Ya know how we had the Chevrolet Luv and the little Datsuns, Toyotas, Nissans, Isuzu, Ford, etc.? Is anything like that being sold any more? I mean real small compact trucks. This came to mind as I started looking for a cheap, old truck along the lines of the above for going into my woodlot along the narrow trails. No way my Nissan Titan can fit. I have seen some old trucks for $3,000 to $3,500 that could work. Preferably 4wd. The shorter, the better, I suppose, except I sure hate to give up a little room behind the seat. What's being sold these days, anything or did they all go the way of the Edsel? It's funny, when I was young, hot cars were in. Nowadays, most guys have a truck. I never had a hot car but I did have an old truck. And an old Bronco.
Most small trucks have become mid-size trucks. Toyota still makes the hi-lux, you just can't buy it in this country and I'm not so sure it sizes into the "small" category any more. It has gotten longer although not a real lot wider. Ranger isn't small any more either. Most of what's left for small trucks overseas seem to be unibodies . Are they trucks ?
You can still find "yard trucks" Suzuki, Isuzu, etc. Many are 4X4 with small dump boxes. I can't remember the correct term for them, but might be well suited to your needs.
They are all over the place here. Just not always running or in the best condition but what do you expect for a truck being around 35 years or so? I’d love one if I had a good stretch of land and flat enough drive way for it to be on without issues. Problem is they don’t tow or haul a lot but they can do the job if it’s a pick up and move it sorta deal. They are kinda pricey if someone has taken the liberty of redoing the engine enough. Good luck in your search. I guess it depends on where you are for the kind of truck. But bigger seems to be the popularity here. Unless you decide to soup up a riding lawnmower, find a good ol’ boy and he’ll probably ask you “how much do ya wanna fly?!”, there’s likely a search happening later for ya.
The little Jap trucks. Thought about one of those myself. Some are 4wd with dump body. Not really sure if they could take the abuse tho and parts would be hard to find. It’s my understanding they can be registered now,, at least in my state. ATV and a good trailer or log arch might be the right ticket. Do you have to travel to your wood lot?
Many of those are not street legal. Also they cost a ton! You can literally get a good new utv for what a good one costs. Or just buy a used Ranger. Plenty of rangers around that would serve off-road firewood duty. Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk
That sounds very interesting! I don't know I've ever seen what you are talking about. (EDIT: Somebody posted a pic of the type... now I know what you are referring to. I pass a 'dealership' when I visit my brother, it's a couple hours north of here, I have always thought about stopping to talk. I dunno if he is just refurbishing old ones or selling new ones. Whomever suggested ATV/trailer, I got one. Whomever said UTV, I got one. John Deere Gator. But my woodlot is five miles from my house and I am working twice for the same wood to get it out of the woods with either of those, then load my truck, then haul it home. It would just be better to have a small truck, load it in the woods and drive home. A "yard truck" that has a dump bed, holy cow, that would be awesome.
Can you get a Kubota rtv type vehicle and get a farm equipment exclusion and drive it on the road, you can do that by me if you have hazard lights and a triangle
They make dump bed kits to put under pickup beds (diy) would be pretty slick to have one on a ranger or something. I think northern tool had em. I just seen a used dump bed insert for small trucks on CL recently, didn't know they made em...
It looks like small pickups are again about to be built, smaller than the midsized Tacoma, ranger, Colorado, etc. The Nissan frontier is about the smallest now, but even that is almost mid sized. Then there's the new Jeep gladiator, which is based on the Wrangler, but a tiny bed and only 4 door. Not ideal for what you'd want, probably at least. Now the issue with these smaller trucks that are coming out is that most will be unibody. So, like the fwd based Honda Ridgeline, is that really a truck then? I don't consider it to be a truck.
