Advice on a 4WD Truck for mainly farm purposes

[CharlieH]

Several posts & responses removed.

 

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[Ace of Pop]

Away from all the gun/mud slingers & insult experts whine-ding their way through the thread the OP needs to also look at the other factors in his search.... 
 
In looking for a "farm" vehicle/hard life truck....
 
Reliability, longevity, reputation = Toyota,   Probably - Isuzu #2
 
Dealer availability in his surrounding area = Usually more Toyota dealers around....
 
Quality of dealer service providers = Toyota // Aftermarket - Toyota, then probably Isuzu....
 
Part availability now + 5 - 10 years down the road (dealer & aftermarket) = Toyota - 1, Isuzu - probably #2
 
Ability to withstand abuse = see far more Toyotas overloaded & battered & still rolling year after year, after year....
 
There have been some good, earnest threads on this with owner's helpful comments based on experience....Covering long term issues & plusses, observations, systems, wear & tear, handling under different conditions....
 
One thing I've noticed is on long, hard pulls, ripe for an overheating situation I have hardly -  if ever -seen a Toyota pulled off and overheating but have seen many Isuzu's......
 
Food for thought post only....

Toyo had big overheating prob n head distortion with the Tiger ,but fixed em like Gentlemen so no big Ford Style fuss


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[deepcell]

On 27/02/2017 at 11:36 AM, colinneil said:

You cannot beat Isuzu, why are you even considering others?

Which model between Isuzu Rodeo (4wd) and V-Cross(4wd), something between 2010 and 2012? I would consider Isuzu for sure, I like the car, but this one I have right now, do not fit my needs.

I discarded Isuzu, because all trucks I found 4wd was automatic transmission, who in the he11 will drive a 4wd auto?

 

[deepcell]

On 27/02/2017 at 11:53 AM, transam said:

Think I must disagree....

 

My Toyota 4x4 Vigo with auto trans is in it's tenth year, still drives like new, no rattles, knocks, rust, nothing....Toyota is worldwide known for reliability..

You said 4wd auto? I really do not like trucks with auto transmission. For me it need to be manual, even if one day I'm old as hell, I would prefer to change gears in my time. But thanks for your contribution, Toyota is a great truck for sure, I'm considering it.

[transam]

32 minutes ago, deepcell said:

You said 4wd auto? I really do not like trucks with auto transmission. For me it need to be manual, even if one day I'm old as hell, I would prefer to change gears in my time. But thanks for your contribution, Toyota is a great truck for sure, I'm considering it.

Autos can be controlled as manuals...

[deepcell]

20 hours ago, pgrahmm said:

Do you use it as a Thai would as a heavy duty farm/ranch vehicle.....?

 

Could never do this with a Ford truck.....

holy crap! I would never ever treat my truck like this. But the pictures tells a lot about Toyota.

 

 

 

[deepcell]

10 hours ago, pgrahmm said:

True - this is an F150....Ranger or not - No thanks.....

no no.. paper!

[transam]

5 minutes ago, deepcell said:

holy crap! I would never ever treat my truck like this. But the pictures tells a lot about Toyota.

 

 

 

 

[deepcell]

5 hours ago, pgrahmm said:

Away from all the gun/mud slingers & insult experts whine-ding their way through the thread the OP needs to also look at the other factors in his search.... 

 

In looking for a "farm" vehicle/hard life truck....

 

Reliability, longevity, reputation = Toyota,   Probably - Isuzu #2

 

Dealer availability in his surrounding area = Usually more Toyota dealers around....

 

Quality of dealer service providers = Toyota // Aftermarket - Toyota, then probably Isuzu....

 

Part availability now + 5 - 10 years down the road (dealer & aftermarket) = Toyota - 1, Isuzu - probably #2

 

Ability to withstand abuse = see far more Toyotas overloaded & battered & still rolling year after year, after year....

 

There have been some good, earnest threads on this with owner's helpful comments based on experience....Covering long term issues & plusses, observations, systems, wear & tear, handling under different conditions....

 

One thing I've noticed is on long, hard pulls, ripe for an overheating situation I have hardly -  if ever -seen a Toyota pulled off and overheating but have seen many Isuzu's......

 

Food for thought post only....

Thanks. appreciate that.

[deepcell]

18 hours ago, Elkski said:

The fan boys between  Chevy Toyota Ford Isuzu.   Been going on since the dawn of time.  Just pick one and be happy

I thought that way years ago when I bought the Isuzu, that now do not fit my needs anymore or better saying now I'm unhappy with this truck.

