Truck Downsizing Question

[Where's Bruce?]

Assuming you are not over about 6'2", its a no brainier to downsize. ...cab comfort and towing is the only downside. The little trucks tow light trailers just fine.

The guys getting great mileage in the 3/4 and 1/2 ton trucks are driving them like granny's. Even the new diesels with all of the emissions and Def don't get the fantastic mileage of the older diesels.

The best site for mileage numbers is Fuelly.

The avg full size 1/2 ton pickup 1500 in Chevy, Ram and Ford gets about 15-17. The new diesels get a little bit better...but at a high cost out the door.


4wd performance improves going from a 3/4 to a 1/2 ton....and the little trucks are typically even better.

...

Shop around online for a used diesel 1500. I did, found one that was $3400.00 under blue book. If you buy a slightly used truck you won't panic every time you park. it'll already have a few dings and scratches so you can treat it like the glorified wheelbarrel it is. The Ram's interior is ideal for long treks outta state (adjustable lumbar, seats that heat or cool, steering wheel heat, etc) and the mileage aint bad. I'm getting 27mpg on the hwy and 20mpg on average with hwy, town and offroad combined. I like the added range for extended excursions offroad.

 

[Rs3003]

If you buy used. Try to find a Certified truck. Toyota and Ford give a better power train warranty than from new. 60,000 mile new vs 100,000 certified.

 

[Richd]

I’m running a 17 Tundra TRD Pro. As noted the gas mileage isn’t all that great. I average 13 mpg on a mix of 80% local and 20% highway driving with intermittent towing(dual axle open trailer @ about 4K)thrown in. I am running 10 ply 33’s which doesn’t help. That being said I still love the truck. I really don’t think that I could justify a larger diesel pu unless I was towing a heavy trailer with more regularity. It’s my 3rd Tundra if that tells you anything....

 

[Trees91]

I’ve been thinking the same thing. My 2009 f150 is getting some miles on it. Four door, king ranch with 6.5’ bed, topper cap and bed rug. I wanna try a four door Tacoma with 6ft box, topper and bed rug. Maybe even sell the wife’s Jeep and use a taco as a family rig. I’m just worried I’ll miss all the space my f150 has.

 

[WyoBowhunter21]

I’ve been thinking the same thing. My 2009 f150 is getting some miles on it. Four door, king ranch with 6.5’ bed, topper cap and bed rug. I wanna try a four door Tacoma with 6ft box, topper and bed rug. Maybe even sell the wife’s Jeep and use a taco as a family rig. I’m just worried I’ll miss all the space my f150 has.

Same here. This is my problem. I have always owned half tons with the exception of the current rig.


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[Grumman]

I tried to downsize but during the test drive of a Tacoma my kids were raising hell about not having any room in the back. I just stuck with a full size which is what I’ve grown used to.


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[Trees91]

I tried to downsize but during the test drive of a Tacoma my kids were raising hell about not having any room in the back. I just stuck with a full size which is what I’ve grown used to.


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I need to go test drive one for myself. If I drive the Jeep to the dealership it’ll probably feel roomy inside, if I take my f150 it’ll probably feel like a clown car. I think I would really miss the longer box on my ford.

 

[bojangles808]

i went from a tacoma to a titan and i dont think i could go back to a smaller truck

 

[wyodog]

You're going to have a hard time with a car seat in a mid size. I upgraded from extended cab to crew cab in a half ton because the car seats are huge and the back seat was not.

I have an 17 Colorado crew cab and a car seat no problem at all.

 

[wyodog]

I bought 2017 Colorado ZR2 and I like it more than any pickup I've had. I still have a 3/4 ton Duramax but I would rather drive the colorado any day. The ZR2 has locking front and rear diffs and gets around in country really good. Interestingly I was able to fit all meat (1000+ lbs), antlers and capes from 2 Alaskan bull moose plus the gear we took for for our drop hunt in the bed and back seat.

 

[justin84]

I have an 17 Colorado crew cab and a car seat no problem at all.

Someone else already mentioned getting one in the middle is no problem, but one behind each seat is tough especially if you’re tall.

 

[Blockcaver]

I have owned two small trucks, a 2009 4 door Tacoma for 4 months ()and a Mitsubishi). The Tacoma was too small for my wife and I and two Vizslas. Nice truck but was glad to be rid of it almost right away.

