Yes a truck from this generation will tick off all those boxes and I think you would be happy with any of the available engines. The one place Ford dropped the ball with them however is with axle gearing, I'd say a large percentage of trucks were delivered with less than optimum gears for truck duties but that is something you can address once you have a solid truck in hand.

 

these trucks are quite reliable and, if you do your own wrenching, super economical.
a roofing contractor, you say ? all i know about roofing is that asphalt shingles are heavy. my guess is that you would be overloading a ranger and,in fact, may want to consider an f250 ?
in texas you should be able to find a very decent truck for way under 10k.

 

I agree with everyone else, you really can't go wrong with a 90s Ford. My 4.9 gets around 13-15 mpg with the 5spd, 4x4, and 3.55 gears. Its a little on the slow side, but when I hooked up to a trailer full of wood and loaded down the bed it still had plenty of power, didn't even know the load was there until I had to stop! I acquired it last year without a title and it sat for 12+ years in the woods. In one summer I got it running, driving, titled, and insured for almost 3K and its now my daily driver. I've made several 2 1/2 hour drives up and down I-81 running 70+, and its never given me a problem. If you take care of it and ensure it's properly maintained, it'll take care of you.

 

Go F250 or F350. Shingles are heavy, as you well know. A load of old shingles, stacked bed-high will be about twice what your 1/2 ton load capacity is.

I also don't see the economy in a 1/2 ton that will be wearing out suspension parts early. I also don't trust a semi-floating rear axle for that occasional overload. Trust me, my niece's husband is a roofer and he's managed to put the hurt on a F350 SuperDuty. Also, a 300/6 is not economical when you have to keep your favorite right roofing boot deep in the throttle to haul that load of shingles in the bed. Yeah, it will haul it, just don't expect to get there any time soon.

Go big, my friend. Buy an F250/350 once, cry about it once, be happy for the life of the truck.

 

I used a 96 F150 short bed super cab as a work truck for a few years and it never let me down. It was a 5.0 with overdrive automatic. Great little pickup and very capable of earning it's keep. I did not routinely haul big loads but occasionally and pulled a trailer with my concrete saw and 250 gallons of water quite often, plus hauled cars behind it on a 16 foot trailer, several trips from east Texas to the west coast. I have owned several 300 sixes and they are a great little engine, easy to service, but overall I'd take the 5.0. It has way more guts and actually gets about the same mileage. Mine was 3.50 geared and got a good 16-17 running empty and 13-14 pulling trailer. Had got as high as 20 with a good tailwind,lol.
If you are hauling building supplys much, get a trailer and don't beat your pickup bed and suspension. I never beat my pickups beds up throwing a bunch of heavy stuff. Get a good trailer, much easier on the truck and you. And the $1500 you spend on the trailer you will more than save by not beating you pickup.
I say all that because I have owned very few pickups that were NOT F250 and F350. I hesitated to buy an F150 but never regretted it for a minute. If I could go back and find one that nice now, I'd buy it again in a heart beat. Just beware that old Ford automatic trannys are known to give out and be prepared for the $2000+ kick in the wallet when it happens. You could go 5 speed but any backing around on a jobsite will make you hate it. You can't back a trailer uphill without smoking the clutch because reverse is geared so high in them. Unless you have a 4x4 and low range.

 

Your nieces husband must be a thrasher then. It all depends on how you take car of your stuff. I have a 2000 dually power stroke with a 6 speed I bought used with 200,000 miles on it and have worked it for 7 years hauling scrap and pulling trailer. It is just as good of truck today as it was when I bought it becuase I take care of it. I have a nephew that ranches and he gets a new F350 4x4 about every year and they look like they were in a demo derby when he trades, plus spend half their life in the shop getting broken stuff fixed.

 

I did residential construction and remodeling for a couple of years out of my '95 F-150. Every once in a while, I'd pull the boss's trailer to a job site or haul the dump trailer. It did fine, but the boss had a 3/4 ton that towed much better. All that to say, I second the advice you've already received. A mid-90's F-250 in decent condition should do everything you need it to.

 

 

Being a roofer myself I can definitely vouch for these old trucks. Our 93 F-350 5.7L dump truck has been in the business since 99 and is still going strong. My 97 F-250HD 7.5L was added to the fleet in 2010, and my Dad owned an 89 F-150 5.0L which he used solely for roofing for 22 years before it was so rusty that we had to let it go, even though it still ran great with over 200,000 miles



93 F-350 5.8L (The Dump Truck)



My 97 F-250HD 7.5L



89 F-150 5.0L (Old Blue)



The 05 F-350 which replaced Old Blue

 

Nice lineup you have there. I also have several trucks and a Mercury GM. I use what fits the need best. Only use the powerstroke when I need to pull trailer or other work. Just got an 89 F150 scsb 4x4. What I like driving most is my 59 F250 4x4, get it out almost everyday to go uptown or to coffee. Use the big Merc for dr. appointments, going to the city ect because I like the 25 miles per gallon.
I guess if I only had one pickup, it might be an F250 but I don't like to spend 95 percent of the time lumbering around in something bigger than I need just to have it the other 5 percent of the time. Kinda feel the same way about 4 wheel drive.

 

love the dump truck.

 

I need 4x4 as I often need to go to muddy jobsites in the middle of nowhere without cell service, which would make a very bad situation to be stuck in. And it allows us to work through the winter on back roads without winter maintenance.

Thanks! It actually has a flatbed on it with removable sides. Which it makes it really easy to load a pallet of materials on it with a forklift. So it really is the best of both worlds.

 

Yup, if you need it, you need it. Most people who own them don't need it at all.