Im big into fly fishing by and I’m getting ready to upgrade my vehicle, but I’m on a tighter budget with a baby on the way (my wife’s car is gonna be our family car.) I’m leaning toward a smaller truck, mostly because I camp a lot and want space to keep my fly fishing gear set up and ready and helps for haunting my wife’s Facebook marketplace finds and inevitable housework on the horizon)
If you’ve built your own rod holders or any DIY storage setups that work in a smaller truck bed or inside the cab, I’d love to hear what you tried.
I’m also open to car recommendations if you drive something that works well for an outdoor heavy lifestyle.
What truck models or cars should I look at, and what storage ideas have held up for you?
Posted by woozy-wolfe
17 Comments
Vehicle non negotiables are awd, but definitely balling on a budget and shopping car max/something used but will be taking it up to the mountains a lot
Obviously a Tacoma if you can swing it but they’re hard to find for a “deal”.
I’d look at a previous gen Nissan Frontier. They’re cheap and overall reliable, just not as sexy as the Tacoma.
I mean a Tacoma or 4Runner all day. Buy used. Throw on a wheel/tire package off eBay and a budget lift (toytec or spacers w/ 5100 shocks). You will not be disappointed and it will last forever
Subaru Outback Wilderness. Factory lifted with AT tires. Goes just about anywhere, reasonably economical, can pull a drift boat, throw a rod carrier and/or rocket box on top if you need more space. Back seats fold down to provide enough room to sleep. And oh yeah, the 2.4 L turbo has a lot of zip, it’s fun to drive.
Honda pilot😎
A Morgan CX-T. If only you stretch your budget a little
My lil Ford Maverick Tremor is an amazing fishmobile. It’s not going to do any rock-crawling but it has no problem on steep muddy forest service roads. No roof racks yet but it has the potential for a lot of customizations. Look at the Bronco Sport Badlands for the SUV version.
Mercedes sprinter answers all of those questions for me.
Congrats, soon to be dad. I have two little ones myself and my two cents is to wait on the truck until you’re done with car seats. Look at a Subaru Forester. I love mine (2014 model year). Great gas mileage, used ones are relatively cheap and they’re tall enough to negotiate fairly rough dirt roads. With a rear seat down, you can fit 10 ft rods inside the cab fully rigged. You’re going to want the interior space on those family days – even a 4 door Tacoma is pretty tight in the back with a carseat.
If you don’t want to pay the Toyota tax…. A GMT800 Tahoe or Yukon (1999-2006), or any GMT800 truck. Find one with less than 200k miles, 4wd, proven power terrain, no tech to leave you stranded, built like a tank. You’d have room to haul the baby, camping gear and fishing gear. Not sure your budget but if you’re under $15k this could be a solid move
I’m a huge fan of my 2013 Nissan Xterra. It’s the third Nissan i’ve had following a pickup and then Pathfinder, all bought used around 60,000 miles, all easily reached/about to reach 200,000 miles or more with limited repairs and regular upkeep, all kept stock but each wore various all terrain tires (the Xterra is at 191,000). Not AWD but all had 4×4. Unfortunately the last year they were offered was 2015 i think, but can be found for way less than a Toyota. The Pro-4X version had some nice offroad upgrades. My Xterra is an S which is perfectly capable.
All of these have taken me up along forest roads into California’s Sierra Nevada for camping, backpacking and fly fishing trips.
Tundra and go wherever you want
I have 2 fishing rigs. landcruiser and prius. both are equipped well and stocked (camping gear, etc). All i need to do is load in food, fishing gear, clothes and I’m off. I take the prius most of the time (gets 55 mpg vs 12 mpg on the lc). If I were to have to choose 1 car, I’d go with 2020+ rav4 hybrid. You’re looking at 40 mpg and enough room for gear and to sleep in if needed. It’s essentially a higher clearance, roomier prius with awd.
I see lots of full size rigs at parking lots and trailheads. I can do weekend fishing trips for 1/3 the cost in the prius.
I also have a small trailer (1.5k), for longer trips, but i have to take the lc to tow. Good thing about the rav4 is that it can tow 3.5k.
My Tacoma SR, base package and a roof rack lets me solo with my big fishing kayak and get a lot of gear where ever I wanna go
Landcruiser. Bad gas mileage. Very $$.
Ridgeline with roof rack. Added bonus you get in-bed trunk that you can fill with ice if you’re keeping fish or have a secure area for rods+reels. Also fantastic place to stash wet waders.
2009 Nissan Pathfinder V6 FTW. The last production year that they kicked ass. Small enough to be convenient, big enough to lay a sleeping pad in the back. No, mine is not for sale.