Ranger vs. Tacoma

[tamo]

I'm just finishing up my first looking to get a pickup. right now I only have 2 21" mowers, weedeater, and blower that I'm tossing in the back of a pathfinder. now I need a truck and trailer. I also do plan on doing aeration in next year.

I thinking about a smaller size truck for gas mileage and that's all I need right now. I'm looking at late 90's ranger or v6 tacoma, what would you guys go with? I've never had a ford before, is a ranger reliable? How many miles are too many? Is a v6 Tacoma enough power to tow and haul?

I know I can get a lot more truck for my money with a ranger and I assume it is a stronger truck than tacoma.

thanks for the input

[mike lane lawn care]

look at bare bones silverados, with the V6. But i'd go with the tacoma for reliability. A guy i know, uses an 80's 4 cylnder tacoma with almost 300k on the origanal everything, and tows a large commercial WB daily.

[jtkplc]

I'd go with the Tacoma.

[DRM Ventures]

I have had 4 Tacomas..........go with the Tacoma...

[Dirty Water]

There is no comparison between a ranger and a Tacoma. The Tacoma wins hands down.

[tamo]

thanks for the input so far. I was expecting most people to bash tacomas for being soft.

how much are you all capable of hauling/towing with the v6 toyota?

[tthomass]

The Toy wins but in this industry they are both just that, a "Toy" good for running around.

This is coming from a landscape and hardscape construction point of view. Pull a small trailer around and never nothing more sure, its okay but don't get a ranger..............2 bags of mulch and you're close to GVW.

If you are any good at what you do you will out grow the "Toy" in just a few months. Think ahead and get yourself something like a Chevy 1500 4.8L V8.......and don't think about how cool this or that is, get the 8ft bed.

[tamo]

The Toy wins but in this industry they are both just that, a "Toy" good for running around.

This is coming from a landscape and hardscape construction point of view. Pull a small trailer around and never nothing more sure, its okay but don't get a ranger..............2 bags of mulch and you're close to GVW.

If you are any good at what you do you will out grow the "Toy" in just a few months. Think ahead and get yourself something like a Chevy 1500 4.8L V8.......and don't think about how cool this or that is, get the 8ft bed.

I'm going to look bigger, but just curious, would a 1/2 ranger be a pretty good work truck?

thanks

[Lawnworks]

I don't know man. I have had several Rangers, and they have all been good trucks. The Toyota will be double what a Ranger will be. They are a great truck, but I think a Ranger will do you just fine unless you plan on keeping the Toyota till the tires fall off. You will not find a better bang for your buck w/ a Ranger. I would try to get a deal on a ranger, and then sell it when you need something bigger. For instance, I bought a 99 Ranger 4-cyl 5sp w/ 80k off ebay for $3200. When I get tired of it, I can sell it for at least what I have in it and maybe more. Granted I just use it for daily driving, but when I started 10 years ago I used a similar Ranger to pull a 60" Dixie around.

[guven]

I'm just finishing up my first looking to get a pickup. right now I only have 2 21" mowers, weedeater, and blower that I'm tossing in the back of a pathfinder. now I need a truck and trailer. I also do plan on doing aeration in next year.

I thinking about a smaller size truck for gas mileage and that's all I need right now. I'm looking at late 90's ranger or v6 tacoma, what would you guys go with? I've never had a ford before, is a ranger reliable? How many miles are too many? Is a v6 Tacoma enough power to tow and haul?

I know I can get a lot more truck for my money with a ranger and I assume it is a stronger truck than tacoma.

thanks for the input

I have a Tacoma , I put 33''wb and 21'' pb in the bed and next year I am going to use trailer with it, I hope I can make it , because I am going to haul scag tiger cub and 33'' wb with it.I love my truck , I haul 3 yards mulch in the bed no problem , mine has 4 cyl and 4x4
go with Tacoma , very good truck , I hope it can handle 6x10 trailer .

[jazak]

tacoma wins.

[mike lane lawn care]

or even better get a toyota tundra.

[tthomass]

Here you go........this formula will help determine and answer questions.

This is what we use in the car world, you can insert a different word for "fast but you get the idea.....pick TWO words:

Reliable
Cheap
Fast

Maybe for an industry application this works better:

Reliable
Cheap
Work truck

[Lawnworks]

or even better get a toyota tundra.

and a $500 a month truck payment for a new business? Remember it is a 40-60% failure rate.

