Tow Vehicle/Pickup truck HELP

[LSV04]

Hey Guys,
Im going to need a new truck. Going to give my SUV to my wife and want a pickup. I drive about 80 miles a day but only tow boat about 1 mile a season,in and out of the lake, or to clean boat up mid season,so I wouldnt be towing long distance.
Does anyone have any expierience with any of these 3 trucks? Ive looked at the Tacoma,GMC Sierra and Nissan Frontier.(all 2 door small models) All are about same price. Reviews on the Tacoma are not great. The Sierra looks ok, ok reliabilty on low milage ,I dont know about long distance. And Frontier looks great, a little bigger, comfortable and about the same price as Sierra. Nissan has a reliable reputation. The Frontier is a bigger truck, so will be more difficult to park in city. Do you get better gas milage with 2 wheel drive instead of 4WD? I also dont mind buying a demo or 2010 truck, and seems like as the year is closing , its a good time to negotiate any left over 2010"s. So I guess its between the Frontier and the Sierra.
Frontier 2010 $18,999 Has a rebate $800 and seem anxious to sell truck
Sierra 2011 $18,999 Have not negotiated yet
Tacoma 2011 $21,000 Firm on Price

Any help appreciated

[zegm]

I think either one would be a good purchase. My comment here is that 4 wheel drive will cause your mileage to decrease a couple miles per gallon. However, on the flip side the resale value on 4 wheel drives is always a good bit more. I have had both 4 wheel drive and 2 wheel drive (with positive traction rear axles) and sometimes the 2 wheel drive is a little more difficult to get a boat up the ramp. But it has never prevented me from doing so. Sometimes you leave the boat running with someone at the throttle to give the truck a push to get her going, which I have had to do with my 25ft fishing boat. But if you get 2 WD you really should get the positive traction rear end or what ever the manufacturer is calling it. But our ramps here are not steep if your ramps are steep then you might want to look at 4WD.

[lewisb13]

I had a situation the other day where I NEEDED 4WD. The water is really low right now and when backing in the trailer to pick the boat up, the trailer fell off the end of the slab of concrete. My buddy tried to pull the trailer back up onto the concrete to no avail. Needed 4wd. I come from Detroit and we dont buy vehicles where ANY of the engineering is done in a foreign country.

[zegm]

I had a situation the other day where I NEEDED 4WD. The water is really low right now and when backing in the trailer to pick the boat up, the trailer fell off the end of the slab of concrete. My buddy tried to pull the trailer back up onto the concrete to no avail. Needed 4wd. I come from Detroit and we dont buy vehicles where ANY of the engineering is done in a foreign country.

Lewisb13,
I have been an automotive engineer for over 15 years. Been to Detroit a zillion times. Hate to burst your bubble but many of the parts on domestic vehicle are designed in a foreign country. I worked in Atlanta at a company called IWKA where we had 40% of the exhaust hose and decoupler market. IWKA stands for Industrial Works Karlsrule which is a German company. Mahle makes pistion for all three of the big three. Another German Company with factories in the USA. Bosch makes the brake calibers for the Ford 150 (bought the Allied Signal Bendix Plants) and many other applications. Again another German company. You would be surprised to find out the probably less than 50% of the parts suppliers are American owned. Most of what the American auto industry does is Assemble the parts, they don't make any of them. Or very little if they do. Now these same suppliers are supplying the Japanese vehicles made here in the US too!
But I would get the Sierra!

[lewisb13]

Lewisb13,
I have been an automotive engineer for over 15 years. Been to Detroit a zillion times. Hate to burst your bubble but many of the parts on domestic vehicle are designed in a foreign country. I worked in Atlanta at a company called IWKA where we had 40% of the exhaust hose and decoupler market. IWKA stands for Industrial Works Karlsrule which is a German company. Mahle makes pistion for all three of the big three. Another German Company with factories in the USA. Bosch makes the brake calibers for the Ford 150 (bought the Allied Signal Bendix Plants) and many other applications. Again another German company. You would be surprised to find out the probably less than 50% of the parts suppliers are American owned. Most of what the American auto industry does is Assemble the parts, they don't make any of them. Or very little if they do. Now these same suppliers are supplying the Japanese vehicles made here in the US too!
But I would get the Sierra!

I guess I should have clarified. We dont buy vehicles where any of the clay modeling, bare bones powertrain design, wind tunnel, engine dyno, etc, is done over seas.

[zegm]

I guess I should have clarified. We dont buy vehicles where any of the clay modeling, bare bones powertrain design, wind tunnel, engine dyno, etc, is done over seas.

I am bad, I won't buy from across the Pacific but I have bought from across the Atlantic for years. I have had 4 Chevy/GMC trucks without any problems althought the last Chevy Silverado 1500 2WD, the transmission started to whine while towing with 125k on the vehicle.
My wife's last 2 vehicles were made in Mexico, the Chevy Avalanche and the Volkswagon Jetta TDI. One American, one German both assembled in Mexico.

I must say I LOVE my VW Touareg but even it isn't made in Germany. It is assembled in Solvakia with a German Engine and a Japanese made transmission. It is a Global World now, with Volkswagon about to open their new plant in Chattanooga Tennesee. They might even produce their new Pickup truck there, which is currently made in Brazil. A small truck with a diesel and if they bring it here I might have to get one of them.

[wolfeman131]

I agree with the above that you'll get better gas mileage from a 2WD, and better resale from a 4WD. Most importantly, I agree that at sometime, you're going to need 4WD with the boat due to ramp conditions. A friend suggested that I get 4WD and stated it pretty simple, "When you find yourself needing 4WD and don't have 4WD, you might end up costing yourself a WHOLE lot more in the end." I rarely use it, but love having the peace of mind.

[Hoopskier]

Hey Guys,
Im going to need a new truck. Going to give my SUV to my wife and want a pickup. I drive about 80 miles a day but only tow boat about 1 mile a season,in and out of the lake, or to clean boat up mid season,so I wouldnt be towing long distance.
Does anyone have any expierience with any of these 3 trucks? Ive looked at the Tacoma,GMC Sierra and Nissan Frontier.(all 2 door small models) All are about same price. Reviews on the Tacoma are not great. The Sierra looks ok, ok reliabilty on low milage ,I dont know about long distance. And Frontier looks great, a little bigger, comfortable and about the same price as Sierra. Nissan has a reliable reputation. The Frontier is a bigger truck, so will be more difficult to park in city. Do you get better gas milage with 2 wheel drive instead of 4WD? I also dont mind buying a demo or 2010 truck, and seems like as the year is closing , its a good time to negotiate any left over 2010"s. So I guess its between the Frontier and the Sierra.
Frontier 2010 $18,999 Has a rebate $800 and seem anxious to sell truck
Sierra 2011 $18,999 Have not negotiated yet
Tacoma 2011 $21,000 Firm on Price

Any help appreciated

My vote for boat pulling, would be the Serria. To pull my OB I have the choice of my Ford Explorer (V6 4WD) or the wifes GMC Serria (V8 4WD). V6 vs V8, Mid size vs Full size. The Serria gets it done better. Both get similar MPG. My dad has a 02 Toyota Tacoma, nice truck, 4wd, similar MPG as the others, but just the towing aspect, still the V8 Serria.

Since your are more or less picking a daily driver, go with your preferences, styling, comfort, MPG, budget. As long as the vehicle you choose has the ability to tow your boat (safely). I am in similar sitution, long work commutes, short tows with the boat. I use the Explorer.