SUV vs. Truck for Upland Rig & Daily Driver?

[Jason73]

Love my new RAM with an 8' bed. Put on a topper and now I just roll out my pad and it's an instant bed. No tent needed, windows with screens for ventilation. Down fall is it's a bit much for mountain roads but that's ok. Pull a trailer with an atv solves that problem.

 

[howl]

Used Lexus SUV with dog box on receiver hitch would be great for all uses except mpg.

 

[mdcrossbow]

In 04 I was looking for something to do it all. Pickup furniture plus hunt and fish the outback in Canada, Be a comfortable ride, something I can sleep in if need be. My dealer said why not get a AWD Van. My 05 Chevy van has 330,000 my 08 chevy van has 130,000 thing are a beast in the snow with the ATV in the back. Great on the beach also.

 

[CJnGA]

I was a truck guy through high school and college, then got a Jeep (03 TJ (two door)). I took the back seat out and built a custom dog box that I could pile shtuff on top off. It was absolutely perfect for me and two labs to pheasant hunt in Iowa. The problem was when someone else wanted to go, things got tight - especially if it was a cold windy day hunt and we're trying to haul heavier clothing. And of course, once our two boys came along, there was no more room for the dogs, soo...

I just went through the SUV vs. truck debate myself and ended up with an '14 Silverado crew cab. I travel quite a bit for work, so I got to try out several different models of SUVs over the years via rentals. I really like the 4Runner (prior to 2021 - not sure what they did this model year, but they seem smaller now) and seriously considered it over the truck. I had a Tacoma a couple of times and really didn't like it. I'm a tall guy and it definitely felt cramped. The first time I had one, I thought it was a real dog on the road and figured it was a 4-cyl version. Then I had one that was REALLY a dog and realized that IT was the 4-cyl and I had had the 6-cyl before. I would not be happy with either one of them - especially if trying to haul or pull something (also, the gas mileage in both of them was much worse than my '14 5.3L Silverado). In the end, I knew I would want to haul stuff for around the house and the truck would be better for that, so ended up with the truck. It has as much person space as the 4Runner (probably more, actually) and drastically more storage and towing capacity. If it weren't for needing to get a truck bed full of mulch, or haul a load of lumber, or whatever, the 4Runner would be a good fit - I just like being able to throw whatever shtuff I want to haul in the back and go without having to hook up the trailer. We recently got a Softopper soft-top bed cover for it. We'll try it out in November going to MT.

 

[802flyfish]

4-Runner. Biased opinion.

 

[tzone]

If you’re going to have just one you might as well make it a truck. My wife and I agree without question when/if we go down to one vehicle, it’s going to be a truck.

 

[Bsquad]

If you’re going to have just one you might as well make it a truck. My wife and I agree without question when/if we go down to one vehicle, it’s going to be a truck.

Smart wife.

We had one vehicle during 2020, it was our truck. 2013 f150 crew cab w/3 kids in car seats...so much more versatile than suv or car!

 

[T Bone]

SUV's/Wagons are great unless the dog gets skunked. It takes about 9 months for the smell to completely get out of the upholstery.

When I lived in SD and did a lot of bird hunting, most of it was out of a VW Passat Wagon until it got totaled, and then a Subaru Outback.....When the roads were muddy or deep snow, the Toyota Tundra went. The cars' 2x better gas mileage made a difference in the budget.

If I were looking for a SUV today, I'd go Toyota Sequoia.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I've been using my mom's 00' sienna as my western/late season hunting rig for the last couple of seasons. I have slept in it 7 days so far this fall. I can fit a cot and all my gear in the back with the seats out/ without having to put stuff outside at night.

2 people can sleep comfortably but you have to put your coolers outside.



You can get them AWD and they have a towing capacity over 3000.
New ones get 36 mpg, mine gets mid 20s.

You can put a small lift on one with bigger tires and get decent clearance.

Eg.

 

[npaden]

Who'da thunk it. Everything you need all in one sweet looking package!

 

[rideold]

If I were looking for a SUV today, I'd go Toyota Sequoia.

