Help me pick a truck (F150, seats, buy, engine)

[carrot]

I'm looking for a truck, looking for recomendations...

Looking for:
Safe
crew cab (need car seats for infant and 3yr old)
under 5k

Thats about it...I dont mind working on it if its needed...i repair my own car now, but I just have never owned a pickup...but I find I need/want one for all the home/garden stuff, but still need to haul the kids.

are trucks pretty cheap to upkeep?

Thanks!!

[ferretkona]

I would look at a Toyota Tacoma
Trucks are durable, but keep them maintained or they can get expensive.

[outafocus]

Toyota Tacoma. They're reliable, economical, and they hold their value.

[usafracer]

Your going to have a hard time finding a crew cab for under 5K.

[RandyWatson13]

Tacoma..........

[vmaxnc]

You can buy my '95 F150 for under $5K.

[us66]

Any crew cab will be hard to find at that price. An extended cab with half-doors and a token back seat, sure, but not a full crew cab. One from the 80s, maybe. If you do find a Tacoma crew cab (the back seat is not all that big anyway) near that price it'll likely have 200K on it.

Pickups are a bit easier to work on- there's a little more space under the hood, more so if it's over ten years old. My GM full size has a V6 (engine bay holds a 502 V8) but it's not all that roomy under there, but at least I didn't have to take off half the front bumper to change the headlight like in my Saturn. A 2WD pickup will be easier to work on for some things.

[Wilson513]

F150 Extended Cab. I'm a Toyota fan and have a little Toyota pickup but you are describing why the F150 exists, IMO. You wont get a Tacoma crew cab for anything like that price. Try three times your price and it will be whipped.

[Lux Hauler]

F150

[radraja]

A friend of mine has a young child and really likes his F-150.

But...is there any way you could spend a bit more than $5k? That's really going to limit your options. The more spacious crew cab trucks tend to be the newer models, and those are going to be more expensive.