4 door Truck time.

So I am at a point were I can't ignore the fact that I need a truck with room in the back seat for kids. The 850r didn't seem to like the trailer with both the dirt bike and the 4 wheeler on it, and that was still leaving the kids quad at home.
list of needs
at least a 6 foot bed
room in the back seat for kids still in a booster
reliable and safe enough for the wife to take on trips
able to pull a decent trailer(at least 7K total weight)

wants
good mileage, yeah right
4wd would be nice
budget is under 20K prefer closer to 10K, and under 100K miles
what should I start looking at?

15 passenger E-series van.

A 2nd generation sport trac v8 would do what you wanted it to. Just expect 16/21 for economy and the bed is only a 5.5' iirc. Idk what their towing rating is, but I've towed more than 5k lbs with my parents without an issue. They'll be closer towards the $20k mark though.

Otherwise, expeditions and yukons are generally more reasonable than their 4door truck counterparts.

Ford with a 7.3 diesel

I've been very happy with my Nissan Titan. It's been a terrific truck and family vehicle. I wasn't a truck guy, but I needed one for house and car projects. My plan was to buy an older beater truck. When the Titan came out in '04, along with the other crew cab trucks, I realized that the new trucks could fill a much larger role. I looked at them all, and the Titan seemed like it was a couple steps ahead of the others at the time. It does everything well, and is actually enjoyable to drive. The gas mileage is not so great, about 13/18. My best was 20 on a long trip. 12 is pretty common with just town driving. Towing a car doesn't make too big of an impact on mileage. Despite the gas mileage, it's the vehicle we usually take on long trips because it's so roomy and comfortable. My only complaint is the sub par interior quality. Great design, layout, and features, buy the materials haven't worn well. Mine was a first year truck, and they are still making them, hopefully they have addressed that issue.

If you're planning on a loaded truck + a 7k trailer, imo you should skip everything below full sizes and just admit you need a full size truck to do that safely on any kind of routine basis.

IDK about the 7k trailer cap but a Honda Ridgeline sounds close

Chevy avalanche is a bit of a bigger 1500-2500 option

Or for outright insanity F250 4dr with the 6.0 to keep you on you're toes

10-year-old 3/4 ton crew cab. Diesel engine for the middle/top of your price range and mediocre milage. Big gas engine for the bottom of your price range and flat out terrible milage. :)

I like the SIlverado 2500HD crew cab I bought a few years ago (125K miles, diesel, $15K), but were I doing it over again I'd go a few years newer to get the LLY instead of the LB7.

I've looked at all of them and if you want a real backseat then the F150 family is the only way to go.

They also have a completely flat floorboard and seats that fold out of the way so you can comfortably sleep in it or haul an awful lot of junk back there. We use the back floorboard more than we do the bed.

Seats are comfy, interior is well appointed and not all that truck like.

The Ridgeline is great if you want to take the family across the country while hauling a single bag of mulch in the back.

My dad has one that I use from time to time, and I have to say that I'm not sure I'd feel safe towing more than about 5,000 pounds with one. I'm not sure if it's an issue with the engine, but at just shy of 40,000 miles, it wheezes down the road if there's a trailer behind it. When it was new, it seemed to tow better, but it just doesn't have it anymore.

I'd be shopping for either an Avalanche or an Escalade EXT. Here's an EXT that appears to have actually been used as a truck at some point. I'm sure there are others out there that haven't been used as a real truck, but have a similar price.

carguy123 wrote: I've looked at all of them and if you want a real backseat then the F150 family is the only way to go.

In a half-ton, maybe, but the 3/4 GM trucks have real back seats. I'm 6'0", and I drove a 2500 mile trip in mine a few years ago with my then-6-month-old son in a rear-facing car seat behind the driver's seat, no problems with space.

dad has a 3/4 ton, mega cab, diesel ram. that bastard will pull the earth off its rotation, and then stop it without trailer brakes. on their 6000 mile vacation last year, it averaged 21 mpg. that was onthe alcan, 2 lanes, 4 lanes, interstae, city, etc. true average of mized driving. the back seat honestly has more room in it than the FRONT of my 64 chevelle, duster, subaru legacy, neon, camry, or full size chevy truck (all owned since he bought the truck). damn think never misses a beat. dont know if its in the price. his is 2wd. but an incredible dual purpose truck.

