[ckhd]

My 16-year-old daughter loves this body style, and I'm looking at buying her one. With our budget, it will be one we have to do work on before we can drive it anywhere.

It seems much easier to find the 1 1/2 - 2 ton trucks, and I suspect she likes them more than the 1/2 - 1 ton pickups (she says, "ooh, let's get that one" more on the heavier trucks).

If I get a bigger one, I don't want to do anything like "put it on an s-10 frame". I'd like to keep the original frame and make it as functional as possible, even keep the truck rims. so...

What are the down-sides to getting a heavier truck instead of a pickup? Is it possible to find basic mechanical parts (wheel bearings, u-joints, suspension bushings, brakes, etc...)? I know fenders, hoods, and grills are different than pickups.

I supposed I could stand to put one on a newer dually frame, just to have accessibility to parts.

Let me know your thoughts before I bite the bullet on one and end up regretting it, or worse, not being able to have her drive it.