Who's made the change from compact pickup/suv to full size?

[surlydiesel]

I've been back and forth over the years. Currently, I'm in a 01 reg cab Tacoma and the truck previous was a 95 Crew Cab F350 with a longbox flatbed. So completely different vehicles. If I had to replace my truck tomorrow, I'd be looking for a quad cab something. Most likely a F250-350 crewcab long bed, gasser. The reg cab has worked for me and you can park it anywhere but I can't do some of the things I really enjoyed doing, the biggest was filling the bed with boats or bikes and taking the crew all in one vehicle instead of 2. I'm also tired of not being able to tow anything ha ha ha. I could get a Tacoma with a V6 and that would feel like a rocket ship to me but I want to go fullsize again. Also, we can't take our truck, the dog and bikes in the bed, under the cap with my current truck, much too small. Being able to have a cap with the bikes secure and a backseat for the dog would be great. In the future, I want a truck camper and the backseat would get removed completely for bikes and other gear storage that truck campers don't do well.

-jorge

 

[SJEEPER]

I went from a Jeep Liberty on 31s to a f150 screw leveled running 33s. What a great truck, I love every minute I get to drive or work on it. I saw a 1-2 mpg drop but increase fuel capacity by 10 gallons so I actually go longer now in between fill ups. Wish it would get better then 15 mpg 14 in the winter but really that is the only thing. I am not a heavy rock crawler, just like to explore a bit and get out there with my family of 5 you can't beat it.

 

[wirenut]

Every vehicle I've had has been larger than the one before it. I went: S10 blazer, K5 blazer, ext. cab 1500 Dodge, crew cab diesel dually. The next truck will probably be a 4500 Dodge with a flat bed to carry the truck camper.
I just never seem to have enough room for everything. Of course, gaining a wife and now two sons takes up more room too.
I slept in the back of the S10 on an air mattress but had no room for the gear. The fullsize fixed that but I had no open bed space for big dirty stuff. The ext. cab truck was great and I had it the longest. I bought a pop-up camper for the back of it but it was overloaded. Now, I've got a bigger hard side camper so the dually was necessary but I'm still over weight. Thus the need for the 4500.
I obviously don't do any serious off road work with the current set up. We usually find a nice level spot off of a fire road to camp and explore on foot or bike. Also, during the summer, most of our trips are to lakes with the boat in tow.

 

[HenryJ]

...what did you think would be the pluses of going to full size?

As others have said, size does matter. Growing children. Room for more stuff. For me it was also a lack of cylinders. Over 9k ft. the altitude sucks the power out of the engine. I needed more to do the work. One trip over the Steens was the straw that broke the camels back for me.

There is no going back. I was a small truck guy and never expected to be stuck in a fullsize. I like it now and will remain here

I really loved my S-10CrewCab. Still miss it some days, but not enough to go small again.

 

[EricM]

2001 jeep XJ to a 1999 suburban. We just needed more space. I am actually getting 1 mpg better from the v8. Lol

 

[jkosten]

So I started with a 1988 4runner V6. After 278k miles and a cracked block (they don't work underwater), I went to a 1994 Toyota xtra-cab because I wanted a bed and a manual transmission. I drove that for 4 years and two states, but started to have a fascination with diesel's. After seeing what full size trucks with Cummins in them could do, like tow heavy loads and then go play on the trails I was hooked.
I bought a 1996 Dodge Ram 2500 5.9l CTD club cab long bed and sold the Toyota truck. I recently outgrew that truck at 251k miles and upgraded to a 2006 Dodge Ram Megacab 5.9l CTD. The wife wanted a 4 door truck and did not like / want to drive 96 with the manual transmission, let alone with the trailer.
Which brings me to going from a truck bed of gear to a 23' toy hauler that is wife friendly for extended trips.

We also have a 98 4runner, and it is fun to drive, but it doesn't compare to the road feel and handling of the full size.

What is also comes down to is how do you use your truck? Do you drive in tight city condition s a lot? Do you pull trailers or plan to? How much equipment do you bring with you?

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[truck mechanic]

I was dd a 72 scout, took the old girl off the road for a rebuild. Bought a 98 zr2 blazer, I always loved the look of these little suvs, while it was a great dd, it left me needing more room, and ground clearenc. I ended up buying a 97 sc f250 7.3 ps. what a great move. i have all the room i need. i get better mpg than the blazer and its just plain comfy. i got it just 1 year ago with 98k on her, and put 20 k trouble free miles on her. i would never go back to a smaller truck again.

