Hey guys, been lurking for a few weeks reading horror stories and good stories. I'm in the market for a pickup truck to pull a tent trailer and haul my atv (2008 king quad 750axi) in the back. The trailer pulling I'm not worried about, any truck could do that. It's the atv in the back that would be a deal breaker. I would have to do it tailgate down since I'm looking at crew cab 5.5ft bed trucks.

Also, this would be my daily driver. I know no one buys a truck for mileage but I'm not at a point where I can afford to own a nice truck and a daily driver in addition to the wife's car. I've always been a Chevy guy but damn the price of used Silverado and Sierra is insane. F150 pricing is a bit more palatable. I'd be selling my hhr to get the truck and hope for at least half the mileage. How realistic is it to expect 15 mpg in rural country town driving? My commute is 5 miles each way, 4 trips per day (I come home for lunch) one stop light and one round about.

Now that the details are out of the way, I'm looking at 04-06 trucks, all seem to have 100k + miles in the 10-13k dollar range of my budget. Is 13k for a 04 screw lariat with 124k miles too much? Spark plugs replaced at 100k mile service with paperwork, flowmaster exhaust and new Tires.. Beautiful 4x4 truck with leather, was family hauler, original owners.

How would I tell what rear end gearing it has and what should I be looking for for mileage? If it had tall gears can it still pull a 2k pound tent trailer and atv through the mountains? I'd plan on installing aux. Transmission cooler like I do all my vehicles. Sorry for writing a book, let me know what you guys think.

P. S. My neighbor says the 5.4 sucks the gas compared to his Sierra with the 5.3. I'd need to get 15mpg in town with a light foot to shut him up.....

 

I was always a GM guy too, and just bought my first pickup and first Ford about a month ago... a 2005 4x4 Scab. One thing I'd suggest is you check out the Scab vs. the Screw. I think the bed is a little longer so maybe you could fit your ATV with gate up. I find that the Scab has plenty of space in the back seat for my purposes.

From what I've seen, 15mpg is probably a doable average. I don't think the 4.6 and 5.3 get that much different in mileage. Its the newer models with the eco engines that get better mileage.

As far as price goes, that seems to be the going rate around here too. I paid about $15K out the door for a 2005 with 88K miles XLT. Lariats are a bit more. Mine is super clean, not a nick or ding on it anywhere, and had custom 20" wheels, Nito tires, K&N CAI, level kit, toolbox, Alpine stereo, etc. I was happy with this deal. You may want to pay a little more and get your mileage down below 100K... I like to start there personally, but it depends on how much you will drive it.

 

I will be driving it daily but I only log 7k miles a year due to my short commute. Just came across an 05 xlt ext. Cab 4x4 with just over 100k for 12k. Might be worth a look first, spark plugs done at 75k miles. How do I know the rear end gearing, is there an rpo code I should be looking for?

 

That 05 Scab 4x4 sounds like a good deal if it has the 5.4. I paid $9300 for my 04 XLT Scab 4.6 2wd with 97k.

 

I paid 9k for my 05 scab 5.4 143k runs very well smooth

 

Sounds like its test drive time this weekend. Anyone know about the gearing and how I would go about checking what it has?

 

You can determine the gearing by the door sticker inside the drivers door. There's a lettered
code and if you search our forum here you can find the list to decode it.