Hauling Machines

[Kubota-monkey]

I said to myself it is about time I bought a pickup for just around the house uses. I was wondering if anyone could give me some info on what they believe is the best truck as I do believe most of you own one. All and any info is greatly appreciated Thanks.

The Ben from MA /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif

 

[john_bud]

I owned a Ford F150 4wd for 12 years and had great service from it, but poor gas mileage. With that said, I just bought a 2000 Cheverolet Silverado 4door 4wd. It has 2x the towing capacity of my Ford and gets 30% better gas mileage (17 vs 13). It is a great truck. I went with the Chevy to get the biggest back seat (without going to a full Crew Cab). 8000 miles and no complaints so far.

Without a doubt, you will face some tough choices on Truck selection. They are all so much better than they used to be, it is amazing. I had to choose what I wanted to do with the truck (hauling sand, gravel, and "stuff", towing a 7000# boat, going to/from work 5 days a week and having room for a child seat. For me it was either the Chevy 1/2 ton 4 door or the Ford Super duty extended cab 4 door (not crew cab). If I towed a bigger load or more often, I would have gone Ford again. As it was, the chevy met my needs better.

(The Dodge Ram was out as it has the smallest back seat).

Have fun!

John Bud

 

[scruffy]

John, there are RAMS, and there are the Dodge RAM Cowboy Coupes! They have more backseat room than the Chevy! Course the only place I ever saw them was in Oklahoma. There is a company there that custom builds them for the Dealerships.
The RAM diesels are very fuel frugal and extremely good at hauling any size load you care to throw behind them.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by scruffy on 11/6/00 11:26 PM.</FONT></P>

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Kubota-Monkey:I have a Ford F-250 HD power stroke diesel crew cab-It will pull anything i've attached to it and has as much interior room as any full sized car.The 7.3 navistar diesel is a real hauler and gives me 20 mpg at 70 mph on the highway.Other owners i've talked to say 400 k miles with reasonable maintenance is a common life expectancy for these engines.I love mine so far-have only 30 k miles on it though.

 

[Thomas]

Ben,
I'm Chevy person myself. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
I have 2000 S-10 e-cab loaded plus regular size 4wd 3/4 ton standard 1998.

Depends what your planing to do with the pickup,are you going to haul your Kubota..trailer etc..??
You might get by with a heavy half ton,but a three quarter ton 4wd will do the job.
Some like the auto to the standard transmission,but I believe the standard better for around town plus working...thats my 2 cents worth.



Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Billc]

Ben, you have to be more specific as to what you want to do with the truck. Are you looking for new or used? Heavy or light pulling? Do you want to buy new or used?

My last truck was an '85 GMC 4x4 diesel. The engine was crap. All the GMC/Chevy diesel engines (Detroit Diesel, which, by the way, Dodge/Benz bought this past summer) were terrible. GMC is going to an Izuzu diesel engine and an Allison trannie for 2001. The jury is out on it, but is sure looks like a heck of a truck.

I now own a '95 Ford 250 diesel 4x4. It's a basic work truck. Runs fine but it is not my main pull truck. Have a '98 Dodge 3500 diesel 4x4. Have done a lot of tweaking to the truck. Pulls like a son-of-a-gun now.

Of the two I like the Dodge with the Cummins much better. Drives better, sounds better, pulls better, etc. But, when I buy my next "main" truck, I'll probably go with a Ford diesel 4x4 with a crew cab. My brother just bought one. I like the way the Dodge drives, feels, sounds, etc. BUT, the crew cab has that huge back seat that allows you to carry 3 adults without ANY cramping. I just wish Dodge would come out with a crew cab.

 

[M. Sullivan]

F-250 Superduty diesel is the only way to go. Reasonable price, great resale, low maintenance and 200K+ mile life (up to 1M not uncommon on the engine if used/maintained perfectly). Can get anything from basic work truck to a cowboy cadillac. Drive one and you'll be hooked.

 

[TexasJeff]

I am a chevy person also, 97 3/4 ton, 2 wheel drive, 4 speed auto transmission, Gas. 100,000 plus miles half of it pulling either a 8000 pound gooseneck horse trailer or a 24 ft 12,000 pound gooseneck lowboy. Been very happy with it.If I buy a diesel truck it would be a dodge.If I stay with Gas it will be another chevy.Also remember the kind of trailer you pull can mean a lot of difference in the way the truck pulls. I am a firm believer in gooseneck trailers for ease of pulling and stability.

 

[heehaw]

I have a GMC 1/2 ton, 93, extended cab, 140,000 miles with no problems except repairing the alternator bearings twice..i tow a 16ft utility trailer with a JD 1020 a couple times a year to my folks, @100 miles away..plus usually haul hay every year; when not pullin somethin, i get 18 mpg on the road..i just bought a 2000 toyota, 4cyl, 5 speed, for normal back an forth to work and light hauling..28mpg in everyday driving..for a small truck, i'd recommend toyota, for a full size, unless i wanted deisel, i'd recommend GM..if your looking for used, check the govt sells in your area, we just had one here and 93 chevy trucks with 70,000 miles went for @ $3,000 and up..
heehaw

 

[bsauter]

I've had all of the big three. Dodge, Chevy, Ford. I have NO loyalty to any of them. Right now I drive a 99 Ford F350 SuperDuty 4x4 with the Powerstroke 7.3 turbodiesel. It has been the best towing machine I've owned so far. No problems in 50.000 miles. I get 19 highway at 75mph and 17 in town empty. Not bad for a 7900 lb truck. The truck and empty 12,000lb gvwr flatbed tip the scales at 10,400lbs. My only complaint: The front brakes warp too easily on the 99 models but they fixed that for the later ones.

My wife drives a 94 3/4 ton 4x4 Chevy Suburban diesel. We have 130,000 miles on it and the only engine problem we've had is the PMD electronic control on the injection pump getting fried twice. It has been amazingly well put together. Very happily surprised because I thought we'd just keep it a couple years. It only pulls 7500 lbs though. The GM diesels are lighter duty than the Cummins and Powerstroke. Also cost a lot less as an option too. You get what you pay for. We get 16 in town and on the road with it with the 4:10 gears. Too high a gear for good milage.

My old Dodge Ram 4x4 was good. The Cummins gave some problems with injection and throttle problems. The tranny was junk. (We had the auto). Things started to really fall apart at 65,000 miles on the rest of the truck. But overall I liked it. I needed a crew cab with the real back seat full size doors for the kids so I got the Ford.

The new GM's with the Duramax will be worth a look but first year is always a risk. They were having some hot weather testing problems with it. Production is delayed but they are starting to trickle out. (I belong to a GM diesel club). The Allison transmission sounds like it will be a definate winner and will blow away the others. I will wait to see how it goes. And dealer support will be the key. GM dealers never knew how to work on the old GM (Detroit diesel designed) engines. Dealer support was horrible. My local Dodge dealer farmed the diesel work out to Cummins. The Ford dealers usually have a diesel tech but you have to check around for a good one. Or better yet, take it to the International Truck dealer for engine service.

All three make good trucks and we are lucky to have the choices we do. All have their advantages and disadvantages. All three make lemons and all three have troublefree trucks. Drive them all and visit the service departments! That is probably key. If you do have problems you want good service and not all dealers are the same of course. Just go with what works good for you at the time and is able to feel your needs. And have fun shopping!!!

And remember: Real truck and tractors don't have spark plugs! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Brad, Kubota L3010HST, loader, R4 tires
Pictures at http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=179207&a=9183978