You had better be willing to tear into the thing, or buying one is pointless

Sometime you start to fix the gauge cluster bezel and find this……
And this……

And it ends up like this.


About 40 but splices later it’s back on the road.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Yea thats about normal

 

[HairyScandinavian]

I finished the fuel pump in the 2002 f150 this evening on the sand 20 feet from the bay. What a PITA dropping the tank. First I went to cut a hole in the bed but the cab and a frame support was blocking the pump, went to pull the bed and the bolts are already rusted shut. No other option but to drop the fuel tank 3/4 full by myself. Truck is purring smoothly again. I paid $1000 for it, it even has A/C but it's got 350k miles.

Having just spent 2 months shopping for a used vehicle, I'm fairly certain that you can't buy anything in the 5k range that doesn't need at least $3,000 work of maintenance work immediately out of the gate. At a minimum, its going to need the coolant, transmission fluid, brake fluid, power steering fluid, diffs and transfer case fluids all replaced + spark plugs, but, at that price point, expect to find leaking transmission gaskets (because they didn't change the fluid), oil seeping out of the valve cover gaskets (because the oil wasn't changed on schedule) and coolant that hasn't been replaced in 10+ years, which means the head gasket is a ticking time bomb. Dry rotted hoses, worn out bushings, original radiators and worn out wheel bearings are also normal. Guaranteed it needs a timing belt/water pump. And a timing chain will even need to be done after around 300k or so, sooner if the oil hasn't been changed on schedule.

If none of the above applies, you either found a unicorn or its worth 10k+. Not much middle ground.
Its hard out there.

You can't be serious. At this price range you don't check fluids you just drive them til they quit.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

Guess my point is. At this price range its going to have high miles and be a bit on the used up side. You'll go broke trying to make a nice rig outta thing. If it starts an stops when you ask it to without catching on fire, just run it. Let it be the cheap beater that it is.

Lol yup this guy gets it.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

I'm a lot better at fixing houses than vehicles, and I have a good local shop..........

I'm sure it's a lot cheaper if done in the driveway, I just try to stay in my lane!

Edit-my guy did the water pump too since he had it apart, so that's included. This was the first one I had that I wrecked. The last one had it documented at 210,000.

I did a timing chain, push rods and lifters (timing chain blew and bent everything) on a 1994 big block suburban two summers ago. Timing chain and cover were about $45 on Rock Auto and the water pump was also somewhere in that neighborhood but a little less. Been driving it around town for two years until it's ready to go die on the island.

Suburban referenced above I paid $1750 for in 2017. My son traded me a beater 4x4 truck for it and he moved to Wyoming, drove all over the place and camped in the back, made the trip between Texas and Wyoming 3-4 times. Moved back to Texas 3 years later and drove it another couple years until the timing chain blew and gave it back to me.