Living with a Crew Cab Truck as a Daily?
Discussion
Had a Mitsi L200 KB40 on a 06 plate. Tax loophole for that year £140 tax, rest of them are £300+ or something.
Only the L200 and Isuzu DMax can be driven in 4wd on tarmac without winding up the diffs. Choose carefully, and if youre in rwd watch out for greasy corners cos they swap ends very easily as very light on the back..
The L200 fits into the car limits, grey area, but i dont know of anyone who has been pulled in other pickups anyway.
Fuel economy was 30mpg no matter how you drive it.
drive MUCH better with a load - they are not designed to run empty comfortably -couple of bags of gravel and a heavy canopy made the world of difference.
there is nowhere to store stuff out of sight. (locking a laptoop in your boot of a passat - cant do it in the truck)
canopies can be waterproofed 99%, but the door/tailgate area always leaks.
Very unsecure as locks are just cabinet locks. I left mine unlocked as if someone wanted in i may as well not have to repair damage. But i never actually had a problem in 4 yrs.
on road they are about as refined as a 1980s ford sierra. noting actually wrong with it, just the world has moved on a lot since they were "normal". If you can put up with it they are fine.
All seats in the 200 are wooden and uncomfy, but the fronts can be swapped with newer ones for better comfort. rear is just flat. Not quite upright back, but its not for long journeys unless you have to.
Reliability wise mine was 10yrs old when i got it, heavily modded by "someone else" and no history...so not a fair comparison... but the "usual problems" all happened to me! I suspect they happen to everyone sooner or later.
The load bed is massive, but also always seemed to be too small for anything! 4 bikes were a challenge, 8x4 sheets no good, 8ft timbers no good... The L200 isnt actually that big... like an XTrail it looks much larger and you expect it to be a chunky off roader, but in reality its small inside and out. Can be parked easily enough.
Off road it was unstoppable, and the club was great. been in lots of car clubs this was really supportive with few twits.
I swapped for a Passat Tdi estate. which is objectively better, but subjectively so dull. I miss the truck but not the costs. I wouldnt rule out getting another truck one day if the right one popped up, but i think id go for a crew van (never had one and i think they may be a better option)...
Only the L200 and Isuzu DMax can be driven in 4wd on tarmac without winding up the diffs. Choose carefully, and if youre in rwd watch out for greasy corners cos they swap ends very easily as very light on the back..
The L200 fits into the car limits, grey area, but i dont know of anyone who has been pulled in other pickups anyway.
Fuel economy was 30mpg no matter how you drive it.
drive MUCH better with a load - they are not designed to run empty comfortably -couple of bags of gravel and a heavy canopy made the world of difference.
there is nowhere to store stuff out of sight. (locking a laptoop in your boot of a passat - cant do it in the truck)
canopies can be waterproofed 99%, but the door/tailgate area always leaks.
Very unsecure as locks are just cabinet locks. I left mine unlocked as if someone wanted in i may as well not have to repair damage. But i never actually had a problem in 4 yrs.
on road they are about as refined as a 1980s ford sierra. noting actually wrong with it, just the world has moved on a lot since they were "normal". If you can put up with it they are fine.
All seats in the 200 are wooden and uncomfy, but the fronts can be swapped with newer ones for better comfort. rear is just flat. Not quite upright back, but its not for long journeys unless you have to.
Reliability wise mine was 10yrs old when i got it, heavily modded by "someone else" and no history...so not a fair comparison... but the "usual problems" all happened to me! I suspect they happen to everyone sooner or later.
The load bed is massive, but also always seemed to be too small for anything! 4 bikes were a challenge, 8x4 sheets no good, 8ft timbers no good... The L200 isnt actually that big... like an XTrail it looks much larger and you expect it to be a chunky off roader, but in reality its small inside and out. Can be parked easily enough.
Off road it was unstoppable, and the club was great. been in lots of car clubs this was really supportive with few twits.
I swapped for a Passat Tdi estate. which is objectively better, but subjectively so dull. I miss the truck but not the costs. I wouldnt rule out getting another truck one day if the right one popped up, but i think id go for a crew van (never had one and i think they may be a better option)...
Macron said:
S100HP said:
Why are they so popular in America if they're that bad? I've wanted on for quite a while but this tread really doesn't help....
You’re really asking that when fuel costs f
k all there and they have many acres which cost fk all too?ksville, population 100, you need to travel to buy basics as many firms won't deliver to you. So you need to haul everything from multipacks of food, timber, 99" TVs, water tanks home yourself. Many of them outside of cities have outdoors lifestyle - hunting, shooting, quadbiking etc. A crew cab will also be 4WD for winter weatherI had a navara double cab, and loved it. Put a good quality top on it and it had acres of transport space.
