Discussion Forum - Northstar Chevelle Club

SShink · 3K+ Club

1/2 Ton or 1/4Ton...?

Lost in the 60s · President

Chevrolet makes a very nice mid-size truck called the Colorado... (GMC Canyon)

I had S10's for years, which is smaller than the current trend of mid-size trucks and hauled a 5,000# boat and trailer around with it. The V6 did OK.

With no kids now and minimal needs for a large truck, it might make sense to downsize. I even had a 7ft plow on the last S15 and it did great.

I didn't go down in size when I bought the 2011 in July, because I like the room of a full size truck and hauling capacity. We are considering traveling with a camping trailer in the future, so it needed to fit in with that too.

SShink · 3K+ Club

Lost in the 60s wrote:
Chevrolet makes a very nice mid-size truck called the Colorado... (GMC Canyon)
I had S10's for years, which is smaller than the current trend of mid-size trucks and hauled a 5,000# boat and trailer around with it. The V6 did OK.
With no kids now and minimal needs for a large truck, it might make sense to downsize. I even had a 7ft plow on the last S15 and it did great.
I didn't go down in size when I bought the 2011 in July, because I like the room of a full size truck and hauling capacity. We are considering traveling with a camping trailer in the future, so it needed to fit in with that too.

Thanks Mitch. I've looked at the Colorado's and Canyon's and not sure about that 5 cyl. engine they used? There aren't a lot around on the market in the mid $15K price range either without a ton of miles. The Frontier I'm looking at has the 270 hp V6, and uses the same boxed frame technology as their 1/2 ton truck, so seems like a solid truck. Here's the one I'm looking at: Frontier Link Paste

I guess I'm getting old and tired of the parking lot challenges with a larger truck too, so maybe the Frontier would be easier on me that way. Seems like 270 HP would be enough to pull most things other than a 4000 pound Chevelle...

And, I pulled the trucks next to each other, and I would gain 3' in the garage in the back, and about 1.5 feet on the sides, so it is a substantial change.

Lost in the 60s · President

Nice looking truck BUT....check the frame over very closely. Nissan had a recall on the full size frames because they rusted out and broke. As far as I remember, they didn't recall the midsize, but we saw a lot of earlier midsize models at Centerline for severely rusted frames. It may have been corrected by the 07 model, but better to look and be safe.

I forgot the Colorado had a 5 cylinder. 270 hp V6 will haul that Chevelle nearly as well as your current GMC...

-- Edited by Lost in the 60s on Wednesday 11th of November 2015 11:33:48 AM

dashboard · 2K+ Club

Stan, does your GMC have a six or eight foot bed?

SteveS · Super Poster

We just traded Mona's older Dakota for a 2006 Canyon with 50,000 miles. So far she likes it, it has the inline 5 cylinder and seems to have good power.

SteveS · Super Poster

Some of the Toyota Tacoma's had frame issues too.

SShink · 3K+ Club

dashboard wrote:
Stan, does your GMC have a six or eight foot bed?

6 foot bed.

SShink · 3K+ Club

SteveS wrote:
We just traded Mona's older Dakota for a 2006 Canyon with 50,000 miles. So far she likes it, it has the inline 5 cylinder and seems to have good power.

Nice truck Steve. That's what I've been looking for, but hard to find many around in good shape with less than 100K miles as I'm guessing you found the same.

SShink · 3K+ Club

SteveS wrote:
Some of the Toyota Tacoma's had frame issues too.

Yikes! Looks like those are late 90's early 2K's, so I would hope they figured it out since then. I'll take a good look at the frame. on the one I'm looking at, it does almost look like under the door area where some of the frame material is newer than rearward where it has some surface rust signs. I think the used car dealer sprayed most of the underside with flat black paint to clean things up (or hide something), so it's a bit hard to tell. I'll have to look closer.

They did provide the Carfax document to me, and the truck came from New York dealer auction and spent all of it's life out there. It does list a right front impact accident 4 years ago, but I didn't see anything in that area of the frame when I looked underneath.

I did just find this '05 Colorado that's interesting after finding out more on the Nissan/Toyota frame issues: '05 Colorado Link

Lost in the 60s · President

SShink wrote:
SteveS wrote:
Some of the Toyota Tacoma's had frame issues too.
it does almost look like under the door area where some of the frame material is newer than rearward where it has some surface rust signs. I think the used car dealer sprayed most of the underside with flat black paint to clean things up (or hide something), so it's a bit hard to tell. I'll have to look closer.
the truck came from New York dealer auction and spent all of it's life out there.
RUN, RUN, RUN, you don't want a truck from NY, they use as much salt as up here. I thought this was a local trade from the KC area.
Keep looking Stan...you'll find the right one...

Lost in the 60s · President

The 05 Colorado looks like a nice truck. Wild seat fabric but the rest is nice. Hard bed cover and bed liner.
As usual, the price seems a bit high for the age but the mileage is considered low for a 10 year old vehicle.
If you buy it, have them PDR the dent in the driver door first and fill the tank.

Chris R · 2K+ Club

Keeping in mind that your not in MN anymore. Does Kansas have a history using salt on the roadway in the winter time? Im not sure, is Kansas part of the "Salt belt". If Kansas isnt as hard on vehicles as it is up here, you may have much better luck with a given truck that would rust like those trucks in those posted photo's. Its like they say, "your results may vary". So to speak.

