Help with a Hunting Truck

[mtmuley]

Trust me. The Hi-Lift will pay for itself. mtmuley

 

[hank4elk]

And good E or Q rated tires.
Nice,could be my F-150's twin. Mine is off road Lariat. NM dirt color too!

 

[1_pointer]

Hey everybody, thank for you so much for your input, and especially for steering me away from the high mileage truck.

While I wish I could have a brand new Tundra or Tacoma (or even 4Runner), that wasn't the point. This won't be a "daily driver" but a tool for certain tasks.

This F-150 is now sitting in my driveway. 154k miles, $3200. I'm preparing for new shocks, brakes, chains and tires. If there is anything accessory you think I should consider, please weigh in!

By the way, one of the reasons we were steering away from an older 4Runner is the seats do not fold down flat, you have to remove them. We sleep in the back of the RAV4 all the time and will do the same with this truck. Being able to just throw a futon in and go was a big consideration.

View attachment 59998

Very well done!! I had a '98 F150 that was a great truck! Never failed to get me to my destination and back.

 

[Speeddmn]

Get a warn winch in the 10-12k lb range and associated gear for it.

 

[vanish]

A few of the trucks escapades so far! Muzzleloader Pronghorn hunting, December Elk Hunt, Canyonlands Flint Trail to Maze Overlook.

 

[buckbull]

My sisters 5.4L would spit out spark plugs all the time. She has a good mechanic that would helicoil the head.

 

[waygoner]

Do yourself a favor and figure out away to get another Toyota

I'm on my 3rd Toyota truck. 1st gen Tundras are the best bargain in Toys in my opinion. For the places I go I don't want a fullsize.

 

[hank4elk]

They were both clean last week.lol,NM
My old 98'Tacoma w365k, the hunt truck & go anytime,anywhere truck. My 2nd Toyota4x4,the 1st had 565k when I sold it & got the Tacoma.
And the newer 01' F-150 off road Lariat 4x4 w/86k. Had the plugs changed & new COPS last month. 5.4 Triton. My4th Ford PU in my life.

 

[grizzly_]

I bought this Ford Explorer Sport Trac for less than most people pay for a new ATV. It's a 2005 with 130,000 miles and has been great. I put a Eaton E-Locker on it and replaced shocks and ball joints and it rides like it's on rails. It shares parts with the old Explorer and Ranger pickup so they're cheap and available.

 

[hank4elk]

I bought this Ford Explorer Sport Trac for less than most people pay for a new ATV. It's a 2005 with 130,000 miles and has been great. I put a Eaton E-Locker on it and replaced shocks and ball joints and it rides like it's on rails. It shares parts with the old Explorer and Ranger pickup so they're cheap and available.

View attachment 69630

Nice rig!

 

[Southern Elk]

They were both clean last week.lol,NM
My old 98'Tacoma w365k, the hunt truck & go anytime,anywhere truck. My 2nd Toyota4x4,the 1st had 565k when I sold it & got the Tacoma.
And the newer 01' F-150 off road Lariat 4x4 w/86k. Had the plugs changed & new COPS last month. 5.4 Triton. My4th Ford PU in my life.
]

I had a 98 Tacoma like that one. Wish I had never sold it.

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

all vehicles have there issues,but id have to say that Toyota is worth the price,,ive got a Tacoma{2000} with a 3.4 v-6 and it has been a wonderful rig,,i also have a dodge cummins diesel for the bigger stuff,,,look out for the dreaded ford powerstroke 6.0 and 6.4 are problems on wheels,,,old 7.3 diesels prier to 2003 are decent but weak trannys,,,ford 4.6,5.4 and v-10 gassers have the "multi-piece spark plug issue" to look out for,,,chevys overall are pretty decent whether duramax or gasser.even as a dodge cummins owner,,dodge auto trannys are weak..all depends on what you want,,good luck,,been a truck mechanic over 30 yrs now and that's my recomondation.

 

[commandoNate]

all vehicles have there issues,but id have to say that Toyota is worth the price,,ive got a Tacoma{2000} with a 3.4 v-6 and it has been a wonderful rig,,i also have a dodge cummins diesel for the bigger stuff,,,look out for the dreaded ford powerstroke 6.0 and 6.4 are problems on wheels,,,old 7.3 diesels prier to 2003 are decent but weak trannys,,,ford 4.6,5.4 and v-10 gassers have the "multi-piece spark plug issue" to look out for,,,chevys overall are pretty decent whether duramax or gasser.even as a dodge cummins owner,,dodge auto trannys are weak..all depends on what you want,,good luck,,been a truck mechanic over 30 yrs now and that's my recomondation.

I have to take you to task on the weak tranny in the fords. I have a 2000 f350 with a 7.3 and I'm running an assortment of engine mods to boost the power up. It's faster (empty) than my Audi wagon! I tow a lot of heavy trailers too. Almost daily. Never had trans issues and I'm at 255k on the clock. That being said I installed a HUGE trans cooler from a 6.0 truck and I change the fluid religiously every 30,000 miles and I use a good quality synthetic oil. I know a couple guys who have gotten over 300k before a trans rebuild with similar use and maintenance as mine.

 

[hank4elk]

The F-150 has the single plugs,rides like a Beemer compaired to my last one...a 65'.
The Tacoma needs the valve cover gaskets replaced & the suspension gone thru.It just started to make some weird clunks at times.Think I wore out the back springs carrying lumber,firewood & elk. Had several in there whole...lol.

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

id have to say your on borrowed time as you should have a e4od on a 2000 w 7.3.it can be a good tranny when beefed up,but 255k in stock form is really pushing it ,,,ive seen very few go beyond 150k in stock form,so your lucky at this point. A good rebuild and adding extra clutches in the clutch packs,a shift kit for the valve body,and a triple disc torque converter will get that e4od in good shape again.my uncle lost his e4od when towing and out of town and had to pay 4 k for a rebuild out of town just to get back home.and that was a bone stock 7.3,,,if yours is modded up that will be even harder on the trans..a rebuild and beef up when its convienient will be easyer than if your out of town,,just recommending.

 

[vanish]

We've been making use of the truck this summer to get to some of those alpine fishing spots the Rav4 failed to make it to in the past.

We've learned jostling around at 6 mph isn't really our thing, we're never going to become off-road enthusiasts , but its what it takes to get to some of these places.

Camping at 11,800 ft made accessing the local alpine lakes easy. Too bad the big fish were still spawning.

We still did 10 miles RT of backpacking after the hour of rough rock roads on this trip. We did some scouting for alpine mulies and elk, too. There were supposed to be good cutties in this lake, but instead we found average brookies.

 

[buckbull]

great photos, thanks for sharing.

 

[old man]

I love Toyota as well but hate the lack of start off power. plus for a four banger am disappointed in gas mileage. also always had good luck with Chevy. But will never pay the price of a new vehicle ever again.