If you had a heavy big trailer, i would sure want a big block.
A a "REAL" welded on frame hitch. Not a bumper hitch.

Rear seat? Your basic chooses are extended cab (jump seat) and crew cab
(4 doors, full size seats).  YOu would be a sadist to puts kids in a
jump seat for a long trip. Most crew cabs would have been sold to
industrial concerns or such and more than likely would be pretty abused
from heavy service. Lots of private parties bought extended cabs.

Well, your looking at a vehicle with 100K miles in that age and price range.

Stick with the 2x4. Gas mileage with a big block? That's a joke.
The diesel would get better mileage, but i would stay away from
a high mileage used one. The GM's tended to crack the heads.
Nothing is cheap to fix one. Your only hope was to find that little
old lady who drove here extended cab diesel pickup only to church
on sunday.

See above

The more rust and body damage, the cheaper the truck. That also means
that owner did not give a sh.t and mechanically it may be suspect to.

Good Luck. A private party sale is your best bet in that price range.
Try to find one owned by a private party since new.

Plenty of GM's and fords around. But if the engine or trannie goes out,
even "JUNK" is NOT cheap.

stay away from the older diesels. If you value your pocket book.

Bob

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=248929390
3

Not mine, but I know they have room fer kids!

GMC Gremlin

IMO, stay away from any "company truck".
Ops tend to let them run all day & night for heat in the winter
and a/c in the summer.  An apparent "low mileage" engine may have
the equivalent of several hundred thousand miles on it.

I don't know where to find production figures but would think that
anything from the big three would have many common parts in the parts
store and have a good representation in the junk yard.  Chevy stuff is
as reliable as anything else in this class, Dodge auto transmissions
are a huge weak point for a towing vehicle so I would only consider a
stick shift in their product line, I don't have any first hand
experience with Ford products in this class.

Unfortunatley reliable and 5k are a hard combination to come by in an
extended or crew cab truck.  You might want to also consider a full
size van or even a Chevy Astro if they can be equipped to pull the
weight.

                 Steve B.

I have the perfect truck for you per your specs, but it will cost you $6000, and
it's in Fort Worth.

Texas Parts Guy

I was about to reflexively say "quad cab turbodiesel Dodge"  but I
think you'd be hard pressed to get one for anywhere near $5k that
doesn't have  a real "what's the catch?" issue (salvage title,
something fixin' to blow up, more mileage on the odometer than the
Space Shuttle...)

Other kinds of diesels are available and can be good.  I'd avoid a
pre-PowerStroke Ford -- they held up well enough, but don't have much
power.   The only PowerStroke of my extensive firsthand acquaintance
has given long, long service even though almost always burdened with a
cabover  camper *and* sometimes pulling a fifth-wheel camper too.  The
first generation Chevy diesels from the 70s are to be avoided and I'm
not convinced that the second generation was all that much better; the
present ones with the Duramax might be good but probably won't get
under your $5k cap by a long shot.

The other problem with diesels, of course, is that they can be a
nuisance to live with in cold climates.  They also tend to be noisy.
And the fuel isn't much cheaper than gasoline anymore.  So why do
people buy 'em?  Because they are wonderful at pulling and hauling big
heavy things without awful mileage penalties, and a good one, well
cared for, can last a LONG time.

So let's say you're in the market for a gasser unless you get really
lucky with diesels or put a good bit more money on the table.    All
the Big Three made decent pickups of this sort in the 80s and 90s, and
club/crew cabs with decent sized forward-facing real seats started
getting more available as that period wore on.

I'd advise a "three-quarter ton," preferably with full-floating rear
axle or at least the kind of semi-floater with eight lugs per wheel,
though a half-ton with proper towing package can serve you well.    
If in doubt, look for either a manual transmission or the heavier-duty
automatic (where  a choice was offered).

I wouldn't worry too much about parts availability.  All these
truck-based, full-sized, American-made sorts of vehicles changed much
more gradually/seldom through the years than did passenger sedans.

If you don't need the open pickup bed, consider a 2500-series
Suburban.  Plenty of room for the kids with honest three-row seating.
Nice wheelbase for towing.  Big-block examples can be found readily --
no vehicles in this class get mileage worth a flip, so you'd might as
well go for  the superior power.    Most if not all would be equipped
with a towing package.  Parts are readily available, including
something of a performance aftermarket (especially imporant since they
*do* eat brake pads and taco their  rotors) .  And best of all from
your standpoint, they haven't held their price all that well.

Somebody mentioned a full-sized Chevy van of the pre-Savanna
generation.  I have deep acquaintance with a 7-passenger conversion of
1995 vintage and would point out that you have to look closely at the
equipment and ratings of the particular van if your main goal is to
pull a heavy trailer a lot of the time.  It's a super comfortable
long-distance people hauler, handles like four roller skates and a
waterbed, gets mediocre gas mileage despite an overdrive automatic, is
not much fun in a stiff crosswind (not that anything pulling a 20-foot
travel trailer would be!), and has been fairly reliable under hard
use.

The bottom line is that (barring the few real turkeys like that first
generation of GM diesels from the 70s), the treatment and maintenance
to which an individual truck has been subjected probably mean more
than the model and year by this point.  Hold out and search hard  for
one that's been kept as a pet, and then have a trustworthy mechanic
with no vested interest in the deal give it the once-over.

One man's opinions, worth what you paid if your connect time is cheap,
--Joe

In my opinion, General Motors manufactures, and has since the dawn of
time (or 1918 ish) the best fullsize pickus on the market, new or used.

Any GM pickup (chevrolet, GMC, etc.) you can find is good. The best to
find would be a 5-speed manual hooked up to a 6.5 litre Turbo Diesel.
Second would be the 6.5 nonturbo and then the older 6.2 (defo not on a
95). Third would be the 305 gas V8, and the 350.

GM's automatic transmissions are the best in the world. I don't like
autos at all and prefer stick. But, you are not going to run into any
fried transmissions with GM or any problems. The best automatic would be
the 4L80-E, or the Turbo 400 (same w/o overdrive). You may get a 700R4 -
some had glitches (but not by 95).

Speaking from a 1990's model point of view, you can't go wrong with any
of the GM motors. The 4.3 V6 is a little underpowered, the 350 is
excellent, but the diesels are best, the turbo really helps too. The 305
is the smallest I would consider, but my 4.3/Turbo 400 C1500 pulls my
18' car hauler with Saab / Grand Prix / Jetta / Mazda / Small Tractor
fairly well. It isn't very fast on the road. GM transmissions are all good.

GM 4x4 seems to be very reliable, my 4x4 Jimmy still good.

GM's later model extended-cab pickups with the 3rd door are pretty
handy, there is a reason for the door unlike some "sports coupes" like
Mazda RX-8 where it's useless.