Anyone working out of a Toyota Box truck
I just saw one of these the other day and got to thinking that it may be the perfect work vehicle for what I do.
I currently have a 5×10 WellsCargo trailer that pretty much holds everything I need for a one-man remodeling operation. Pull it with my Dodge Ram 1500 truck.
Maybe get 10-11 mpg tops (5.9 360)
Seems like these little Toyotas would drive around like a dream, park easy, just the right size and relatively good on milage.
When did they stop making them – anyone know? 89 – 90?
The engines are bullet-proof and parts available forever. You could tweak up the outside with nice graphics and have a great little job van that’d be easy to park in the driveway.
Any comments?
Had a lot of Toyota’s in my day, so I have no issues with the foreign made part of it.
JT
Replies
You could ask here about when they stopped making them
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=22
Have you seen this:
http://www.fordvehicles.com/transitconnect/
Coming to a dealer near you next year.
That ford weighs 4900 lbs? YIKES
There is no way that will get better than 20 mpg. What is it made of? Cast iron? Old Bath tubs?
My pre-runner is 3500 lbs and it is pretty much a full size truck (4door).
Jeeze... that's going in the wrong direction entirely.
LGardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog
I belive that is the maximum weight of the vehicle plus payload.
GVWR = 4900lbs
Cargo Capacity = 1300lbs
SO it weighs 3300lbs. Not bad for a truck that'll pull a 1600lb load inside.
That sounds closer to reality.
I still think it should do way better than 20 mpg... a small efficient turbodiesel should do 35-40.
Doesn't weigh much more than a golf.
Got to admit I like the look of it...put nice big racks on to carry lumber.
L
GardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog
35 mpg in a Tacoma? Not even downhill with a tailwind. Are you really getting 35?
I am all highway--normally about 70-75 mph. I notice it is a little better at about 70, but yes... 28mpg from a 250hp 6 banger, and mine does 0-60 in 6.0 seconds.
I'm trading down to the 4 banger because apparently with the new VVTI motor is puts out about 180 hp and gets 37mpg on the highway. Cruising speed may be a little lower but I do enough miles to make it worthwhile... not to mention not buying tires every few months would be nice.
L
GardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog
I've put hundreds of thousands of miles on 4-cyl. carbureted Toyotas from 1972-1986, including one diesel. Every one of them got 25 mpg on the highway, but the diesel was very sluggish and underpowered, although cheap to run: i put $24 into a new glow plub in 100K miles. The two fuel-injected Tacomas i've had since, a 1998 and a 2000, both get 30 mpg on the highway (70-75 mph) without the A/C running, 27-8 mpg with A/C. The engines are larger and peppier than the older pickups, too. Not sure if this helps the original discussion, but i've had a LOT of Toyotas...and extremely few problems.
Edited 5/30/2008 6:48 pm by splintergroupie
i have a 94 Nissan pickup with 4cl, 5speed, I checked it carefully and got 28 mpg but i was in 5th gear most of the time. My boy took it removed the canopy and got 29 mpg which surprized me. We had 2 old toyotas 80s models we also liked. I may be wrong but it seems the Nissan is bigger in the cab. Its still to small to use for roofing but i may have to.
what type of roofing you do???
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WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
i am slowing down but mostly comp. By the time i load long ladders and tools my full sized truck is filled.I still have a tar pot but im hoping someone will steal it. It is usefull to light up when the neighbors are outside though.;}
I went and looked at one about 2 weeks ago that was a '92 or '94 I think. I liked it, the only problem I had with it was that the back bumper was pretty low to the ground ( this was a 14' model). I scraped the #### out of it on a driveway that I was turning around in. Driveway had a bit of a dip and a steep incline. Glad it was gravel and not pavement.
Besides that I really liked it. Dont know what they get for gas mpg. Seller said he didnt know.
While on vacation in the dominican republic this last winter, i saw several trucks made by asian companies such as nissan, hyundai and mitsubishi. I have never seen any of them in north america but they do exist. Up until now, the demand in the states just wasn't there. small trucks with a diesel engine and a box type back end.
getting the builder to import them and getting the dealer to stock them may be your biggest hurdle
With gas hitting $4.00/barrel hopefully someone will see the light
toolman65
i thought the same thing.
i saw a toyota camper and thought about ripping the insides out for work..
