Buying my first truck - please help!

[charwest]

Hi everyone,
I'm buying my first truck and will be using for combo of daily driving and (hopefully) mild/moderate off roading for camping trips etc. Still looking at Ranger vs Colorado vs Tacoma. Leaning towards Ranger at the moment. Anybody have any experience with the new ranger? pros/cons after owning for a bit? Any thoughts are highly appreciated.

So far, I'm thinking of a 2020 supercab with FX4, tow package, and 360 for $31k...is that a fair price?

Many thanks!

 

[19Walt93]

I spent my life working for a Ford dealer so I lean that way but I retired before the current Ranger was released. I have some general recommendations: Drive all 3 trucks in the specs you would buy and compare how they feel to you, if you like a vehicle you'll forgive minor flaws,if you don't like it you'll be unhappy. Is there anything about a truck that you didn't like at first glance? What kind of reputation does the dealer-sales and service- have? You'll want to be able to trust and depend on them during warranty and beyond. Take your time, if anyone tries to pressure you to make a quick decision,leave. Remember you're the customer and the one in charge.

 

[gaz]

cw;

I like simplicity, I like affordability but when it was time to buy a truck, the one I bought just looked the coolest.

My reccomendation is to buy a truck that is approximately 10 years old, here's why:

1) somebody else has already tested it, it works
2) insurance is way cheaper on anything 7 years or older.
3) there will probably be aftermarket stuff for it, even at the local flea market.

I have only heard 2 things about newer Rangers that appeal to me:

A) the new 4 cylinder gets over 30 mpg and makes more power than any old V6 that I own. My neighbor has one and it is a nice looking truck.
B) I keep seeing write ups that state what a great rig the 2011 Ranger is.

I hope you choose the Ranger

 

[Curious Hound]

Wow. I thought the new Rangers cost a lot more than 31k. They are beautiful trucks and very capable. The owner of TRS was loaned a 2019 Ranger from Ford. He (Jim) put a lot of miles on that truck in a wide variety of situations. I would encourage you to read his threads and watch the videos of his adventures with the "Loan Ranger". Also check out the other threads in this part of the forum.

2019-2023 Ford Ranger (4x4 & 2WD)

www.therangerstation.com

 

[sgtsandman]

I have a 2019 Ranger in the specification you are asking about. Over all I like the truck.

Negatives to me first. The bed walls are high and creates a bit of a blind spot to the rear. The small rear window doesn't help. It does come with a backup camera but if it's been raining or the road is wet, after spray from the truck rolls up and makes vision using it rather poor. I imagine any truck with a backup camera is going to experience the same issue.

The suspension is too bouncy in my opinion. Something that can be addressed in the future as after market parts become available. I think a stiffer set of shock absorbers will fix the issue. Perhaps a bigger anti sway bar for body roll.

In cab storage is wanting. I've managed to find a way to stash things inside but the storage under the rear seat is tiny. There is some storage behind the rear seat back but it is tight as well. That part may be just the nature of the beast. I haven't had a crew cab truck before to compare with.

Power, drive ability, comfort, and so are good, I think. The tires are wanting for any real off road driving but you'll have that with most any factory equipped tire on new vehicles. If you decide the new Ranger is right for you, I think you won't be disappointed over all.

As far as the other vehicles you mentioned, I have little experience with them. The Tacoma is an old design but has a good reliability and ability reputation. Some things are showing their age with the truck. On the Colorado/Canyon, I know next to nothing about the new truck. We have one of the original models at work and I'm not impressed with it. It was an Isuzu product rebranded for GM. I don't know if the new model is the same.

A good source to check is TFL Truck on youtube. They did a few comparison videos on all three together and separately that will help give you a general feel on the different models. In the end, you are probably going to need to drive them all and see which one you like best.

 

[bobbywalter]

i am with walt.....drive them all.


measure the sales pressure as well. and really look into the service.




its a great time to be buying a truck. and they are all really good.



overall i like the jeep best, the bed is low and user friendly...it looks stupid....but so do i...i just need it to work and i am not getting any younger...and i drive a 30 plus year old ranger so it handles like a Ferrari to me...but compared to the current ranger and colorado....its a volkswagon.

with 40 inch tires, its bed is still more usable then the ranger. so nothing is going to touch it for ultimate off road....but for normal people...the ford and gm seem on point to me.


i really like the colorado. dont like the toyota at all. but it is a great truck.


today. for the money. i would still buy the ranger.....but the jeep in a diesel under 45k...and i am out.