Seats were fine, never noticed any issues with the ride, but then I wasn't racing it through country lanes, and it would happily cruise on the motorway.
Never had a problem with parking either.
Only got rid because swmbo wanted a mach e mustang. I preferred the navara
Seats were fine, never noticed any issues with the ride, but then I wasn't racing it through country lanes, and it would happily cruise on the motorway.
Never had a problem with parking either.
Only got rid because swmbo wanted a mach e mustang. I preferred the navara
egor110 said:
Thing is sometimes there useful .
We sell tractor/farming equipment and monday we had to take a 2 massive boxes of plough spares to a farm , with the pickup we could just fork lift it onto the bed push it forwards a bit and off we go rather than ass around towing a trailer .
Anything smaller though and they'd be straight in the boot of the car.
This sums up my opinion. I'm farming - and agricultural contracting - and have a Hilux which does get proper pickup use. Most of the time it's towing a loaded trailer, and it's in 4x4 (and low box) most days it's used. It's perfect for that sort of stuff. If it's not pulling a trailer it needs some weight (ideally about 250kg) in the back to ride half-comfortably. This might be because it's got old-school leaf springs at the back.We sell tractor/farming equipment and monday we had to take a 2 massive boxes of plough spares to a farm , with the pickup we could just fork lift it onto the bed push it forwards a bit and off we go rather than ass around towing a trailer .
Anything smaller though and they'd be straight in the boot of the car.
I would never have a pickup as my only or daily vehicle. They're ungainly, difficult to park (especially in UK supermarket car parks). Painted parking bays are usually too short (or right on the limit) and in places where you park nose-on to the pavement, you have your arse end sticking out in the road.
It depends on your definition of 'daily'. I daily my Hilux, however, for me that means no commuting and rarely venturing into a town or car park. I really like it, and it has been very useful for us. I recently did an 11 hour round trip in it and felt fine afterwards. It is no Range Rover, but it is still a capable all-weather, all-rounder.
However... I was being a little selfish. The kids did not enjoy the ride and comfort in the back seats. Unless loaded it is very stiffly sprung and uncomfortably bouncy. The second row seats don't recline and there isn't a huge amount of legroom, even for pre-teens.
TL;DR - After 6 years and 2 Hiluxes, I'm changing to a Land Cruiser. More for my passenger comfort than any personal desire to change.
However... I was being a little selfish. The kids did not enjoy the ride and comfort in the back seats. Unless loaded it is very stiffly sprung and uncomfortably bouncy. The second row seats don't recline and there isn't a huge amount of legroom, even for pre-teens.
TL;DR - After 6 years and 2 Hiluxes, I'm changing to a Land Cruiser. More for my passenger comfort than any personal desire to change.
vikingaero said:
Macron said:
S100HP said:
Why are they so popular in America if they're that bad? I've wanted on for quite a while but this tread really doesn't help....
You’re really asking that when fuel costs fk all there and they have many acres which cost fk all too?ksville, population 100, you need to travel to buy basics as many firms won't deliver to you. So you need to haul everything from multipacks of food, timber, 99" TVs, water tanks home yourself. Many of them outside of cities have outdoors lifestyle - hunting, shooting, quadbiking etc. A crew cab will also be 4WD for winter weatherTheres also the fact their roads are straighter / wider than ours, piloting a pickup in RWD with leaf springs down a damp UK b road isn't the most fun.
The only pickup I'd have again or as my only car is a Defender 110 or 130, I did close to 30k in 28 months daily driving my 110 TD5 Double Cab, if your doing a lot of motorway miles it's not ideal but the later Pumas are a bit better for that.
S100HP said:
Why are they so popular in America if they're that bad? I've wanted on for quite a while but this tread really doesn't help....
My Brother in Law won't have anything else! He lives in Texas, has only had trucks for the last 24 years. His current one is very nice, an F-150 Raptor with all the livery removed so a bit more discreet although he is already looking at the new EV version to replace it in the next couple of years. I also have a friend in South Africa who has one of the new Ranger's and he uses that as a daily - in fact, as in the USA, crew cab pick-ups are very common there. The new Raptor's are very quick too and handle pretty well.
They are popular because they are very versatile and not nearly as bad as some here make them out to be. I had an Isuzu KB 4X4 in SA and I used that as a daily no problem in the 90's!
vikingaero said:
Macron said:
S100HP said:
Why are they so popular in America if they're that bad? I've wanted on for quite a while but this tread really doesn't help....
