"Right Now" Truck or "Forever" Truck?

I am in a pickle. I am mostly racing motorcycles this year, but plan to trailer a race car next year. The plan WAS to use car+small trailer for bikes, and buy a truck/suv/van to tow with when the time comes, but the car+trailer combo got rear ended recently, and are both more than likely totaled.

So, my options are as follows:
A. Buy small truck now, use as DD and bike hauler. Budget ~$2k, think older Toyota pickup, Nissan Hardbody, etc. Buy car hauling vehicle later, with more $$$ saved up.
B. Buy "forever" truck now, but this means it needs to check a lot of boxes. Bed space for bikes (6.5'+), seating for 4, towing capacity to haul a car, good enough fuel economy that I won't go broke. If I really stretch I can put $5k towards this- I'm thinking GMT800, OBS 7.3 Ford are the best options here.

WWGRMD?

Buy a cheap truck. Save for forever truck.

Tough call. .. . . How much are you really going to use it for car towing? What is really the priority here. The bikes, car towing or a DD. I almost think you need a DD car that could pull bikes on a trailer and then you can supper size the towing Rig later and you still have a DD car. May work better in the long run. Sounds like you were on the correct plan/path originally.

Ya I am no help and I. ...

Going back to car+trailer is still an option... but it was a decent amount of work, and cars with decent tow ratings are somewhat hard to come by.

As of now, something is needed to transport bikes 2-4x per month on average. When it's car time, it will need to haul cars about once a month and serve as a rally support vehicle in the middle of each 1k mile+ trip. Any vehicle I buy now will serve as a short-term DD, although I can ride a motorcycle to work so it won't necessarily have to be a commuter.

I'd rather have a $2k car/small truck now and save for a big truck to add to the fleet later. Unless your living situation dictates one vehicle for some reason, having just one car/truck to handle all your needs is GRM crazy talk.

You don't NEED a truck, I can tell from here. therefore you cannot buy one.

(Buy forever truck now, they're (gasp) ok to drive on a daily basis and you may find you use it more often than you think you will.

I'd go small pick up truck now. As long as they stay running 2k is likely the bottom of the depreciation curve so you aren't likely to really lose much money when you sell it later

Your forever truck needs to do a lot and 5 k is stretching it for a good quad cab pick up truck. If you don't need to Haul a motorcycle in the bed (you are getting a car trailer right?) that opens you to the SUV market where 5 k for towing and seating for four is easier to come by.

+1 for getting a forever SUV instead of a forever truck, keep the bike on the trailer and you'll have lots of secure & sheltered space inside with seating for 5.

In reply to itsarebuild:

That's the way I'm leaning... and I miss my Suburban.

Honestly, you need an older truck imo. The weight you are planning to tow isnt crazy, and the gmt 800 mpg isn't that much better than the gmt 400's.

I'd try either a 96-98 2wd gmt400 (best interior, vortec motor for most power, 3 or 4 door ext cabs), similiar years of suburban/tahoe, or a 2500 crew cab short box of similiar years. You could go back to 95 as they had the updated interior, and there is nothing wrong with the tbi 350.

The gm's will ride best. An older psd 7.3 will ride like garbage and you will hate your life with it as a DD.

In reply to HiTempguy:

I had a GMT400 Suburban 2500- it was great for pulling cars, but just dumb for bikes (10 mpg is excusable with a car, not with a 300lb bike!) Now, if that was because TBI 454, then what can I expect to get out of a crew cab 2500 with a Vortec 350?

Drive down to North Carolina to buy said cheap truck. No rust.

In reply to ScreaminE:

I'm in TX regularly for work, I would most likely buy the "forever" truck there.

Buy a van, keeps your stuff dry and your tools secure; also tows a trailer.

Buy forever truck now. I have bought trucks "just good enough" for years. I just recently bought a much much nicer one and can't tell you how many times I've said to myself "I wish I would have done this a long time ago!"

The problem with option 1 is that you'll have to dump money into it in deferred maintenance. By that point, you are at or almost at the budget of the 'forever' truck.

Also, Trucks always seem to be more expensive and more worn out than a comparable SUV since people actually use them for work.

