Bro needs work vehicle - what should he get?
 

My brother bought a "work vehicle" today (he's going self-employed as a gas furnace & a/c installer/contractor).

I'll tell you what he got later, but what would people recommend given these needs:

- did not want a van
- moderate amount of cargo capacity
- flexible storage capabilities
- 2000 lb towing capability (boat, occasionally)

I think he should have just put a cap on his Tacoma V6 extended cab, and bolted some lockable compartments in the bed, but my bro would apparently rather make bank payments than make do with what he's got until he can afford something else :rolleyes:.

Passat wagon TDI

i wold say a good station wagon 2

Wagons. Yeah. TDI even better. Way to think outside the box (pun intended).

He got a Honda Ridgeline. Sigh.

Well, it could be worse. I was going to guess he got a Ford Explorer!

True. One of the first things he mentioned to me: the Ridgeline is the most efficient of the trucks in its class.

I would have recommended a used Ford Ranger 2wd 4cyl 5spd, with a cap, or a toyota pickup 89-02 2wd 4cyl 5spd.
I wouldn't want to work out of a 10 or 20K$ TDi, it would be wrecked quick (but it sure would be efficient).
-James

nothing wrong with a honda ridgeline. i know i'd respect the furance man who drove a honda more than i would him driving a toyota. :)

Good luck to him and his Ridgeline. A few contractors tried them out here. And one of my coworkers bought one. Its not a truck. Its a Ute. The bed is so close to useless it isnt funny. The bed coating will be gone in very short order. If he throws a compressor or a like sized item in the bed and it happens to land on the bed storage lid. He will be mad.

My 4 banger Ranger will out work a Ridgeline something awful. I can haul pumps and stuff you cant even get in the Ridgeline. Not that it wont haul it. But we are back to the bed issue. lololololol

They ride and drive like a Accord. But function like a Pilot with no lid on it. I can not ride in the front passenger seat of a Ridgeline. With the seat all the way back my shins hit the lower dash tray. My Civic is more comfortable.

I had high hopes for the Ridgeline when the rumors started about Honda and a Truck. Then I saw drawings and pics. And had a really good laugh. Its so bad as a truck not even the Lowes and Home Depot crowd can use it. Might haul some peat or planters. Heck maybe even a vanity. But there isnt going to be any sheet rock or ply wood in 4' x 8' in there or much if any 8' sticks of lumber.

I can just see the Ridgeline with a 3 ton condensing unit, air handler, A-coil and furnace stacked up in the bed. OO and maybe a pleniom and ducting. It would look like something out of Dr. Suez.

Truth is Ive not met one person face to face that truly likes theres as a truck. Alot of net folks rave about them.

Hope it serves him well. :)

psy

I'd go with any year from 80s-90s 1 ton toyota pickup with a newer 22R-E, 5 speed, converted to flat bed with tool boxes tucked underneath. The four speed in mine isn't too bad, and I've towed over 3k lbs in it at city speeds/hauled 1k+ lbs at highway speeds, but it's just too tall for getting really good mileage highway, and the engine shows it's age, although i suspect it's tuned to pass emissions, not for mileage.

Yeah... i would have said an old fwd 4cyl. 5-speed nissan truck. Those things are bullet-proof. Even an old 5-speed s-10 would have done the job right.

I totaly agree, a Ridgeline is not a truck! and it's for sure not a work truck! I bet he's going to regret it the first time he has to do any truck like things with it, the bed is high up, and tiny, and non-replacable! it's a unibody "truck" you don't make unibody trucks! Bad Honda! Bad! the idea of a truck is to have something that is durable and can haul large amounts of large heavy things.
I agree as well with the TDI wagon, it'd even cost less then the ridgeline for a new one, otherwise go for a Toyota truck, everyone in the trades that I know that has toyota trucks said they loved them, and would buy another one if/when they needed to replace it.

Toyota pickup with 22re engine. Good mileage, plenty of towing power, very reliable, solid as a rock.