You’re really asking that when fuel costs fk all there and they have many acres which cost fk all too?ksville, population 100, you need to travel to buy basics as many firms won't deliver to you. So you need to haul everything from multipacks of food, timber, 99" TVs, water tanks home yourself. Many of them outside of cities have outdoors lifestyle - hunting, shooting, quadbiking etc. A crew cab will also be 4WD for winter weather
Good responses, many thanks to all.
For clarification, it is a crew cab/dual cab, and it is a specific vehicle I've been offered, wasn't particularly looking for one previously. My passat is a saloon which isn't ideal, but I needed a car in summer 2020 when I finished a job with a company and there was virtually nothing available. I've bought roof bars now, but still deliberating on whether to fork out more money for bike carriers and the £600
for a towbar.
As for the definition of 'daily' I work from home, so it's mostly the school run and family weekends away, but I do have to jump in the car and do 120 miles into the office off the bat in grim traffic/weather conditions and at times when I would rather be in bed, so having a comfortable and relaxing drive is quite important to me.
On reflection it's looking like I should stick with the passat and invest some cash in a towbar and small trailer.
For clarification, it is a crew cab/dual cab, and it is a specific vehicle I've been offered, wasn't particularly looking for one previously. My passat is a saloon which isn't ideal, but I needed a car in summer 2020 when I finished a job with a company and there was virtually nothing available. I've bought roof bars now, but still deliberating on whether to fork out more money for bike carriers and the £600
for a towbar. As for the definition of 'daily' I work from home, so it's mostly the school run and family weekends away, but I do have to jump in the car and do 120 miles into the office off the bat in grim traffic/weather conditions and at times when I would rather be in bed, so having a comfortable and relaxing drive is quite important to me.
On reflection it's looking like I should stick with the passat and invest some cash in a towbar and small trailer.
Figured it was about time I updated this. Took the plunge and been running the Ranger daily for 6 months now and done about 5k miles in it.
The suspension is a bit agricultural but nowhere near as bad as some people made out. The extra space is brilliant, although annoyingly I've not had much cause to use it properly. I'm still hoping for some proper snow so I can make use of the M+S tyres and diff lock
I've used it for day trips to London, UK holidays etc., sometimes with 5 people on board and been more than comfortable. Rear camera is a bit of a necessity as it's very difficult to see out of the back through the canopy.
Fuel economy is abysmal, probably worse that I expected given the 10 speed box, but it's ULEZ exempt unlike my previous Passat. Otherwise, most of the time you totally forget you're not driving a car. Parking is occasionally an issue being nearly 5.5m long but you get used it and park accordingly. My kids love it and my youngest is disappointed when he's not going in the truck too school.
The biggest downside is that it really doesn't like short journeys, the DPF gets very upset without 1 or 2 runs a week up the motorway, but again I've learnt to use it accordingly.
The suspension is a bit agricultural but nowhere near as bad as some people made out. The extra space is brilliant, although annoyingly I've not had much cause to use it properly. I'm still hoping for some proper snow so I can make use of the M+S tyres and diff lock
I've used it for day trips to London, UK holidays etc., sometimes with 5 people on board and been more than comfortable. Rear camera is a bit of a necessity as it's very difficult to see out of the back through the canopy.
Fuel economy is abysmal, probably worse that I expected given the 10 speed box, but it's ULEZ exempt unlike my previous Passat. Otherwise, most of the time you totally forget you're not driving a car. Parking is occasionally an issue being nearly 5.5m long but you get used it and park accordingly. My kids love it and my youngest is disappointed when he's not going in the truck too school.
The biggest downside is that it really doesn't like short journeys, the DPF gets very upset without 1 or 2 runs a week up the motorway, but again I've learnt to use it accordingly.
I had an old school single cab Hilux as my only car for years - I loved it.
Yes it was relatively slow but you just drive them in a more relaxed way - it's actually quite nice in a way. It's not a fast car so dont drive it like one, and you will be fine.
You would have to be unlucky to get a ticket for driving at the car limits.
It was so useful for many thing - tip runs (speak to the tip, I had a sticker proving it was my personal car back then and I could go as if it was a normal car), cycling - just lay the bike in the back, camping or other sports - miles of storage etc. It was very handy for DIY and moving house too.
Also very very reliable and held its money nicely.
Yes it was relatively slow but you just drive them in a more relaxed way - it's actually quite nice in a way. It's not a fast car so dont drive it like one, and you will be fine.
You would have to be unlucky to get a ticket for driving at the car limits.
It was so useful for many thing - tip runs (speak to the tip, I had a sticker proving it was my personal car back then and I could go as if it was a normal car), cycling - just lay the bike in the back, camping or other sports - miles of storage etc. It was very handy for DIY and moving house too.
Also very very reliable and held its money nicely.
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