Pick-em-up truck question

[Hawkmoon]

My weekend warrior is an '87 Jeep Comanche. For those who didn't even know that Jeep was making pickups in 1987, the Comanche was the pickup version of the small Cherokee. And they're somewhat rare, so I'm leaning toward fixing mine up before it gets any worse.

But I need a pickup for various tasks and chores, and I want 4WD for winter. (Despite the Algore's theories, we do still get snow, sleet, and ice in the Winter.) No more Jeeps available, so I have to look elsewhere. All the full-size trucks now seem to have beds you need a step ladder to even see into, and I'm NOT interested in that.

Took a look under a few Ford F-250s and F-350s in the supermarket lot yesterday, and it appears they sit that high in the back thanks to massixe blocks between the axle and the spring. That's good -- I've put blocks into vehicles, I can certainly take them out, or reduce the height of the stack. But ...

The front is coil sprung. How hard is it to lower the front of an F-250 or F-350 (or even an F-150, if that's available in 4WD) to a "normal" person-friendly altitude? Is it as simple as replacing the coils with 2WD coils?

[Nick1911]

Don't hold me to this; but a gear head friend of mine once noted that on 4wd trucks, they are set that far off the ground so there's room for the front axle.

[charby]

It will be expensive to lower a newer truck. Its is more than a spring swap in the front.

The Nissan Frontiers do not stand as tall as the Dodge and Ford trucks. Do you really need a 3/4 ton truck when you are upgrading from a 1/4 ton truck?

[Kingcreek]

I drive an F250 super duty 4x4 but I hunted with a guy that had a small Toyota with the differential lock 4wd system that impressed the hell out of me. I can't remember but it might have been TRS or TRO or sumpthin. I've had several jeeps and I couldn't believe some of the stuff we went thru with that Toyota.

[AZRedhawk44]

I drive an F250 super duty 4x4 but I hunted with a guy that had a small Toyota with the differential lock 4wd system that impressed the hell out of me. I can't remember but it might have been TRS or TRO or sumpthin. I've had several jeeps and I couldn't believe some of the stuff we went thru with that Toyota.

TRD?  Toyota Racing Designs?  I think I've seen that model designation around here a few times.


ETA:

http://www.toyotaracing.com/trd/

Toyota Racing Development

[zxcvbob]

[Tallpine]

What do you mean the new pickups are too high?  Lots of folks are spending big money just to lift them 



My 1989 K1500 isn't all that terrrible tall     There are a lot of 1988 through 1999 Chevy/GMC pickups out so it shouldn't be too hard to find a decent one for $3-5K.

[zxcvbob]

Seriously though, get a 1/2 ton truck instead of a 3/4, and put lower profile tires on it (like LT225/75R16D or P235/70R16-XL)  Half-ton will drop it a couple of inches, and the tires another inch or more.

[Brad Johnson]

Why worry about lowering?  Factory step rails are available on most everything, and the Ford tailgate step is teh bahm.  Leave it the way it is and enjoy the extra ground clearance.

Brad

[charby]

Seriously though, get a 1/2 ton truck instead of a 3/4, and put lower profile tires on it (like LT225/75R16D or P235/70R16-XL)  Half-ton will drop it a couple of inches, and the tires another inch or more.

Doesn't that defeat the purpose of having a 4x4?

[brimic]

Doesn't that defeat the purpose of having a 4x4?

Sure, if your purpose for owning a 4x4 is mud bog racing.
I remember riding home one day during a huge snowstorm in a friend's WRX- we passed at least a 1/2 dozen 'hillbilly caddilacs' that were buried or on their side in the ditches.

like LT225/75R16D or P235/70R16-XL

Those are about the size on my TB. We haven't had a snowstorm in the last 10 years that has been intense enough yet to make that vehicle inadequate.

[zxcvbob]

I don't know, how much ground clearance do you need?

I have a half-ton 2WD with tall skinny tires and do OK in deep snow on pavement but not great -- but clearance is not the problem, 2WD is.  (a bunch of weight in the back helps with that)  With fat tires, I used to get stuck all the time even with the ballast.

[charby]

I remember riding home one day during a huge snowstorm in a friend's WRX- we passed at least a 1/2 dozen 'hillbilly caddilacs' that were buried or on their side in the ditches.

Just because someone has a lifted baby monster truck doesn't mean that they know how to drive one.

Also I think the bed sides are taller on newer style pick ups then in the past, ground clearance seems to be pretty similar on 4x4 1/2 tons pickups from 20 years ago and new ones.

Mud bogging? My 2002 4x4 Nissan Frontier with factory sized tires only has 7.7" of minimum ground clearance. Not going mud bogging in that.

Checked on the 2012 Ford F-150 4x4. It has a 8.4" minimum ground clearance.

[Hawkmoon]

It will be expensive to lower a newer truck. Its is more than a spring swap in the front.

The Nissan Frontiers do not stand as tall as the Dodge and Ford trucks. Do you really need a 3/4 ton truck when you are upgrading from a 1/4 ton truck?

