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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This weekend I bought a used truck off of Facebook marketplace for under $4K.  Its an '07 F150, no rust, 85K.  Runs well (so far - only a few days into it).  I was also looking in the sub $5K range.  What I found was that you will likely find a truck that is about 15+ years old and likely around 150K miles.  The biggest problem I found is that a lot of the truck out there are work trucks that pull double duty as plow trucks in the winter.  That means they have a lot of rust under the doors and in the rear tire wheel from the salt being thrown up from the tires.  But I was looking for a full size with 8ft bed which limited the market.  Lots more available in the small truck (Ranger/S10) and extended cab/6.5 ft bed mareket.

I know 150K sounds like a ton of miles but trucks are built a little tougher than cars so its expected that trucks will make it well past 150K (to to 200 or 250K+ range).  In my opinion, there are trucks to be found in the $5K range and FB marketplace is a fine place to look (much better than Craigslist).  I did drive all over Virginia this weekend and looked at 5 trucks that looked great in photos but were rust buckets when I got there.  But I eventually found one with solid bones.  Just be prepared to be disappointed and ready to move on when the reality does not match the dream seen in the photos.

And a note about trailers.  That was my first thought -- I'll just rent a trailer.  Three problems that made me abandon that plan. [b] 1. I tried to go to Home Depot on a beautiful Saturday to pick up supplies.  Problem is there was no place to park with a trailer because the parking lot was full - you need two parking places back-to-back to fit a car w/ trailer.  Also maneuvering around a packed HD parking lot with a trailer was a non-starter for me.  2. I wanted to bring construction waste to the dump (I am in DC so I am talking about the Ft. Totten dump) but they do not allow you come with a trailer -- only cars, SUVs, truck or vans -- the point is trailers are sometimes too big to get in where you need them to get into.  3.  Driving with a trailer is a pain -- even with experience its just harder than driving a truck (backing up is a tough skill to master :)) [/b]

Lastly, for me, Uhaul is about 30 minutes away.  Going there to get the trailer, then coming home to do the work, then returning the truck and then coming home = 2 additional hours.  That only represents a big opportunity cost for me that I factor into the cost of a trailer/truck/van rental.  Also, it makes it hard to do things after work mid-week so renting for me is basically limited only to the weekend.  That just makes everything harder and more expensive.

So I say go for a cheap truck on FB.[/quote]

I'm in VA and have none of these issues. Home Depot has a lot of spots that I can pull through with my trailer, but suburban HDs are much bigger than DC HDs. The dump I go to (Leesburg), definitely allows trailers. I roll up, they weigh it. I dump the debris or whatever, and then they weigh me on the way out. [/quote]

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