 

[HenryMac]

Hi everyone,
I'm buying my first truck and will be using for combo of daily driving and (hopefully) mild/moderate off roading for camping trips etc. Still looking at Ranger vs Colorado vs Tacoma. Leaning towards Ranger at the moment. Anybody have any experience with the new ranger? pros/cons after owning for a bit? Any thoughts are highly appreciated.

So far, I'm thinking of a 2020 supercab with FX4, tow package, and 360 for $31k...is that a fair price?

Many thanks!

I had been driving 2002 Tacoma Ext Cab we bought new. When we were in the market for a new truck last year we looked at Colorado's, Tacoma's and Rangers, all in SuperCab's..

The seating in the new Tacoma's is even more horrible than the previous Tacoma's. It's an outdated design similar to Chevy Luv trucks and Ford Couriers from back in the day where you nearly sit on the floor with your legs straight out.

The Colorado has a cheesy interior and you have to slam the rear SuperCab doors 3 times to get them to lock properly. The overall fit finish and quality just seemed to be lacking.

We drove all 3 and for us, the Ranger was the obvious choice. We love our Ranger.

Happy hunting!

 

[luis6RM]

My reccomendation is to buy a truck that is approximately 10 years old, here's why:

1) somebody else has already tested it, it works
2) insurance is way cheaper on anything 7 years or older.
3) there will probably be aftermarket stuff for it, even at the local flea market.

Those are key reasons, for sure. But the main question remains - would there still be a monster power after 10 working years? Anyway, I've got here a great online service ( here: https://www.general.com/articles/compare-car-insurance-quotes ), which can help with calculating insurance quotes and make your signing up papers works much easier. You should try it out.

 

[sgtsandman]

Monster power is a relative term depending on who you ask.

The 2.3 Ecoboost is perhaps the first factory equipped engine that subjective opinion might be applied to.

In past US Rangers, the power from the factory might be adequate but certainly not monster power.

 

[Tod]

I did quite a lot of reading last year when looking to buy a new mid-sized truck. My wife and I are retiring and planning to put a Go Fast Camper in the back of the truck then see our country in our post working years.
we decided on the Ranger in the same configuration you described. It had the best combination of payload and fuel economy. I really started to lean toward a diesel Colorado but it was just too much money. We paid about $31 K for our truck. The camper is still in production so haven’t had a chance to try it camping. I am planning on some suspension modifications but will dial them in after getting our fully loaded weight driving experience.
good luck

 

[HenryMac]

I did quite a lot of reading last year when looking to buy a new mid-sized truck. My wife and I are retiring and planning to put a Go Fast Camper in the back of the truck then see our country in our post working years.
we decided on the Ranger in the same configuration you described. It had the best combination of payload and fuel economy. I really started to lean toward a diesel Colorado but it was just too much money. We paid about $31 K for our truck. The camper is still in production so haven’t had a chance to try it camping. I am planning on some suspension modifications but will dial them in after getting our fully loaded weight driving experience.
good luck

Ranger is the only truck I am aware of where the manual specifically recommends against a slide in camper... see page 15 of your owners manual.

Additionally the bed sides are so tall that most slide in campers need to have lumber added under the camper in order to properly support the camper.

What camper are you looking to install that is made for the Ranger?

 

[91stranger]

Those go fast campers aren't like the giant campers that you see on the old fords, they went away with the dinosaurs... They are more like an adventure/uplander type camper from what I can tell which should be fine for the new ranger. I think Jim had something like that on his.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Those go fast campers aren't like the giant campers that you see on the old fords, they went away with the dinosaurs... They are more like an adventure/uplander type camper from what I can tell which should be fine for the new ranger. I think Jim had something like that on his.

Jim had a roof top tent mounted on a bed rack.

Can you post a pic of the thing about no slide ins in the new Ranger in the manual? Kind of curious since modern slide ins are much lighter than they used to be (and still pretty popular yet)

According to page 131 of my '85's owners manual slide ins are GTG if the truck is set up for it.

 

[HenryMac]

Can you post a pic of the thing about no slide ins in the new Ranger in the manual?

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

View attachment 42400

They don't beat around the bush much do they?

Weird, for the payload rating on a newer ones I figured it was a balance thing with the Supercrews and their dinky bed.