Boy I love opening a can of worms My car hasn't been cooperating lately, the AC is broken (figures, right after I move to Georgia), Brakes are really funky, and Transmission doesn't know which gear to pick. I've decided that instead of being nice and fix this pile of junk I want to buy a different pile of junk. But since I have to buy now and not 1 year from now, I have decided to get a truck since it will help support my upcoming racing addiction...er...hobby. Besides, I don't think a 300ZX can tow very well anyway. I don't want a full size truck I don't think, so anyone have opinions on a Dakota? V6 I think. Will it be able to someday pull a 5x10 enclosed? I think this question has been hashed and rehashed over and over again, but none of the answered from before (they all seem to turn into "buy the biggest truck you can" kinda talk) seem to be very good. Any assistance in this matter is appreciated. Thanks, Guo
When I first started racing I had a 90 Nissan SE-V6 king cab 4x4. I pulled a 6x12 trailer with two bikes and all of Stokes's shit in all over the country. It did well but after all those long trips I needed something bigger inside.
Is that a 6x12 enclosed? My friend has one of those, feels like it's about to tip over around every corner, but guess all trucks are like that. Is 4x2 enough if I'm just hauling things?
I had great luck with my 1997 Toyota Tacoma extended cab. Get a V6 model. Things were a little tight inside, but got the job done. It pulled any trailer I put on it and got god mileage too. You can find used ones for under $15,000 in good shape.
used vans are usually cheaper than used trucks stay away from 4-wd trucks if you are mostly using it for racing and\or towing - don't need the added expences
Yeah, the van route has been suggested, but no matter how much better it is, I will not drive one to work.
Well, it's not a truck, but I'm a big fan of the Chevy Astro/GMC Safari mini-vans. For one guy and all his crap it's perfect, everything fits inside, dry, secure and no trailer to hassle with. For 2 guys it'll also pull a small enclosed trailer no problem. We usually put both bikes in a 5x8 along with the gas cans and the generator, the rest of the stuff in the van. We can even leave one row of seats in back for the SO's if need be and still fit everything in. Just make sure to get the EXT, not the shorty.
I agree with all this. 4WD is not much use, really, and even with it in 2WD, you'll get worse mileage than if it's full-time 2WD. Vans are really great. Until you buy a trailer, you can haul a bike right in it. Then you can sleep inside at the track (or outside the track if you arrive before the track opens (though you can't have the bike in for that). You can also get a stonkin' big engine in a van. Downsides are, of course, massive size in a full-sized van, and if it's not sound insulated, they get pretty loud. And they get universally bad mileage. I pull an open trailer with as many as three bikes with a V6 Pathfinder. It works great, but I'd probably do a van if I had it over again.
That's funny Guoseph. Lee was talking about the Dakota last night. I don't know a thing about trucks but from what I learned in conversation this is a great vehicle for towing. They make a four door too! I think that's cool for a truck.
Four doors are nice, but I'm trying to go pretty cheap, so that's probably out. I figure if my friends really want to come to the races, they can drive themselves
The passenger versions of the Astro are pretty quiet, and get about 20 mpg on the highway. That drops to 14-15 pulling the trailer.
My experience has been (and I'm sure some of these guys will post to the contrary) that Dodge trucks tend to be a nightmare. I have 4 friends that have had them in one version or another, and all have suffered catastrophic failures of one type or another before 30k showed on the odo. (Complete top end replacement, tranny replacement, torque converter, alternator, etc. etc.) My best friend is a service manager for a local service shop and the stories he can tell about Dodge trucks coming in with problems was enough to make me never want to buy a Chrysler product ever again.
Because it hurts my EGO and PRIDE and all my friends will laugh at me I just can't picture myself driving a van at age 22...nope, ain't gonna happen. Thanks for the wonderful suggestion though [This message has been edited by Guoseph (edited 05-25-2001).]
DOH...but there are bad apples on every tree. From working in restaurants and talking to friends who work in restaurants, I should never go out to eat again...but I still do So what if I buy a Dodge truck that has made it past the magic 30k mile mark? [This message has been edited by Guoseph (edited 05-25-2001).]
oh come on now !!! chick dig vans !!! just ask Laurie I had a Chevy S-10 with over 100,000 care free miles if you want a truck with a big V-6
Hi Guoseph!! How's the new job? WERA 122 (Tom) has a Dakota truck and from what I hear (I could be wrong) he really likes it. There are plenty of car dealerships in Atlanta that have good used vehicles so one shouldn't be hard to find. We pulled a 5x10 with a Dakota 4 cylinder. It wasn't the best, but I know if it had a V6 we wouldn't have had any problems.
Productivity is way low this morning for some reason Actually I'm waiting to go in the lab so I can get paid to channel surf again Can you recommend some good used car dealerships? Thanks
