Opinions on Diesel Trucks???

[_RaT_]

Hi Robert. Hey awhile back you were talking about a Dana 44 IFS for your old Ford. Question, did you ever get the springs re-arched and if so where did you go? I'm sure Sacramento Spring does them. My front end is about 1/2 to 3/4" from the rubber bumpers now and the tires have a very obvious post 1967 VW bug rear end stance. As much as I would love to replace the entire truck, its in great shape and I have a home to build here. Thanks, Rat

 

[RobertN]

The JPA in our area buys Chevy 3500 based medic units. All are gas engine. Although people like the diesels, everyone seems to fear the diesel fumes. Nobody wants to smell the odor/fumes while loading and working up a patient. There was some talk of basing new medics on the Ford F450 chassis, but I do not know if that is still in the works.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I am impressed.

The only thing I would say with the prices charged for clutches in these trucks I might consider it a major repair /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

I had several Fords with 351s in the past and really liked them. I have always gone through trannies maybe its' just me /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif Tha includes GM, and Ford. The newer vehicles ssem much better than autos a few years ago. It ahs been about 7 years since my last "experience"

The PSD has 93k and is doing fine so far so we will see. If it goes I will spend the money and get one of the high performance rebuilds that several places do. Only slightly more than Ford and one place gives a 2 year warranty NO MATTER what HP you run or do with the truck.

 

[RobertN]

Re: Here\'s the deal on diesel trucks...

Yes, the last couple of years have brought changes in the auto's, finally.

I really like the 6sp stick in the F450 I have worked with. I was a bit dissappointed though goin 45mph up Bass Lake grade here while hauling 6500lbs of Bobcat plus 2500lbs of trailer. It's not that big of a hill.

Next truck, years down the line, will probably be a flatbed, even if only a 3/4 ton. The flatbed with TONS of tie downs on that F450 is really nice. It is not as pretty as a regular bed, but is much more useful!

 

[ScottAR]

Re: Here\'s the deal on diesel trucks...

I agree completely. My next truck (which will be soon I hope) will be a 350/450/550 flatbed. I load them all day at work and it's much easier. Usually, I don't even have to get off the lift. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Re: Here\'s the deal on diesel trucks...

If you're going to get a flatbed don't even stop in the F350 parking lot. It doesn't make any sense.

I have the Chevrolet that's in the same weight class as the F550. For about the same bucks as a one ton you get a truck.

An F250--C2500 runs a ninety two hundred pound GVW. The F350--C3500 runs an eleven thousand GVW. That's less than a ton's capacity which ain't squat in a squeaking contest.

But if you move up to the F450 with it's fifteen thousand pound GVW, C4500 with it's sixteen thousand, now that's a difference worth grinning about. The F550--C5500 with their 18000 to nineteen five hundred capacity, now you have a truck.

Of course Dodge doesn't have a horse in this race........yet. I understand they're not making cab and chassis' this year because they're tooling up for comparable trucks in the F450-550 class.

The Fords are in the cat seat as far as trucks that have the capacity and are available with stuff like four doors and extended cabs. But if you pull up an F550 next to a C5500 and look at the componets like differentials, brakes, etc, well, there is a difference.

It will be interesting to see what Dodge brings to the table. These midsized trucks are doing to that market what skid steers have done to the construction trades.

The other day I grabbed a fifteen thousand pound backhoe, Cat 416B, on a Bruton easy pull ten ton capacity goose neck trailer. I've hauled that combination many times with one tons. You always feel like you've got the five hundred pound gorrilla on the other side of a picket fence. You don't want it to do anything sudden.

With the bigger truck I still had the five hundred pound gorrilla. The difference was it was in a cage.

I have the three hundred horse Duramax. We only have twenty thousand miles on it since December when I put it on the road. I weigh fourteen thousand before I crawl into the cab. She pulls with anyone.

I have the Allison. It impresses me more every day.

When I see a one ton, dually or flatbed, pulling over ten thousand pounds of equipment it reminds me of the cat coming into the race track with an import pickup bringing his car in on a trailer. He can pull it. But gawd knows pulling and handling an emergency is two different things.

 

[RobertN]

Re: Here\'s the deal on diesel trucks...

Good points. I do like the F450 while pulling the Bobcat, even though it's only 6k-lbs(+2500lb trailer).

You do have to be careful when you move up in truck size, for registration cost, and having to hit the scales, depending on your state.

What suprises me about this size truck(35xx-55xx series), is how little competition Ford has in my area. If you go by a Ford lot, there are a number of F450 flatbed configurations, as weel as F350/450 utility bed options. The Chevy and Dodge dealers just do not have those combos directly available.

My buddy with the F450 got his because he needed a work truck right away(his old Chevy 3500 flatbed broke). The Dodge and Chevy dealers had to order the trucks to get a flatbed with dump. The Ford dealer had them lined up and ready to go, in both 350 and 450's.

Oh, and running the Bobcat S185 is making me rethink this CUT stuff. Have you seen all the things you can get for a Bobcat? Amazing! They'll do anything a CUT will, and lots more. Tend to be more expensive from what I see, but they are industrial machines.

 

[ScottAR]

Re: Here\'s the deal on diesel trucks...

The 550 is my ultimate goal, I shop in the used market so finding one that fits my budget (which is meager) is kinda hard. I've shopping lately for a 450 since they were made before 99 and would *just* do what I utimately want to do. (haul full size backhoe which I don't have yet either /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif) I have seen a few '99 550s chassis around that nearly met my budget so I'll keep looking.

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

Re: Here\'s the deal on diesel trucks...

I don't want to infect this thread with the "CDL requirements" listing/opinion but do have one comment to make.

If anyone's looking to buy a truck for towing, hauling and is looking for long life out of it, I'd suggest looking at a used single axle tractor with a couple hundred thousand miles on it.

You can buy one for less money than any new dually and for less than a lot of late model used ones, too. Yes, you'll need a CDL but that's not a big problem. As a good friend of mine told me years ago when I was thinking of getting one but concerned about the test, etc., "Have you ever looked at the average truck driver? Do you think one of these guys could pass a test you couldn't?"

With a tractor and flatbed installed you'll take your hauling & towing capacity up dramatically (to say the least) and have something that'll outlast any dually. You won't even know you've got a load on or have a heavy trailer behind you. The difference is truly amazing.

I'm constantly amazed when I see people spending $30,000-35,000 on a new dually that might see 500,000 miles on average when for $10,000-15,000 less at minimum they can buy a nice used piece with a new bed with at least 700,000 miles life left in it before an overhaul.

 

[_RaT_]

Re: Here\'s the deal on diesel trucks...

Robert, I've driven the daylights out of a 773, the old S185. They top out at 7 mph, their hill hanging ability especially with a loader is not even close to a tractor, they get stuck much quicker and when they do, its 6000lbs of embedded steel. They tip much easier with a load in the bucket when downhill or up especially when loading, they like close to full throttle operation for loader work when you consider the power for the wheels, and most of all, they make terrible lawnmowers since the skidsteer part will remove your grass, and on driveways, they leave a mess of rubber unless you just go straight, other then that, they are fantastic. I have yet to use anything that can work the tight quarters, have a range of implements, or move material faster. Their mobility is superb. The HST of todays compacts has helped tremendously in helping move material like the way a skidsteer does. The S185 uses the Kubota 4 cylinder 122 cu in turbo diesel. Check out some of Bobcats competition like Thomas, those are beasts. Rat.