Petite Dually: 1989 Jeep Comanche
Have you ever wanted a dually pickup truck, but you don’t care to drive around in a one-ton truck all the time? If so, this Jeep Comanche, located in Mohave Valley, AZ, and for sale here on Craigslist, just might be the ride you’ve been looking for. Thanks to Curt K. for the submission!
Based on the popular Cherokee SUV, the Comanche was Jeep’s effort to compete with imported small trucks and to lure drivers who were beginning to choose trucks as their daily transportation. Manufactured for only seven years, the Comanche was not a strong seller. Jeep moved fewer units in seven years than Chevrolet moved S10’s in an average year. I guess that’s why I’ve always liked Comanches and why I looked for one when I was truck shopping – you don’t see too many of them around.
Under the hood, this truck has Jeep’s 242ci inline 6, renowned for its durability, so this truck should be able to provide many miles of trouble-free service. For a nearly 30-year-old truck, this example appears to be very clean, with very little rust visible in the photos and a nearly immaculate interior. The only fault identified by the seller is that it needs tires. And in this case, you’ll be shopping for six tires, as this truck has been converted to a dually setup. Other than aesthetics, I’m not sure what the reasoning is behind this conversion. Duallies are great for hauling extra weight and for towing stability, but I’m not sure this truck is capable of hauling or towing enough to make the extra two tires useful.
While the dually setup may not be practical, and the appearance is a love-it or hate-it affair, there’s no denying that you’d likely be the only one on your block with one of these. Clean, older trucks are hard to find, so $4500 doesn’t seem unrealistic for this truck, but I’m not sure how many buyers will find this truck’s custom touches appealing.
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Comments
Cool little truck I’d drive it. It takes a ton of work to make this conversion fit and what’s impressive is that it has the correct wheels up front too. I think it’s reasonably priced for what your getting. Tires should wear well do to the weight per tire being much lower than that of a full sized truck.
I’d drive that truck all day long!
you’d be surprised what these can tow. iirc my 2000 cherokee xj could tow upwards of 4500# which is at least 3000# higher than most suvs are rated today.
definitely not 2wd body on frame pickup territory but respectable for what i needed at the time (pop up camper, family and equipment).
I would love to take a Cherokee,cut it right behind the rear doors,
and create a “crew cab” if it was possible..?Then give it some lift..,
I’ve always liked these,and even though the “usefulness” of the dually
Rear is questionable….I think it is really cool looking,and a nice surprise to see.
This truck does look awfully nice….and price doesn’t seem too bad.
Really cool find…!
This looks like one of the Ford Rangers Galpin Ford made back in the late ’80s. They were duallys as well.
This has the “Big Ton” package, boosting payload to over 2K lbs. If the PO put a 5th wheel hitch in the bed, I could see this as a nimble little horse-trailer hauler, or something similar. And if that included a lot of time on unpaved/softer surfaces, the extra contact patches in the rear could make a lot of sense. Or even if it was just for hauling a bed full of rocks.
Yeah, I’d drive it. Compared to the turd I’m driving now, this is an upgrade. Lol.
Sure could fling a lot of papers out of
this rig! Especially on a Sunday! I’ve
always liked these too. You could a lot
in them and not pay a lot for fuel. Too
bad they didn’t catch on with the public
like the Rangers and S-10’s did. If they had, the small truck scene would’ve been
very different in the ’90’s. The compettition would’ve been feirce for the
small truck buyer’s dollar. And compettition is a very good thing.
These kits were available through J.C. Whitney’s catalog. I thought about getting one for my 86 Comanche. Once I gave it more thought it seemed a bad idea. Glad I passed on it.
Small money really for this. 2wd, 4.0 will give a lot of service miles for sure…I’d prefer 4wd but you can’t be too choosy if you’re searching out a Comanche Just not many of them around
“Don’t care to drive around in a one ton truck” This is a one ton, and would ride like one.
I don’t think this came with a straight 6 my friend bought a brand new one.only offering I heard of was turbo 4cyl and 2.8 six cylinder.although the inline six is better the GM 2.8 might be the biggest turd ever made
The GM 2.8 was indeed awful. It was only offered in 1986. It was replaced by the excellent 4.0 injected inline six in the 1987 Comanche.
Awesome looking Jeep Comanche. It’s a damn shame that it was never available with dually rear axle. I can see this towing a small trailer or carry a camper. I’ve always liked the Jeep Comanche, and was hoping Jeep would’ve continued to offer it along with the XJ Cherokee. It’s sad that didn’t happen.
You only need to buy 4 tires! Just put 2 on back until you decide if you are going to keep the dually setup! It will run and drive just fine! I love the truck, but as always stuck in this damn bed most of the time!
too bad it’s so far away for me. Great winter car and summer hauler!
I drive an 80 GMC 1 ton dually now with the gas sipping (!) carbureted 454. This great looking Jeep would save me the purchase price in fuel in 6 months… it would look awesome with a short 5th wheel camper trailer behind.
luv me an M-715 (1st gen) but their great 4 the 4WD.
Like the frnt bench seat & if U gotta have a dully the full step dwn the side goes there for this’un.
The engine’s a tip top piece of automotive options but would pass on this street rig. Bigger is better in that world.
Smaller in 4WD (a personal vehicle) than this would geddid 4 me as well.
Thanks for the article/pic Lee!
This would be the talk of the campground if you showed up with this 5th wheel in tow https://www.scamptrailers.com/showroom/19-deluxe-trailers/19-deluxe-trailer-layout-a.html#!20160219_102654_clipped_rev_1_751.
The weight of that trailer is under 3k, which should be OK for the Comanche. There are a couple of other companies that make small, lightweight fiberglass 5th wheels.
This would be the talk of the campground if you showed up with this 5th wheel in tow https://www.scamptrailers.com/showroom/19-deluxe-trailers/19-deluxe-trailer-layout-a.html#!20160219_102654_clipped_rev_1_751.
The weight of that trailer is under 3k, which should be OK for the Comanche. There are a couple of other companies that make small, lightweight fiberglass 5th wheels.