[tthomass]

along with what Lawnworks said..........make sure you have $ saved up in the bank

if you've got enough to pay 6moonths of bills and business is going well.....i say buy

#1........don't be in a rush, take time to realize what you need and shop the market so that when you find what fits you know it and you'll know to move on it

[MTR]

I'm just finishing up my first looking to get a pickup. right now I only have 2 21" mowers, weedeater, and blower that I'm tossing in the back of a pathfinder. now I need a truck and trailer. I also do plan on doing aeration in next year.

I thinking about a smaller size truck for gas mileage and that's all I need right now. I'm looking at late 90's ranger or v6 tacoma, what would you guys go with? I've never had a ford before, is a ranger reliable? How many miles are too many? Is a v6 Tacoma enough power to tow and haul?

I know I can get a lot more truck for my money with a ranger and I assume it is a stronger truck than tacoma.

thanks for the input

If you can find a good used 4cyl Tacoma with decent price that is very lucky!
I don't really care for Toyota, I would take 4cyl Ranger any day. It can tow 1 Z on 5x8 easily and very good on gas. The 94-97, are very very dependable with $1500-$2000 price range, a few bad relays, cheap easy fix, but engine is bulletproof, it never quits even severe abuse. You average 24-25 mpg on 2.3 Ranger pulling trailer within #1600.
Tacoma is very very dependable but you will pay the price, and in the end it is the same cause you do lawn service, but you pay more twice the price cause it is the Toy. They both are super strong light truck, one has advantage over another, and other way round, but I stick with Ford.

[hosejockey2002]

I have a Tacoma , I put 33''wb and 21'' pb in the bed and next year I am going to use trailer with it, I hope I can make it , because I am going to haul scag tiger cub and 33'' wb with it.I love my truck , I haul 3 yards mulch in the bed no problem , mine has 4 cyl and 4x4
go with Tacoma , very good truck , I hope it can handle 6x10 trailer .

How in the world do you fit 3 yards of anything in the bed of a Tacoma? You must have very high sideboards. Three yards of mulch in the back of my 2500HD Silverado fills it up to the top of the cab.

[FearThisDeere]

Out of the two choices you have given, Ranger for sure. I used to have one just for play abd beat the crap out of it. Never has any issues other than a new battery and alternator. It was a great little truck.

[freddyc]

I have a 4x4 tacoma with the 2.7 engine. I pull a 5 x 10 trailer (3500 gvw) with it. I got a 36" proline, various other equipment and sometime I load the small skid steer on it. For mowing and misc equipment its fine. It struggles on a big hill with the skidsteer--- (2000 lbs).


The Tacomas rated at a 3500 lb pull....4x4 w/ 4 cylinder.

I routinely carry 0.5 yards of topsoil, stone and its bottomed out on the springs. I havent loaded mulch but 1/2 yd of soil more than takes up half the available space in the box----unless you have a massive mound over the sides, you're not putting much over a yd of mulch in it.


I had 3 rangers before my toys--- I've had 3 toys. They both have been reliable, but the toy is better over all--- I see a mechanic once a year at inspection for some stupid blown sensor (O2 sensors are about 150 bux and theres 2 of them) and the front brakes go bad fast. The rangers each required a mechanic visit 3-6 times a year.... note that I do most of my own work. You will never have problems passing emissions witht e toy---the Ranger is a struggle every time. The 4.0 Ranger motor sucks on gas---the Toy gets a steady 20 mpg. But, one is a six and the other a 4. The toys 2.7liter is about 140 hp. remember that these are 4x4 numbers too.

I like the exterior of the toy but the interior of the ranger.
I've plowed snow with both--toss up, but the the auto in the ranger was better than the stick in the toy--either easily push 14" of powder snow or 8" of heavy wet stuff.

Given a choice I'd but the toy, but I never had the 6 cylinder. The toy is about the most uncomfortable vehicles alive--the buckets are like a rock...if you get a toy, get the bench if possible. But....just change the oil, turn the key and go---never concerned once about getting home.

Thats all I got.

