Diesel vs Gas

[RobertN]

It's a double whammy. The auto just does not do as well for mileage as the manual. They are better and better as the trannies have advanced in technology.

The gears have a big affect, since you wind the motor up to higher RPM. Going from 3.55 to 4.10 gears is a big jump for rpm, like 400 or so on the highway. That adds up to less mileage.

It does, however, give my truck the best load capability for an auto setup.

 

[ScottAR]

It's a '99 F550 PSD 6spd. XL trim level. At some point, someone shortened the frame and put a dually pickup bed on it. Asking $15,900. I think he'd go to $15,000. Odometer says 46,000. Could be 146,000 but it seems very clean for that underneath.

Still considering it, but I'm not sure it's what I need at this point.

I have no doubts I could get a CDL, finding the time to go take the course and so on is my problem.

 

[lonesome]

Just curious, what is the wet weight of a 7.3 PSTD vs the V10? I ask because I have an F250SD and when I licensed it, if I remember correctly the DMV said I could go up to 14 ton.

 

[cowboydoc]

Is it a regular cab Scott?

 

[ScottAR]

yeah. That's all I need. No kids...

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I have the GM equal to the F550, it's the C5500. We just took it on three thousand mile vacation and it was comfortable. My wife says it rides better than son in law's 2001 2500HD.

If that truck has it's original springs it has to to ride like a rock. Think about it. Truck probably weighs about eight to nine thousand pounds but has the springs to carry nineteen thousand pounds.

My truck weighs fourteen thousand as it goes day in and day out. Custom bed consisting mostly of three sixteenths plate isn't light by nature.

In Texas commercial plates are a nothing. Unless you don't have them of course. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif If you use your truck to haul anything you wouldn't normally haul in a car and you don't have commercial plates you're bait for the fine patrol.

The CDL is all about capacity. If your dually has the standard ten thousand to eleven thousand GVW (truck and load capacity) you'd better not get caught carrying a trailer with a capacity of more than fifteen thousand pounds. Twenty six thousand pounds is the line. That and over you have to have a commerical drivers license and the vehicle has to have fire extinguisher, flares , etc. and if you're more than so many miles from home, log book.

Around here DPS loves dual tandem goose necks being towed by three quarter ton and up pickemups. Even if the rig is dead empty the capacity, twenty thousand for the trailer, eight to eleven for the truck, exceeds twenty six thousand. It's a quick two hundred and fifty dollars for the local municipal court district.

Around here, norte tejas, another problem is the no truck streets. Rowlett, Texas is almost world famous for it's ticketing for the violation of the no truck signs.

What that's about is the empty weight of your truck. Duallys etc are not a problem. But trucks like mine are bait.

The glitch they get you on is the driver is the one responsible for finding the shortest distance on a no truck street if making a delivery. I have a supplier I visit occasionally near downtown Rowlett. The shortest route is not the one that I get to take. I get to go an extra three miles. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

But let's say that I had a customer midway between on that no truck street. It is my responsibility to know which route is the shortest distance on that street. If I get caught on what the city says is the longer option, even though I'm going to a job or returning from one, I get fined.

I found this out with my old 3500HD. Cop pulls me over and is nicer'n if he wanted to date my daughter. Then he explained that I'd violated the no truck law. I pointed out that I was going A to B and assumed that made it okay. While we were waiting for the weight information to come back on my truck he explained all the ins and outs of it all. He finally let me go because dispatch was taking so long to get back to us. I got about a block away when he caught up to me and pulled me over one more time. He explained that I'd been in violation and next time I'd pay.

There are days when one really appreciates being born with such an agreeable face. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Phred]

Here is the info from the arkansas DMV page:

"What type of license do I need to drive?
Class A - Any combination of vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 26,001 pounds or more, provided that the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of the vehicles being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds. Minimum age of 18.

Class B - Any single vehicle with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 26,001 pounds or more and any vehicle towing a vehicle not in excess of 10,000 pounds. Minimum age of 18.

Class C - Any single vehicle with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of less than 26,001 or any such vehicles towing a vehicle with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating not in excess of 10,000 pounds comprising: (1) vehicles designed to transport 16 passengers or more, including driver; (2) vehicles used in the transport of hazardous materials which are placarded. Minimum age of 18.

Class D - Any vehicle which is not a commercial vehicle as described above. Minimum age 14 restricted/16 unrestricted."

So take the 26,001 lb limit and subtract your trucks GVWR and you have the max trailer weight you can tow without the class A licence. All this assume its not commercial.

Fred

 

[ScottAR]

Ah ha! Many thanks! All I could find on the state page was how to renew my car tags. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Seems all I can tow is a 7,000 pound trailer. So, the hunt continues for a 250/350. Neat truck, but a little more than I really need with some niggling problems.
looks neat though... /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif