Looking for a new hunting vehicle

Mosby said:
It only works for me because I hunt by myself 99% of the time. If I hunted with other people a lot, I would quickly run out of room.
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True, but my first 5 years or so were spent with two of us in my gen. 1 forerunner. Next 10 in Nissan hard bodies. Now still a long bed/double cab Nissan frontier or my Tacoma. A little tight coming and going but perfect to hunt out of.
 
birddude said:
True, but my first 5 years or so were spent with two of us in my gen. 1 forerunner. Next 10 in Nissan hard bodies. Now still a long bed/double cab Nissan frontier or my Tacoma. A little tight coming and going but perfect to hunt out of.
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My Colorado has a short bed and 2 kennels take up most of the room in the bed but I have two small trailers(one covered, one open) I can hook up, when I have people riding with me and I need more space.
 
Mosby said:
It's hard to know what to get these days. It seems like all new the new trucks are having issues with transmissions, regardless of brand.
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I just returned from SD in my ‘17 Toyota Sienna fwd van…2nd and 3rd row seats removed, 4’ x 8’ piece of plywood on floor, room galore! 4 dog crates, easy access via sliding side doors, great for old dogs. Bot it with 12k about 7.5 yrs ago, 254k now, very minimal issues…bot another 2019 earlier this year with 21k, that one has AWD. Good mileage. I have a Silverado pickup, 4 x 4, but only take it if I think there’ll be conditions that warrant the extra clearance. Love the visibility with the vans!
 
benelli-banger said:
I just returned from SD in my ‘17 Toyota Sienna fwd van…2nd and 3rd row seats removed, 4’ x 8’ piece of plywood on floor, room galore! 4 dog crates, easy access via sliding side doors, great for old dogs. Bot it with 12k about 7.5 yrs ago, 254k now, very minimal issues…bot another 2019 earlier this year with 21k, that one has AWD. Good mileage. I have a Silverado pickup, 4 x 4, but only take it if I think there’ll be conditions that warrant the extra clearance. Love the visibility with the vans!
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I know a Vizsla breeder that hunts out of her Chrysler mini van. She has 4 kennels set up and it works really well for her, for most of the hunting she does.
 
I just got back from SD in the 2023 GMC Sierra with the 6.2L that was inspected as part of the recall. They did the oil change to the heavier weight oil. I lost about 2mpg with the 0W-40 vs 0W-20 factory oil.
 
Mosby said:
I know a Vizsla breeder that hunts out of her Chrysler mini van. She has 4 kennels set up and it works really well for her, for most of the hunting she does.
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All my sharptail hunting in MT/ND is done out of the van; SD pheasant hunting I’ll use the van in October…sometimes Nov…
 
I'd rather walk than own a minivan.

My family had minivans growing up for many years and I hated every one of them. Thankfully, SUVs have essentially replaced them now.

Soccer practice moms, no thanks
 
Mosby said:
My Colorado has a short bed and 2 kennels take up most of the room in the bed but I have two small trailers(one covered, one open) I can hook up, when I have people riding with me and I need more space.
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Hi hun, so I'll probably 98% of the time, but those colorados are not big enough
 
gim said:
I'd rather walk than own a minivan.

My family had minivans growing up for many years and I hated every one of them. Thankfully, SUVs have essentially replaced them now.

Soccer practice moms, no thanks
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To each his own, no issue…I’ve had 3 suburbans, fine vehicles, though quality fell off with each successive one I owned…Saturn outlook sucked from reliability standpoint…my 2016 Silverado hasn’t been great either, but ok. I use it when necessary. I care about what works well for me, could care less about what people think…not many people out there who I really care to impress or just plain give a damn about…fools, mostly. I revel in the relative ease that my 10.5 year old dog gets in and out of my van…oh, yeah, paid 25k for it almost 8 years ago, I can afford to hunt 40-50 days a year out of state. I shudder at the price of many of the vehicles I see out there…payments, hit to the portfolio, insurance, warranties, repairs, gas bill, etc. But maybe they’re rich? I’m not, I’ve spent much time afield, not chasing $…no regrets! Me and my van(s), we’ll keep doing our thing! If u see a Toyota van, it’s probably me..😜 oh, my pants are nylon athletic pants from wal mart…$15….burrs don’t attach to them…best pants ever! All ripped up from fences. From van to my hunting attire, I don’t look the typical upland hunter…and I’m not…that’s a good thing!
 
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I was a financial advisor for 34 years, retired 2.5 years ago. I saw first hand how many people live, and consume, etc; we’re still in the first house we bot in ‘93…tight with 3 kids, but they’re out now. The first 12% of each paycheck was mine, starting day 1. Oh, I had a ford Taurus station wagon at age 24 or so…not cool, but very practical! Not nearly as good as the vans. $75,000 vehicles are doable, but I’d be working still…glad to have gotten out at 57. I have a theory about stress, and its impact…I think it’s more impactful as we age. It’s all about choices. If I had to have one rig, it’d be a sequoia probably…Toyota of some kind for sure. Back to consumption, choices, etc…God, Madison Avenue has lots of people by their nuts…and their wallets!
 
When my wife was in rehab for a month in 2016, I took the RAV4 a few times to SD.,,2 Rufftuff Intermediate crates fit fine in the back, and Lena rode next to me up front. Pretty good system for solo hunter. Oh, I had an equinox as well, lousy from a reliability standpoint. Hunted out of that early season as well with 3 dogs…
 
I get a major charge out of the names of vehicles…Denali, king ranch, Durango, sequoia, telluride, tundra, Santa Fe, to name a few. I doubt most people driving them have ever been to Denali or telluride or the tundra…but I could be wrong! 😄
 
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