New to me, truck for towing

[jeffsw6]

I forgot to mention in my origional post that I also commute an hour one way to work daily, so it would be nice if whichever truck I buy gets reasonable mileage .(I drive a gas suburban right now so the mileage thing is relative , I get about 10 miles to the gallon now)......... Craig

Are you hauling the ATVs and the travel trailer at the same time?

diamondpilot is right, a 3/4 ton or 1 ton SRW is going to be much better for you than a dually, and the extra expense of a diesel is unnecessary. The heavier the truck you buy, and the taller your gears, the worse your commuting MPG is likely to be, and that seems to be the huge majority of your driving.

If I were you I would consider owning two different vehicles, one to save gas and maintenance expenses on the way to work. Maybe that is a Honda Civic or a Toyota Tacoma, whatever is small and good on gas.

Another question, why are you only getting 10 MPG in your Suburban? That sounds really low for commuting no matter what the terrain is like, unless you have an older 454 or 6.5TD. You might save yourself some money by finding out why it is blowing through fuel.

 

[Soundguy]

2003 to 2005 ford super duty's

that's going to put you into 6.0psd type engines.

if it was me.. I'd look at 99-2003 fords and get the 7.3psd


soundguy

 

[Kioti guy]

Thank's for all the suggestions so far,
To answer some of the questions that were asked , yes i will be taking two full sized 4x4 atv's and a camper, thats why I am going to a pick up , ptherwise I would stick with my suburban. I will be buying either a diamondback carrier or a marathon carrier to go on the box.
As far as the suggestion about buying a half ton goes i have had several and none have had the power that I would ideally like to have. Also I want whatever truck I get to be a extended(or quad cab) long box and that is allready getting to be a pretty big truck.
I used to have a really nice early 80s chev 1 ton dually , so I am aware of the negatives associated with them but d$&m they look good.
The suggestion to have two vehicles sounds like a good idea and I have done it in the past but By the time I pay $1000 bucks for insurance for an extra vehicle and buy the vehicle then do the maintainance on two vehicles any money that I might concevably save has been eaten up.
I average between 60 and 80000 km's a year thats partly why I am leaning toward a diesel, I see a lot of diesels running around with 5 or 6 hundred thousand k's , with gas vehicles you rarely see them still running with more than 300000..........Craig

 

[jeffsw6]

I do not know how much car insurance costs in your area, but my second truck is costing me less than $300 per year to insure, full coverage including rental reimbursement. I encourage you to price it all out before you make a firm decision.

There is a HUGE difference in towing capability from 80s and 90s trucks to the trucks of today. I would put an F250, Chevy 2500, Ram 2500, etc. up against a 80s dually. That is why folks are steering you toward a 3/4 ton or a 1 ton SRW instead of a dually.

Plus it sucks parking a dually as your grocery-getter and your fuel & maintenance costs will be a lot higher. With as much as you commute, you will be buying six E-rated tires at least every year. Compare just the cost of those tires to the cost of tires on a Honda Civic or whatever, and you already paid for your extra insurance.

$0.02.

 

[Soundguy]

I actually emphathise with kioti guy.. I deffinately see where he is coming from.

I got rid of my dodge ram half ton last year to get a heavier / safer truck for towing and farm use. that was a ford f350 drw, diesel. I have no doubt that with care, I will get a few hundred thou on it. Parking? it DOES fit in a standard space.. just not in a compact space. that just means you use your mirrors more.. no biggie.

I feel better towing withit.. a trailer doesn't snatch it around.. I know if I'm in an accident, I have a better chance for survival vs a smaller truck or car.. as for fuel economy... I don't notice a quantifiable difference between my f250 6.0 psd vs my 7.3 psd.. 3.73 vs 4.10 rear end. the 6.0 should be a lil better on fuel with that rea end.. but you ar emore apt to put your foot down on that 6.0 psd I think.. vs the 7.3. I do like both.. I do not plan on going back to a gasser unless economics or bad circumstances dictate that I can't keep a diesel..e tc. IMHO.. overall.. i think htey are more of a long term (slower return )payout investment.

soundguy

I do not know how much car insurance costs in your area, but my second truck is costing me less than $300 per year to insure, full coverage including rental reimbursement. I encourage you to price it all out before you make a firm decision.

There is a HUGE difference in towing capability from 80s and 90s trucks to the trucks of today. I would put an F250, Chevy 2500, Ram 2500, etc. up against a 80s dually. That is why folks are steering you toward a 3/4 ton or a 1 ton SRW instead of a dually.

Plus it sucks parking a dually as your grocery-getter and your fuel & maintenance costs will be a lot higher. With as much as you commute, you will be buying six E-rated tires at least every year. Compare just the cost of those tires to the cost of tires on a Honda Civic or whatever, and you already paid for your extra insurance.

$0.02.

 

[jeffsw6]

Yeah but if he is just commuting to his job most of the time, and it takes him an hour to get to work and another hour to get home, that's a lot of miles! This is why I am suggesting he think about getting a second vehicle for commuting, or be careful about buying something that may be expensive to drive / maintain.

 

[Kioti guy]

Jeff, Insurance in Ontario is stupid, I have a 25 year clean driving record no accidents etc and I still pay $1900 a year for my suburban and my grand Cherokee . On top of that I pay close to a grand for my bike. For a while I also had a 90s cavalier on the same policy that was costing me $700 on top .
So if I was to spend say $5000 for a small car then $1000 for insurance and say $800 conservatively for maintenance I am $7000 into a second car.
Even with the admmittadely large difference in fuel mileage between the truck and the small car ,I don't think I could ever recoup my money.
The other problem with a small car is I live in the snow belt ,I commute on a crappy two lane secondary highway through rock cuts and in crap conditions and I am just not comfortable doing my drive in a small car ,I figure worst comes to worst in a bad accident I will be much better off in a large vehicle.
On another topic several people have said to stay away from the Ford 6.0 psd but I'm not clear on the problems with this engine, it would be nice to hear what the actual problems are and any workarounds......thanx again...Craig

 

[Diamondpilot]

The new 1/2 tons are better trucks than a 3/4 ton gas truck of 10 years ago. My 08 Nissan Titan 1/2 ton will stomp all over a 3/4 ton gas truck built in the late 90s when you look at brakes, power, towing, ect. The only place a 3/4 ton gas would beat it is payload and not by much. Its not just the Titan, its all the trucks from GM, Dodge, Ford, and Toyota.

The game has changed. Forget everything you know about trucks and start over. These new motors like the 3.5L Twin Turbo Ford Eco Boost puts down more power and out pulls the Big Block 7 and 8 Liter motors of just 10 years ago.

Chris

 

[Soundguy]

Yeah but if he is just commuting to his job most of the time, and it takes him an hour to get to work and another hour to get home, that's a lot of miles! This is why I am suggesting he think about getting a second vehicle for commuting, or be careful about buying something that may be expensive to drive / maintain.

but it is not out of the question for a dually to be a daily driver.

my dually is my daily driver.. go grab bread.. run to store..e tc... etc.

 

[timswi]

but it is not out of the question for a dually to be a daily driver.

my dually is my daily driver.. go grab bread.. run to store..e tc... etc.

If I didn't have to worry about having to park in city parking garages every once in a while, I'd be driving a DMAX diesel dually every day.