I had actually been looking at the Titans. Any thing to look out for?
The normal trailer/cargo load would be 2 adults 2 kids, luggage for whatever time frame, 350lb quad, 250 dirt bike, 200 quad, trailer, and then extras the wife must bring along.
Any truck would be a long term vehicle and in the future I am hoping to get a small popup camper/boat/maybe a 10 to 15 foot enclosed trailer.
The only real reason I don't have a truck right now is the mpg. Up until now either her MPV or my 850r was able to pull the utility trailer with my bike and easily beat most trucks at the pump.

Done:

Seriously, if you're not comfortable in that back seat, you're either 7'9", or you're not comfortable in ANYTHING. return's low to mid 20's on the highway, tows 5k lbs easily, is comfy, quiet, handles well for a 5500lb truck thats 19' long, is available cheap used and they hold up well.

We've made two round trip trips to Tucson from Indy. It's made 2 trips to Orlando from Indy. It hauled 6 people 4 hours round trip from Tucson to Phoenix and back. It towed an STC civic to last years nationals and I was able to sleep in the back seat for about 4 hours. It's towed to Chicago-land twice, Went to northern Arkansas to get the Vette etc. She averages about 14-16mpg towing.

Perfect: http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?zip=46240&endYear=2006&driveCodes=2WD&engineCode=8CLDR&doorCode=4&sellerTypes=b&mmt=%5BGMC%5B15SIPU4WD%5B%5D%5D%5B%5D%5D&doorCodes=4&modelCode1=15SIPU4WD&sortBy=derivedpriceASC&driveCode=2WD&showcaseOwnerId=65143117&startYear=2004&makeCode1=GMC&engineCodes=8CLDR&numRecords=100&searchRadius=0&listingId=340712537&listingIndex=29&Log=0

In reply to Bobzilla:

I have the same truck...ish. 07 GMC 2500HD CC/LB diesel. I should have bought one a LOOONG time ago. Ran A yukon denali for a time and didn't realize what I had been missing. If you are getting a diesel, avoid any GMC before 06 (or budget a headgasket), same with avoiding the 6.0 Ford. You could find one in your price range. I managed to get a great deal on mine with 98k miles with all the baller upgrades (leather/moonroof/rhino lining/etc) Crew cab is more than large enough. 5 tall men fit very comfortably (went on a ski trip from VA to Canada in my truck with 5 guys, all comfortable).

Only owned it a couple months, she sees good use, and from what you describe, you need something like it. (maybe with a gas motor since you don't need to haul 24+ft enclosed)

They also don't really have any problems starting in the cold like the fords and dodge's seem to do. Couple friends were bitching that their fords were having a hard time starting in ~15 degree weather at the exact time I was in this temperature (during the day, at night it dropped much further)

Titans are the only full size truck I would get if I needed one-that is if I didn't need something that required a huge truck and a diesel. I would skip the first couple years and go for an 07+. They are strong, fully boxed frame, powerful motor, but bad fuel economy. The interior is pretty nice, and big & comfortable. Expect to put catalytic convertors on it-if it were me I would just find some headers for it to avoid those dumb cats.

Any full-size crew cab half-ton will do the job.

Just a word of caution on the Titan. They can develop a problem where the trans cooler can be contaminated by the radiator. Rad fluid mixes with trans fluid and trashes the transmission.

My freinds 07 had always been dealer serviced, and they were "kind" enough to quote him $9K to repair everthing. This was about 8k miles past warrenty.

I guess there is a computer in the transmission that will not allow you just to put another one in out of a different truck. I don't know exactly why, but it wasn't an opiton.

I don't think it's a massive problem, but I know many of the smaller Nissan trucks suffered from it.

sethmeister4 wrote: Titans are the only full size truck I would get if I needed one-that is if I didn't need something that required a huge truck and a diesel. I would skip the first couple years and go for an 07+. They are strong, fully boxed frame, powerful motor, but bad fuel economy. The interior is pretty nice, and big & comfortable. Expect to put catalytic convertors on it-if it were me I would just find some headers for it to avoid those dumb cats.

So, it sucks gas, eats cats and the early ones eat rear diffs. Sounds like the perfect option for the OP.

Just don't get a Ridgeline. 5k pounds is pushing it, and 7k pounds is a pipe dream. Plus it doesn't really have 4wd.

Tom Suddard wrote: Just don't get a Ridgeline. 5k pounds is pushing it, and 7k pounds is a pipe dream. Plus it doesn't really have 4wd.

See, I KNEW someone in the Suddard family would side with me on this!

We're not all crazy; here's a real Suddard family truck:

Tom Suddard wrote: We're not all crazy; here's a real Suddard family truck:

........and then you lost me. When it comes to Isuzu's for me, no turbo-diesel, no care.

Oh, but it will have a Turbodiesel.

Just sayin'

Bruce