Vehicle Advice (Do I Need a Truck?)

[yycyak]

Hi Roksliders, hoping you guys can chime in with some advice on vehicles. TLDR: Does a guy absolutely need a 4x4 truck for hunting these days? (Assume no hardcore 4x4 offroading is needed - Strictly driving to wildland parks/gravel lease roads for backpack hunting.)

A bit of background: I'm a bit of a car guy, and have always liked classic trucks. With that in mind, I picked up a 70's Ford F100 truck, and have been slowly fixing it with the goal of having it become a decent hunting truck/expedition vehicle. So things like topper, extra lights, winch, aux power, etc.

But the other day I made the mistake of adding up how much time/money I've put into that truck, and it hit me like a ton of bricks: Instead of putting that time/money into being in the field (or even camping with my family) I've stayed at home in the garage fixing a truck that I've only taken to the woods a few times. Which got me thinking: Do I really need a 4x4 truck?

Most of the hunting I do is backpack-style. Generally I find myself driving on decent paved roads, then detour onto a lease road/gravel park road, and then pull off to the side and park. Grab my pack, and start hiking. For meat processing, I usually do gutless, so I rarely have a full field-dressed animal in the back of the truck - It's mainly meat bags in coolers.

This all got me thinking that in some ways I could probably do just as well with something like a VW diesel Golf. Great mileage, lots of cargo space. Put a small 2" lift on it so it has the same ride height as a Subaru Outback, and carry some tire chains. Great mileage...

Has anyone else had these thoughts before? Or do you genuinely need a 4x4 full size truck for our hobby?

(Oh one other thing: Most of the work on the F100 is finished, and it'll soon be ready for action. So maybe I'm just burnt out from the project. On the other hand, as I get closer to finishing, I'm finding I'm not any "happier" having the vehicle around...)

 

[reaperukon]

I think we all need to see some photos of this truck in order to give you good advice a truck is definitely not a requirement in my mind. It all depends on your situation though. If you have a lot of folks and lots of gear....it’s probably more useful. If it’s just you going solo...not so much. I’ve got a Jeep JKU that I use and it works great for what I want. That being said, I’ve taken the wife’s suburban to tow a trailer that was too big for the Jeep. I’ll probably end up adding a truck because I do have a ton of gear and handful of folks that hunt with me. Especially if we end up using horses then it’s kind of a necessity for towing purposes.


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[JeffRaines]

Theres a thread on this somewhere else... but with that said, it depends largely on your style of hunting.

I'm starting to go to pack-in style hunting more and more, and honestly most of the places I've been in the last 5-6 hunts I could've reached with a honda civic. Enough room in the back for my backpack and cooler... I'm good to go.

If you're the type that does more road hunting/trying to drive up old crappy logging roads... or if you have a big basecamp by the road and pack in daily, then something small is gonna hold you back.

I'm probably, at some point, going to buy a smaller vehicle for a commuter... that way I have the best of both worlds - a pickup for utility/some hunting, and a little commuter that I can use for work and backpack hunts.

 

[Danny Hoey]

Subaru Outback or Forester will get you to 98% of the places you need to go.

 

[5MilesBack]

Even hunting aside, I have no idea how people function in life without a truck. I'm always hauling something.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I have no idea how people function in life without a truck.

Yep. Or 4 wheel drive.

 

[dla]

Hi Roksliders, hoping you guys can chime in with some advice on vehicles. TLDR: Does a guy absolutely need a 4x4 truck for hunting these days? (Assume no hardcore 4x4 offroading is needed - Strictly driving to wildland parks/gravel lease roads for backpack hunting.)

A bit of background: I'm a bit of a car guy, and have always liked classic trucks. With that in mind, I picked up a 70's Ford F100 truck, and have been slowly fixing it with the goal of having it become a decent hunting truck/expedition vehicle. So things like topper, extra lights, winch, aux power, etc.

But the other day I made the mistake of adding up how much time/money I've put into that truck, and it hit me like a ton of bricks: Instead of putting that time/money into being in the field (or even camping with my family) I've stayed at home in the garage fixing a truck that I've only taken to the woods a few times. Which got me thinking: Do I really need a 4x4 truck?

Most of the hunting I do is backpack-style. Generally I find myself driving on decent paved roads, then detour onto a lease road/gravel park road, and then pull off to the side and park. Grab my pack, and start hiking. For meat processing, I usually do gutless, so I rarely have a full field-dressed animal in the back of the truck - It's mainly meat bags in coolers.

This all got me thinking that in some ways I could probably do just as well with something like a VW diesel Golf. Great mileage, lots of cargo space. Put a small 2" lift on it so it has the same ride height as a Subaru Outback, and carry some tire chains. Great mileage...

