Picking a new vehicle

[Fearson]

I am considering downsizing my vehicle from a ram 1500 sport to a jeep cherokee trailhawk. My wife bought a sante fe and all the kids now ride in that, which makes the truck a big empty vehicle most of the time. I'm leaning towards the cherokee for the 4x4 with rear locking diff and the off road package which is more then what my sport has. I dont carry entire animals out in the bed, I quarter them and put them in the cooler so that's a non issue. Has anyone made the switch from a fullsuzed truck to a midsized suv?

Thanks

[JB_AOL]

Well . I went one step further. Full size truck to car, but the wife has an explorer. Only missed the truck a handle full of times like doing some landscaping and a dump run. But that's what friends and are for. I have access to a 8x4 utility trailer and a truck if need be. The one thing I am going to do is buy a hit h cargo rack for those jobs like firewood and filling up gas tanks for the smowblower/etc.

But honestly. I've enjoyed cheaper Insurance, way better mpg and better manuverability in the city. The only downside is bad drivers (mostly in trucks ironically) that don't shoulder check and just move over. It overall, I won't be going back to driving a truck unless I need to for work or need to tow again.

[Andrzej]

This way of thinking must be side effect of COVID go get tested man

[Dean2]

I have a 2500 Long bed for hunting and fishing. My wife's town car is a Jeep Cherokee Summit. In the first 8000 klms it averages 22 mpg in the city and over 33 mpg on the highway, with the 5.7 motor. I am actually amazed at the gas mileage, I even hand calculated it because I thought the computer was lying. I expected it would have been 2/3s that good at best. Nice driving car, lots of get up and go and with the air suspension it rides great and is quite sporty handing in sport mode. It has high and low range, hill descent, rock, and sand modes, trailer hitch, wired, and skid plates. That said, not the vehicle I would choose for a hunting rig. Way too nice an interior for lots of mud, blood etc, not the greatest ground clearance with all the trim on the body. It does however make a great all weather town car.

[kayaker]

Same boat. In reality there are bitter few times when I have felt a truck is a necessity. Clearance has been one. When my ‘05 F150 becomes too heavy on repairs I’ll trade it out for an used mid size SUV. Our family car is an Outlander. Happy with it but it’s not a very rugged chassis and suspension. My default is a Forester or Xterra. Very few hunting fishing tasks I can’t do well with a tougher, mid SUV. Small utility trailer and rocket box adds versatility and your $ goes much further than with a truck.

[thumper]

We're retired, and recently purchased a 20' PleasureWay RV van. Using that, and my wife's SantaFe, I found my truck sitting unused for months on end- so, after owning a truck my entire adult life, I finally sold it! The SantaFe is a great AWD SUV, and used daily, but the van can also be used as a 'daily driver' by either of us if need be - or for my fishing/hunting excursions. The van is also used for longer, cross-country holidays, o/night trips to friends & relatives, and daily excursions to parks, bike trails and such. It can tow our kayaks, a light utility trailer, or carry a game cooler - or our bikes easily. I really don't miss the truck.
- truckless in Canmore ....

[fordtruckin]

Do it! I bought a cherokee for my wife back in 2017. Great vehicle! Good on gas, comfortable, really stable on snowy bad roads. Ours isn’t the trail hawk but from what I gather that ups the ante that much more. Worst repairs were blown motor just went out and struts after 60000 miles. With the 3.2 v6 I’ve towed a 6x12 Uhaul loaded down and it didn’t even notice it was there. I believe we average about 25mpg (US) which is real good IMO. True it probably won’t do as well clearance wise as a truck but for 90% you should be fine!

[mooseknuckle]

Originally Posted by fordtruckin

Do it! I bought a cherokee for my wife back in 2017. Great vehicle! Good on gas, comfortable, really stable on snowy bad roads. Ours isn’t the trail hawk but from what I gather that ups the ante that much more. Worst repairs were blown motor just went out and struts after 60000 miles. With the 3.2 v6 I’ve towed a 6x12 Uhaul loaded down and it didn’t even notice it was there. I believe we average about 25mpg (US) which is real good IMO. True it probably won’t do as well clearance wise as a truck but for 90% you should be fine!

Am i reading this coreect? Worst repairs... blown motor?

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by mooseknuckle

Am i reading this coreect? Worst repairs... blown motor?

