Time for a New Truck

[LBrown59]

Back when I joined TBN i asked about what i needed to haul my BX23 TLB on and was always told I needed at least a 3/4 ton full sized pickup and at least a 16 foot equipment trailer .
Now here you come along pulling a 5500 pound tractor that weighs 3000 pounds more than my 2500 pound BX23 with a little ole light weight S10 .
Something is wrong here between these 2 scenarios.

My current truck is a 1999 S10 4x4. with 68,000 miles. I have it set up to pull my trailer and Tractor I bought as a package in 2007. I am guessing the tractor weighs in about 5,500 or so. Since 2007,
.

Nearly complete waste of money to buy a diesel with such low mileage being driven .

If he would use it for a daily driver it would be worth it being a diesel.

 

[jeffsw6]

Back when I joined TBN i asked about what i needed to haul my BX23 TLB on and was always told I needed at least a 3/4 ton full sized pickup and at least a 16 foot equipment trailer .
Now here you come along pulling a 5500 pound tractor that weighs 3000 pounds more than my 2500 pound BX23 with a little ole light weight S10 .
Something is wrong here between these 2 scenarios.

Perhaps you tow more often than Jeff does?

He says he has only really towed his tractor about five times in the several years he owned it, for trips of a few miles. When you tow that infrequently, as long as you are not going to mangle your truck when you put the trailer on, you pretty much can always go slower for that 10 miles a year worth of towing.

If you are like me and tow 100+ days a year in city traffic then that is a different situation.

It's like all these guys you see hauling a 24' power boat with two mercruiser V8s to the lake with their Jeep Grand Cherokee or whatever. You can do that a few times a year and probably not tear up your vehicle but if you did that 100 times you'd be buying a transmission and a rear end, not to mention white-knuckling the steering wheel every day praying that no one is dumb enough not to give you 200 feet of stopping room.

It really does not snow that much in Kentucky so I think the OP would be fine just getting whatever truck he wants, sure get 4x4, but maybe MPG is not the biggest concern since he has a Honda to commute. Honestly, my girlfriend has a Mustang, and the worst winter in recent memory, I had to drive her to work every day for probably 3 or 4 weeks that winter. A few weeks of crappy MPGs is no big deal.

If it were me I would get a comfy 1/2 ton V8 4x4 and ignore the MPGs.

 

[slowzuki]

68,000 miles on a truck in 12 years is not a lot of driving folks, never gonna pay back a diesel on that.

LBrown, some people have a thing about telling people they need a semi-truck to haul anything more than a lawnmower. A 1/2 ton today will tow 5-6000 lbs without blinking. 1/2 ton with the V-8 will accelerate nice and quick for heavy traffic merging.

I happen to have an F-350 but also spent lots of time towing with 1/2 tons. Nicest thing about the 1 ton with the 2.5" hitch, you can load the tongue to crazy amounts without WD hitch. The 1/2 ton you just need to be smart about load placement and using the WD hitch on heavy loads.

 

[rasimmo]

There is no way the OP can justify buying a 3/4 ton, much less a diesel. You can pay a truck note on a new 1/2 ton for the cost of 1 air filter, 1 set of fuel filters, and 2 oil changes on my 09 F250PSD.

As said before, a 1/2 ton with small V8 would be the best way to go in my opinion.

 

[crazyal]

If it was me I would get a larger v8 in a full size 1/2 ton, something like the Tundra with the 5.7. You just don't drive enough to justify the slightly better gas mileage (since it sounds like you're light with the foot). OTOH having the extra horses under the hood will pay for itself with less wear and tear pulling your tractor.

Also I think I would go new over used (or low mileage/ year used). If you're going to keep it 10 or more years. After about 12 to 15 is when issues like rubber hoses and other parts start to show their age. It's about the time when you have to make the choice, do I spend money keeping my truck running or do I replace it and make payments.

 

[two_bit_score]

If it was me I would get a larger v8 in a full size 1/2 ton, something like the Tundra with the 5.7. You just don't drive enough to justify the slightly better gas mileage (since it sounds like you're light with the foot). OTOH having the extra horses under the hood will pay for itself with less wear and tear pulling your tractor.

Also I think I would go new over used (or low mileage/ year used). If you're going to keep it 10 or more years. After about 12 to 15 is when issues like rubber hoses and other parts start to show their age. It's about the time when you have to make the choice, do I spend money keeping my truck running or do I replace it and make payments.

Think you're right!

 

[JeffandTamara]

Thanks Everyone for an interesting conversation...I have learned a lot. Oh Yea Merry Christmas to everyone! Kids will be here in a bit

So the original reason I posted, Seems like I am starting to put a a lot of maintenance expense into a 12 year old vehicle. Like a lot of people, I have scrapped by for the last few years and done without. Maybe its all the TV marketing that lulls you in to think you need a new shiny truck. Instead of continuing to pay a mechanic, Maybe it's time to pay a salesman.... One of my objectives is to be able to be able to safely and legally hook up the trailer and go, without too much worry. I enjoy doing volunteer work, and there are times my little tractor would have been a real help.
The primary objective though, is to have a reliable commuter when the weather is bad to get to work. Like a lot of people, our second car, needs to be a pickup. The wife needs mulch, need to help the kids move, etc,,Gotta have a truck. So which one. I am reading all the mfg specs and been to the local Ford and Chevy Dealerships, (Kind of depressing when the Total keeps getting close to $30,000).

A few items to clarify.
(1) The Honda I spoke about is a GL650 Silverwing Motorcycle, 50+ mpg, trying to do my part to conserve gas!!
(2) The Truck has 68,000 miles. of that, I am guessing I have had my tractor on the trailer for less than 30 miles total since 2007. Not much. If it makes a difference, all of the miles are on rural roads with speeds less than 45 mph.
(3) Seems to me, far and away the biggest safety concern getting stopped. The Dual axle electric trailer brakes work really good. Also, booming down the Load (Tractor) Properly is essential, and keeping the trailer Tires Up to snuff. Keeping trailer wheel bearings clean and greased, etc.

 

[jeffsw6]

I guess the motorcycle isn't very much fun to ride October - April or so!

It is worth mentioning that, for $30k+ you would spend on a new truck, you could probably buy a 5-year-old 1/2 ton V8 PU and a 5-year-old Ford Taurus, or an MPG machine that will last for ages like a mid-size or compact Honda/Toyota sedan.

 

[JimRB]

What maintenance/major repairs does that truck really need? I have had vehicles with 300,000 miles that just get PM, repairs and replace know underengineered parts. Clutch design was bad for my current VW with 300,000 miles so I had replaced it a while back. Transmission bearings in my now dead Toyota that had 287,000 miles. I got a used 2004 Dodge 2500 with 130,000 that I hope is the same way. Just do PM and hope that it does not have any expensive design flaws. If you do your own wrenching, PM is often not that expensive.

I liked the payload and economy of the Toyota as it was paid off for 21 years but some kid totalled it. I like the payload and towing power of the Dodge but hate having a note for 5 years. Actually the payload on the Dodge is sad at only a ton for such a huge engine but the towing capacity is really nice.

If you live in an area where they salt you might consider heading to a non-salt area like Atlanta, North Georgia, South Carolina away from the coast to find clean used vehicles. We have 30-40 year old cars on the road that were long since scrapped in Ohio. Well what had not rotted away was scrapped.

 

[Bird]

The Honda I spoke about is a GL650 Silverwing Motorcycle, 50+ mpg, trying to do my part to conserve gas!!

Not the Interstate version? Mine was the red one. But in '85, I traded up to the Aspencade.