Has anyone else had these thoughts before? Or do you genuinely need a 4x4 full size truck for our hobby?

(Oh one other thing: Most of the work on the F100 is finished, and it'll soon be ready for action. So maybe I'm just burnt out from the project. On the other hand, as I get closer to finishing, I'm finding I'm not any "happier" having the vehicle around...)

The biggest issue for me is tires. I usually drive a little old Ford Range 2wd 4cyl, but I run some very stout tires on it because I don't like getting rock flats out in the middle of nowhere. Because the Ranger uses standard 15" (and 16") wheels, with plenty of fender clearance, I can buy the tires I want.
Although this is a thread onto itself - Costco will not mount any non-standard tire on your vehicle - they are very anal about it.
I used to have an 1981 Subaru SW, with low-range 4wd. That car would go places it shouldn't. BUT, at the time, I couldn't get hi-ply tires for it - so more than once I came creeping out of nowhere on the donut.
Just some thoughts.

 

[positivepete!]

I do almost all of my scouting / camping out of my "beater". Its a 2006 Toyota Corolla. It's not meant to go anywhere crazy but that's what I use my legs for. Load up the pack with everything i need throw it in the trunk and away i go. Only had one issue with it here in Colorado and that was my dumb fault to drive it too far down a road that then turned into a muddy road. I do admit I take the truck to actually hunt but the 35+ mpg makes scouting a lot cheaper.

 

[Elkhntr08]

Heck, I have two trucks. One for driving and pulling the camper, the other for hunting and loaning to the kids. The hunting truck wasn’t worth squat when I bought the new one, so I keep it.
Both are 4x4 and I wouldn’t live without it. 360 days a year you might not need it, but on those 5 days, it’s a life saver.

 

[Felix40]

Depends on where you are. I wouldnt even be able to get to my house in the winter without 4x4. Id say 60% of my hunting spots require 4x4 most of the year. You would be hating life if you brought a car hunting around here.

 

[NV HUNTER]

nevada you could not do it with out a truck (preferably 4x4). even dove hunting, i got stuck in a buddies 2wh drive truck.

 

[Desk Jockey]

4x2 is fine up to the point you need a 4x4. Unfortunately you won’t know when that is until you know. Wenches, shovels tow straps/chains and a buddy with a 4x4 can make that lesson less painful.

On the truck vs no truck, I think the only place a truck really wins over say an SUV is for hauling big, bulky, dirty stuff. That includes gear, although the ability to have covered lockable storage in an SUV is nice in some instances. The other place trucks shine is hauling meat and / or a carcass. Perhaps not an issue if you mainly hunt stuff that is so big it most be quartered and Sure, cooler will fit in a trunk or an SUV but a whole carcass or big meat bags can get messy. Some folks use drop cloths or trailer hitch mounted carriers but I think a truck bed is the bees knees for loading up a whitetail.

 

[WannabeHunter]

If you don't mind walking, you could use any vehicle. For me, 4x4 is the kicker. Not necessary for it to be a truck.

That being said, I've hauled a honda recon 4x2 atv on a trailer with a hyundai sonata to get to the woods. So that's always an option. If you can get a used atv and trailer you can have very little money invested. But depends on where you're going and what access type is permitted.

 

[Catahoula]

Man, I’d use the truck. I’ve always have had a 4wd pickup over the years. Bone stock 4wd or some kind of lift. As mentioned, I’m always hauling something...

 

[JD619er]

I would rather have a 4x4 but that being said people we're driving up old access rds in 2wd vehicles for a long time before 4x4 became the standard

 

[awbowhunter]

I have to admit I have a 4 wd diesel truck now. But back in the day I wanted to hunt bad enough I have used a Honda Civic and worse yet a Ford pinto....and yes both got their time stuck in mud....and Dad was not happy. There are better choices but I say use what you got to get where you need to go!!

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[BRTreedogs]

For me yes 4x4 is required.
But even on roads where the car would work. I'd be worried about beating the suspension and steering out of it.

 

[Dexter Grayson]

only if you don't want to get your dress all muddy.

 

[Ross]

For me a 4whl drive truck is needed both to get in and out of crappy back country roads and conditions and simply for storage in the bed and canopy. Additionally with a truck no worries on blood and guts stuff nor beating it up. Do you need one maybe maybe not but it is nice to have for sure I would like to use my fj but simply not enough storage room and hate pulling trailers.

 

[Wmmichael20]

I'm with alot of the other guys on the subject 4wd is mandatory where I live simply because the county doesn't keep up on the snow plowing situation as well as they should,other than that I've been without a pickup truck for 5 years now, been using a jku as much as I like me jeep boy do I miss the heck out of my old truck, seems like if you don't tow much maybe a midsize truck that's more nimble and easy on fuel mite be a good option?