The Ford F-150 is no doubt a workhorse truck. GM/Chevy/Dodge also make some great trucks depending on the powertrain. My 94 4.9L I6 4X4 has been a dependable tool for me for the past 3 years. After all the horrible things I have done to it from hauling wood to pulling cars out of ditches it has never failed me. But, being that it was getting to be a 15 year old Truck it has seen better days.
I decided to look at a smaller pick-up as the full size was no longer a practical solution for my needs.
94 F-150 4.9L I6 4x4
Pros:
Bullet proof motor rated at 145 hp and 265 lb-ft.
4’x8’ Bed will fit practically anything (I can atest it will hold 28 Pallets)
4-Lo will pull pretty much anything out of the ground and will easily remove cars encased in snow banks.
EPA Rated 15/19 (5 Spd)
Cons:
The Sheer size makes it hard to find a parking space in crowded lots.
With a mild 4 inch lift driving in down town buffalo parking garages poses a challange or alot of antenna scraping.
04 Ranger 4.0L V6 4x4
Pros:
Great power with the 4.0L pushing 207 hp and 238 lb-ft.
Weight drop from the F-150s 3982 lbs to a touch under 3200 lbs.
EPA Rated 17/23 (5 Spd)
Cons:
Bed Size is considerably smaller.
Payload drops from the F-150s impressive 5100 lbs to a mere 1260 lbs.
I am the type of buyer where I research EXACTLY what I want in a Car/Truck, what I will pay, how much I will put down, how much I want for a trade.
Total time for transaction from handshake to driving off the lot: 1 hour 27 minutes.
All in all I am happy with the deal. The F-150 was a great truck when I was living in the Southtowns and needed the gound clearance, towing power, and large bed. Now that I live in a more civilized area where you can’t have 12 foot flames on a bonfire there is no need for a truckload of fire wood.
If anyone is thinking of downsizing from a Full size pick-up. I strongly recommend checking out a Ranger or S-10 counter part.
I had a 4x4 ranger edge 4.0, no real problems. Ball joints go about every 30K though and they are a pain to swap. Gas mileage was no where near 23 mpg. I got maybe 19 at best, usually about 15 mpg per tank.
Looks like a nice pick up. I personally have a 2001 S-10, I wish I would of held out thought and gotten a 4x4 with the 4.3. Although I have heard there are a few common problems on the 4wd S-10’s but any car will have its own issues.
Rangers yes s-10’s no. i have had my share and there all gas hogs with tuns of problems. The zr2’s are horible for breaks and suspension issues. I love my tacoma, it was the tacoma or a ranger i picked toyota. But rangers are just as good.
I forgot to mention I got this at West-Herr in Hamburg. Real nice group of guys there. Of course I got the generic “You went to East Aurora? Do you know J.J.?” Haha
They miss you there JJ.
The beast is gone on a trade. They gave me 1,000 for it and I think that was more than fair on a 15 year old Truck.
That’s what the dealer told me when I went to look at it. I really had no idea but I wanted the 5 spd and just happened to luck out.
Wow, I had no idea the ZR2s had that many issues. I also considered a Taco a few years ago but did not have the $$$. I am glad I got this Ranger.
^^^fyi, the 4x4 s10s do not have suspension issues. the issues are when the owner dosent have a clue what hes doing and cranks the torsion bars past their zheight which is what causes the balljoint problems. only major issue with them is the bearing/hub being 100 dollars a pop. brakes are fantastic and if you know how to drive and get quality parts they last. as for the ranger i havent heard any major concerns with them either. the smaller trucks are cheaper, but they can still be excellent reliable go anywhere vehicles. btw, really liking that you got the 5speed.
the rangers do get horrible mileage for sure with the 4.0’s. my uncle had a 4cyl S10 for a number of years and he really hated that truck. he replaced it with a 5cyl colorado and he absolutely loves that truck. He said he actually gets better mpg with the colorado than his old S10. Those 5cyl’s haul ass too.
I know for a fact you can put over 2k lbs in the back of a Ranger. It won’t like it, but it will do the trick.
I’ve had a couple Rangers, and they never let me down, I just drove them so rough they weren’t worth keeping anymore. My S-10 was solid, and didn’t give me any problems either though. I didn’t really beat that one.
My boss went 98k on a single oil change in his 4cyl 98 Ranger. Just added it when the light came on.
My only beef with the smaller trucks is that they barely get better gas mileage than a full size counterpart. Seems kind of shitty to loose so much ability, for a 2-3mpg increase.
