best truck for 4 person family

[J Macnab]

what is the best truck for my family? my son is 13 and he is as big as me.(6 foot) so leg room in the back is important!!!! but dont want to spend alot on gas. and dont want the actual truck to be expensive. around 30 grand is preferable.

 

[JB]

Re: best truck for 4 person family

What tow rating do you need? Do you seek a pickup or a Ute?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: best truck for 4 person family

Right now you can do a lot better than 30 grand for a full-size four-door pickup. There are lots of things you need to think about however. 2 or 4 wheel drive for one. Locking differential is a must if you will be towing a fair size boat. Its required (in my view) if you opt for a 2 wheel drive and still desireable with a 4 wheel drive. As JB said, depending on what your towing requirements are, axle ratio and engine size are important. If you are towing a small fishing boat (like a row boat) a GMC Canyon or Chevy Colorado will do nicely. Im six foot and my S10 crew cab is plenty roomy for anyone up to six feet (provided they don't have size 14 feet). The Colorado is the replacement for S10 as its no longer available. Otherwise your next step would be a Dodge Dakota and next bigger than that would be Chevy/Ford crew cabs. Honda has the Ridgeline and Toyota and Nissan both have four door pickups although I don't know how they are for comfort in the back seat. I know for a fact the Ridgeline has a very busy tranny when towing and is not an economy champ when doing so. Figure out what your towing needs are and buy a vehicle that accomplishes that task and has the room for the family. Price will work itself out.

 

[montanaman]

Re: best truck for 4 person family

J Macnab, used Ford and Chevy 4 door crew cabs have the room you are looking for. I'm 6'4" and sit comfortably in the back seet of my F350 and the Chevy is just as big. The Dodge megacab is bigger but I think you will bust your 30 grand limit. I don't see there is much difference in fuel economy in any of the full size 4 door pick up's, they all seem to be around 15-18 highway and 12-15 in town. There is a big difference in pulling power however. The mid-sized pickups just don't seem to have the room for someone that is 6 feet +. Your choice is still going to depend upon what your pulling as much as who is riding in it.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: best truck for 4 person family

figure out the absolute requirements, then add the wants, simple stripped interior, or the heated seats, dvd, surround sound. what are you going to be using the vehcile for when not towing?

 

[JB]

Re: best truck for 4 person family

A good, low mileage, preowned ML can be had in that range. It has plenty of room, can tow up to 5,000lb (with brakes) and has many luxury and convenience features.<br /><br />My ML320 could tow and get 15-16mpg. The ML430 gets 13-14 towing.<br /><br />Of course, if you need a pickup it wouldn't do.<br /><br />BTW, it is made in Alabama by rednecks.

 

[J Macnab]

Re: best truck for 4 person family

boat is around 5000 pounds add alitttle more. but leg room is very important!!!! how is the ford f150 crewcab? the vehical will only be used to go to work in the winter to cut down on gas. in the sumer i use my 97' mazda miata. If you guys know of a suv/truck that has a good secound row and a third row that will be necesary. Thanks

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: best truck for 4 person family

toyota 4 runner is comfortable, with weight distribution hitch is rated at 7300. nephew pulls 25' chris craft deck boat no prob.

 

[scubatrooper]

Re: best truck for 4 person family

I recently bought a new crew cab pick-up. If room is your deciding factor along with towing capability I'd check out the Nissan Titan with the big tow package as it is rated to tow 9300 lbs. (I have the SE 4WD trim). The interior is about 126 cu ft (crew cab) so it has lots of space and has more than the Ford F150 or the Dodge 1500 (not that either of those two are bad pick-ups). I'm alomost 6'3" and am very comfortable in the drivers seat with plenty of leg, hip and head room (bench front seat). With the front seats all the way back I still have about four inches between my knees and the back of the front seat when I'm seated in the rear. The engine is a 32 valve DOHC V-8 rated at 305 hp and 379 ft/lb of torque. It tows my 4000+lb. boat like it's not even there.<br /><br />I used to own a 2003 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab AWD rated to tow a little over 5000lbs. I think the new Dakota (properly equiped) is rated to tow over 7000 lbs. Our Dakota had the 4.7 SOHC V-8 which did a fine job towing our boat across town or a few hundred miles for a vacation. Another truck to consider is the new Nissan Frontier which has a four door model and one of the best V-6 engines produced. I think it's rated at 265hp and can tow up to 6500lbs. when properly equipped (No, I don't work for Nissan but I did spend over four months researching trucks before I bought the Titan. I also own a 2000 Nissan Maxima that hasn't given me any problems at all. The Titan and Frontier engines are derived from the VQ design V-6 engine in my Maxima that has been in Ward's top ten list of best engines in the world for something like 10 years). <br /><br />If you are doing research online for new/used trucks be sure to check out Edmunds.com at http://www.edmunds.com or MSN.com at http://autos.msn.com/ Both of these two web sites have tons of information, road tests, and owner feedback to help you decide what's best for your needs. Another place to check out is Trailerboats.com at http://www.trailerboats.com/ They also have an online tow guide. Good luck!<br /><br /><br />Steve