 

[alfio]

I was dd a 72 scout, took the old girl off the road for a rebuild. Bought a 98 zr2 blazer, I always loved the look of these little suvs, while it was a great dd, it left me needing more room, and ground clearenc. I ended up buying a 97 sc f250 7.3 ps. what a great move. i have all the room i need. i get better mpg than the blazer and its just plain comfy. i got it just 1 year ago with 98k on her, and put 20 k trouble free miles on her. i would never go back to a smaller truck again.

what are you getting with the 7.3?

 

[F350]

Grew up with compact pick up. I started with a 83 toyota once I could drive. Got out of collage and bought a brand new 93 Reg cab F150 4x4. A few years later a 97 reg cab F250 powerstroke 4x4. Then family came along and got a 00 F350 crew cab diesel 4x4 that I still have. I'd never go back to a small rig for my main travel/camping/hunting/exploring rig. I've had a few rangers but never kept them long as they just don't have enough room even though MPGs were decent. For something compact an explorer is about the smallest I go...and heck with the MPGs I guess.

 

[cwsqbm]

I've had an S-10, Ram 2500HD, and a Dakota. The only thing I didn't like about the Ram (other than reliability issues) was the gas mileage. The old gas V-8 never saw better than 13mpg, and often a bit worse, unloaded. However, it had a payload capacity of over 3000 lbs, Dana 60's front and rear, and fit 35" tires with just a 2" front lift.

The S-10 was very narrow - 6" narrower than a new Tacoma. Also, I didn't like sitting with my legs forward, like all small trucks. Its bed was just too small for my uses.

The Dakota Quad Cab had a roomy cab, and low to the ground compared to the Ram. This made it nice as a passenger vehicle. The smaller V-8 got decent mileage (18 to 20mpg on the highway) and yet could still tow a reasonable sized load, like a 3500 lb car on a trailer, easily. Its main problem (besides, again, reliability issues) was no aftermarket support for lifts. The bed was again too small - couldn't haul big stuff since it was less than 48" between the wheel wells, and with a cover on it, the bed was too shallow. I could fit more boxes in the back seat than the bed.

If I was to buy new now, I'd love a new Ram 1500 regular diesel with an 8' bed, if I could bring myself to trust a Chrysler product again. Either that, or one of the gas-powered Ford or Chevys would be fine. I see no reason to get a Tacoma when an F-150 gets better mileage, is more comfortable, and hauls more.

 

[Mr Nice Guy]

I went from a 00 jeep grand Cherokee Laredo which I loved to a 06 ram 2500 had which again I love,

The Jeep was a 4.slow which was reliable to all get out and took the abuse I gave it and kept asking for more, I used it as a truck, race car and daily and loved it but I really needed a truck for trailer and work and wanted a little more power so in came the ram

The ram is almost my perfect truck, comfortable, powerful and reliable. A whole nother ball game when driving and parking however, took some getting used to the wide turning radius and tight parking spaces of say the local mall but once figured out its easy to drive on road off road and on the highway And even better relatively simple, I am a Ford guy at heart but after a few test drives this thing had me writing a check. Quad cab has more then enough room for my friends, dogs and a car seat. Gas mileage leaves something to be desired but I knew that would be the case going into the vehicle so it's no shocker. Only thing I wish I had held out for was a 6 speed manual transmission and a long bed for work, other then those tho I couldn't be happier I went to a full size

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[XRrider]

what did you think would be the pluses of going to full size?
how have those expectations matched up with your current experiences?
what do you wish you had known about full size rigs before you made the change?
if you could go back to the smaller platform rig, would you? why?



thanks:lurk:

Brief background I went regular cab F150 to regular cab F350 to extended cab Ranger to a Durango to no truck and to a crew cab F350 over the last 20 years.

Q1: Interior room, shoulder space, rear seat room for a growing boy and dogs.
Q2: I really like space, kind of miss the rear interior storage of the Durango.
Q3: I wish I'd have tried parking lot maneuverability and driveway space before buying a CC LB.
Q4: I wouldn't go Durango or Ranger size again, but would consider Excursion.

I liked the utility of the Durango, just not the rear seat leg room or shoulder space up front. I liked the Ranger for its utility as well but not after starting a family. I went F350 for towing capability of our camper but went overkill.

 

[truck mechanic]

what are you getting with the 7.3?

If i drive it nice, I get 20mpg, I gave the blazer to my godson down in fla. I put it and full dress harley on a trailer and towed it down to jacksonville lat march and ave. 17 while towing.

 

[HotrodSmurf]

I went from from a F150 to a Grand Cherokee, now I'm going to a Tahoe. Definitely staying full size.

 

[Kymcmahon5]

I have a 2002 Chev Silverado 1500 Z71 and I can't decide if I should keep it, and build it or get a jeep (yj or xj) or an older 4runner.