Think he meant blower motor.

[mooseknuckle]

Originally Posted by Dean2

Think he meant blower motor.

Lol, that sounds better.

[jstubbs]

I sometimes wish I could just own a lil car and that is it but every time I seem to sell my truck and try living without one, I end up needing one all. the. time.

If you have the space, and financial ability, I just daily drive a beater Acura MDX suv and then keep a 3/4 diesel around when needed. The Acura gets surprisingly decent fuel economy around the city (about 9-10L/100 KM) which compared to the ~18L/100 KM I'd get in a big diesel, it basically pays the insurance and registration on it just from the fuel and maintenance savings from not putting so many miles on the truck.

EDIT: I would highly recommend an Acura SUV if you do decide to go that route.

[Windsweptcoast]

Traded in my Silverado for a Colorado, way better mileage. And many other features. But a truck is just more useful than an SUV. Towing, payload, cargo capacity, Things like carrying lumber or hauling junk to the landfill, the list goes on and on.

[fordtruckin]

Originally Posted by mooseknuckle

Am i reading this coreect? Worst repairs... blown motor?

Yah blower motor not blown motor. Stupid auto correct!

[RandyBoBandy]

Originally Posted by fordtruckin

Yah blower motor not blown motor. Stupid auto correct!

[fordtruckin]

Originally Posted by RandyBoBandy

Think that’s bad, I keep trying to text a buddy about our upcoming duck hunt and my phone auto corrects it to d*ck hunt....

[graybeard]

Once your truck is gone, so are the requests to help people move stuff...haha

I found the Toyota RAV 4 with the 6 cylinders to be plenty. It pulls the boat, AWD / 4 wheel drive, carries an 8', 2x4 with the seat down.....You can sleep in the back in a pinch.

Comfy and economic to operate.....

If you wrap the interior with a tarp you can easily slide a deer inside. Personally I like the rubber maid containers idea....

There are a lot of options out there, I happen to like Toyota.

Good luck,

[DiabeticKripple]

Originally Posted by fordtruckin

Think that’s bad, I keep trying to text a buddy about our upcoming duck hunt and my phone auto corrects it to d*ck hunt....

covid has been rough on the waist size eh?

[Dean2]

Interesting aside. Took the Jeep to the dealer for its first oil change. Quick lube setup takes about an hour and free coffee while u wait. For 6 litres of synthetic oil and filter, 109 bucks. That is 40 bucks cheaper than Mr Lube or Lubex and only about 40 bucks more than doing it myself. I guess at least Londonderry has decided to compete against the quick lube places and try to retain the service work. Kind of good to see. Quite impressed with this dealer so far.

[Stinky Coyote]

subaru

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/02...g?v=1561474265 (2" lift with bf goodrich ko2's)


would look awful hard at an outback xt variant with the turbo motor and 3500 lb tow rating and for 1500 bucks you can get a pretty sweet box for it called the floe cargo max trailer, if you even need a box just get one of those, it's a 300 lb alum frame/poly tub trailer, bigger than an 8' box, easily moves around by hand (even with a quad in it, i had one, i know), hauls about 1600 lbs, tilts if you have wheeled gear to drag around like a mower/side by side/atv, just tuck it up by the house if you have some space

those subarus with the 2" lift and the little bf goodrich ko2's would have near 11" ground clearance and the dual mode x-mode would be a tough one to beat offroad, bet it would embarrass all the half tons offroad

the turbo averages on fuelly.com 9.7 l/100km, the non-turbo average 9.1 l/100km and tow rating drops to 2700 lbs with the non-turbo

will also have highest resale values in canada, next to the jeep wrangler of all things lol

the entire subaru line is pretty awesome, you can get little lunchbox lockers, a crosstrek manual with a rear locker, minor lift and the ko2's would be a deadly little hunting rig for not a ton of money and probably go more places than you'd even dare, it has a 1500 lb tow rating, most of the smaller suv's don't have a tow rating at all, especially not in the crosstrek class, no lockers needed for the outback, the dual mode x-mode will get it done really well, fitting big ski boxes, or racks, or hitch haulers etc. add to the versatility of the suv's like outbacks for sure


the best driving one for highway comfort and stability is the outback though, would be pretty luxury compared to any truck or truck based suv, only a honda ridgeline would compete

