Medium Duty Truck

[Charlie175]

This is an example of one of the trucks I was looking at.
1994 4900 DT466. 261,000 miles. Eaton 2 speed (Doesn't say how many gears). Very well taken care of by the pictures with full maintenance records
$5k

 

[Hay Dude]

Beverage tractor. Very common and inexpensive to buy. Probably a 5 speed with 2 speed rear.
It値l be real cheap to buy, but they are usually run really hard with a less than experienced driver. Also lots of short trips and idling while unloading.
Ask seller how many hours are on it. If I had to guess, with 210,000 miles, I bet it has over 10-15,000 hours.

Probably only going to be 190-225HP, too. Many beverage tractors have numerical high gears, like over 6.xx.
Not going to be a good long distance or highway truck.
Good basic truck, but probably pretty worn-out.
Slow and uncomfortable for anything more than 1/2-1 hour trips. Hills will be slow to pull.

It would help if we knew your budget and distances you typically travel.

 

[Charlie175]

Drat. I thought that one was nice This company changed over to new trucks with Autos. They have to shut the tractors off when exiting the truck.
Distance would be 120 max each way.
Most of this is simple 2 lane 55 mph roads

Budget, well since this is a "want" to have not a "Got" to have, cheaper is better. $8k was my max.

Other one is this 1988 Ford L8000, 7.8, 10 speed, setup for Goose with brake controller. $6500 (Which I think is high)

 

[Hay Dude]

Depending on how it is built, the L8000 is probably more truck. The 7.8L Ford Brazilian diesel was a decent engine, but was discontinued 25 years ago. Parts could be tough. If it’s a HD 10 speed with a hi/lo built into the transmission (as opposed to a 2 speed rear), it’s a “big box” transmission. It should have counter rotating shafts and bigger bearings. The other truck with a 5 speed is a “small box” transmission. Lighter duty.

They’re about a toss up, but I’d keep looking. Knowing your budget and job description, you might be better off looking for a highway truck. 120 miles isn’t exactly a short trip, let’s say 2.5 hours. Be a lot nicer on an air ride seat than a bench seat.
Me? I’d take an Allison auto. They are really nice and they will flat out scoot compared to shifting.

You should be able to find a custom haulers truck with higher miles, but they’re easy highway miles.

Not trying to discourage you, either of those trucks would do the job, but you have to watch what you’re buying, or you’ll end up back where you started, looking for the correct truck. You’ll need air brake endorsement with either of those.

 

[Charlie175]

I have seen others with the autos but passed on them. I figure the manual would be reliable.

 

[Hay Dude]

I have seen others with the autos but passed on them. I figure the manual would be reliable.

It is more reliable. I just prefer the auto. I figure for the thousands of shifts I do not have to do it's worth a little extra un-reliability. Manual transmission is cheaper, too.
I am probably older than you, so I am kind of past my stick shift days.

 

[4570Man]

I kinda like driving my manual transmission trucks. Plus there’s less power loss than the auto. Now with that said I hate a geared tractor. I’d also recommend looking at dump trucks. That was the same idea I had when I needed a truck to pull my backhoe. I was going to buy a single axel day cab road tractor like you’re looking for. I decided I’d rather have a dump truck because it would be more useful. I’ve ended up dump trucking a lot more than the original goal of trailer pulling. I like pulling a GN a lot better behind a pickup but behind these trucks with a trailer that light is doesn’t make a lick of difference. I pull a pintle weighing 22k behind mine and there’s zero concern with sway, excessive hitch weight or lifting the front of the truck off the ground.

 

[Paystar]

Yes, and the 8.3 is a wet sleeve rebuildable unlike the 6.7. The 8.3 Cummins is a good engine.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I see Youtuber, DeBoss Garage, is replacing one with a rod sticking out the side.

SR

 

[Hay Dude]

I see Youtuber, DeBoss Garage, is replacing one with a rod sticking out the side.

SR

Is that unusual? It could happen to any engine. It could be an older engine, one that was abused, or vandalized. Or it could just be one that was a bad luck engine.
I’d take a Cummins 5.9/6.7/ 8.3 over anything else out there in that displacement range in a truck.
There’s other fine diesels out there, but Cummins is used everywhere including AG. Even when IH got out of AG tractors and merged with Case, Case-IH went with Cummins. That says a lot.
And I’m an IH DT engine owner....hahahaha