[deepcell]

good resource - https://www.ultimatespecs.com/

[Robert24]

Hi ,
 
I'm looking for replace this vehicle "2006/2007 Isuzu D-Max truck RWD 116 hp Engine 4JK1 Manual Transmission" for a 4WD, do not need to be an Isuzu, can be any manufacturer.
The Isuzu 2WD truck is great for travel long distance and very economic, but it sucks hard for my farm needs, I got stuck in the mud several times, also this engine is too small for big load (big I mean +-750kg) and I definitely do not want to blow up the engine, then it is my only option, replace the vehicle.
 
I'm looking for a reliable second hand truck in the date range (2010/2012), double or extended cab, 4WD, up to 150 HP and Manual Transmission. Since the truck will be used not only for farm only but for traveling in the country (long distance 3 or 4 times a year). My budget limit is 500K.
 
I got some good review with the following ones:
 

• Toyota Hilux Vigo Extra Cab G (3.0) 168 hp
• Toyota Hilux Vigo Double Cab G (3.0) 163 hp
• Chevrolet Colorado 2.5L 163 hp (which model?)
• Chevrolet Colorado 2.8L 200 hp (diesel or benzine?)
• Ford Ranger Double Cab XLT 2.5 4WD  (hp?)
• Ford Ranger Double Cab XLT 3.0 4WD   (hp?)

 
What recommendations do you have? I would love to find a good specs website for Thai used vehicles only, but it seems very difficult and all specs I found is for new vehicles only in their own website.
 
Anyway thanks for the help, maybe someone is/was in a similar situation here.
 
Regards,

Just a thought from me. My father-in-law has a 2006 2.5ltr 2WD Isuzu as well and we mainly use it for farm purposes. At least me. My father in law will use it otherwise too. But I wouldn't think to replace with a more powerful, newer pick up. Why would you. It's just for the farm. If you load 1t they all drive a bit like boats unless you have upgraded the suspension for heavier loads. Also those 2.5ltr diesel engines have plenty of power. Maybe the 2 WD is insufficient on mud roads depending on your situation.

As for reliability, both Toyota and Isuzu are very reliable and easy to service.


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[deepcell]

3 hours ago, Robert24 said:

Just a thought from me. My father-in-law has a 2006 2.5ltr 2WD Isuzu as well and we mainly use it for farm purposes. At least me. My father in law will use it otherwise too. But I wouldn't think to replace with a more powerful, newer pick up. Why would you. It's just for the farm. If you load 1t they all drive a bit like boats unless you have upgraded the suspension for heavier loads. Also those 2.5ltr diesel engines have plenty of power. Maybe the 2 WD is insufficient on mud roads depending on your situation.

As for reliability, both Toyota and Isuzu are very reliable and easy to service.


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This Isuzu is a good car, except that it is not 4wd, I have a problem in the raining season here and around, not only me, but others with a 2wd truck in the area.

Unfortunately there is no idea when they will make a tarmac road near the farm, then better I change than wait.

You can imagine a situation: the truck fully loaded in the mud, it's a quite fun ride.

[Gonefortea]

On 27/02/2017 at 11:53 AM, transam said:

Think I must disagree....

 

My Toyota 4x4 Vigo with auto trans is in it's tenth year, still drives like new, no rattles, knocks, rust, nothing....Toyota is worldwide known for reliability..

Have to say so is my 12 year old Isuzu and a bloody good workhorse as well.

[PaoloR]

Toyota/Isuzu/Ford - you have already got enough conflicting advice.

I use my truck on the farm and have got 185,000 trouble free Km out of it.

Regardless of the make, regardless of auto/manual, even at times regardless of 4WD what you need are decent off-road tyres - not "look at me I'm cool oversized tyres with a snorkel on your exhaust" tyres but good solid dual-purpose tyres that are not too noisy on the road.

 

I could not work out why my 4WD truck was getting stuck when a 2WD Isuzu was able to drive through. Then I changed tyres and haven't been stuck since.

You will get some increased road noise but most trucks are on the noisy side anyway and i don't even notice when i am on a long run now.

 

Buy whichever is the most comfortable and whichever looks the best deal since you are buying second hand.

[sandemara]

No probs with maintenance and spare parts anywhere in Thailand with Toyota. I've had a Toyota Hi Lux Vigo (auto twincab diesel) for about 8 years. Not one problem, still runs terrific and economically. Been all over Thailand, into Vientiane with no worries. Except with my wife's driving. Isuzu had a good rep in PNG, but so has Toyota for many years.  Three different friends with Chevrolet have had major electrical probs, still not running properly (ignition, a/con on new vehicles) after 2 years and several trips back to the dealers. No satisfaction, interest or help from the US company despite several complaints.  Bad reports from Australia on Ford Ranger. And yes, from past experiences with other Ford vehicles going back several years I'm biased against the brand.  It's my understanding you can also expect better re-sale value in Thailand with Toyota for the above reasons.  Good luck..