 

[J Macnab]

Re: best truck for 4 person family

Hey Steve went ot look at Titans today. What do you think of a 2004 4X4 off road Titan? It was great, it had more legroom then our 03' pilot which we got for the third row but dont even use the third row now. And it was surprisingly good on gas, better than some of the other trucks we looked at. what do you think of the pathfinder? They had those there as well. thanks

 

[scubatrooper]

Re: best truck for 4 person family

J Macnab:<br /><br />Well, I really do like the Titan and have been happy with my 2006 SE Crew Cab 4X4. The 2004 was the first model year for the Titan and from what I've read thatyear had some brake problems (rotors overheating and warping) and a few had rear end problems (they changed to an all synthetic drive oil and a finned cover on the rear differential). My understanding is by the 2005 year they had these bugs worked out. There were tech orders sent out on this and I'm sure all affected vehicles were fixed. I would have the VIN run by a dealership to see if the factory repairs were made. As with any pre-owned vehicle, I would be sure to have it inspected by a trusted mechanic before you buy.<br /><br />You ask about the Pathfinder and I assume you own a Pilot. Those are SUV's. I like SUV's andf I think the Pathfinder is a fine vehicle but they are different than a pick-up. The Titan has a lot of room for a pick-up and the bed comes in handy for boating, camping, etc. I think you would be happy with a Titan just be sure to have it inspected and do some research on the web sites I sent in my previous post. Another BB to look up Titan info that's pretty decent is http://www.titantalk.com <br /><br />Steve

 

[KM2]

Re: best truck for 4 person family

Since you said that you are towing over 5k then add family I would only be considering a full size truck or SUV. I don't think you can get a full size SUV for 30k new. Since gas prices have gone up, the used vehicle prices have really dropped. You can get a very nice tahoe, expedition,suburban for around 25k. <br /><br />The F150 is a wonderful truck, you can't go wrong there.

 

[BrianS.]

Re: best truck for 4 person family

The Tundra's are Rated at 7100#, have good milage and pretty roomy if you get the extended cab.

 

[J Macnab]

Re: best truck for 4 person family

what do you guys think about the toyota tundra and the lincoln blackwood?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: best truck for 4 person family

I thought you had a 30K limit?

 

[BrianS.]

Re: best truck for 4 person family

I love my Tundra personally.

 

[Silver/Fish]

Re: best truck for 4 person family

Friend of mine tows with a Tundra. I have a Tahoe...Both are nice, however for leg room you really can't beat a Tahoe etc. Has anyone tried to ride in the back seat of a Tundra or 4-runner??? Hope it's a short trip.

 

[BrianS.]

Re: best truck for 4 person family

Which Tundra are you referring to?<br /><br />The Double Access Cab has quite a bit of room and won't break the bank like a Tahoe.

 

[booger man]

Re: best truck for 4 person family

I've got a 2004 f150supercrew with the 24valve 5.4 and i love it pulls my boat great and i get 16mpg around town and 21 highway

 

[bruceb58]

Re: best truck for 4 person family

We have the identical truck, a 2004 F150 Screw with a 5.4L and a 3.73 rear end. Mileage driving 70MPH is 16MPG. In town is 13MPG. Have two other friends with same truck that get identical mileage.<br /><br />Great truck but horrible fuel economy.