When I was looking for a truck, I wound up in an SUV since it was cheaper, lower mileage, cleaner, nicer interior and not worn out. Check out the 96+ Suburbans. Get something else like a $1k Miata or Protege for DD duty. The gas savings will pay for itself.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: then what can I expect to get out of a crew cab 2500 with a Vortec 350?

MPG-wise? A bit less than a similiar vortec 1500. Biggest reasons are they came with a 4L80E and the crew cab weighs 5500lbs compared to a similiar 1500 which is 1000lbs less in those years.

It will certainly be better than the 454, especially if you are dealing with a 2wd model. Note that the 2500 crew GMT400 was only available 1999 and 2000, but it is the best of both worlds (basically a 2500 suburban with a bed). Only rated to tow 6500lbs with 3.73's though... doesn't sound like you need to tow more than that so I wouldn't get one with 410's as the mpg will drop.

Are you trying to fit 4 fullsize people or 2 adults/2 kids in the truck? An extended cab gmt400 should work with kids, adults not so good.

I will also add that overall, you will not see a large mpg gain in vehicles until you get into better transmissions. My 6.0L 2008 2500HD with the 6 speed, 410's, and beat will tow 7k lbs at 65mph and get 13usmpg. It also weighs 6500lbs. My 1993 K1500 with a topper, 3.73's, and a worn out tbi 350 with a tune would do about the same, but it was hauling around 2000lbs less weight and was not nearly as comfortable. I expect at least a 1 mpg increase with a tune on the newer truck. Maybe another half mpg or so with long tube headers and a catless y-pipe.

Also consider F = MxA . At the end of the day, steady state cruising on the highway requires the same energy all things considered. Accelerating in the city though takes a direct hit with added weight, and I notice it in my 2500HD.

Ideally, you would get a 2004-2007 1500 GMT800 crew cab like Bozilla has. Even with the 4,8L, with a tune, it'll get great mpg and be able to tow whatever you want in comfort. But I think at $5k a nice one that lasts you a decade+ is out of reach. YMMV.

I will end this with the newer trucks ARE better. I'd take a 200k mile gmt800 over a 150k mile gmt400.

A running truck that will pass inspection will always be worth almost $2K. You can't lose money on it. A more capable $5k truck will eventually decrease in value to the $2-3k level. I'd start with a $2k truck, bonus points if you go ranger and bro-lite build later on with it.

captdownshift wrote: A running truck that will pass inspection will always be worth almost $2K. You can't lose money on it. A more capable $5k truck will eventually decrease in value to the $2-3k level. I'd start with a $2k truck, bonus points if you go ranger and bro-lite build later on with it.

Solid points. If you can handle dealing with the "cons" of an older truck, this man speaks the truth. I will just add that with used vehicles lasting more miles nowadays, used vehicle prices have DEFINITELY been on the upswing even at the complete "bottom of the barrel" end.

Based on the other truck thread you may qualify for a truck... But should really consider the environment, infrastructure, and the other guys feelings.

I recommend a Nissan Leaf with a weight distributing hitch, and a nice generator mounted on the trailer for continuous charging of the Leaf.

If you can afford it go with the more capable vehicle now. You'll probably offset some of the cost over the long term by avoiding paying for tags, title, and tax twice.

Any maintenance and repairs on the short term truck won't add value when you go to sell, and if you sell it in a couple years you won't get the full value out of any repairs.

If you get the forever truck you will be the beneficiary of the long term value of any improvements, repairs, or maintenance (long interval fluids, tires, brakes, etc.).

I second the buy a van comment. Bikes fit inside nicely and I can tow a buttload.

I also say van, but what kind of bikes? Street bikes or dirt bikes? I love my gigantic Motovan, but there were some really nice ~$3,000 conversion vans when I was looking.

Sportbikes and dirt bikes. The thing that may be an issue for vans is that the RallyMoto DRZ needs like 50" of height

I feel your pain. I had to search out my van with tall top and rear doors. It wasn't cheap and I considered a lot of options, short bus, box van etc. Tough to beat a car and trailer on your proposed budget.

Wouldn't a Burban and a trailer be a solution for this?