Which Pick up truck for farm?

[99Chimaera]

renmure said:

I had a HiLux for about 6 years. Don't recall anything ever going wrong with it. It always felt a bit "agricultural" but it had an easy life with me and never did any hard work other than going to Tesco so it was an ok place to be. I actually sold it to a local farmer about 6 years ago and still see it hauling stuff and lugging things around. It looks a bit battered but I believe mechanically it's still going strong. It always did feel fairly indestructible.

My current DMax is a fine truck and again has a very easy life going to Tesco. Nothing has gone wrong with it either and, if anything, it probably feels a bit more refined but it doesn't quite feel as indestructible.

These two are my favourites, very interested to hear your thoughts thank you. I need to try them out and go from there.

Many thanks for your help.

[99Chimaera]

robinh73 said:

I have had 3 pick ups for the business, changing one for the next. I started with a 2010 Hilux 3.0 Invincible. Superb truck and I should have kept it. Next was a 2016 Nissan Navara which was absolutely brilliant. The engine was superb, auto gearbox and zero issues or costs apart from routine servicing. Regularly towed about 2-3 tons and it didn't miss a beat. I needed to change from a twin cab pick up as I needed a tipper conversion so got a 2019 Hilux. What a disappointment. Underpowered, badly built, would struggle to recommend one. May be different if you went for a 2.8 Invincible spec but the 2.4 workhorse version I have is not great. Don't think that a new Hilux is bomb proof, the old ones were but the new ones aren't.

Sorry to hear that you're having problems with your current truck, I have heard that the earlier ones were better. Very interested to hear about the Navara, haven't really considered them, but I was speaking to some recently, who runs one and he was full of praise.

[99Chimaera]

The jiffle king said:

Depends how much farm you have. Cannot disagree with comments so far but on our small farm we have a ranger which also does family duties as well .

We are on heavy clay and very flat so we use a tractor for anything very heavy in mud. Our ranger (wildtrak) has jump started the tractor, pulled a small much spreader, dragged a few things around and us used to chuck things in the back when a tractor is doing something else. It's even towed a small flail mower and has a socket in the back which we use to good effect at times to charge tools as well as the odd plug in tool out in the fields

We also use it for pallets of slabs, trips to the tip as well as family business of holidays and weekends away.

Not saying it's better than the others. but its sufficient for what we need and good for the family

Thanks for your message. We have 300 acres of mostly marshy grassland with some arable. I would be using the truck for fencing jobs, mowers, strimners etc, towing trailers, collecting naterials and ferrying family about. I do like the look of the ranger especially the wildtrak and there are loads about. I'm just concerned about the reliability, I read a lot of very mixed reviews.
Thank you for your help, much appreciated.

[robinh73]

99Chimaera said:

Sorry to hear that you're having problems with your current truck, I have heard that the earlier ones were better. Very interested to hear about the Navara, haven't really considered them, but I was speaking to some recently, who runs one and he was full of praise.

I wish I had bought the Nissan Navara Extra Cab rather than the Hilux. The extra 45 or so horse power would have been extremely handy, plus it is a nicer drive. The Hilux isn't all bad and when looking for the Hilux I looked at Isuzu too, but there were some shocking MOT history results on 4 year old 30k mile Isuzus from main dealers. The Hilux in comparison did seem to have fewer issues when looking at MOT history results. However, I could not recommend the Nissan higher. The chassis issues were with the 2010ish models, but the newer ones had this resolved. Good luck and when looking use the DVLA MOT history check to get an idea of the condition, if you are looking at a used truck.

[james6546]

My cousins 2017 hilux snapped its cam chain a few weeks ago. It had done 240k miles though (all by him), but I’m still not sure I’d be impressed.

He has bought another brand new one I think, so that says quite a lot.

[Snow and Rocks]

Our 2016 mk8 Hilux has done just over 125k and has been completely reliable. It's needed oil changes, one set of tyres, one set of wipers, one set of front brake pads and a headlight bulb. Easily the cheapest thing I've ever run despite the low thirties mpg.

It's the base Active spec but has everything you need - AC and cruise etc but without any unnecessary crap. Comfortable enough to do Amsterdam to Aberdeenshire stopping only for fuel, great off road and happily plods around with a 3.5T trailer on the back. About the only negatives I can think of are the weedy sounding stereo and the jiggly low speed unladen ride.

[Boringcarowner]

I’ve had Nissan Navara and currently have a Isuzu D Max. The Nissan has coil sprung suspension which gives a very good ride for a pickup and the engine pulls well. The Isuzu has the usual bouncy pickup ride and the engine feels under powered.

[Silvanus]

We have a couple of basic Hiluxs at work and they are dependable work horses, although not quite as solid as expected, reliable though. I think it will be Izuzu next as they seem to be better value and get excellent reviews from people who use them day in day out. Loads of forestry, farmers and agents I work with using them. However, I know a few guys that have swapped from Mitsubishi's over to KGM (Ssangyong) Mussos, a lot of truck for the money.

