Buying a 2015 pickup, suggestions?

Second Subaru, second head gasket. I'm completely done with them. Even if they weren't under powered and ill suited to my lifestyle, I was planning on buying a pickup anyways so I can eventually outfit it with a lightweight pop up camper.

So, you Mountain Projectors do the same stuff I do and probably have better opinions because of that than the first 100 posts I'll read googling.

I don't need to tow yachts and hang ornamental balls off of it. I need off road capabilities and a bed long enough to put a topper on and sleep in (I'm 6' tall) until the future pop up lightweight camper goes in a few years down the road. I'd like it to be as compact as possible to make driving routinely in the city not suck. The better the gas mileage the better.

Most people scream Tacoma. I'm definitely looking at it. The TDR Off-Road looks perfect, but that's mid to upper 30s which is a bit spendy for a design that's about 10 years old now. Proven, but old nonetheless.

Then there's the new Chevy Colorado. Looks great and on paper beats the Tacoma almost everywhere... but that lends itself to the exact opposite question of the Tacoma - that is, it has absolutely 0 track record.

Full sized pickups are getting more and more affordable and more and more efficient... perhaps I should go that way? Thoughts? Experiences?

I have a new Chevy Colorado on order. It should be here in a few more weeks. I'll let you know how it holds up!!

I'm selling my trusty Ford Ranger and Flippac. I hope my new Colorado does as well.
--- Invalid image id: 110346045 ---

Dodge Eco-diesel. Full size truck that gets damn near 30mpg. Best truck to come out in years. The Tundra and Titan will have similar options for next year.

The Eco Diesel from Ram is the obvious choice but $pendy and its first year... they are having issues as expected.
I bought the '15 ram but in the v6flex fuel and Im liking it a lot, avg mpg=18 (Hwy=20+)and I drive like I stole it ;) w/ 33" nittos on it with only a leveling suspension upgrade(cheap)... the v6 has plentry of pep imo... iirc it's like 300hp

Interesting... I have a 2011 outback that I've thought of trading out for a pick up soon. To the OP, How long before you had head gasket trouble? What year was yours?

Wow, I hadn't even heard of the Eco Diesel Ram - looks like a hell of a truck. Thanks for making me aware. I'm adding that to the test drive list.

Raul P - My '98 Outback blew it's head gasket around 180k. My current 2005 Outback just blew its head gasket at 140k and I've taken excellent care of it - I'm pretty pissed about it.

I believe Subaru fixed the head gasket problem in either the 06 or 07 models.

Bummer that you got hit by it twice but a head gasket over 150k miles probably runs about the same as the extra gas a truck will use over 150k miles.

I have a 2013 F-150 that I've been really happy with. It's comfortable enough for 5 dudes to roadtrip in comfortably. I haven't been thrilled with the gas mileage, but am considering trading in for a 2015 with the ecoBoost V6. With that engine and the new aluminium body, you get 23-25 on the highway.

AOSR wrote:I don't need to tow yachts and hang ornamental balls off of it. I need off road capabilities...

1. although you don't need to tow yachts, the advantage of having a vehicle capable of that is that you'll be working it a lot less = increased longevity, but very possibly lower gas mileage. Machines perform better and more reliably when they're running at 70% of capacity instead of at 95%.

2. there's off-road and then there's off-road; it's important for you to figure out what you intend to do. Do you anticipate needing/wanting Larger than stock tires? Some kind of lift? Aftermarket bumper with winch? Locking differentials? Front sway-bar disconnect? One typical serious problem with pick-ups is their miserable approach and, especially, departure angles. Break-over angle can also be problematic with a long wheel-base.

I'm on my 3rd F150. This 2014 with 6 speed transmission gets about 20mpg highway at 65mph. Topper on back makes it my camper. All 3 have been very reliable. Low range in 4wd turns it into a little tank.

I would buy a 2014 F150 sitting on a lot. Depends what you want to do with it,

1. Camper shell? Get a supercab with 8ft bed.

The 2015 F150s are super sick, aluminum so lightweight. I drive a 2013 diesel f350. Paying off the diesel pricetag (dodge eco) in fuel if you're not hauling will take a while, but if you think the novelty is worth it go for it. Gas trucks have much cheaper maintenance however.