The base Comanche was a 3/4 ton (14xx pounds). Mine has the optional rear axle and springs -- it's rated for 2200 pounds.

Ground clearance is based on the lowest part of the truck above the ground -- which is usually the rear differential. I can't alter that, but when a guy over 6 feet tall can't easily and conveniently reach over the sides of the bed to put something in or lift something out -- the truck isn't very useful. My Cherokees all have a mild (1-inch, factory) lift, and when I'm next to any of the modern pickups at a light (Ford, Chevy, or Ram), the tops of the bed rails are above the top of my head. That's too high. Not functional.

I'm too old for beating up my iron bouncing off rocks and tree stumps. Been there and done that, in another lifetime. What I need right now is a reliable, useful, 4WD pickup. I don't know that I need 3/4 ton, but a friend who had an old Jeep full-size modernized with a Ford F-150, and he had to have helper springs added just to do his normal yard work. So I doubt I'd be happy with a half-ton.

[Tallpine]

I doubt I'd be happy with a half-ton.

Well, you sure don't want to go putting undersized and under-rated tires on it just to lower a couple inches.

A Chevy/GMC K-1500 is going to haul plently compared to your old Commanche.  "Half ton" does not mean 1500 pounds.  I think the payload for a k-1500 is well over a ton (but this counts people and fuel, not just stuff in the bed).  Plus they have 16" wheels, usually with E-rated tires.

I dunno much about the new ones, though I doubt you plan on spending $40K 

I'm 5-10 and can rest my elbows on the rails of my 4wd Chevy.  It's about the same height as my 2wd 3/4 ton.  Sure, I can't reach the middle of the bed standing on the ground.

[charby]

The base Comanche was a 3/4 ton (14xx pounds). Mine has the optional rear axle and springs -- it's rated for 2200 pounds.

Ground clearance is based on the lowest part of the truck above the ground -- which is usually the rear differential. I can't alter that, but when a guy over 6 feet tall can't easily and conveniently reach over the sides of the bed to put something in or lift something out -- the truck isn't very useful. My Cherokees all have a mild (1-inch, factory) lift, and when I'm next to any of the modern pickups at a light (Ford, Chevy, or Ram), the tops of the bed rails are above the top of my head. That's too high. Not functional.

I'm too old for beating up my iron bouncing off rocks and tree stumps. Been there and done that, in another lifetime. What I need right now is a reliable, useful, 4WD pickup. I don't know that I need 3/4 ton, but a friend who had an old Jeep full-size modernized with a Ford F-150, and he had to have helper springs added just to do his normal yard work. So I doubt I'd be happy with a half-ton.

I'll be damned, a small sized pickup with 3/4-1ton cargo capacity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeep_Comanche

I figured those Commaches were created to compete with the S-10s and Rangers.

[zxcvbob]

Underrated tires really suck.  But you can get 29" heavy duty tires.  The LT225's are available in load range E -- but to air them up to 80 psi you'll need metal valve stems.  Rubber stems are good up to about 65.

[charby]

Even my Dad's 2002 4x4 1500 GMC, I can't reach the middle of the bed, reaching over the side rails. If I recall I couldn't either on the 73 and 78 F-150's I used to own.

Only truck I owned I could do that was a 91 2wd S-10.

[Tallpine]

We couldn't get anything higher rated than C for 15" wheels.

An odd size tire can be a problem when you need a new one in some remote place.

[zxcvbob]

16" is the sweet spot for truck wheels.  I hate that all the truck makers are going to 17" and 18" standard and you can't get new factory 16's anymore.

[Tallpine]

Part of the reason that you can't reach the middle of the bed on a ford/chevy/dodge is that they are about a foot wider than the jeep 

[Gewehr98]

I had a Comanche for a while, bought from a fellow GI when he separated from service.

It was a plain-vanilla model, with the straight six and 4-speed manual. 

It suffered horribly from the salt spray of Spacecoast Florida, but were I able to stay ahead of the advancing cancer, I'd love to have kept it.

In hindsight, I should have kept it, but it was unibody front/frame rear, and the salt water/spray rusts a vehicle from top down in Florida.

I'd like to see something like a Comanche again, but midsize pickups are a dead breed here in 'Merrika, especially since Detroit thinks people want F-150s and Silverados that are nearly as massive as a Freightliner and sport the aerodynamics of a brick.   
 

[charby]

I'd like to see something like a Comanche again, but midsize pickups are a dead breed here in 'Merrika, especially since Detroit thinks people want F-150s and Silverados that are nearly as massive as a Freightliner and sport the aerodynamics of a brick.   
 

The new trucks do get much better MPG then they did a few years ago. They also have way more HP then they did in the 70's and 80's.

[charby]

And more reliable then then the past.

[CypherNinja]

Am I crazy, or is Jeep making a Wrangler Unlimited pickup? Can't find it online except for a concept, but I saw one in a dealer lot 2 days ago.