Pickup For Hauling Ice Fishing Gear

[amateurfishing]

I am currently looking for a pickup that can carry my ice fishing gear (particularly tcx voyager sled 6ft long). i have been looking hard at chevy 1500 lz and ltz series.  necessities are crew cab (for kids), standard box (to fit sled), running boards, and box cover.  i would like thoughts on cloth vs leather seats, spayed plastic bed liner vs metal, and even short box (and purchasing extender rack to fit sled) vs standard box.  would like to keep total package under 40G . have found some very nice LTZ's but just have too many perks that make them out of our comfort zone.  Kind of caught in a pickle.  can find used for mid 30's but then have very little or no warranty left (which wife wants), brand new starts low $40's with warranty.  thoughts plz.

Edited December 13, 2015 by amateurfishing

[ClownColor]

I have a Tundra crew max. Going on 4 years. Love the truck but it's had stupid issues so I'm not 100% on endorsing it out just yet. As far as box sizes go, a short box is not the best option for many fish house sleds. It will barely fit the small sleds. I can place an Honda Foreman in the back but obviously the tail gate it down.  I love my spray on liner, LineX. I'm not a big fan of leather myself but that's up to you, not anyone else on the web. Avoid cheap running boards, pay the extra money and find ones that don't rust...cause they will and bad. It actually can turn a great looking truck into dump.

[Hookmaster]

My old truck is a 2004 Silverado 1500 Z71 crew cab, cloth seats, ARE topper, Line-X bedliner and Westin Platinum (chrome-plated stainless steel) nerf bars. 183,000 miles and still going strong. Just put about 4,000 on this fall hunting. If I would wash the bedliner with a detergent and the nerf bars well they would look close to new. The topper is in very good shape except for the nicks I put in it. It has been solid mechanically with the rear door and access windows on each side. I couldn't get my newest 6 foot fish house in it so I would carry that in the snowmobile trailer. Kind of a pain if the lakes are drive-able because the covered trailer tows like a sailboat.

I don't need the crewcab anymore (kids are grown) so my new truck is a 2015 Silverado 1500 buddy cab. The fish house will fit in this one. I just ordered an ARE topper, Westin Platinum nerf bars and a Line-X bedliner. I expect the same performance out of them as the ones on my old truck. The truck has cloth seats (leather is cold/slippery in the winter and hot in the summer, but does have seat heaters. I wouldn't do the box extension thing because the road salt will etch the poles/hardware on the fish house. When I bought the 2004 crew cab, it was one of the first years they were out. Now they are almost more popular than the extended cab. I would say stick with the LT, not the LTZ, 

[BoxMN]

I have an old extended cab truck, so can't give you much advice... but I will say that those darn short boxes (brother and son have nice new chevy crew cabs, but those short beds) just plain succcc. Can't fit squat in them. Go on a three person, multi day, duck hunt or ice trip, and you are screwed unless you have a trailer. With two people you can do it, but I am pretty sure my Otter Lodge tub would likely not fit in the short box, I know it will just fine in my old (what we used to call 'short', I think 6'10") box.

Think 4 times before getting a "new short" box that seems all the rage these days. I couldn't handle it, myself... Good luck.

Edited December 15, 2015 by BoxMN

[Tom7227]

Size of the garage is what is going to control what you have.  Can a truck the hauls 4 adults with even the mid size 6 foot box fit in a regular size garage.

As far as worry about the size of the box Box think about how many times you haul your ice house.  What's the big deal if it sticks out a bit and you have to tie it down?

[fishadb]

A Chevy Crew cab comes standard with a 5.75' box you will not be able to close the gate with a tcx. You can order a 6.5' box with the crew cab or go to a extended cab. I have a 2012 Dodge Ram Outdoorsman club cab, the few times I have had people in the back I haven't had any complaints. I can get the tailgate shut with our TCX and throw a strap across it to keep it from flipping closed. Also I can fit my four wheeler in the back and close the tailgate, an ancient Polaris trail boss.

[Down2Earth]

Smart wife in regards to the warranty.   That AFM motor will start using oil sooner or later.  People will tell you the problem is fixed but it's not.   Myself and everyone I know has had the problem.   My brother in-law just traded his 2012 in with 78000 miles and was using a quart and a half every 2000 to 2500 miles.   But of course he bought another chevy.  Some people never learn.   Please Santa bring me a chevy ecoboost.

[delcecchi]

Why you guys love your government motors is beyond me.  How many people have they shafted over the years with bad designs?  And you guys still buy their junk. 

[ESSGuy]

I bought a new 15 Chev in August,double can reg bed, LTZ with 6.2l. Have 8000 miles now, been great. Average 19 mpg with all kinds of power, 41k before tax etc.

[Down2Earth]

Why you guys love your government motors is beyond me.  How many people have they shafted over the years with bad designs?  And you guys still buy their junk. 

because prior to 2007 they had the best 1/2 ton truck hands down.  I guess myself I'm still holding out hope.  Just give me a V8 without AFM which includes the new 6.2l or an ecoboost in a Chevy and I think I'd be looking to trade.  However I have no complaints about my Ford it's just not a Chevy.

Edited December 17, 2015 by Down2Earth

[BoxMN]

Size of the garage is what is going to control what you have.  Can a truck the hauls 4 adults with even the mid size 6 foot box fit in a regular size garage.

As far as worry about the size of the box Box think about how many times you haul your ice house.  What's the big deal if it sticks out a bit and you have to tie it down?

A crew cab with 8' box would fit in my garage in front of the work bench, so I don't care about that  And IMO a guy who doesn't look at garage size when buying a house.... well, he is doomed to make ugly compromises for along time, haha!

I also don't haul around my shack much, it is just that adding coolers, guns, ice shacks, decoys, whatever for a trip into a short box sucks. And when driving with the back open in snow, down gravel roads, etc makes a mess of the other stuff in the back. fine if that is all you have in there. I am glad there are options because we all use our stuff differently. I am just saying, beware of those small boxes if you don't already have one. I could not live with one, and glad I learned that using other folks short box trucks   Granted, I am also a topper guy, and I know many folks don't like toppers. I have trailers for atv, decoys, sleds (covered) if needed, but even with them a truck bed fills up quick once you go past 2 guys stuff.

Edited December 17, 2015 by BoxMN

[eyehunter78]

I'd look into a GM truck with the 6.2L v8 and stay away from the 5.3... As far as box choice go with the 6.5' box. It's easier to fit portables and other gear in the box and close the tailgate. It's point less to put a topper on the truck if you have to leave tail gate down to be able to put portable in back of truck! And go with full 4 doors. You won't regret it.

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