O.K, YOU GUYS SMOKED ME OUT... The Dodge cummings is everything the ford is. Not saying the power stroke is a bad truck because its a great truck. The point being that I don't understand how anybody who pulls anything or spends a bunch of time on the road or out in the woods would even concider a V-8 anything.. All the above listed Jeeps, Toyotas, Durangos are pretty much just cars.. and gas hogs at that. Example, the Durango... It looks good, it drives good, and it gets about 14 mpg at the best of times.. Add any kind of load and its down hill from that. The toyotas are great little fishing rigs assuming that your not pulling anything. I am on my second cummings 4x4 and these trucks will pull anything. With a 21 foot northwest jet hooked on the back it can pull any hill with little or no effort at all, and still get 14-15 mpg.. thats with a load. Unloaded it gets 20 mpg easy. Its pretty cool to fill it up and not even think about it for 600 miles, never come to a grade you can't fly right up, and the off road capability is outstanding to say the least. I have the long bed quad cab. I don't spend much if any time "downtown" so its no problem. For an urban dweller, I would think the short bed quad with a camper shell would be as good as it gets. The power stroke is just as good, apples and oranges type of issue. If you think the initial cost is a factor, look at the price of a loaded "whatever" and you will note its within a couple thousand bucks. One of my better freinds has a 93 ford F-250 4x4 with like 20,000 miles on it. Its got a 351 in it. Beautyfull truck that never goes anywhere because nobody wants to put gas in the thing.. We mess with him all the time because it is aways in the garage "hey dude, can we drive your rig in the fourth of july parade next year!!!" thats about what its good for. V-8 trucks are for dumb asses, SUV's are for the woman of the house. That last statement might get me in trouble, but keep in mind my wife has a V-8 exploder and its about as worthless as one rig could be.. you can watch the gas gauge go down as you drive it..

My opinion, and I'm stickin to it !!!

Buy and older fullsize pickup because they don't even come close to makin them like they used to. I have a 74' GMC 3/4ton camper special and it will pull the queen marry. Yeah it sucks gas but the body panels aren't paper thin either. Just turned 100k ,ORIGINAL!! Best truck I have owned!!!!! For the price of a new truck you can buy three throw-aways, and not have the 4-500.00 dollar payment each month. Just my .02

Hey ya mofo.

Why not a radio flyer pulled by a bassett hound?

I can't say anything bad about Jeeps cause those are some tail getting and tale getting vehicles. My family is Jeep people. Dad has one, my brother had one, and I bought one new back in 95. Those were Wranglers though The problem with the Cherokees seems to be the catalytic converter likes to crap out around 140K miles. A bunch of my friends had them. As far as the grand chero, I have no clue on it other than the axles. Dude if you want a beast that isn't a diesel, get a Chevy 2500 big cab. Get the 1 ton front axle on it. My friend has one and it is just the pinnacle of "beast". We have pulled 2 ton peanut trailers behind it without any troubles at all. I've got the 84 F250 diesel with a Banks Power Pack and we have no problems with it and it's extended cab. The Durangos are totally sweet and it's cool to see that Dodge has come off the price on those rigs. My friends dad is the senior vp for some fortune 500 company and he and his wife both have one each. They pull a big lake cruiser boat behind them without any problems. But, it's a dodge If you get one, go with the leather interior. You'll thank me for it...muh ha ha ha ha Must be nice to be so rich...lol Get my email from joe and give a brotha a shout out.

If the catalytic converters on the Cherokees were the only problem they'd be a good buy. Open up a truck trader and count all the jeeps with new or rebuilt motors. Too many of them won't last 100k before crapping out.

hey-yall, who said I was rich? Maybe I would be if I lived in a third-world country. I am actually pretty darn close to being dirt poor considering I just dumped my life savings into fixing my P.O.S. Jeep. I have researched the options and I have decided to keep the Jeep, at least for now, and I'm going to run it into the ground, hopefully later than sooner. Thanks, guys. Peace - Justin

Hey Dan S.
What is a crate engine? I've got a 1986 B2000 with 203K miles on it and figured any day now it could go out except that it continues to run very well. I have wondered what options were available for rebuilt engines. -Old Chum

I'd say that's not bad of a choice, Sauk. A driftboat and trailer really doesn't weigh that much and with attention to changing the rear diff and transfer fluids more often than you normally would you should get plenty miles out of them. I tow my driftboat around with an 89 Toy 4X4 V6 and it has all the power I need and I still get between 16-20 mpg. Got the truck last year with 80K for $6K (a bargain considering what other Toys were going for) and I plan on running it a long long time. The truck I had before this one was a 91 2WD that liked to get stuck in sand and gravel bars but I ran it to 140K and a new timing chain around 120K was the only major repair it needed.

Man, trucks and fishing talk. All I need now is some moldy carpet underfoot, a lot of smoke in the air, a beer in my hand and I'm almost at home in my favorite tavern...

Bruce

[This message has been edited by B. Gray (edited 03-29-2001).]

well I am looking myself, but I have been totally impressed with mu black isuzu trooper that most of you have seen somewhere. I right now is sitting in the driveway with 367,000 miles on it! unbelievable, and it is not even a mercedes.
I like the X's 97 cherokee with the straight 6, fast and strong but am not sure what to do myself. If I had the ducats I would probably buy another trooper since this one was so good to me or a Toyota since they rarely breakdown.
Peace Superfly

Ford-Chevy-Toyota--Whateva

A Pickup--Why? the stink of waders rain gear and fish gear stay in the back. In a SUV you get to smell it all the way home and long after

WRT Isuzu Troopers:

Mine and the other two that friends owned all blew their 4-cyl engines at about 100k miles. No boat-towing, no RV, just daily drivers.

Maybe the 6-cyl is better, but the 4-cyl was a disaster, and not enough torque to tow its own shadow reliably.

Now I have a Tahoe V-8. It tows 4000# of boat/trailer no problem and rides great to boot. Someday I'll have a Silverado 2500HD pulling a Skagit Orca 27XLC ...

Mike
Woodinville

Old Chum,

You can find these "crate engines" for the 2 liter carbureted Mazda pickups. I was told that they are removed from vehicles overseas, where they tax you more the more milage is on your engine. It's actually cheaper for them to replace the engine than it is to pay the higher tax rate.

You can find these engines from about $900-1500. I paid about $1300 to have one installed, including new hoses, belts, and a clutch plate. That way, I made payments on an engine for three months, rather than a truck payment for 5-6 years.

Search around, you may not find a crate engine, since your model year is getting older now, but many shops had overhauled and rebuilt engines for the Mazdas pretty cheap.

Hope that helps..........

Fish on.........

Fine grain, you are absolutley right about the 4 bangers, they totally sucked!!!
Mine is the 2.8 liter v-6 variety and it has never left me anywhere. As for towing power it pulls a driftboat fine and I use to pull my bayrunner with it when I lived on the island, but as far as sleds or long distance towing I think you would just start wearing it out quickly.
Superfly

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Fine grain, you are absolutley right about the 4 bangers, they totally sucked!!!
Mine is the 2.8 liter v-6 variety and it has never left me anywhere. As for towing power it pulls a driftboat fine and I use to pull my bayrunner with it when I lived on the island, but as far as sleds or long distance towing I think you would just start wearing it out quickly.
Superfly

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