[Formaleins]

On ‎27‎/‎02‎/‎2017 at 9:32 AM, MINIMIGLIA said:

Another piece of yank crapto be avoided like the plague

I thought that the Chevrolet trucks here were 90% Isuzu parts with just a bit of restyling done by Chev.? But unless Ford have made changes (BIG) to their 4 wheel drive Ranger, then I would avoid it unless you like being only able to get about half lock on the steering in 4WD mode - Horrible!

[Gary A]

Back around 1991, the company that a friend of mine and I worked for bought both of us new pickup trucks. My friend got a Toyota and I got an Isuzu. I loved his Toyota and actually despised my Isuzu.  My Isuzu rattled and vibrated so bad the the fenders actually flapped at red lights. Both trucks were amazingly trouble free but the Toyota was smoother, more powerful and quieter. After my employment ended, I bought three Toyota pickups over the years. Over the years things change and often they change a LOT. My last 4X4 Toyota was a lemon. Today I have an Isuzu V-Cross that I am very happy with. Maybe I am luckier than most because I have absolutely no brand loyalty. That makes shopping for a new vehicle much easier. I looked at all the different makes and chose the one I liked the best. I don't like to order a vehicle but ended up ordering the Isuzu with exactly what I wanted. I am very happy with the fuel economy that the 3.0 liter 4X4 gets and how quiet it is on the highway. I do think that I would have been happy with any brand. All pickups have improved dramatically just over the past several years. Up until now, the best pickup I ever owned was a 2004 Nissan Frontier. I sold the old Nissan to a friend of mine and he has been happily driving it with no problems since I bought the Isuzu a year and a half ago. My advice is to buy whichever truck you like the best regardless of the brand.

[deepcell]

Thanks to everyone for the insight, I really appreciate that. Ford always having negative reviews here in Thailand, a friend mechanic loves ford design but not the engine (LOL). In my home country Ford Ranger is just a great truck even better than Toyota Hilux!

My decision will be between Isuzu and Toyota, I will choose the best deal regardless of the brand as @Gary A suggests.

[Gary A]

10 minutes ago, deepcell said:

Thanks to everyone for the insight, I really appreciate that. Ford always having negative reviews here in Thailand, a friend mechanic loves ford design but not the engine (LOL). In my home country Ford Ranger is just a great truck even better than Toyota Hilux!

My decision will be between Isuzu and Toyota, I will choose the best deal regardless of the brand as @Gary A suggests.

I was very interested in a Toyota 4X4 that they had on the lot. I was pricing it with the salesman and the price looked pretty good but no discount and no goodies. I then discovered that the moron salesman had priced the wrong truck. After telling him he priced the wrong truck, he got out his book and simply added the 4X4 option. I told my wife that we were leaving. Besides treating me like a tire kicker, he was rude and stupid.

[deepcell]

On 02/03/2017 at 5:36 PM, PaoloR said:

I could not work out why my 4WD truck was getting stuck when a 2WD Isuzu was able to drive through. Then I changed tyres and haven't been stuck since.

You will get some increased road noise but most trucks are on the noisy side anyway and i don't even notice when i am on a long run now.

@PaoloR That is a point to consider, my tires are standard Grandtrek AT 22 Dunlop, not a Mud Terrain, can you suggest an affordable brand? since mud tires cost almost double than the standard ones. Thanks for the input.

[deepcell]

15 minutes ago, Gary A said:

I then discovered that the moron salesman had priced the wrong truck. After telling him he priced the wrong truck, he got out his book and simply added the 4X4 option. I told my wife that we were leaving. Besides treating me like a tire kicker, he was rude and stupid.

I can imagine the moron's lose face. I think he become rude and stupid after that.. hahaha

[henry15]

On 02/28/2017 at 6:00 PM, deepcell said:

holy crap! I would never ever treat my truck like this. But the pictures tells a lot about Toyota.

 

 

 

They are foam boxes, so no weight

[deepcell]

2 hours ago, henry15 said:

They are foam boxes, so no weight

I saw a nissan other day in china town, the rear axle was completely under pressure, it was a modified rear axle otherwise was not possible to be loaded like that (heavy and tall)..   I would never go that way, I would prefer to buy a bigger truck with plenty of space and not force it more than it was designed to be.
The max load we carried with our isuzu was an engine weighting 750 kg. As a TV member said, it drives like a boat! ahhaha

[Gary A]

On 3/3/2017 at 8:03 PM, deepcell said:

@PaoloR That is a point to consider, my tires are standard Grandtrek AT 22 Dunlop, not a Mud Terrain, can you suggest an affordable brand? since mud tires cost almost double than the standard ones. Thanks for the input.