[guven]

How in the world do you fit 3 yards of anything in the bed of a Tacoma? You must have very high sideboards. Three yards of mulch in the back of my 2500HD Silverado fills it up to the top of the cab.
I put two 6x4 plywood in the bed, this set up also my leaf clean up set up , it works for me now.

[guven]

I have a 4x4 tacoma with the 2.7 engine. I pull a 5 x 10 trailer (3500 gvw) with it. I got a 36" proline, various other equipment and sometime I load the small skid steer on it. For mowing and misc equipment its fine. It struggles on a big hill with the skidsteer--- (2000 lbs).


The Tacomas rated at a 3500 lb pull....4x4 w/ 4 cylinder.

I routinely carry 0.5 yards of topsoil, stone and its bottomed out on the springs. I havent loaded mulch but 1/2 yd of soil more than takes up half the available space in the box----unless you have a massive mound over the sides, you're not putting much over a yd of mulch in it.


I had 3 rangers before my toys--- I've had 3 toys. They both have been reliable, but the toy is better over all--- I see a mechanic once a year at inspection for some stupid blown sensor (O2 sensors are about 150 bux and theres 2 of them) and the front brakes go bad fast. The rangers each required a mechanic visit 3-6 times a year.... note that I do most of my own work. You will never have problems passing emissions witht e toy---the Ranger is a struggle every time. The 4.0 Ranger motor sucks on gas---the Toy gets a steady 20 mpg. But, one is a six and the other a 4. The toys 2.7liter is about 140 hp. remember that these are 4x4 numbers too.

I like the exterior of the toy but the interior of the ranger.
I've plowed snow with both--toss up, but the the auto in the ranger was better than the stick in the toy--either easily push 14" of powder snow or 8" of heavy wet stuff.

Given a choice I'd but the toy, but I never had the 6 cylinder. The toy is about the most uncomfortable vehicles alive--the buckets are like a rock...if you get a toy, get the bench if possible. But....just change the oil, turn the key and go---never concerned once about getting home.

Thats all I got.

Hi ,
You mean I will be ok pulling 6x10 trailer with 1 ztr (1200 lbs), 1 wb my tacoma, I had a post 3-4 months ago, people said I can do it, I will try next season. thanks again

[guven]

How in the world do you fit 3 yards of anything in the bed of a Tacoma? You must have very high sideboards. Three yards of mulch in the back of my 2500HD Silverado fills it up to the top of the cab.
Hi again ,
last spring I went mulch place I show my truck to them and ask , how much mulch can I load in this truck , the guy told me that 6 yards, but I know no way to put 6 yard mulch in my tacoma bed. two times I got 3 yards mulch , then I started to get 2 yards mulch than I figure out they were giving me 2 yards mulch but charging me 3 yards mulch, I will never go there again ,
now I learned something , I did not put more then 2 yards mulch in my bedI think you are right,no way to put more then 3 yards mulch in my bed, but I did not know anything about it, they screw me.
thanks again

[DRM Ventures]

I pulled a 6.5x12 tandem trailer with a 52", 36" and 21" and all the toys for 2 years, no problems .......hauled up 6 yards of mulch on the trailer, no problems, 2 yards of wet topsoil.....very heavy.....I will not do that again....I actually exceeded the trailer Gross on that.......only had to go 1/2 mile......but it pulled it. I also pulled a 4800lbs RV with it. It was not a speedster but it pulled ok. All my trailers have electric brakes.

This was all with a 96 Toyota V6...... Great truck. If Toyota had a 3/4 ton I would have bought that...

Derek

[indy2tall]

Hi again ,
last spring I went mulch place I show my truck to them and ask , how much mulch can I load in this truck , the guy told me that 6 yards, but I know no way to put 6 yard mulch in my tacoma bed. two times I got 3 yards mulch , then I started to get 2 yards mulch than I figure out they were giving me 2 yards mulch but charging me 3 yards mulch, I will never go there again ,
now I learned something , I did not put more then 2 yards mulch in my bedI think you are right,no way to put more then 3 yards mulch in my bed, but I did not know anything about it, they screw me.
thanks again

Guven, I have a full size dodge with no side boards and it will just barely hold two yards of mulch when mounded up. These guys are ripping you off. There is no way a Tacoma could hold 3 yards of mulch, I would say you would be damn lucky to get 1.5 yards of mulch in the bed

[tamo]

I pulled a 6.5x12 tandem trailer with a 52", 36" and 21" and all the toys for 2 years, no problems .......hauled up 6 yards of mulch on the trailer, no problems, 2 yards of wet topsoil.....very heavy.....I will not do that again....I actually exceeded the trailer Gross on that.......only had to go 1/2 mile......but it pulled it. I also pulled a 4800lbs RV with it. It was not a speedster but it pulled ok. All my trailers have electric brakes.