Not sure of the mpg they get but dual wheels would be nice
there is another post running now about a " switch and go system" offered by Isuzu. may be just what you're looking for. I believed the poster goes by ;ttola
toolman65
"" switch and go " is not made by IsuzuHe bought a used Isuzu chassis and installed the system on it.And while you can put a box on it. It way over kill if that is all you want on it..
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
With the price of diesel figget it.
I'm taking back my pre-runner, (toyota hot rod that still gets 28 mpg) and getting a little 4 banger gas motor. 37 mpg sounds pretty good and I do about 50k per year. Savings in fuel will cover the payment nicely--and I am simply not grown up enough to drive that big truck without burning the back tires up every summer.
With about 180 hp the 4 banger will pull a little enclosed trailer and run AC nicely.
Americans have always wanted the crazy big locomotive diesels and didn't care about mileage.. I've been whining for a scaled down work truck for years. They make them in Europe...but fuel is 8$ a gallon there.
L
GardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog
Like this?
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"Perfect is the enemy of Good." Morrison
That's exactly what I'm talkin about. In fact, I came up with those pics in my web searching tonight also...The main thing I'm thinking, that some people seem to be missing here, is that they are CHEAP!Seems like when you can find one, they are between 2.5K and 4K.If you could find one for that, it'd pay to fix it up as needed and get it looking good.What kind of milage do you think they'd get in a 4 or a 6cyl?Are they all duallies in the back?JT
Not much help but...a friend, now retired, had one he used in a sales/delivery business. He was very pleased with it's performance, said it got over 20mpg.
I'd suggest that you check out Isuzu's smaller box trucks too.
That is an inefficient underachiever. Put a high cap on a 4 cyl tacoma and you will still get 35 mpg.
Better wait for Toyota's answer.
GardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog
Notice the large frontal area on that box, over the Toyota's cab, and around the sides of it as well. That's where some mileage is lost, particularly at highway speeds.
I've been driving an FI Toyota 2.4L 5spd PU for many years and the best mileage I've seen, on a long trip at 60-65mph, was 29mpg. Just for entertainment sake I tried slowing down to see if I could get it over 30mpg. Didn't happen.
I have a 1985 Toyota Dolphin RV. This is based on the Toyota 1 ton chassis and mine has a 22re engine with automatic transmission. The 22re is the fuel injected4 cylinder. I generally get around 17 mpg on the highway with this thing. One problem is that while it has an overdrive on transmission, the gearing is mismatched to the engine power so that overdrive is only useful on a slight downhill or with a tail wind. There is a reason that you usually see these things putting along at about 60 mph or so... It keeps up with traffic in town pretty well but bogs down on a long grade or running into a stiff headwind. I have been told that the six cylinder engine (don't remember the first year they came out) gets about the same mpg as the four and has much more usable power. I have thought about replacing my engine with a six but it would probably be more cost effective to just trade this in on one with the six already installed.
I like the idea of those also
The only thing that MAY be a problem is that the rear axles on the dually's only have one bearing per side as opposed to two on full size trucks with duals (at least they used to be that way) Some of the older chassis that had mini motor homes on them had axle problems. This would depend on how much wieght you carry if its a concern.
here in the uk you can still get them.............
mine is 10 years old 2.4l diesel gets at least 25 mpg even on short trips...............
it just keeps going............... now if only the driver was a bit more careful.
i've got a long wheel base one of these:http://finance.autoexposure.co.uk/is/autoedit/AETA93654/AETV62773450_1b.jpg
i can't find an excuse to buy a new van because i'd just buy the same again!!!!
Check for used U Haul Toyotas. A friend of mine had a Toyota dump body and when it gave up the ghost he bought a U Haul and switched the body.He then mounte the box on a flat trailer and sold that.
I saw the pic gordso posted.
Never saw one of those, but I have seen many dumps and rack bodies.
He mentioned axle problems.
I know that the frames failed behind the cabs. Take a long look at the truck and the way that the frame swoops down at the cab/bed juncture and you will see why this is a potential failure.
Eric
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