 

There is a huge difference between road tires and mud tires. Road tires in the mud immediately clog up and they act the same as bald tires. Tires are normally a compromise. You don't see a lot of mud tires on the roads because they set up quite a howl. Some are so loud that I doubt you could hear your radio over the noise. The louder they howl, the better they are in the mud. Then there is the wear problem, they don't wear well and they are very expensive.

 

If I had need for a pure farm two wheel drive truck that would rarely get used on the road, I'd try to buy a pair of Maxxis mud tires for the back. It would likely do better in the mud that a 4X4 with street tires.

 

Toyo makes maybe the best compromise mud tire. Unfortunately they are very expensive. On a scale of 1 to 4 with 4 being the best, they are rated a 3 on the road and a 2 in the mud.

 

In the northern US states we always had what we called snow tires on spare rims. The very best ones had steel studs and they were great on ice. Most states outlawed them because they were supposedly hard on the roads. We only put the snow tires on when there was snow.

[Gonefortea]

Today driving into kk happened to see an old (2001) Nissan pick up 2 door nice long back ideal for sugar and rice. Stop look had a quick test drive. All good no book no tax (don't care)

Wanted 10k offered 7k bought for 7.5k. Ideal. Got it home and had wheels of plenty on brake pads and suspension stats All look good. Will make a great work horse.

[Robert24]

Today driving into kk happened to see an old (2001) Nissan pick up 2 door nice long back ideal for sugar and rice. Stop look had a quick test drive. All good no book no tax (don't care)
Wanted 10k offered 7k bought for 7.5k. Ideal. Got it home and had wheels of plenty on brake pads and suspension stats All look good. Will make a great work horse.

7.5k for a 2001 pick up? That's a very good deal. Never seen cars sold so cheap here.

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[Gonefortea]

11 minutes ago, Robert24 said:

7.5k for a 2001 pick up? That's a very good deal. Never seen cars sold so cheap here.

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 WHOOPS

Spot the mistake lol

1991 not 2001 sorry kept looking at it knew something was wrong but it didn't dawn on me!! Old age creeping up 

 

It's been a work horse all its life by the looks of it. Old thai selling suspect he's finished working now saw a sign for selling land as well. As I said no book no tax probably only ever taxed the year it was new.for farm work it's perfect. Already got it hired out for two days from tm to next door neighbour to shift his sugar to land for planting. 

[deepcell]

17 hours ago, Gonefortea said:

Today driving into kk happened to see an old (2001) Nissan pick up 2 door nice long back ideal for sugar and rice. Stop look had a quick test drive. All good no book no tax (don't care)

Wanted 10k offered 7k bought for 7.5k. Ideal. Got it home and had wheels of plenty on brake pads and suspension stats All look good. Will make a great work horse.

Cool, but unfortunately the guy drive for us, need to use the highway to delivery the crop, always highway police doing background check on drivers, with a car without papers would be a total disgrace. But agree to use it on the farm only, my sister-in-law has a small tractor with a cart and we use sometimes, it is quite slow but do the job.

10k thb? the cheaper I ever heard about. Another day I saw a small tractor  for sale for only 25K but it was in bad shape, the owner said it works for sure, but maybe it does 100 m with 1L of diesel!

 

 

 

[deepcell]

19 hours ago, Gary A said:

 

There is a huge difference between road tires and mud tires. Road tires in the mud immediately clog up and they act the same as bald tires. Tires are normally a compromise. You don't see a lot of mud tires on the roads because they set up quite a howl. Some are so loud that I doubt you could hear your radio over the noise. The louder they howl, the better they are in the mud. Then there is the wear problem, they don't wear well and they are very expensive.

 

If I had need for a pure farm two wheel drive truck that would rarely get used on the road, I'd try to buy a pair of Maxxis mud tires for the back. It would likely do better in the mud that a 4X4 with street tires.

 

Toyo makes maybe the best compromise mud tire. Unfortunately they are very expensive. On a scale of 1 to 4 with 4 being the best, they are rated a 3 on the road and a 2 in the mud.

 

In the northern US states we always had what we called snow tires on spare rims. The very best ones had steel studs and they were great on ice. Most states outlawed them because they were supposedly hard on the roads. We only put the snow tires on when there was snow.

Oh man, you are making me shift my ideas now about change this truck. 2 M / T on the rear could possibly solve my problem for once and all, I really did not think about this possibility and will be much cheaper for me. I definitely need a test driver in the next rain with such M/T tires.

Thanks for the advice.