This was all with a 96 Toyota V6...... Great truck. If Toyota had a 3/4 ton I would have bought that...

Derek

thanks for the replies fellas. I've got a call in on a 91 toyota pickup v6 with tow pkg on craigslist. only asking $2750.00. its probably not in the best shape, 145k miles but it sounds like good deal.

[guven]

Guven, I have a full size dodge with no side boards and it will just barely hold two yards of mulch when mounded up. These guys are ripping you off. There is no way a Tacoma could hold 3 yards of mulch, I would say you would be damn lucky to get 1.5 yards of mulch in the bed
Hi Sir
I agree with you , yes they did.Because I believe them ,in the middle of the last season I changed my nursery.Now they gave me very good deal .when the first guy told me you can get 6 yard mulch in the bed , I was suprise but when I get 3 yard mulch , the bed was full and I was happy at the beginning , because I was buying mulch for the first time,
thanks again

[Mikeeg]

I just use my 04 Ranger 4x4 for everyday driving, pulling 5x8 trailer with cub Cadet, and plowing my 32 car parking lot with 600' driveway.I love it , does the job for me.:walking: :walking:

[moremow]

I have a 96 toyota 4x4 tacoma with a 2.7 motor in it. It is a 5 speed transmission and the truck has 127,000 miles on it. I bought it used about 4 years ago with 69,000 on it. It has been a great truck for me. I have a 5x10 trailer with a 3500 lb axle weight trailer. I have had it loaded down with firewood both on the trailer and the truck bed and granted I used my gears a lot but it did just find. I have had a John Deere 757 on it and that thing probably weighs in over 1100 lbs. approx and it did great. Also hauled a Hustler Z that i demoed once on it and it did great. As I had it on the open road though I would down shift to 4th gear a lot if i saw a hill coming up even if i was already going about 50 mph. Using your gears of course let me use the rpm to compensate where the motor was weak. If you can get the 6 cyl model it would be an advantage to you over time. Also on the open road with no load at all I would average about 24 mpg or better with it. This year I am running some pretty rugged off road tires on it but it still gets pretty good gas mileage. They are not known for burning oil either. If you get the toyota you will probably get twice the longevity from it rather than the Ford. Good luck

[jmartin]

I have a '05 Tacoma, 4 cylinder and it does great towing my 5x10 trailer with JD lawn tractor, and all my other gear. Also does great hauling a bed full of mulch. A few months back I went to my local landfill for mulch and they dropped 3 yards in the back, the mulch was up to the top of the cab. The Toy still had plenty of hp but was dragging the street. I had about 12 miles to drive home and was very surprised how tough the Tacoma is. After unloading the mulch the truck drove like the day it left the dealership. You may pay extra for a Toyota but I believe it's worth the extra $. They are tough trucks!

[PGold]

I had a 1990 v6 4runner, which I used on a daily basis for six months towing my bobcat. The trailer and bobcat weighed about 9,000 pounds. The 4runner wasn't rated for it, but it handled it without any problems. I had the lower gear ratio. If you buy one that had factory 31 inch tires, it will tow your trailer like a dream. A ranger isn't even in the same league as a properly setup tacoma. The 4runner tracked better than my f250 when towing trailers. I guess that is just because the back end of a 4runner has a lot of weight.

[Allure]

when i asked my mechanic (he's awesome) what truck he recommended. He said what ever you do i wouldn't buy a Ranger. So i didn't:)
Turns out the guy standing next to me worked on Rangers at the ford plant in edison nj. needless to say he was offended. couple years later they closed the plant.:cry:

[hosejockey2002]

I had a 1990 v6 4runner, which I used on a daily basis for six months towing my bobcat. The trailer and bobcat weighed about 9,000 pounds. The 4runner wasn't rated for it, but it handled it without any problems. I had the lower gear ratio. If you buy one that had factory 31 inch tires, it will tow your trailer like a dream. A ranger isn't even in the same league as a properly setup tacoma. The 4runner tracked better than my f250 when towing trailers. I guess that is just because the back end of a 4runner has a lot of weight

My BS alarm is going off loud and clear.:hammerhead: :hammerhead:
9000 lbs. behind a 4runner? Pulled it better than an F250? OK right, and my 2500HD tows an 18000 lb. backhoe better than the Kenworth I used to drive.. My FIL used to have a '93 4runner V6, and it was a gutless POS when it wasn't towing anything.

