Buck Hollow Sporting Goods - click or touch to visit their website Midwest Habitat Company

Pickup Trucks / Suvs

Liv4Rut

Liv4Rut

Active Member
Hey Guys,

I need some opinions. I know I will get a whole variety of responses but here is my scenario. I have to purchase a new company vehicle here in the next month and am having a hard time deciding. The smart thing would be to buy a car, but you know how that goes with hunting. I have always been a GMC / Chevy guy but I have been riding around in a F-150 the past couple years and it has been reliable. I am looking for a crew cab 4x4 truck or an SUV that gets good gas mileage for its class and can handle putting on 60,000 miles a year as well as a deer or two in the back. The hard part with putting on this many miles is knowing whether to purchase a new one or slightly used one or try to find a high mileage lease.

Anyways just looking for opinions and if you could post what you are driving and what kind of mileage you are getting that would be great. I am trying to see what is getting the best mileage. It's a tough decision that's for sure. I am either going to have to buy one and ride it till it dies, or trade off a bunch. Thanks in advance.
 
F150 Lariat SCrew .....13 city.......15 hwy.

2007002-1.jpg
 
I've got a 2003 F150 with the Supercrew cab, and it's been a great truck. But if you're looking for the best mileage, I think you should probably buy a car :grin:

BTW, I'm in the process of thinking of trading again, so if you want to save some money over a new one and are looking for a nice used truck, give me a shout...it's officially on the market.

NWBuck
 
Go with a Ford and you can't go wrong!

1987 F150- 8 miles per gallon!
IMG_2769.jpg
 
Last edited:
ford all the way! the new f150 get 21 or 22 hwy

i wont tell you what mine gets

03 f250 6 inches of lift. 35inch tires

Image Hosting

its all about big bertha in the middle. dont pay attention to those chevys

Image Hosting


i like the new super crew f150's they are a really sharp truck and gas mileage is good.. between 15-17 city and 21-22 hwy. im thinking about trading in on one here soon
 
Last edited:
We've had pretty good luck with our Chevy Suburbans here at work. Pull big loads all summer long and have yet to really put a hurting on them.
 
I got an 05 Dodge Dakota with a V8 engine..some have a smaller V6. Its 4 wheel drive, slightly smaller truck and I put a new topper on it. I love the truck and get 15-16 in the city and 20-22 mpg on the highway.
 
I drive a 2008 quad cab Chevy 4x4. Rides like a car and gets around 18 MPG. On the highway you can get up to 21 if you are on a long flat run. It has 315 horse power and AFM "Active Fuel Management". It shuts off four cylinders when they are not needed. The 5 year 100,000 warranty is nice too. Plenty of room for all you may need on a business trip or hunting trip!

The Colorado only offered 23 MPG with a 6 cyl and a lot less room making my choice for a full size that much easier. Good luck with whatever you choose.
 
Last edited:
It shuts off four cylinders when they are not needed.
Click to expand...

That's pretty neat!

My DSL Powerstroke gets 17, great ride and I'll probally drive it another million miles but, if I had to pay for the fuel I would never buy a full size truck. (If a "company vehicle comes with a gas card then....who cares :D )

It would be foolish thinking to believe that fuel won't hit 5 bucks a gallon again, so personally I would have to put fuel economy at the top of my piority list.

Smaller trucks get down the "mud" roads a whole lot better too...;)
 
Skully said:
I drive a 2008 quad cab Chevy 4x4. Rides like a car and gets around 18 MPG. On the highway you can get up to 21 if you are on a long flat run. It has 315 horse power and AFM "Active Fuel Management". It shuts off four cylinders when they are not needed. The 5 year 100,000 warranty is nice too. Plenty of room for all you may need on a business trip or hunting trip!
Click to expand...

I have the same truck... except it's a 2007 Chevy Silverado. It's been awesome so far with 35000 miles in a little over a year.
 
Last edited:
You didn't say how you would use this vehicle other than for work. Some questions, will you be pulling anything, will you need cargo weight and capacity, or will you mostly use it as a car? Most of the newer 1/2 trucks will give between 18 and 22 MPG on the highway, so if that will work for you get a truck. On the other hand there are lots of good size cars that will break into the 30 + MPG.

If you are putting on over 60,000 miles per year forget leasing or the new market, even with some of the ridiculous deals available now, that mileage depreciation will eat you alive. If you finance it you will be upside down in no time and won't catch up until 2 days after you pay it off. Try to find something 2 or 3 years old with maybe 30 or 40,000 miles on it. Do Not pay a premium price for a low mileage truck, because in just a couple of months you will have an average or even high millage truck and have wasted the money to buy a low mileage unit. What ever you buy 3 or 4 years will leave you with a truck with mileage of around 200,000 miles give or take a little. If you buy a new one in 4 years it will have 240,000 miles on it. If you buy a used one with 40,000 on it and save 12 or 14,000 dollars in 3 years you will have 220,000 or in 4 years 280,000 miles and both trucks will be worth very little by then, so the couple years of age won't matter much and certainly not $12,000.00 worth.
 
bowmaker said:
You didn't say how you would use this vehicle other than for work. Some questions, will you be pulling anything, will you need cargo weight and capacity, or will you mostly use it as a car? Most of the newer 1/2 trucks will give between 18 and 22 MPG on the highway, so if that will work for you get a truck. On the other hand there are lots of good size cars that will break into the 30 + MPG.