Tacomas and the new F150s get similar milage. If you're going to be 4x4 at all I would just get the full size truck.

You can lift anything to add a little clearance. I wouldn't buy a colorado over a tacoma....

F150 vs tacoma for me, and with the pricetags, you can get a much bigger truck for a few bucks. That said, I drove two rangers before my f350 and loved them.

Tacoma redesign comes out next year. Plenty of pics on the web. I had a 2004 Taco with almost 200K and other than normal stuff nothing major. Traded it in in late 2010 for a 2011 Tundra. Averaging 20K miles a year. Love it but it does use lots of gas.

Buddy has 2013 F150 and it's a nice truck too. Like one of the other posters said - find a 2014 on the lot and you'll probably get a decent deal.

If you end up going with a new Tacoma, do not get the 4-cyl. Mine is fucking gutless. I have to rev 4500 RPMs in 3rd gear to maintain speed going up a steepish section of I70 just west of Denver. When I bought it I had to decide between the gadgets package or the V6 with jack-shit for accessories since they were the same price. I made the wrong decision.

Nevertheless, the good thing about Tacos is their resale value. I bought mine new in Oregon so with out paying the sales tax I've been right-side-up on my loan almost the whole time. A bit of a rarity for a car purchase - although I did get a 0% loan.

The bad thing about Tacos is their resale value. The truck I owned before my Taco I bought in 2005 for $13,5000. It was a 4 year old Ranger with a sick V6 and 35,000 miles. At that time, the same amount of cash would have gotten me a Taco with 100,000+ miles and >6 years old.

Look into a diesel-natural gas mix. Pretty good bump in mileage and horsepower. Usually pays for itself within a year or two.

Subaru timing belt went around 80,000. Head gasket blew at around 120,000. I drive a Tacoma now.

A lot of my climbing/skiing friends made the move to Tacomas and they have been nothing but reliable. Get the V6, 4x4, full size bed. TDR is cool and all, I will admit that I have the TX, but really the reason I bought this truck was it's proven reliability. Yeah, some of those new trucks look real interesting, could even be better too. That being said, I would never buy the first generation of a pair of boots, or a new cam, or anything really - let someone else find out if it is a good product or not then invest with that information. On second thought, get the Colorado and get back to me in five years.

Marc801 wrote: Machines perform better and more reliably when they're running at 70% of capacity instead of at 95%.

Absolutely agree. The subi with the v6 doesn't have nearly the issues of most subi's on the front range. I suspect that is because the 4 bangers are so under powered for this sort of terrain. That is a major reason I want a truck with a minimum of a v6 in it. The one thing I noticed driving a Tacoma yesterday is that it doesn't have a ton of horse power and required high RPM to rally it up a steep road. I wouldn't even consider a 4 cylinder.

Marc801 wrote:there's off-road and then there's off-road

I'm not going to be four wheeling every weekend. I just need to get to the crag, the remote campsite, the desert tower, etc. I did do quite a bit of four wheeling when I was younger and do really enjoy it, so the bigger tires, 2.5 inch lift, better shocks, and locking rear dif in the TRD Offroad Tacoma package are appealing. I suspect for my use it might be a little excessive. I certainly don't need anything more than that.

J.Colin.Olson wrote:On second thought, get the Colorado and get back to me in five years.

Ha! I can't even find one in the state to test drive. Imagine ordering/buying a truck with no track record and not even being able to test drive it first!

Mark NH wrote:Tacoma redesign comes out next year.

Unfortunately, I can't wait till then. I'm hoping if it's leaps and bounds better I can trade in and upgrade. Actually, might be a rare opportunity to capitalize off of a lease rather than an outright purchase.

It's actually the 2016 model year so its probably gonna be in a few months.

masterherald.com/2016-toyot…

I just picked up a 2015 Silverado. Ive been very pleased with it. The double cab and 6.5ft bed are great for trips. 22mpg highway makes me happy.

Mark NH wrote:It's actually the 2016 model year so its probably gonna be in a few months.

Hmmm... I could probably wait a couple months. Looks like October though... my subi my roll over and die by then