Free: Contests & Raffles.
That question needs more information to answer. What is your hunting style? Do you truck camp with a big base camp, or hunt out of a backpack? Early season in addition to late when there's snow? How much cargo space do you actually need? My guess is that if you're traveling out of state, especially if warm weather is a consideration, the Jeep is out simply because you won't be able to haul your gear and enough cooler space to handle the meat you may come home with. Figure on two 100 qt coolers for a mature bull elk, boned out, or an absolutely plugged 100 qt with a spike bull. You going solo or with partners? Room for their gear and additional animals...A Tacoma is plenty doable, we drove to Wyoming several times as a kid to hunt in my Dad's 92 Toyota 4 banger. Brought back a lot of meat. We weren't camping though, and that makes a difference. I personally love my Silverado with the 6.5' bed and canopy. I can haul all the necessary gear for a week or more of hunting whether I'm base camping or backpacking it. I can also sleep in the back of it with my canopy on, so camp is wherever I am. It's highly capable in the snow, especially when paired with chains, and it's comfortable for long drives. Can tow utility or travel trailer, or boat if that's a thing we may consider.
I am on my 2nd Nissan Frontier. 2012 ,4x4, four door. have 90k on it. Never got into the super truck frame of mind. It gets around the narrow roads easier than the big trucks and doesn't take a bank load to drive it around on Hwy or every day. If I need more cargo space I back up to my 10x12 utility trailer and go. No issues with it.
Trucks are great but I love not having to set up a tent or buy anything extra to use it for camping. Best money I ever spent.
Buddy, what you really need (to buy for "us") is an expedition vehicle. Here are some options you should consider. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/58546863889335794/?lp=true
Very subjective question. The short wheel base point should point you in the right direction. For me compact isn't a big deal. I haven't found myself on excessively tight 4w tracks. Ability to sleep in the back and haul a couple other guys gear is more important. And more than that, reliability. Completely limiting anything that can go wrong. So for me the ultimate hunting rig:1994-97 Dodge Ram 2500-Diesel, with a manual transmission. 22 MPG on the highway for the long trips. Everything is mechanical, (including the injection) there is no reliance on anything electrical. If the battery goes, it can be compression started and it'll run how it is supposed to. -canopy-carli 2.0 suspension-a host of other minor steering/suspension upgrades to soften the ride offroad.-Pulls a fishing boats too -Drivetrain is borderline not killable. A million miles is definitely a possibility if you can store the thing indoors. A lot of guys I know would say no way to rolling in a truck from that era. Stuff today just rides and drives too well. But I only use it for the woods and mountains, and for those purposes I want basic and fault tolerant.
I bought my 2019 OR TRD Tacoma last August. Not only is it packed with features, but it goes through and over just about anything. I needed a friend who's more familiar with what 4WD vehicles can do to show me the extent of its capabilities. I absolutely love the vehicle except for the mileage. Mileage is about 16 average, not the 18-22 on the sticker. Otherwise, I'm trilled with the performance of this vehicle, pulling, quality of ride, specialty 4WD selection. Check out crawl mode on YouTube. Amazing stuff.By the way, August is the month to buy. They increase the rebates and cut the 4-year extended warranty in half. The warranty is transferable. Resale value on these trucks is off the charts. Get financing through whoever the local dealer goes through and then search the credit unions for an additional point off the APR. Oh, and it's fun to walk in with a bag of cash for your down payment and see everyone's reactions, especially the credit manager, who almost never sees cash for anything. I used a large ziplock bag for mine.
The new Ram 1500 ecodiesel have been catching my eye. 30 mpg and up to 500 miles a tank is a huge feature for me in a hunting rig. Sure it's a full size, but the mpg is better than most midsize and you've got more truck when you need it. I always have heard suspect things about the long term quality of newer ram interiors...but as long as it doesn't fall apart it would be a comfy and capable hunting rig
