Trucks. Fuel Economy. Capability. Runs forever.

I hired a new employee yesterday so I'm out of time and need another truck. It needs to look professional so old junk is out.

EVs so far, don't have the bed length and are borderline on the range. As much as I'd love to go that route, I don't think they will work. They are also double what I want to spend, so they are out. 

Newer Rangers are apparently disassembling themselves faster than I want to deal with. They also only have a 6' bed. Older Rangers are getting long in the tooth and everyone who works for me hates the one I have. 

Colorado's don't get better fuel economy than a full-size Ford. Bed lengths are again 6'. I'd like longer but that's not going to happen. They are a close second after the F150s. The smaller size will make it easier to park in downtown areas and parking garages. They are tempting. 

Silverados all seem to be overpriced and their fuel economy isn't very good. My current trucks (2007 5.3, 2011 4.3) are averaging only about 13-15. 

That leaves me with Ford's F150. I have found a 2017 extended cab, 2.7t long bed truck that fits the bill. It is supposed to get 19-26 mpg. Fuelly says they are hitting 20 on average. It has 100k on it. I tend to run trucks to 300k-400k as long as they still look good and don't turn into maintenance nightmares. Realistically, how long will that engine stay together? How about the aluminum bed? The guys are going to be strapping materials in using the bed walls. Will I have issues with them cracking from flex or bending easily?

Any thoughts? Are the Explody Rangers overhyped? Are the 2.7t engines in the F150 good for 300k? How about the rest of the truck? 

Thanks!

I haven't driven any of these trucks, but I was anxiously awaiting the new Ranger when it came out.  I ended up finding a used Mazda truck instead, but all of the truck magazines tested them against all the other small trucks.  Every magazine seemed to put the Ranger dead last and they all picked either the Colorado or Taco as their first... mind you, this was a Colorado that was an eight-year-old design when tested.

I'm a fan of Ford, but it seems they dropped the ball on the Ranger.... if you believe the magazine hype.

The newer Colorados are as big as a GMT400 it seems, yet they have smaller beds.

I don't think you'll have a problem with the aluminum beds, but some bedrail tiedowns would solve that issue.  Perhaps even a clause in their contract that says if they mess up the bed, they pay the deductible to fix it.  But I don't think it will be an issue.

The 2.7t is a pretty stout thing I believe.  I had an older 3.5EB that went 300k without a hiccup.

Fastenal sells used Ram single cabs that seem to be a good price.  2wd, V8s

I see you did not include Ram. I can understand but I thought I'd share anyway.

https://vehicles.fastenal.com/

Sample:  

2019RAM 1500 4X2 HEMI REG CAB TRADSMAN  CHATTANOOGA  Tennessee   32,311 miles   $20,900.00

I have suggested these trucks before with greater detail like in this thread

I mean, there's a reason Ford sells so many F-150s....

So, i daily a 2020 ram 1500 classic 2wd v6 long bed with rubber floor mats for work. Ive put 61k on it in the last year  with zero issues or complaints. 5k oil change intervals. Averaging 22mpg with mostly rural 2 lane and interstate use. I sell and deliver electric motors and gearboxes and such. I had a 250hp open drip motor today (rouphly 1300lbs) in the bed today and it never wimpered. Little twitchy steering though. 

Only options are cruise, bluetooth, pdl/pw. Its a good hammer of a truck.

I started a thread just to profess my love for the 2.7EB in my 2019 F150, so my position is pretty well established: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/love-this-engine/237813/page1/

The 10-speed is one of the best automatics I've driven, and easily the best I've owned.

If you care about achieving a certain towing and/or payload, pay attention. Ford does play some option and package games with that, especially on the 2.7EB trucks.

During my research, I found that both sides in the 3.5EB vs 5.0 reliability debates generally admit that the 2.7EB more reliable than either.

I've also heard similarly good things about the 2.7T in the Silverado, and would also consider looking at those too.

I'm sure I haven't taxed the bed as much as you're talking about, nor as frequently, but I'll say that I haven't seen any particular weakness from it either.

My 2015 4wd 5.3 silverado gets 18 mpg around town and 21 on the highway.  I drive about 10 over everywhere.

