New Weekend hunting vehicle - all Trucks way too Much $$$$

[Rico]

For those with cars/suvs/vans - what do you do with roadkill? Super easy with my truck to throw them in the back, no worry about blood all over.

(I just admitted on a public internet forum that I pick up roadkill. Is that a bad thing??)

Your're not the only one!

 

[Bdwilliams]

My biggest deer was tossed in the back of a Subaru Impreza. I had to put the rear seats down.

When the wife upgraded to a Sienna I got her 2010 Subaru Forester. It's got more ground clearance than most SUVs out there, decent on fuel, easy to do maintenance myself, and enough space for a deer and gear. Add a cargo hauler for the hitch and you're golden. It even tows more than most other small SUVs.

 

[hauscaliber]

Run watcha brung!

 

[Gator]

I bought a 06 Tundra just to hunt out of and now I drive it more than my "nicer" GMC diesel. Paid about 10k for it two years ago with just over 100k miles. Got tired of my diesel trying to get stuck. So now I have a total of three 4x4s when I count my girlfriends old 98 4runner (that thing is a turd engine power wise tho)

 

[Rangermatthews]

Anything that runs! Hopefully you don’t live in an area like me that gets 300” of snow

 

[cb750]

I've got a good buddy that uses his honda civic and has for years. Had no issues. I used a Honda Odyssey for my first couple road kill pickups. Some where theres a picture of my youngest at 4 yrs contently seated beside a doe. Those older vans had a ton of get up and go tons of space. If you need to go off road you may not fair so well though.

 

[Lacky]

Dude, get a Honda Accord or Civic, or some other little gas sipper.

I loved hunting out of mine last year, and will only be using the Blazer and Suburban if I'm hunting my local spots. I drove to Baton Rouge and back last week (7 hours) on a $30 tank of gas in my accord.

I slept 2 nights in it so far while scouting this year. Plenty of room in the trunk. Throw a big cooler in there, quarter your deer, throw it in. That's how I got my 9 point home last year.

Same, I drive my accord till the snow starts, then I have to use the gas guzzling suburban. Some of the roads in my area are too steep for the accord in snow.

 

[JBDaddy]

So I said I have a 4Runner, which is mostly true - I leant it to my sister a few months ago and I'm not sure she plans to give it back. Wife drives a Honda Odyssey but they're kinda low. So if I don't get my truck back I'll be looking for a Odyssey lift kit or maybe an old Subaru Legacy wagon.

Aww yeah.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

So I said I have a 4Runner, which is mostly true - I leant it to my sister a few months ago and I'm not sure she plans to give it back. Wife drives a Honda Odyssey but they're kinda low. So if I don't get my truck back I'll be looking for a Odyssey lift kit or maybe an old Subaru Legacy wagon.

Aww yeah.

Wow, thats nice.
My wife has an AWD Toyota Sienna and we love it. The only gripe is that it sits a little low. She said on vacation last week that she would like a lift kit if available for her model. I wonder if it is and what it costs.

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[mattsteg]

Just trying to figure out are some alternatives to a pickup truck for a weekend hunting vehicle. I just cannot find a used truck for less than $8000 that is not under ten years old and over 100,000 miles. What's other people like using that do not have the money to buy a $ 20,000 truck.

What are your needs and how far do you go? Do you really need something that new? Or a truck for that matter?

Figure out what you need your vehicle to do, and then buy what you need (if whatever you have can't work). Do you need off road capability (and how much)? Do you need to toss whole carcasses in the back (or can you butcher/quarter and use a cooler, or use e.h. a hitch rack)? Do you want to do the whole john E scent routine or are you less bothered?

 

[mattsteg]

Same, I drive my accord till the snow starts, then I have to use the gas guzzling suburban. Some of the roads in my area are too steep for the accord in snow.

Get some winter tires if it's just slippery/steep roads.

 

[Exhumis]

You're going to be hard pressed to find a truck that meets your requirements considering the popularity trucks are having right now. I used to use my wife's volvo s60 until she said no more. I didn't even consider asking permission to use our suburban. About a year ago I picked up a 94 F250 7.3l diesel with 200k on the clock for around 3k. I regularly see 90s Tahoes and cherokees with less than 200k on the clock for around 4k. They're out there just gotta keep searching.

 

[Hatchet Jack]

99 Jeep Cherokee xj, stock tire size, 2" lift, fuel injector upgrade gets 25mpg, locker in front and trutrac in the rear. goes everywhere a truck on 40s can go and even further cuz of the wheelbase. the 4.0 runs forever and they're cheap to work on. if you need more clearance that what skid plates are for...

 

[Bdwilliams]

Wow, thats nice.
My wife has an AWD Toyota Sienna and we love it. The only gripe is that it sits a little low. She said on vacation last week that she would like a lift kit if available for her model. I wonder if it is and what it costs.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

We couldn't find a used AWD Sienna but would've nabbed one if we could've. We ended up with the Sienna over the Odyssey because it has 2 more inches of ground clearance.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

We couldn't find a used AWD Sienna but would've nabbed one if we could've. We ended up with the Sienna over the Odyssey because it has 2 more inches of ground clearance.

One downside to an AWD Sienna is that there is no room for a spare tire because of the drivetrain configuration, so they use run-flat tires.
Run-flats absolutely suck in the snow. We had a light snow here shortly after we got our Sienna. There was probably only 2" of snow and our van had a rough time on even the slightest of grade. Traction was worse than horrible.
We sold the run flats and replaced them with all season tires and traction is fine now. We stowed one of the rear seats and secured a spare down with a high quality ratchet strap (standing up right) in that spot. It's a really nice vehicle. Those lift kits in the link above looks like it costs around $750 plus installation.

 

[parkersdad]

2015 Ram 2500 Cummins diesel for me. It pulls my camper to all of my camp sites and hauls my deer out,

 

[William74080]

So I said I have a 4Runner, which is mostly true - I leant it to my sister a few months ago and I'm not sure she plans to give it back. Wife drives a Honda Odyssey but they're kinda low. So if I don't get my truck back I'll be looking for a Odyssey lift kit or maybe an old Subaru Legacy wagon.

Aww yeah.

Looks like @eberhardt family assault vehicle. Lol

 

[Lacky]

Get some winter tires if it's just slippery/steep roads.

I've even tried chains. It gets to the point in Idaho, in the mountains, on forest service roads, in the snow, that you just need 4 wheel drive.

Not saying I couldn't live without, there would just be some spots i couldn't hunt. I have a suburban though, so it i just switch to it in October.

 

[ThomasHemlock]

Just got my new "weekend hunting vehicle"

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[hauscaliber]

So I said I have a 4Runner, which is mostly true - I leant it to my sister a few months ago and I'm not sure she plans to give it back. Wife drives a Honda Odyssey but they're kinda low. So if I don't get my truck back I'll be looking for a Odyssey lift kit or maybe an old Subaru Legacy wagon.

Aww yeah.

Minivan usefulness with offroad capabilities!?!.......winner winner venison dinner!