Q

Why no van? My vote was for an astro cargo. My mothers gets respectable mileage 18-20mpg. Its big and rides good. Has plenty of power, 6k lbs of towing.

If it has to be a truck. For a fullsize I'd go GM with any engine 5.3 or smaller. My brothers gets consistant 22-23mpg v6 5 spd stripper WT.

For a smaller truck my favorite is the 1993 or older s10 2.8v6 5spd. FE in the mid 20s good towing,etc.

After that for me its a toss up. Just about any small pickup from the 90s will be good I've seen them all with over 200k and running well with only minor repairs needed. I drove a 96 nissan for years. Best power of any 4 cyl truck. 26-27mpg hwy. I towed ALOT of stuff with this truck and it always did well boats,trailers,cars, . Although with loads over 2500lbs don't expect it to be a racehorse on the freeway.

I hate the honda ridgeline, what a joke. It doesn't do anything well. I would be extremely leary of the transmission just because its honda product.

Some pics of the death of the flash. Actually it wasn't dead it just had a rattling timing chain and was stuck in 2nd with a bad shift fork. It had 202k and very little maintenance over its life. 24mpg highway at its death wasn't bad either. It finally got hot and went dead. So we spray painted $75 on it and pushed it to the road. Someone bought it 3 days later.

https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...f45b11b195.jpg

MetroMPG: It appears to me that your brother would have gotten a lot more of a nay vote than a yay, here.

I'm not surprised. I think he was a little blinded by the sparkly shiny bits and it affected his brain.

When gas was at its high last year, he actually asked me how he could improve his fuel economy. We talked aero mods (he was mostly doing hwy driving at the time in his Tacoma), but then prices receded, and ... now he's making payments for 4 or 5 years on a vehicle rated at 18 mpg US combined!

I think he's probably representative of the average person in that regard (short memory re. energy prices).

I wonder if maybe he got some sort of rebate or something, that did a number on his calculation's.

Best part's about my 89 Honda is I've probably got a $1,000 into it, I don't have no stinkin car payments to make and it get's reasonable mileage. If it weren't for raised aspirations because of this site, it would be getting great mileage. However, this site warps things a bit. Oh yeah, it only costs $25-$30 to fill it up when I do finally drag it to the gas station.

That's funny!

If I were the kind of person to put other people's quotes in my SIG, that'd be in there. :p

If it were not for towing, a Toyota Camry wagon, Gen II or III. They get well over 30 MPG on the highway, and can cary about anything. Pre hung doors and OSB, bags of concrete, the entire drivetrain of an Alfa GTV....get the idea?

What I used when I worked in construction was Volvo wagons, a 245DL/GL would be good. Or (if you can find a clean one that will not cost a fortune, as the arabs and africans are buying them up rapidly and are willing to work on it) Peugeot 505 wagon.

Both are rated 1/2-3/4 ton. Diesel was an option in both, but the Volvo had a terrible VW motor in it. Both can be used to tow, both are RWD, and both have large roofs which you can load down.

All of these are in the $1000-$5000 range depending on condition.

When did they come with this hovercraft option?:D I had a GMC S10 with a 4.3 six as a company truck. Fast but terrible in ice storms, RWD automatic with low profile tires....blech. The basic ones were much better.

I'd have looked for a beat up S10 diesel from the 1980s and aeromodded it. Failing the diesel, the gasoline version would suffice. A work truck will be beat up in short order. I can't see much rationale for spending more than a few grand for one...

It wasn't an option. Its a home built kit using a diesel generator and 12 shop vacs mounted underneath the truck. Somewhere I have a pic of the system. If I didn't loose it with the last hardrive crash.

Man, you guys are too much. :D

Yup thetoecutter read my mind

And simply reversing the switch on the vacs would greatly improve wet/snow traction. Damn, why did I not think of this!

And high speed cornering!

(And keeping the garage floor clean.)