SShink · 3K+ Club

Chris I believe they do use some salt down here, but normal snowfall is 15-18" for the year, so not much.

Lost in the 60s · President

And you are within a days drive of other areas with little to no snow...Wichita, Tulsa, Oklahoma City...

Not that everyone is willing to drive hundreds, or in my case thousands, of miles for a vehicle, but the opportunity is much closer for you to find a really clean truck...

Derek69SS · Founding Member

I wouldn't ever go to a smaller truck, but then I don't think your intended use is the same as mine... I'm probably going to a 3/4-ton next time around.

The small trucks don't get that much better mileage to justify the loss in towing/hauling compared to a full-size. The only real advantage I see is that they're probably a lot easier to park.

SShink · 3K+ Club

Derek69SS wrote:
I wouldn't ever go to a smaller truck, but then I don't think your intended use is the same as mine... I'm probably going to a 3/4-ton next time around.

The small trucks don't get that much better mileage to justify the loss in towing/hauling compared to a full-size. The only real advantage I see is that they're probably a lot easier to park.

And take up less garage space if that's tight like in mine!

SShink · 3K+ Club

Lost in the 60s wrote:
And you are within a days drive of other areas with little to no snow...Wichita, Tulsa, Oklahoma City...
Not that everyone is willing to drive hundreds, or in my case thousands, of miles for a vehicle, but the opportunity is much closer for you to find a really clean truck...

You're right Mitch, if I had more time I'd expand my search. Just not enough time in the day.

SShink · 3K+ Club

Well, no checks off the man card... bought the one owner, 85K mile, 2005 Chevy Colorado crew cab. So, keeping it in the Chevy family! Pick it up tomorrow a.m. after they detail it out, then probably stopping to pick up a hood deflector, as that's about all that I can see that it needs. Chevy...Like A Rock!

05 Colorado.JPG 05 Colorado rear.jpg

SteveS · Super Poster

Looks really clean Stan, I'm sure you will like it. I don't have any complaints on ours in the 2 months we've had it. And with our single car garage it does save on space.

Lost in the 60s · President

Apparently you were OK with the test drive of the 5 cylinder...

Hoping it is a dependable vehicle for you for years to come...

Did you trade in the GMC or gonna try to get more selling it ? I'm sure the trade value is pretty low by now. My 2000 K1500 has lost a lot of value in just the last 12-18 months...

SShink · 3K+ Club

Lost in the 60s wrote:
Apparently you were OK with the test drive of the 5 cylinder...
Hoping it is a dependable vehicle for you for years to come...
Did you trade in the GMC or gonna try to get more selling it ? I'm sure the trade value is pretty low by now. My 2000 K1500 has lost a lot of value in just the last 12-18 months...

Yeah, the 5 cyl. has a little more vibration to it than an LSX... but I also drove a 2012 Canyon with 18K miles and it felt exactly the same. So, seems to be natural to the 5 cyl, and probably to be expected with the in-line block. It was more noticeable on startup, but not when driving. Gotta say too, this '05 crew cab rode MUCH better than the 2012 extended cab. Much smoother ride even though it's a 4X4 Z71 pkg.

I researched for any major recalls/issues, so hopefully I'm good with the reliability. The dealer tried to sell me the warranty program of course, but I'll deal with it if anything happens.

I traded the GMC in. Went to 2 other dealers and got trade in values of $6500 and $6000. The dealer I ended up trading with only offered $4500 initially, but I negotiated them up to $6500. When I went on-line, it looked like private owner retail was around $7K or so, and I figured in the frustration and exercise of selling it myself, so the $6500 seemed like fair trade-in value. At least that's what I'm telling myself...

dashboard · 2K+ Club

Very nice Stan, you'll like it I'm sure. Volvo used a five cylinder engine several years ago and they held up very well.

SShink · 3K+ Club

dashboard wrote:
Very nice Stan, you'll like it I'm sure. Volvo used a five cylinder engine several years ago and they held up very well.

Thanks Kevin.

Dropping off the GMC tomorrow will be a little tough since I've been through a lot with that truck in 5 years... From hauling engines/car parts, towing the convertible home from Iowa after I traded for it (You remember that one Kevin... '.... now that's a project' ), multiple moves of the kids to apartments, hauling half the vert in it during the restoration, moving to Kansas and towing the vert here. As everyone in the club knows, I don't seem to have much attachment to all the Chevelle's I've flipped (other than the vert now), but there's a lot of memories in this old truck. On to new journey's...

Lost in the 60s · President

I'm with you on letting the GMC go. I have my 2000 for sale that I've owned for ten years and I feel bad about that. I like the new truck, but I honestly prefer driving the old one. The new one is boxier and difficult to get used to where the front end is at. The ride is great though with the coil over front suspension and the rack and pinion steering is nice for handling.

Derek69SS · Founding Member

Lost in the 60s wrote:
The new one is boxier and difficult to get used to where the front end is at.

I still can't tell where my bumper is from the driver's seat...

Lost in the 60s · President

Well, are you happy with it, so far ?

I sold my 2000 yesterday.

SShink · 3K+ Club

Lost in the 60s wrote:
Well, are you happy with it, so far ?

I sold my 2000 yesterday.

So far so good. Have only driven it home about 30 miles from the dealer and out to dinner last night. It really does ride smooth for a 4x4.

Did you get out of your 2000 what you were hoping for?

Lost in the 60s · President

Yes, I did OK...