Looking for a farm truck...

Fallon · May 20, 2014

My 2009 Tacoma with a 6,000lbs tow capacity is maxed out by my 2,000lbs of trailer & 4,000lbs of tractor. Combine that with wanting a beater spare vehicle, something for my father-in-law to drive (he did more work than the twice what I can afford to put into the truck last time he was in town) and what not has me looking at getting something. I have dreams/delusions of possibly doing some tractor work as an occasional part time gig, and if so, probably use that farm truck for hauling over my Tacoma. I'm thinking something in the 3/4 or 1 ton range. It would be nice to load up a few implements in addition to the tractor & trailer, but I don't foresee pulling over 10-12k much if ever. The 16' tilting deck I have now is rated to 14k, but unless I got a mini excavator, I'd need a larger trailer just to fit that much bulk on a trailer.

I've got some decent mechanical skills, but not the most free time & don't wan to do a lot of wrenching on a vehicle. I'd prefer a diesel due to the durability & the fact fuel won't go bad as quickly if/when it sits for a while.

My budget is probably going to be in the $2-5k range. A quick look at Craigslist here in Denver seems to indicate something in the mid maybe late 90's with over 100k miles will line up there.

Any pointers on anything to look for or stay away from such as lemon years or models for engines, trannies, etc? Am I out of line think I can get a reasonably reliable truck for that price range?

Buckgnarly · May 20, 2014

Older 7.3 F series. The only thing that sucked on those F250s was the TTB suspension Ford put on them. You can avoid that buy going with an F350 or installing a solid axle Dana 60 from a 350. Great trucks, super easy to work on.

Diamondpilot · May 20, 2014

5K is not going to get you much. Getting it road legal may be the issue. Brakes for a 1 ton and tires will be another grand plus.

Bump your budget to 10K and you will be money ahead. Look for a high miles late model 3/4 ton GM with the 6.0L gas motor. Most bang for your buck.

Chris

94BULLITT · May 21, 2014

I'd look for an old Ford or Chevy with a big gas engine and a manual trans.

Diamondpilot said:
Look for a high miles late model 3/4 ton GM with the 6.0L gas motor. Most bang for your buck.

Chris

Nah, a Ford with a V-10 is:stirthepot:

MinnesotaEric · May 21, 2014

As Diamond Pilot said, lean toward GMC 3/4 and 1 tons as they were/are more highly regarded as the Chevy offerings.

Diamondpilot · May 21, 2014

94BULLITT said:
I'd look for an old Ford or Chevy with a big gas engine and a manual trans.

Nah, a Ford with a V-10 is:stirthepot:

Trust me, I would like to see him in a Ford but his budget is not going to get him a decent one. Around here 2500 series GM trucks with the 6.0 are a dime a dozen.

Guy 2 doors down just bought a 2005, 4x4, headache rack, snow way snow plow, GN hitch, new rubber, 131,000 miles for $8000.

Chris

handirifle · May 21, 2014

Except he said it might sit for a while, and wanted a diesel.

If you do get a gasser, you can add Stabil or similar to the gas, to keep it from destroying itself. Not sure how that affects power. Gassers will be cheaper to keep up, in some ways, but just as much in others.

In your stated budget, there won't be a lot to offer. AN older Dodge with the Cummins would be great, but you'd probably have to figure on going through the tranny at some point, that was a real issue on early Dodge diesels.

My Brother in law bought a 95 Ford 1 ton dually, flat bed diesel and has less than 5K in it. His is the older 7.3 turbo, IDI and runs great, BUT it does NOT have a lot of power. IIRC 95 was the transition year that Ford also put in the 7.3 Powerstroke. So if you find a 95 turbo diesel do not assume it's a Powerstroke. I don't know enough to tell you how to look at the engine and tell the difference but am sure someone here does.

He hasn't towed with his, but has hauled over 4K on the flatbed before.

Look for a 96 or so Flat bed Ford 1 ton with the Powerstroke and whatever else you want. Go to craigslist or autotrader and type in diesel and define how far out you want to look.

Deals are out there in your range, but it will probably have over 200K

Fallon · May 21, 2014

I want a diesel... But you don't always get what you want, especially with my budget. And it's want not need. Given my use case for the truck & not taking it more than an hour from the house mostly, I can probably get by with less HP as long as it's got good suspension & brakes.

Good:
F250 with a 7.3l diesel engine (great except for the front suspension)
F350 with a 7.3l diesel engine
GM 2500/3500 with a 6.0l gas engine (cheap)

Bad:
Ford 6.0l power stroke diesel engine

Should be a good starting point for more research, thanks for the info.

handirifle · May 21, 2014

As I mentioned, personally I'd look past the 7.3 IDI, as (at least based on my BIL's truck) it's under powered. He pulls a 7% grade here locally, EMPTY, and ends up down at 35-40 MPH because his EGT's go through the roof if he puts his foot into it more. Plus he gets only about 10-12 MPG on average. Pretty bad for a empty diesel.

I looked up the power rating for the latest IDI's and it's like 170hp and 420 on torque. Pretty darn low, especially by current levels. The down side is there is VERY LITTLE that can be done to boost power on them. I have read of a number of IDI's throwing rods when boost pressures get in the 15-20 psi range.

I think you should be able to find a Ford Powerstroke with 200K on the clock for your price, with a manual tranny, which is probably stronger than the auto for those years. Current production power levels are getting so high they de rate the engines power for manual transmissions, for those that still offer them.

As for the GM I haven't done any reading on the 6.5L diesel (also an IDI I THINK). I did work with a friend years back that had a 6.5 diesel in his Suburban and he always say it was pretty weak but got good MPG. Then when the internet got big (this was a few years ago mind you) he started finding tons of info on the net and made some minor tweaks and said it was a HUGE power difference, so that might be a thought as well.

Good luck. Let us know what you get.

Diamondpilot · May 21, 2014

handirifle said:
As I mentioned, personally I'd look past the 7.3 IDI, as (at least based on my BIL's truck) it's under powered. He pulls a 7% grade here locally, EMPTY, and ends up down at 35-40 MPH because his EGT's go through the roof if he puts his foot into it more. Plus he gets only about 10-12 MPG on average. Pretty bad for a empty diesel.

I looked up the power rating for the latest IDI's and it's like 170hp and 420 on torque. Pretty darn low, especially by current levels. The down side is there is VERY LITTLE that can be done to boost power on them. I have read of a number of IDI's throwing rods when boost pressures get in the 15-20 psi range.

I think you should be able to find a Ford Powerstroke with 200K on the clock for your price, with a manual tranny, which is probably stronger than the auto for those years. Current production power levels are getting so high they de rate the engines power for manual transmissions, for those that still offer them.

As for the GM I haven't done any reading on the 6.5L diesel (also an IDI I THINK). I did work with a friend years back that had a 6.5 diesel in his Suburban and he always say it was pretty weak but got good MPG. Then when the internet got big (this was a few years ago mind you) he started finding tons of info on the net and made some minor tweaks and said it was a HUGE power difference, so that might be a thought as well.

Good luck. Let us know what you get.