Small trucks

[Don Corleone]

Just wondering if anybody has any insights to offer on the small to mid-range pickup truck class. Here's my needs:

-Has to have rear seating large enough to accomodate 2 car seats.
-Rear doors, at least half doors, a must.
-Has to be robust enough to push a plow.
-Good fuel efficiency.
-Good maintenance record.
-If possible, I'd prefer a manual transmission, but I think they all have those.

Other than that, I'm open to any and all suggestions, and I know very little about the class. From what I've read, I'm torn between a Nissan Frontier (appears to be the best overall on paper) and a Ford Ranger (best fuel economy and Detroit needs the help).

Thanks.

[Fisherking]

Pushing a plow!

You might want to look at the larger trucks.

From personal experience I’ll tell you the Fords are more comfortable. But unless it is a tiny plow you may want a mid size.

[Sigurd]

Is it snowing in New Hampshire ?

Japanese cars is always good on maintenance and has the best warranties.
In your case they are also stronger (both the 4 cyl and V6).
As for pushing a plow... you don't really need a big pickup. I have seen a Mitsubishi L300 (2,5 liter diesel) over here clear a parking lot without problems. All you need is traction, traction, traction. (4 wheel drive is almost a must).

However, I do notice that most semi - professional snow clearers over here go for the American V8 diesels.

Also another pickup of note: Honda Ridgeline 3.5 litre natural gas powered. It was awarded the Best Pickup 2007/2008 in Norway.
Natural gas is half the price of petrol here and environmental friendly.
Oh, and it comes in a crew cab version too (plenty room for extra car seats for the children).

[Lemur]

But unless it is a tiny plow you may want a mid size.

He did say "small to mid-size," so I'm not sure why you're behaving as though he didn't.

I have no experience with pickup trucks, except riding in them every now and then, so I won't be adding to the discussion. Sorry.

[Don Corleone]

Thanks for the comments so far. I probably should have been a little more clear about the plowing bit. I'm not looking to start a 2nd business, just keep my own driveway (about 100 yards, 90 meters) clear. I hadn't thought of the Ridgeline, Sigurd, but that's definitely worthy of note. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Yoyoma1910]

Just wondering if anybody has any insights to offer on the small to mid-range pickup truck class. Here's my needs:

-Has to have rear seating large enough to accomodate 2 car seats.
-Rear doors, at least half doors, a must.
-Has to be robust enough to push a plow.
-Good fuel efficiency.
-Good maintenance record.
-If possible, I'd prefer a manual transmission, but I think they all have those.

Other than that, I'm open to any and all suggestions, and I know very little about the class. From what I've read, I'm torn between a Nissan Frontier (appears to be the best overall on paper) and a Ford Ranger (best fuel economy and Detroit needs the help).

Thanks.

Are you really looking for a small pickup with those three things?


My advice, El Camino .


Coming back to the US... as something else.

[Fisherking]

I saw the mid size after I posted and didn’t think it worth an edit…and you don’t seem to need an F-150 or equivalent.

If the plowing is the heaviest work you have then a Ranger should do. I think the price may be best also…but it has been a while.

Butane/Natural Gas conversion kits should be available at not a high cost, that would allow you to use both gasoline and the others, though it will produce a bit less power so it is better to select gasoline when the power is needed. I would just recommend a V-6 because you really won’t like the 4s that much. You will also want to weight the back end for extra traction. A few sand bags or wood will do it.

The worst thing about plowing drive ways is when the big plow plows you in.

[Strike For The South]

Yea a Ranger would me everything you need. Do you need 4x4?

[Lemur]

-Rear doors, at least half doors, a must.
-Good fuel efficiency.

Taking a glance at the Ford website, I don't see any images of the Ranger that include real half-doors of any sort. As for fuel economy, For claims it's in the 20s, which will be good if true.

Oh, nevermind, I see you can order the Ranger as a "Supercab 4-door." But hey, why not do like every militia in Africa and trust yourself to a small Toyota pickup? Just mount a .50 cal in the bed and you'll be full of Hutu power.

If Toyota is good enough for Somali warlords and the Taliban, it's good enough for New Hampshire winters.

[PanzerJaeger]

Ok - the small segment is dead. The Ranger's tooth is so long it stretches into the 90's without any significant upgrades.. just cosmetic stuff. The Frontier isn't much better. Rolling penalty boxes...

I would suggest you move up, especially now. You can get incredible deals on pickup trucks now. Dodge is giving up to 50% discounts trying to get rid of their Rams, but the Ford F-150 is the better truck IMO(although you probably wouldn't notice the differences in the applications you're using it for.) This segment (F-150, Ram, Silverado) has benefitted greatly from intense competition and improvement.

In any event, the one segment the domestics actually do outperform the transplants in is trucks - and all three are offering tones of incentives to move them. Its a great time to buy!

[Don Corleone]

Well, the full-size trucks are nice, but a couple of problems:

1) I don't need a truck that big.
2) Not sure it will fit in the garage.
3) I have a 32 mile commute (each way).
4) Full-size trucks don't come in manual and I love manual transmissions.

[KukriKhan]

If you already own a vehicle for your commute, maybe look into an ATV to do your plow job, instead of a pickup. I don't know about NH, but out here tons of repo'd ATV's get auctioned every week for about 30 cents on the dollar. Folks are 'walking away' from their toys, trying to cut costs.

Googling thru "small snow plow" showed Jeep Wranglers about the smallest vehicle used, to support the combined blade and snow load. So, if you insist on a truck, looks like you'll need a very powerful small one, or a regular sized one.

[Hosakawa Tito]

To be honest I don't see any trucks smaller than 1/2 ton pickups with plows on them around here. I would imagine that one would need at least a six cylinder engine to generate enough horsepower & torque to plow snow. 4 wheel drive is a must and weight in the box to increase traction and the kinetic energy needed to push a 300lb. plow + snow.

If you already own a vehicle for your commute, maybe look into an ATV to do your plow job, instead of a pickup

That might be the more frugal alternative, and will fit in your storage space.

[Oaty]

Plows are bad on trucks. You'll have to take it off when the snow clears and remount it every time you need to plow. Notice when the snows gone you don't see to many trucks if any with plows attached. Since you're only looking for your own personal driveway I'd reccomend getting a snowblower, minitractor or an ATV as an above poster mentioned