I am thinking now that a truck with a cap would probably be the most practical vehicle to get. I can learn to work on it and it will come in very handy transporting my windsurfing gear and anything else.
I would like it to be manual, probably single cab because I won't need it to transport people. I live in the rust-belt so hopefully something that doesn't rust too badly. It really needs to have an 8ft bed though to fit all my windsurfing gear.
Budget probably $3000. Any suggestions?
Being a chevy guy it pains me to say this, but for under $3000 a Ford will be your best bet.
That price point will likely put you in a mid-late 90's vehicle and both GM and Dodge were garbage in that time period. Ford's motors were pretty solid at that time. Not to mention they interchanged with everything else in their line,, so used parts will be cheap and readily available at a salvage yard.
The 4.6 motor is pretty anemic in a truck, so 5.0 or a 5.4 would be preferable. This should narrow it down to either an F series or a bronco, however, the bronco will not be long enough for your board.
fly and drive. a rust free 3k truck in texas will still be worth more than 3k 5 years from now in OH.
If it wasn't going to be my DD I would look for an older truck from the seventies. 2WD, manual everything, regular cab, long box. Easy to work on, cheap to insure.
And fly and drive is great advice. Lots of rust free older stuff available elsewhere.
As a native Texan, buying a truck from Texas is a good idea.
In a Ford, I'd take the 4.2 over the 4.6 (don't think you'll get a 5.4/manual/singlecab/longbed but id take a 4.2 over a 5.4 too!), but in a Chevy id take a v8 over the 4.3. In the pre-02 Dodges all the engines are basically the same to work on and in reliability so the only real difference is torque levels.
I think my first choice in your situation would be a ford 4.2/5spd.
My buddy had a early to mid 2000s GMC 1/2 ton with a 4.3 V6. It was a regular cab, 4x4 with a manual, great little truck, enough power to get out of its own way, heater worked really well and it was great in the winter. I would honestly stay away from the 4.6 and 5.4 Fords.
No suggestions for an i6 5 speed?
In reply to failboat:
Yup, plenty of rust free 80's ford pickups with a good 300 i6 for $2000 around dfw. We don't get as many cool cars as Atlanta but we are drowning in old pickups around here.
http://killeen.craigslist.org/cto/5136993063.html
This was suggested to me but I have a passionate hate for all things blue oval. But it does look very much like a solid truck and a decent deal.
Fobroader wrote: My buddy had a early to mid 2000s GMC 1/2 ton with a 4.3 V6. It was a regular cab, 4x4 with a manual, great little truck, enough power to get out of its own way, heater worked really well and it was great in the winter. I would honestly stay away from the 4.6 and 5.4 Fords.
Youd suggest the curse of dexcool over a 4.6/5.4? In my family we have logged over 800,000 miles on 3 4.6 and one 5.4 (it has 300k alone) and only repairs were two intake manifold gaskets and one trans rebuild. Some may burn a bit of oil from the factory but really reliable.
With a budget of $3k don't worry about the brand, go for condition.
Dexcool is way overblown, and easily fixed (change the fluid, derp). Ford's are anemic turds that get awful mpg. I don't think anyone is saying they aren't reliable though... reliably sucking money out of your wallet to fill up and reliably slowly going everywhere 
For $3k? Get a 1988-1999 GMT400, the nicest one you can. The newer 5.3's don't get THAT much better mpg, and the 5,7L vortec is a keeper. Additionally, the money you save by going older can be put into maintenance, which will be required either way on a $2-$3k used pickup.
Hitempguy, I dunno how you un clog E36 M3 and reverse damages by dexcool (not always damaged but it does and can happen) with a simple coolant change. Also idk what you mean about aweful mpg, our 4x4 5.4 gets 2 or 3mpg better than our 4x4 5.3... I do agree the ferds are anemic though.
As stated before it really doesnt matter the make as long as you get the best/lowest mileage example truck
The last ford pickup with a 300 I had got 18 mpg with regular driving. Towing a trailer I got 14. It wasn't fast, but is that the point of a work truck?
NordicSaab wrote: Being a chevy guy it pains me to say this, but for under $3000 a Ford will be your best bet. That price point will likely put you in a mid-late 90's vehicle and both GM and Dodge were garbage in that time period. Ford's motors were pretty solid at that time. Not to mention they interchanged with everything else in their line,, so used parts will be cheap and readily available at a salvage yard.
dodges maybe, but GMT400 trucks are the king of reliable, interchangeable, and ford 302's suck for trucks(and 4.6's do too, ford never heard of torque). give me tbi 350 chevy with a nv3500 and it'll run forever and ever plus a few weeks. the body can fall off, the frame can crack, and you can still sell it to some guy who will weld the crack and put a bag on the busted out back window and drive it a few more years.
Ojala wrote: It wasn't fast, but is that the point of a work truck?
isn't that the point of everything?
In reply to patgizz:
To play Bob Wills on the stereo while going back and forth to work and make weekly runs into a "wet" County to buy beer and make time with the girl at the Dairy Queen?
Or was that just me? 
chiodos wrote:Fobroader wrote: My buddy had a early to mid 2000s GMC 1/2 ton with a 4.3 V6. It was a regular cab, 4x4 with a manual, great little truck, enough power to get out of its own way, heater worked really well and it was great in the winter. I would honestly stay away from the 4.6 and 5.4 Fords.Youd suggest the curse of dexcool over a 4.6/5.4? In my family we have logged over 800,000 miles on 3 4.6 and one 5.4 (it has 300k alone) and only repairs were two intake manifold gaskets and one trans rebuild. Some may burn a bit of oil from the factory but really reliable.
I'd suggest neither, and apparently you own 32 of the best ignition coils Ford ever built.