If you are putting on over 60,000 miles per year forget leasing or the new market, even with some of the ridiculous deals available now, that mileage depreciation will eat you alive. If you finance it you will be upside down in no time and won't catch up until 2 days after you pay it off. Try to find something 2 or 3 years old with maybe 30 or 40,000 miles on it. Do Not pay a premium price for a low mileage truck, because in just a couple of months you will have an average or even high millage truck and have wasted the money to buy a low mileage unit. What ever you buy 3 or 4 years will leave you with a truck with mileage of around 200,000 miles give or take a little. If you buy a new one in 4 years it will have 240,000 miles on it. If you buy a used one with 40,000 on it and save 12 or 14,000 dollars in 3 years you will have 220,000 or in 4 years 280,000 miles and both trucks will be worth very little by then, so the couple years of age won't matter much and certainly not $12,000.00 worth.
Click to expand...


These comments sound right on to me.

I have driven two f150 super crews with no complaints. The 06 Lariate I drive now gets only 16mpg at best on the road. The new ones are reported to do better but then you are buying new. There are some great deals to be had on a used truck. I would buy a car for the mileage and park an old truck for your sporting needs
 
bowmaker said:
You didn't say how you would use this vehicle other than for work. Some questions, will you be pulling anything, will you need cargo weight and capacity, or will you mostly use it as a car? Most of the newer 1/2 trucks will give between 18 and 22 MPG on the highway, so if that will work for you get a truck. On the other hand there are lots of good size cars that will break into the 30 + MPG.

If you are putting on over 60,000 miles per year forget leasing or the new market, even with some of the ridiculous deals available now, that mileage depreciation will eat you alive. If you finance it you will be upside down in no time and won't catch up until 2 days after you pay it off. Try to find something 2 or 3 years old with maybe 30 or 40,000 miles on it. Do Not pay a premium price for a low mileage truck, because in just a couple of months you will have an average or even high millage truck and have wasted the money to buy a low mileage unit. What ever you buy 3 or 4 years will leave you with a truck with mileage of around 200,000 miles give or take a little. If you buy a new one in 4 years it will have 240,000 miles on it. If you buy a used one with 40,000 on it and save 12 or 14,000 dollars in 3 years you will have 220,000 or in 4 years 280,000 miles and both trucks will be worth very little by then, so the couple years of age won't matter much and certainly not $12,000.00 worth.
Click to expand...


Very good advice there Bowmaker. IMO unless you can pay it off the day you drive it off the lot and plan on driving it until it dies, buying a brand spankin' new truck or vehicle is such a huge waste of $$....don't get me wrong, you get the coolness factor of being the first butt in the drivers seat, but that wears off quickly when you make that first payment and see that you have 59 or 71 to go. I did it once, loved that truck, but learned a very valuable lesson and unless I win the lotto will never buy a new one again. Everyone knows this, but there are very nice used trucks/vehicles out there with low miles on them that are considerably less than that brand new rig that just eats you alive and they allow you to be able to buy more toys since a good chunk of your coin isn't tied up in a new rig. If your company is paying for it and the gas, who cares Liv! :) (If that is the case, you lucky dog, keep that job! :)) But if you're buying it, get something that allows you enough leway to buy a few toys too! Go with the bow tie!

Ironwood has good advice too....that's what I do....truck sits in the driveway waiting for the fun times while I drive a Honda to work.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the comments guys,

It's a tough choice thats for sure. I think Bowmaker and a couple others hit the nail on the head. My biggest fear is buying a $35K truck and having it only worth $15K after two years when I have 120,000miles and I still owe 20+K on it after two years. I would dig a hole for sure. The smart thing would be to buy a car and a truck, but the territory I cover is kind of big up to 2 hours each way and it is flat up here with alot of snow, ice, and wind. I don't feel comfortable in a car in those conditions. Thanks for the advice.
 
Quite honestly, for hauling deer my Blazer with a hitch-haul attached is about as easy a loading setup as their is. The hitch-haul on a std. 2" hitch is rated at 500 lbs (don't know if I would go that far but it carrys a good sized buck with ease) and is low enough I can load most animals myself. During fall seasons, the back seat/cargo space is ample for hauling all my gear (bow, clothes totes, stands, sticks).

Not that the old-style Blazer is anything that economical but my next setup may be a Ford Escape, Jeep Liberty or other small-mid sized SUV with a hitch mount. I would love to have a truck sometime but I agree with Paul that longer term gas is going UP. Plus the roof racks are great for the canoe in the summer.
 
Last edited:
Look into a Subaru forester or outback, I have heard some really good mileage from them. I had a Subaru impreza 10 years ago and that thing would go about any where. Put a lot of miles on it and never touched the motor. I myself would be lost without my truck, but it sits at home most of the time and I drive a company vehicle around. Makes a big difference not paying for gas.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom