Towing the Rampage home hammered home the fact that I need to have something that can tow moderate things. I don't need a super bro dozer or anything, my goals are very moderate. The rampage weighs like.....2500, the Caprice weights 3200 ish and I don't like towing very much anyway so 5k is a good figure. I've looked around and have some eclectic choices I've glanced at.
#1 99 f250 super duty, manual v10. It's suprisingly cheap for what it is, low miles for the year (160k) but it's too big really for what I want even though it's not a huge super duty (extra cab short bed) and the v10 gets appalling mpg. It does have all the nice modern features though.
#2 one of the dozen or so 70s Ford trucks around. Plus side is I've worked on old Ford trucks and FE engines a lot over the years and they are simple basic trucks. It'll get about the same mpg as the v10 but it'll probably not have any of the modern touches unless I get lucky and find an A/C model. It is about a third of the price of the super duty too, I'm trying to hold out and get a supercab which is a bit harder to find too
#3 ranger. It would be smaller and probably easier to tow but I know there are some downsides to towing with a smaller rig. It won't get stupendous mpg while towing but when it's not it would be a good vehicle to have around for other stuff.
#4 quad cab f150. The older models are decently priced and I don't think 5k will push any configuration
#5 something else (vague I know) I've looked at full size vans, and even considered like Caprice wagons. Dakota's were on the list but finding anything without a 4.7 is somehow hard around here and I'm leary of the 4.7.
We are talking occasional towing so I'm leaning more towards the cheap Ford truck option but if it could also do double duty as a winter rig for my wife the budget goes up, it would need to get 20ish while not towing though then because she drives long distances for work.
What does the hive think?