[MTR]

when i asked my mechanic (he's awesome) what truck he recommended. He said what ever you do i wouldn't buy a Ranger. So i didn't:)
Turns out the guy standing next to me worked on Rangers at the ford plant in edison nj. needless to say he was offended. couple years later they closed the plant.:cry:


That is hogwash to say Ranger is a pos. Ranger is cheap, cheap gas, easy to repair but tough as nail. Look under the hood and it is cake walk, I would rather use 2k Ranger pulling, cleaning, landscaping than using 7k comparable Tacoma to do same type of job. My 94 Ranger has 177k on its engine and frame, working hard everyday, crew have some Rangers that log over 250k and still running strong. It is really how you take care of it. I am sure Tacoma is excellent truck but the price is ridiculous and they do need maintenance like everyone else, its parts are as expensive as Yamaha outboard cause we are all under foreign spell. Now you gonna say we are pos again. I know.

[Allure]

That is hogwash to say Ranger is a pos. Ranger is cheap, cheap gas, easy to repair but tough as nail. Look under the hood and it is cake walk, I would rather use 2k Ranger pulling, cleaning, landscaping than using 7k comparable Tacoma to do same type of job. My 94 Ranger has 177k on its engine and frame, working hard everyday, crew have some Rangers that log over 250k and still running strong. It is really how you take care of it. I am sure Tacoma is excellent truck but the price is ridiculous and they do need maintenance like everyone else, its parts are as expensive as Yamaha outboard cause we are all under foreign spell. Now you gonna say we are pos again. I know.
i didn't say it my mechanic did & his experience counts for a lot in my book so i thought i would share it. Take a deep breath & relax.:)
If it makes you feel better, he didn't recommend a toyota. he recommended a chevy, gmc or other ford, just no to the ranger.

[Shopkeeper]

I use a 94 Toyota Ext. Cab 4x4 SR5 pick up and i love it. It has bigger brakes than the newer tacomas, can haul more, and is just a great pick up in general. Although I don't own a ford ranger or have ever driven one/used it for work I do have a buddy who has one and just sitting on the tail gate drops that little truck a long ways...get three guys on there and its pretty much game over. My truck? Not even close, you can put A LOT of weight on this little sucker and she'll still be running damn fine. Go with the Toyota. :weightlifter:

[PGold]

I am not saying that a 4runner is better at towing than a f250. The f250 is a lot more powerful than a 4runner, has a lot better brakes, and a lot more weight to stop a trailer. However, driving down the interstate, there is no sway with the 4runner. I assume that is just because the 4runner is an suv and it had a lot of weight in the back of the vehicle. It could be the michelin tires were better than the bridgestones I have now or the fact that the tire pressure was 35 as opposed to 70. I had a standard transmission in the 4runner which helps out alot on power. Pulling the bobcat two or three times a week for about 6 months, I never went through a set of brakes and the clutch never went out. The only reason I used the 4runner is i didn't have enough money for a bigger truck. As soon as I got enough money for my new f250, the 4runner was out the door. An f250 is a lot better tow truck than a 4runner; however, I think a toyota will hold up a lot better than the ranger will when it comes to towing a decent sized trailer.
the old tow vehicle:
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i113/PatrickGold/4runner.jpg
and my new one:
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i113/PatrickGold/f250.jpg

[Lawnworks]

You are a brave soul pulling a bobcat w/ a 4runner!! What kind of bobcat did you have?

[PGold]

Case 1845C with foam filled tires and counter-weights. I had enough money after the big hurricanes to buy a bobcat, but I didn't have enough for a truck. I pulled my friend's New Holland LS180 with the 4runner, so I tried to buy one that was about the same weight. DOT was swamped, so they weren't pulling anyone over. I live on the coast, so it is completely flat and I have trailer brakes.