Otherwise I have had full size half tons...a couple chevys, a Nissan Titan and three F150s. Today we own an aluminum F150 supercab with the 5.0 which gets over 20 mpg on highway trips (averaged 22 on a 1600 mile round trip last summer to Montana from BC). It has a 600 mile highway cruising range with the big tank, is comfortable etc. It would take a lift and tires to be really off road ready, but I don’t like the extra noise and big decrease in mileage with the aggressive tires. With a family larger than a wife and Vizsla I’d get the crew cab version of an F150 over a small truck everyday of the week.

We have a 2015 F350 crew cab 6.7 diesel with a cab-over camper too. Running a cab height canopy I got 20 mpg round trip from BC to Alaska (5,000 miles). Just went to AZ with the cab-over and got 14mpg on the way down for 1900 miles, about 1/3 of it is interstate. High speeds definitely lower my mileage. For me, if I could have only one truck, this would be it. Not great in town or off road but really a good rig over the first 93,000 miles. Note that I use an ATV and SS for off road stuff. My trucks don’t need the abuse. Good luck!

 

[Where's Bruce?]

I considered both a shell and cab-over camper but ultimately selected a Kodiak Canvas truck tent. I can stand up in it but don't lose mileage or add excessive weight, I can use it without removing my tonneau cover. It was a great compromise.

 

[WyoBowhunter21]

If you buy used. Try to find a Certified truck. Toyota and Ford give a better power train warranty than from new. 60,000 mile new vs 100,000 certified.

That’s exactly my thoughts. It’s like they are wanting us to buy used.

 

[WyoBowhunter21]

I considered both a shell and cab-over camper but ultimately selected a Kodiak Canvas truck tent. I can stand up in it but don't lose mileage or add excessive weight, I can use it without removing my tonneau cover. It was a great compromise.

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I was thinking of one of those Kodak canvas tents. I was worried they wouldn’t hold up to the Wyoming wind. Does it beat up or scratch the side of your truck?

 

[cp25od]

If I had only 1 vehicle I would stick with Toyota tundra or F150. The cabs are huge and with kids its great. I would never choose based on gas mileage. They're all gonna be worse than reported.

 

[Beendare]

Now that I’ve had this truck for about six months I can honestly say that in 45 years of driving trucks this is the best driving one I’ve ever owned. Ram 1500 Limited with the air suspension.

I’ve owned all of the major manufacturers except for Nissan. We drove home in my old tundra with coil overs the other night and I couldn’t believe the difference between how harsh the ride is in that truck and how smooth it is in this ram. its really unbelievable.

Somebody considering a half ton should check them out. I was initially leaning towards an F150 but the less than equivalent truck was $6000 more with a small dash screen, Ram has some real aggressive pricing now...they are really going after Ford.

 

[tdhanses]

View attachment 143290Now that I’ve had this truck for about six months I can honestly say that in 45 years of driving trucks this is the best driving one I’ve ever owned. Ram 1500 Limited with the air suspension.

I’ve owned all of the major manufacturers except for Nissan. We drove home in my old tundra with coil overs the other night and I couldn’t believe the difference between how harsh the ride is in that truck and how smooth it is in this ram. its really unbelievable.

Somebody considering a half ton should check them out. I was initially leaning towards an F150 but the less than equivalent truck was $6000 more with a small dash screen, Ram has some real aggressive pricing now...they are really going after Ford.

But the bed is so short.

 

[Beendare]

But the bed is so short.

Shorter than I'm used to as I've always owned the longer bed trucks.

I elected to have the bigger back seat......Errr, I have many full size friends- Grin. Heck, my son is 6'4"....no car seats for me anymore.

I drove to Arizona with my quad in back, you just have to drop the tailgate. The bigger back seat gives me more room to lock up stuff inside the cab.


My crew guys have the bigger beds and flat beds for construction stuff....I really don't need it. Anyone that has owned one of those knows what a pain those long wheelbase trucks are to park. They design these parking lots now assuming everyone drives a Mini....so I suppose those small parking spaces are a vote for the mid size trucks.

...

 

[mtluckydan]

Drove a 2007 Taco for 12 years & got 17-18 mpg...10 ply tires, reliable...never let me down. Ride wasn't awesome as had to beef up suspension to handle 4-Wheeler in the bed. Picked up 2017 Tundra, pulled rear seat the first day to accommodate gear or dogs...get 15-17 mpg with 10 plys, cap & heavy duty front bumper. The ride is considerably better, don't have to pile gear to roof for hunting trips & mileage is not much different than Tacoma. I will never go back...May get a Subaru or Rav 4 for work commuter in future but will probably always have a Tundra.

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