Tim, A fishing friend just bought a new Dakota 4-door pickup. His previous rig was a Ranger 2wd. The second set of doors and real rear seats are a real plus when bringing a couple of friends, as are the folding rear seats for convenient access to gear. Although the bed is a few inches shorter than the Ranger's, it's both wider and deeper. Not sure what size V-8 he got but he got just 11 mpg around town on his first tank.
Kent Lufkin >I've been in the car business for the past 22 years and I've had >more vehicles than I can remember. For years I drove mostly sport >utilities due to the fact that I had a young family and we always >need the room, but now my kids have grown and have cars and trucks >of their own. So, now I'm free to experiment, the last four years >I've had a Ford Explorer, a GMC Yukon, a Dodge Dakota ex-cab 4X4 and >now a Ford Ranger ex-cab 4X4. > >The worst off road vehicle was the GMC, great suspension if you're >going to drive the highway all the time, but a little soft off road >and so you have to slow down. Somehow I just can't do that :) The >Explorer wasn't much better but at least I was able to get further >down small pathways that I tend to find. But as far as gas mileage >goes between the two the GMC was much better. I loved my Dakota for >power and size and it handled the off road like now other but it >only got 13-14 MPG even with the new 4.7 ltr V8, the draw back to >the Dakota was that they don't make the ex-cab with the rear opening >doors and the rear seat takes up a lot of room either up or down, so >that made for a tight fit of my fishing gear. And now my Ranger, >it's okay, gets decent mileage, good room in the back seat area, >fair off road capabilities and new BF Goodrich TA's courtesy of >Ford. It has a canopy and this way I can keep my fishing gear in >the back at all times in a secure environment, it also! >! > allows me to have a sleeping quarter when I need it and keeps me >out of the elements when I'm changing. > >I thought long and hard about which way I wanted to go either a full >size truck with a camper or a small truck with a canopy. I still >haven't figured that out yet. Maybe that could be another >discussion canopy v. camper v. trailer? :) After all next year >will be here pretty soon and I need to make my decision as to what >I'll get next :) > >Tim