That's what I've been driving for close on 10 years now. Perfect truck and perfect size. I have the first generation that is a little smaller. Only complaint I have is the gas mileage.

 

[OntarioHunter]

I'm late to the party. This tread started out when I was hunting in Africa. I hunt with two and sometimes three dogs out of a 1999 GMC Jimmy. It is great. It will pull a 19' camper trailer with tandem axel but gingerly. It has a custom dog barrier in the back and when traveling to Montana with two Labs and a Britt, the back seats were down to extend the cargo area to front seats. I can lay down in there with them if I need to. Two garment rack rails in the two sets of brackets allows me to sling the guns up there in soft cases when on the road. I have a Tule full length cartop carrier and a hitch carrier as well. When stuff is loaded on the hitch cargo carrier I only have to open the rear window and dogs can climb over the load to get out. I very much like having that tailgate to stand on when loading a deer on top next to the Tule carrier. It gets decent gas mileage too. And yes, I do like having the dogs in the outfit with me. They can tell me when they need to get out and do their business. I sure see a lot of guys having to swamp the dog shit out of crates in the back of their trucks. If you don't like the smell of hunting dogs, you're in the wrong line of entertainment.

 

[Cornell2012]

I'm really tempted by the new Ford Maverick. Decent gas mileage even on the gas version (23 city/29 highway for AWD gas), small enough for living in a city, and some of the perks of a truck. Bed is pretty small, but would easily fit kennels and gear. MSRP is comparable to SUV prices. (I'm looking at a mid-tier version with a lot of options and sticker price with delivery fee is in the low $30k range)

 

[LousyResident]

I'm really tempted by the new Ford Maverick. Decent gas mileage even on the gas version (23 city/29 highway for AWD gas), small enough for living in a city, and some of the perks of a truck. Bed is pretty small, but would easily fit kennels and gear. MSRP is comparable to SUV prices. (I'm looking at a mid-tier version with a lot of options and sticker price with delivery fee is in the low $30k range)

I really, really wish they made an AWD hybrid version. I don't need my big, old F250 and could get really nice down payment on the used market right. If they had an AWD hybrid I'd be super tempted to sell the F250 and order one.

We already have an F150 for our true "truck" needs. This would just be my toy to run out into the woods with.

 

[Cornell2012]

I really, really wish they made an AWD hybrid version. I don't need my big, old F250 and could get really nice down payment on the used market right. If they had an AWD hybrid I'd be super tempted to sell the F250 and order one.

We already have an F150 for our true "truck" needs. This would just be my toy to run out into the woods with.

Same here. I'd also like a little more HP from the hybrid version. I think the price and features are very compelling though.

 

[Irrelevant]

My Honda Fitsky is my typical upland rig. 34 mpg and cheap as hell to maintain. Dog lays in the back with the seats up, gear goes in the very back.

Think about all the hunts you can afford by not dropped 40k on a new ride.

 

[CRMarks]

Really cool to see all the different rigs and ideas. I ended up completely flipping my original script. Due to my grandfather passing and my mom inheriting about 9 different vehicles ranging in make years 1940 - 2003, I ended up buying my dad's old work/hunt truck off of him. So now I've got the Subaru and '06 F150 FX4 both paid off in the driveway. Using the Subaru as the daily driver and taking the truck on hunts and hikes. Really looking hard at tear/squaredrop trailers. Specifically the inTech RV Flyer Pursue b/c it fits in my garage. I can have it hitched up and be on the road within 30 mins of signing off work on a Friday afternoon.

 

[Lefty315]

You ended up with the best of both worlds. curious, what did your Grandpa still have from the ’40s?

 

[CRMarks]

You ended up with the best of both worlds. curious, what did your Grandpa still have from the ’40s?

He took up restoring classic cars as his hobby when he retired. His first project was a 1940 Mercury 8 convertible. Still had it at the end along with his final project, 1957 Chevy Cameo (still available for sale if anyone wants a new toy, lol). He ended up working on probably two dozen vehicles over the years. I think the oldest was a pickup from 1924.