[fttm canada]

I drive an F150 Supercab and can't fault it however I rarely use it on the ranch , have a '95 Tacoma for those duties with 497000kms as a workhorse which refuses to die . For your needs a Hilux is the obvious choice

[99Chimaera]

Snow and Rocks said:

Our 2016 mk8 Hilux has done just over 125k and has been completely reliable. It's needed oil changes, one set of tyres, one set of wipers, one set of front brake pads and a headlight bulb. Easily the cheapest thing I've ever run despite the low thirties mpg.

It's the base Active spec but has everything you need - AC and cruise etc but without any unnecessary crap. Comfortable enough to do Amsterdam to Aberdeenshire stopping only for fuel, great off road and happily plods around with a 3.5T trailer on the back. About the only negatives I can think of are the weedy sounding stereo and the jiggly low speed unladen ride.

Thank you very much. Looks like a nice truck, it's impressive what you get with the active spec, everything I would really need. I would prefer to have a parking camera, I have been looking at the icon spec which has the camera as standard but there isn't as many of them. Perhaps I could get a camera fitted on an Active spec truck.
Thanks for your input, much appreciated. 🙂

[99Chimaera]

[quote=Boringcarowner]I’ve had Nissan Navara and currently have a Isuzu D Max. The Nissan has coil sprung suspension which gives a very good ride for a pickup and the engine pulls well. The Isuzu has the usual bouncy pickup ride and the engine feels under powered. [/quote
Thank you. Which one did you prefer? One of my concerns about the isuzu is the smaller engine. I looked at a Navara yesterday and was impressed with it need to test drive one along with a isuzu and toyota and compare. 🙂

[sam.rog]

My partners farther who is a farmer has a….. Izuzu dmax.
Cheaper to buy than a hilux. He buys them at 5 years old and then abuses them until it’s broken. Rinse and repeat. The Dmax has lasted the longest.

[Boringcarowner]

[quote=Thank you. Which one did you prefer? One of my concerns about the isuzu is the smaller engine. I looked at a Navara yesterday and was impressed with it need to test drive one along with a isuzu and toyota and compare. ??
[/quote]

Navara was a 17 plate, D-Max is a 23 plate. Currently I would choose the Navara.

[99Chimaera]

james6546 said:

My cousins 2017 hilux snapped its cam chain a few weeks ago. It had done 240k miles though (all by him), but I’m still not sure I’d be impressed.

He has bought another brand new one I think, so that says quite a lot.

That's good going, I think the engines should last till 300k I'm told. Thank you for your help another vote for the hilux. The shortlist is getting shorter.🙂

[99Chimaera]

robinh73 said:

I wish I had bought the Nissan Navara Extra Cab rather than the Hilux. The extra 45 or so horse power would have been extremely handy, plus it is a nicer drive. The Hilux isn't all bad and when looking for the Hilux I looked at Isuzu too, but there were some shocking MOT history results on 4 year old 30k mile Isuzus from main dealers. The Hilux in comparison did seem to have fewer issues when looking at MOT history results. However, I could not recommend the Nissan higher. The chassis issues were with the 2010ish models, but the newer ones had this resolved. Good luck and when looking use the DVLA MOT history check to get an idea of the condition, if you are looking at a used truck.

Thank you very much. Will do🙂

[99Chimaera]

fttm canada said:

I drive an F150 Supercab and can't fault it however I rarely use it on the ranch , have a '95 Tacoma for those duties with 497000kms as a workhorse which refuses to die . For your needs a Hilux is the obvious choice

That sounds good, I love the US trucks, they look much cooler than the ones we get here in UK. What is the difference between a Tacoma and a Hilux?

Many thanks for your feedback. 🙂

[99Chimaera]

sam.rog said:

My partners farther who is a farmer has a….. Izuzu dmax.
Cheaper to buy than a hilux. He buys them at 5 years old and then abuses them until it’s broken. Rinse and repeat. The Dmax has lasted the longest.

Thanks that's good to know, I'll definitely try one. Thank you for your help.

[99Chimaera]

Boringcarowner said:

Navara was a 17 plate, D-Max is a 23 plate. Currently I would choose the Navara.

Oh really, that's interesting to know thank you. One of our local contractors has a 19 plate Navara after a ford ranger and he is very pleased with it.

[99Chimaera]

Silvanus said:

We have a couple of basic Hiluxs at work and they are dependable work horses, although not quite as solid as expected, reliable though. I think it will be Izuzu next as they seem to be better value and get excellent reviews from people who use them day in day out. Loads of forestry, farmers and agents I work with using them. However, I know a few guys that have swapped from Mitsubishi's over to KGM (Ssangyong) Mussos, a lot of truck for the money.

Yes I've noticed SSE using using them, there is a depot nearby and they are everywhere. Hiluxes not so much.
Thank you very much for your help.🙂

[Mammasaid]

Don't dismiss the L200, especially in Series 5 form, we've had 3 and apart from 1 belt tensioner, been utterly reliable. Post 2019 they can tow 3.5T (3.1T earlier) and they can also run in 4wd on the road, unless any of the others mentioned. BTW, most modern Rangers and Hiluxes are over 2040 kg unladen, so are subject to van speed limits (50mph on Single Carriageways, 60pmh on Dual Carriageways).