Caribou Gear Tarp

Maverick

Coworker has one and it has been reliable.
He has no idea what he is doing, truck-wise, and has taken it some inappropriate locations for it and no real issues yet except the “skid plate” is basically a felt liner that is now shredded. What a joke that stock shield is! Low clearance and a probable lack of durability with any long term off pavement use would dissuade me. But if its a road use only, well taken care of and maybe treated to a few aftermarket upgrades, it should get you to and from the trailhead with no problem.
 
338win said:
I thought about a trump pride flag and post it at a trailhead to prevent anyone from coming around.
Click to expand...
You might be onto something. If I saw a Maverick parked at a trailhead, I might have second thoughts about going up the trail based purely on assumptions about what kind of person the driver might be. 😀
 
Ford really missed the mark, all they needed to do was bring back the 90s era Ford f-ing Ranger for the people who want a small truck. I bought one of those for $2000 cash when I was in high school and put 150,000 of my own miles on the old girl. I’d put chains on all 4 and take that little shitbox into places that raptors would fear to tread all over Montana.

Before I finally got rid of it I had the automatic transfer case go out on me while I was working in Sheridan. Crawled underneath and used a pair of vice grips to shift it into 4 hi and drove it home to Billings through a blizzard.
 
The 90s and 2000s Rangers were great!

A coworker of mine has a Maverick. He likes the MPG, and uses it as a daily driver. No off pavement driving for him. I would pass on it unless it was lifted a bit, it sits way too low for my liking.
 
I think the Maverick would be a fun commuter car. I like my F-150 for hunting and hauling though. The Maverick probably would be good for the use case you are describing.
 
Hope this thread isn’t too old just yet…I ended up buying a Maverick this year, awd with the tow package for daily use. I still have an older 7.3 4x4 flatbed that I use(d) for anything major. I’ve driven all sorts of vehicles and while the Maverick does have major rainbow vibes….its so damn pragmatic. The payload is higher than all the midsize trucks and some of the half tons….the 4.5 foot bed leaves one wondering how you’d shove 1300lbs in it but that’s a different perspective. I was worried about the ground clearance as well but there was a couple years I took my wife’s fwd rav4 hunting all over….if the terrain was steep or slippery I just stayed on the throttle and beat on it, this little thing has better clearance and awd so im not too concerned.
 
After pricing out what I want, I might as well just buy the base model f150 or tundra.
 
338win said:
After pricing out what I want, I might as well just buy the base model f150 or tundra.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it was marketed as a “cheap” truck and with the exception of a single trim, there’s nothing “cheap” about the price. I bought mine through a fleet dealer, I wanted awd and the tow package and nothing else, was under 28k but had to wait. Back in 2020 I bought the most loaded double cab tundra for 39,800…that same truck is 60k now.
 
Record sales for the Maverick this year. My Bro-in-law traded in his F150 for a Maverick last year and loves it. His fun mobile is a new Shelby or GT Mustang every couple of years. He can buy whatever he wants.
 
Company has a bunch of mavericks as cheaper fleet vehicles for construction craft compared to putting everyone in half tons just to get around a project. There have been some pretty big issues where we had to take them out of service for a while, cant for the life of me remember what the problems were though.

I see a Subie outback as a more practical option. Cant think of anything id need to put in the bed that I couldn't put in the hatch of an outback and at least you could lock it all in the outback without needing a topper.

I got an outback as a commuter a while back as i needed a car to qualify for company vehicle stipend that my paid for f150 didn't qualify for. A wife and 2 kids later and its now her daily toddler hauler. The outback has basically same ground clearance spec as a standard 4x4 f150 IIRC which makes sense just because of the rear differential. That said, functional ground clearance greatly favors the pickup as the whole perimeter of the body is quite a bit higher.
 
Last edited:
A few of the issues with the Maverick and hunting

Gas Tank

The size of the gas tank. (Also a lot of the mid sizes fall into the small gas tank category)

14 (2.5 Hybrid)

16 (2.0 Eco Boost)

The AWD/2.0 Off road versions will get around 20 mpg at best in the mountains and less if loaded up, towing or on steep or rocky terrain.

If you hunt close to a gas station or take extra gas cans, it can be less of an issue.

AWD vs 4WD

Some forest roads or even blm roads are fine as long as weather conditions are great.

They can turn down right snotty with rain or snow melt.

4WD low, I have only used on a handful of times. But I am glad that I had that option.

AWD is good from preventing you from doing into the ditch and 4wd is great from getting you out of a ditch.

AWD also necessitates you replace tires in 4's rather than in 2's or an individual tire.

Ground Clearance

9.4 Tremor (About the same price as an entry level Tacoma or F150)

8.6 FX4

9.4 is the base you get from a bottom of a barrel tacoma and f150.

Not having those 10 extra inches could have you bottom out fairly quickly.

Small Bed / Towing

The Bed on the Maverick is 4.5 Feet. Which is probably ok for a solo hunter with minimal gear, but could put a damper on things if you added more people and their stuff.

If you tow anything, the maverick is not for you.

Even with the 4k package.

You will be tossed in the wind, when cars pass you will be tossed, and you will be underpowered.

Fine for runs to home depot, but I would not want to do a ton of highway miles towing with it.

4k truck + 1,000lbs of people or cargo + 2k trailer is a very dangerous combination when it comes to stopping even among other midsized trucks.

You would need a trailer brake if even attempting this.

You also have a cargo capacity of 1,500 lbs, which is a plus.


It could be good in a lot of applications, but can be limiting in other applications as well.

If you are going to spend 35k on an off road Maverick, then I would probably spend the 35k elsewhere and get more.
 
Just scooped up a small trailer for gear behind my Maverick, getting around 20-21mpg with the trailer and 29 with out.

I sometimes wonder about the ground clearance but after ripping through the mountains in Oregon and every logging road in between in a rav4, I am confident I should come back with most of the parts on the bottom of the maverick still attached….loosely. lol
 

Attachments

  • IMG_5655.jpeg
    IMG_5655.jpeg
    3.7 MB · Views: 9
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Living with Elk, Deer, Moose, Wild Bison & Wolves.
Replies
6
Views
640
Rack Daniels
Rack Daniels
M
When I saw all his photos of trophy bucks, I asked: How did you get so close to them?
Replies
1
Views
614
kansasdad
kansasdad
SRW
Do you like my elk hunt plan?
2 3
Replies
45
Views
5K
Tracker12
T
jwatts
Eulogy for a friend
Replies
13
Views
2K
Schutzhund
Schutzhund
Big Fin
End of Grizzly Delisting?
2 3 4
Replies
71
Views
7K
Dave N
Dave N

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
117,364
Messages
2,154,992
Members
38,198
Latest member
tfreilin

Share this page

Back
Top