That vintage of Jeep pickup was quite a vehicle in a lot of ways, and they're fine for big and tall people (though crewcabs and even extended cabs were not available). However, they have two disadvantages here.
First, the original poster obliquely mentioned small trucks that were good on gas. These SJ chbuttis trucks and their Wagoneer-Cherokee stablemates got mileage typical of other USAmerican half- and three-quarter-tons of the era, i.e., ranging from bad to frightful, depending on engine and driveline.
Second, as I learned when shopping for one a few years ago, coddled examples are surprisingly expensive; conversely, one that's been used as intended is likely to be pretty tired by now. That doesn't mean they should be ruled out, especially if you just mean to use it on weekends to take the old stuff to the dump and bring back the new stuff from the lumberyard; but it does mean you need to choose carefully.
As the 70s turned into the 80s and first-generation smog plumbing reared its ugly head, you also have to watch out for what a friend of mine called the "heart-lung machine" school of engine controls. The recompense is that at some point in the early-mid 70s they grew front disk brakes, a better style of front hubs, and other modern equipment.
In their defense, it is fairly hard to break them outright -- they were pretty honestly built.
I don't know the Internationals as well, but would imagine that they have some similar issues.
If I haven't scared you off yet, check out, respectively, and
Cheers, --Joe
PS. Remember that a small flatbed utility trailer (few hundred bucks used) greatly increases the versatility of a small pickup and also lets you carry messy or awkwardly shaped objects with an SUV style vehicle.