Not sure how yall are getting 13 to 15.  I think I could floor it everywhere and get better than that!

I have 190k on my truck and it still drives like new.  Spent about 5k in repairs over that 190k.

In reply to wvumtnbkr :

The fuel economy is probably due to bumper to bumper traffic almost all day long. It's terrible around here. The older trucks don't have the auto stop and start so they idle a lot.

The trucks are also fairly loaded at all times. Figure 500 pounds of tools and parts and then add another 500 to 1000 pounds of doors or operators. 

In reply to John Welch: I forgot about the fastenal trucks. Im not a huge Dodge fan but those might be worth a look. I was planning a color change from standard white to something like Fords blue to make the trucks stand out but if the price is right I'm not above a respray. 

A fleet in this color wouldn't get lost in the sea of white work trucks. 

In reply to wvumtnbkr :

I'll mirror you.

My 2016 4wd 5.3 silverado gets 17 mpg around town and 19 on the highway.  I drive about 10 over everywhere.

Not sure how yall are getting 13 to 15.  I do floor it everywhere and get better than that!

I have 175k on my truck and it still drives okay. Spent about 6.5k in repairs over that 175k.

I see there is one Fastenal in SC that is coming soon.  I would recommend shooting a quick email to the address listed.  I did once and got a quick reply.  I think the reply included the VIN.   Or, be sure to ask for the VIN.  That way you can do some searching if you want. 

I would also call the specific local shop and maybe say something like, "I'm thinking of buying that 2018 truck you have, has it been any good?  Any accidents?"

Also, when you have the vin, you can pull the original window sticker.  https://windowstickerlookup.com/

Here is a listing near you that is surely a former Fastenal Truck.  
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventorylisting/viewDetailsFilterViewInventoryListing.action?sourceContext=carGurusHomePageModel&entitySelectingHelper.selectedEntity=d2110&zip=29401#listing=361917062/NONE/DEFAULT

With the vin listed, this is the original sticker so you can see how they are equipped.  Further looking at that dealer listing, the gurus site says hes had the truck listed for 58 days.  On Sept 11 he started the pricing at $24,999.  It is now at $23,900.  Due to what we see from the Fastenal site he probably bought it for $20k.   The truck has low end Iron Man tires on it so the dealership probably dropped near $1k in the cheapest but newest tires they could find.  

Out there you will also find white Ram 1500s with silver bumpers and steel wheels.  
A dealer sample
These seem to be the spec for former Uhaul trucks:
https://trucksales.uhaul.com/Vehicles/Details?postal=35216&sid=144000&equip=BP0404W

I would choose a former Fastenal over a former Uhaul.  

In reply to Toyman! :

We have one of the 2.7 EB 4 x 4 F150's with an 8 foot bed, not sure of the current mileage.   I drove it for a week / 500 ish miles a while back while my Escape was in the shop and saw a legitimate 26 MPG on a tank with mostly highway miles.   It's a parts runner truck so multiple drivers, not much love and it has been solid to my knowledge. (Other than numb steering typical of a truck it drove and rode fine.  I thought the 2.7 made it pretty quick too.)  No issues on the aluminum body so far either.

On the color, don't rule out wrapping your trucks if you want to make them pop a bit.   Because of the lead times on vans we've been taking what we can get and wrapping them to suit. (We would prefer a silver van for the base truck, just wrap the back with our accent colors and logo package but we've been taking white ones and doing the whole thing.)  We have vans in the fleet that are up to 6 years old with the original wrap still looking good.  Not sure on the price point for a wrap, I'm led to believe it's significantly less than a repaint.

22mpg on the 5.0 engine in my 2016 F150 Regular Cab with freeway driving. Around 18 in town.  Tows like a dream and at 130K miles with all the service records included from it being a fleet truck almost nothing other than maintenance and consumables. I should get to 200K in the next 15 years with my driving habits and I have ever belief that it will make it. tons of them out there. 

I do not like anything turbo or with a small v6. At least with my usage way to much stress on the drivetrain towing and locally people have not had good luck with the 3.5 turbos in the Fords.