Is it time for a new truck?

[powerstroke444e]

For what your doing find a f650 or international 4400 or something like that only thing you won't have is 4wd. I bought a 97 f450 and ran it until last year and it was much better than about any of the newer stuff.

I bought a 12 f350srw as I found a 'deal' on it and it does handle fairly well I wish I looked harder for a low mileage 5.9 dodge or 7.3l ford they bring a premium and are worth it.

 

[cockeyedMFer]

. If you want to know what I found out from these wonderfully helpful folks here, grab a beer, or soda or glass of tea and sit and read for a while, cause it ended up being a long thread. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...onest-suggestions-about.html?highlight=diesel
Good thread, I think I remember posting in that a while back. If I did I was the guy that said "get a cheap gasser" LOL.

If you go gas, there is a guy that pulls his 5th wheel in our group with his Ford 6.0 (gas) and I THINK he has fairly high gearing, like 3.73 or higher even, for better empty MPG's, but if it will be mostly towing, go with Hawkeye's suggestion and gear it for the speeds and loads you will be driving. If you're hauling heavy with a gasser, it will be happier with 4.10's than 3.73's. I found that out a long time ago.

The Dodge 3500 dually with the 6.4 hemi comes standard with a 6 speed AT and 4.10s. I wish you could get a manual trans, unfortunately only with the diesel. Haven't looked at Ford's offerings in a while but will shortly..

Your truck is 18 years old. Things break. I will go against the crowd and sayn keep and fix your truck, stay on top of maintanence and drive it. It's paid for, simple to work on, and cheap to work on. I would buy an older truck (diesel) and fix what was wrong and keep driving it. I want to be able to work on my own things and don't like all the computers and complexities of the newer vehicles. I will agree with what people have said about diesel not be what it used to be.

My tow rig is 20 years old I wouldn't want another truck

That's why I'm torn. Maybe its just a run of bad luck because its getting close to the magic 100k mile mark and the previous owner has deferred some maintenance.

To me, this truck is like a cadillac and was what I always wanted - in fact I drove an almost identical truck working for an old car museum while in school. So its hard to let it go. But, these old trucks are only rated to tow 10k, and even back in the day we were overloaded towing a heavy old car in an enclosed trailer (about 16k lbs gcw).

How the heck did guys pull those 42' gooseneck race car trailers back then with just a dually and a big block gas engine? Did anyone ever pay attention to weight ratings?

So I have to admit that just going by my average loaded weight, I've really outgrown this truck.

 

[cockeyedMFer]

For what your doing find a f650 or international 4400 or something like that only thing you won't have is 4wd. I bought a 97 f450 and ran it until last year and it was much better than about any of the newer stuff.

Bigger trucks are cool, but commercial insurance and CDL may be an issue. I'm trying to investigate some of that stuff now.

 

[cockeyedMFer]

Last post for the evening

My wife's advice, believe it or not, is to buy a new truck. So for future reference guys, apparently the trigger for getting your wife to support such a decision is waking her up in the middle of the night to come save your stranded butt!

 

[RollingsFarms]

If you're willing to sacrifice the manual transmission, see if you can find a dually with the 8.1/Allison in it(Chevrolet/GMC). Those are some pulling beasts! I know of two near me and the owners love them, wouldn't part with them for the world.

 

[terryknight]

To me, this truck is like a cadillac and was what I always wanted - in fact I drove an almost identical truck working for an old car museum while in school. So its hard to let it go. But, these old trucks are only rated to tow 10k, and even back in the day we were overloaded towing a heavy old car in an enclosed trailer (about 16k lbs gcw).

How the heck did guys pull those 42' gooseneck race car trailers back then with just a dually and a big block gas engine? Did anyone ever pay attention to weight ratings?

So I have to admit that just going by my average loaded weight, I've really outgrown this truck.

They did what they needed to to did things done. I don't know, but feel they were less concerned with rating than some people today. I will admit I go above and beyond on what my truck is rated for

 

[cockeyedMFer]

they were less concerned with rating than some people today. I will admit I go above and beyond on what my truck is rated for

I agree. 10-15 years ago I was taught to use the towing rating as a guide and make sure a truck had good tires, tranny cooler, good trailer brake controller and wiring. And when I discovered weight distribution hitches it made towing so much better.
We had a four hundred dollar '89 F250 with a 351W that pulled 9-10klbs on numerous road trips, and that was considered "pushing it just a little" LOL.

But back then we wouldn't think of running more than 55-60mph for safety...nowadays truck buyers expect to run 70mph or more fully loaded. And integrated brake controllers? Electronic sway control? This is space shuttle technology to me.

 

[deerefan]

Your truck is 18 years old. Things break. I will go against the crowd and sayn keep and fix your truck, stay on top of maintanence and drive it. It's paid for, simple to work on, and cheap to work on. I would buy an older truck (diesel) and fix what was wrong and keep driving it. I want to be able to work on my own things and don't like all the computers and complexities of the newer vehicles. I will agree with what people have said about diesel not be what it used to be.

My tow rig is 20 years old I wouldn't want another truck

Great advice. Stay away from debt if at all possible.

 

[texasjohn]

I know that there are a number of people who have been pulling RV's and are aging out now....not into RV's and trucks anymore. I would search thru Craig's List and other places where such people might post a pickup for sale....I bet that there is an older pickup out there which has not been driven much in the last few years, thus lower mileage yet depreciated down. If you have cash, it can be made to talk to them.

Sounds like you can handle regular maintenance items, and this can save you money in the end....

The real issue is value of your time and reliability of transportation. I've always done a lot of my own repairs for a long time, but now at 70 I am doing this less and less.

Good luck on your search....and the idea of a gas truck might be a good one...diesel still costs more than gas.

 

[cockeyedMFer]

Thanks for all the replies.

So I've been reading up on Ford and Dodge specs. (Sorry GM fans, I just can't stand the looks of the 2014-15 models)...and ironically, unless I get a CDL, I really can't tow much more than I'm hauling now. The GVWR on both Ford and Dodge 3500 trucks is close to 14,000 lbs, which added to my 12k gvw trailer is 26k. Anything over that, as a combination, is CDL territory since I'm not hauling for pleasure and the trailer is over 10k GVW.

And I can't see a way to reasonably say its a hobby since I'll be hauling inventory for resale.

Alternately I can go with a Ram 2500 which, when optioned properly, will tow somewhere around 15-16k but has a lower GVWR. That just doesn't seem as safe as a dually, but its legal. Funny how that works.

I put a call in to the Ohio State Patrol to clarify all this, but they "close" at 3pm...If its just a matter of taking a test and getting a CDL, that's fine, but I don't want to hassle with scales, logbooks, medical cards, etc.