My suggestions.
97-99 F150. My first pick is a 4.6L. They respond well to cheap mods (look up airbox mods. You can get 15 hp with a hole saw) If you go with this era, you will likely need a heater core at some point. They are not easy to replace; full dash removal. They aren't the end of the world, just prepare. Avoid the COP (coil-on-plug) models as they can be problematic. One will start to go. The only real way to diagnose which one is with a Ford Oscilliscope, and if you replace just one, the next weakest one will go shortly after. The real way to fix it is to replace all 8, and parts store coils are not great alternatives. So skip the COP versions. Some of the 5.4L had the funky long-reach plugs that like to seize in the hole. Skip those as well. 4.2L will develop intake and exhaust leaks, and they don't really offer any MPG benefit over the 4.6L. So, plain vanilla F150. Millions of them are out there with rubber floors, crank windows, and floor shift 4x4. The manual is tough to find with the 4.6L but they exist. If you're dead set on a manual, you may have to suck it up and do the 4.2L. The Fords used the M5OD which is a brilliant transmission. The ratios are perfect and they are dead nuts reliable. Keep an eye on seals and plugs. One thing they're known for is blowing a leak and you run them dry before you know it. Just keep an eye on the driveway. Interior quality of materials is the absolute best of the big three.
90-94 F150: Last of the 4.9L I6. Nothing bad to say. I just missed one in PA with acceptable rust, fully loaded, 90k miles for $3000 and I'm kinda ticked.
99-up Chevy silverado. The 4.3L V6 is boring, but reliable. The 4.8L and 5.3L LS-based engines are fantastic and bulletproof. Interior is usually pretty quiet and squeak-free, but leather and cloth are of pretty poor quality and will show wear pretty quickly. Seats don't fit my butt very comfortably, but that is subjective. Manual tranny should be an NV3550; a fine transmission with good ratios, but not quite as robust as the M5OD. As far as I know, a manual wasn't offered behind the V8.
Dodge: I can't think of any redeeming qualities. Seriously.
patgizz wrote:NordicSaab wrote: Being a chevy guy it pains me to say this, but for under $3000 a Ford will be your best bet. That price point will likely put you in a mid-late 90's vehicle and both GM and Dodge were garbage in that time period. Ford's motors were pretty solid at that time. Not to mention they interchanged with everything else in their line,, so used parts will be cheap and readily available at a salvage yard.dodges maybe, but GMT400 trucks are the king of reliable, interchangeable, and ford 302's suck for trucks(and 4.6's do too, ford never heard of torque). give me tbi 350 chevy with a nv3500 and it'll run forever and ever plus a few weeks. the body can fall off, the frame can crack, and you can still sell it to some guy who will weld the crack and put a bag on the busted out back window and drive it a few more years.
I never understood the love for TBI trucks. Junk valve seals that leak at 40k, wheezy pathetic power, 13mpg at best, off-idle stumbles... if I'm going to do an SBC, I would rather have a Qjet or Vortec (96-98). The TBI was (in my opinion) the absolute worst SBC that ever rolled off the line. It excels at absolutely nothing. Low power, thirsty, burns oil, flat tappet cam... No thank you. At least not for me.
i've never had a tbi small block with leaky valve seals. one 4.3 did it, it started puffing at 170k.
they're dead reliable and simple to diagnose when something finally does go wrong. no intake leak or plastic garbage distributor issues of the vortec trucks.
that's my take anyway. i've logged over a million miles in tbi small block stuff. not speedy, but gets the job done and runs forever. most of the vehicles i've owned that have 200k+ are tbi 350's and 305's. not my pick to go fast but for a truck, why not. now i have a couple tbi 454 trucks and my other stuff has stepped into the LS era, and my 2007 express with untouched 423k mile 5.3 makes people's heads explode, but it's still hard to me to argue against a 350 tbi truck for simplicity and reliability, there are miles less wiring in the older trucks, and they're old enough that the resto places make lots of stuff to keep them going or bring them back.
I like the TBIs. Super easy to work on.
As for the 4.2 ford, you can replace the intake gaskets because you're leaking air, or you can pick a 4.3 and replace them because you're leaking fuel, coolant, or oil, or all of the above, or you can pull of a dodge 3.9 intake to replace the gasket that leaks air and sucks oil into the intake manifold. I actually think the 4.2 intake sealing issues are the least of evils between the 3.
I think the 4.2 is the most reliable engine ford put in trucks from 97-04. It doesnt make much less power than the 4.6 and is way more prevalent with a manual, and you'll work on it less over time. I feel that the ownership experience is better. It WOULD be difficult to make it sound like a Mustang GT, however.
I doubt I will have the time for a fly and drive. Right now going windsurfing is a push but lots of good advice. I found this which is not perfect but getting closer http://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/5126009804.html
Is the bed long enough on a Tacoma or Frontier to work in this situation? Nowhere do I see that he insists he have a full-size and either of those will be a lot easier to find with a manual.
curtis73 wrote: I never understood the love for TBI trucks. Junk valve seals that leak at 40k, wheezy pathetic power, 13mpg at best, off-idle stumbles... if I'm going to do an SBC, I would rather have a Qjet or Vortec (96-98). The TBI was (in my opinion) the absolute worst SBC that ever rolled off the line. It excels at absolutely nothing. Low power, thirsty, burns oil, flat tappet cam... No thank you. At least not for me.
I dunno, I have one with over 200k on it. Valve guide seals started going around 160k, and I'll agree that isn't a great design, but otherwise it has been great. Get 23 mpg highway with it with a 3.08 rear end and an NV3500, too. Get rid of the awful stock exhaust Y pipe and manifolds, up the fuel pressure a little, and it does pretty well.
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