if i get to 2nd vehicle status at some point i'll be looking hard at an outback, until then not sure i could give up my lifted gladiator manual with 4.88's and 37's, too much fun, mileage averaging similar to v8 half tons at about 14.5 l/100km, it did a lot better of course before the lift/tires/gears, but i still fit in garage no problem yet can slide a 5 gallon pail under the jeep for oil changes, i have clearance for days, not sure how much lift a half ton would require for that but guaranteed it won't fit in the garage after

the outback is likely the most capable single digit l/100km fuel mileage vehicle going, the cherokee looks ok, they are running around 11 l/100 km average on fuelly.com, resale likely won't be nearly as good as subaru

some quick facts

outback is 15.9' feet long, the turbo curb weight about 3900 lbs, 8.7" ground clearance stock, 5 1/2' tall stock, so you can get ski box on it and fit in the garage, lots of offroad aftermarket for all the subaru's as there is plenty of guys offroading them and overlanding them

by comparison with half tons you're looking at 53-5500 lbs, 19.1' feet long and 6 1/4' tall stock. And most half tons run 13.5-15.5 l/100km averages on fuelly.com

[heybert]

I went from a 1500 Ram to a 4Runner.

[YoteStopper]

I got a 05 4Runner earlier this year, will be my hunting rig. With the 4.7l V8 in it there is lots of power, although lifting it and putting 33" tires on has dampened that slightly. Curiously enough, I haven't really seen a mileage change with the bigger tires, getting 13.3l/100k driving moderately.

[FellSwoop]

Before the last federal election, I thought that things might get worse so I sold my holiday trailer and my 2500HD. I bought an 03 Mercedes sedan cheap and have been happy with the fuel economy and drivability in the city. Also, even though the body is excellent, I cant worry about parking lot scratches on a 17 year old car.
I have an old ram 1500 that my daughter uses and can take it when needed, it covers less than 10k km per year.

[does it ALL outdoors]

Originally Posted by graybeard

Once your truck is gone, so are the requests to help people move stuff...

Best front licence plate I ever saw was on a truck that said "Yes this is my truck. No I won't help you move". Looking out my front window more then half of my neighbors have trucks.

A good friend moved here about ten years ago from The Big Smoke and the first thing he said to me was "Holy hell, I've never seen so many trucks in my life!"

I'm in the opposite boat, I need to upgrade my mini to a full sized rig.

Love my little truck, it's a ton of fun to drive and it's been extremely reliable.
But it's just too small for my needs..

[Gerald J]

Originally Posted by does it ALL outdoors

Best front licence plate I ever saw was on a truck that said "Yes this is my truck. No I won't help you move". Looking out my front window more then half of my neighbors have trucks.

A good friend moved here about ten years ago from The Big Smoke and the first thing he said to me was "Holy hell, I've never seen so many trucks in my life!"

I'm in the opposite boat, I need to upgrade my mini to a full sized rig.

Love my little truck, it's a ton of fun to drive and it's been extremely reliable.
But it's just too small for my needs..

You know we have a lot of trucks out here when the gal driving the Park 'N Fly shuttle bus from the Edmonton airport to the parking lot asks you "what kind of truck do you drive?" Not what type of vehicle, not what type of car (car is used generically as in vehicle a lot of times) but what kind of truck.

[graybeard]

Originally Posted by heybert

I went from a 1500 Ram to a 4Runner.

I am not alone.....

[Stinky Buffalo]

Went from a truck to a Jetta - Love the little car, been problem-free for five years (I can hear the throw out bearing starting to go...)

Only gripe I have is when commuting on the backroad highways in Winter - getting passed by all the impatient pickup truck drivers gets a bit hairy (I don't get paid to speed... sorry! ). Even with winter tires, I do miss the 4x4.

We still have another truck, but since we bought an old Jeep Liberty (we got it for my daughter to learn/commute in) Incredigirl has been happily driving that instead. The truck gets used for hauling, camping and hunting. Or when we drive longer distances with the whole family, the kids are less cranky because they have the extra elbow room (they're getting big!)

[58thecat]

If you can get your hands on a 80's Suzuki samurai.....had one...not the fastest...cheap to run and maintain if required....if you can get one restored or in good shape these little buggers are tanks....