Used truck to tow with trailer\tractor 7K#

[Farmwithjunk]

Hi,

So if you were looking to buy a used truck, that would not break the bank, to tow a tractor on trailer that would weight " up to " 7000lbs, what would you look at. Year doesn't really matter but let's try to keep it under 1999 model year to try and keep more reasonable in price. This would be a tempory solution for maybe 18-24 months and then could upgrade

Issues are price, safety, ability to tow. Price is almost as big an issue as safety.
Make is not an issue.
Gas or diesel but diesel ups purchase price but a bunch and gas could be serviced by me or my buddies.

Consider would start out towing up to 2000 miles once per month, after a few months up to 2000 miles every 2 weeks.

Do you start looking in the " 2 " series like Chevy 2500, Dodge 2500 or Ford 250 ?
Or do you look at the "3" series ? Duallies ( if yes why ).

When you start looking at pickups, you see that then Chevy 2500 and 3500 series seem the most inexpensive. At least less expensive than the Dodge or Ford.

Any thoughts ?

Thanks

After reading all this thread, I had to throw my $.02 worth in. I've been dragging tractors around on trailers behind pick-ups for a long time. I've learned a few lessons along the way.

One is, get as heavy duty a truck as you can afford. Don't try to "get by". Forget 1/2 tons right off the bat. Waste of time. Waste of MONEY. All the "I haul my tractor with a mini-truck and never have any problems" responses are fooling themselves. They haven't had their once in a lifetime catastrophic failure YET, but it's coming.....soon more'n likely.

Duallies don't carry that much more CARGO CAPACITY. What they DO carry is a saftey factor of more tires under the load, more STABILITY at speed, and more "respect" from any law enforcment officers who may at some point, be examining your rig.

Longer trucks have more stability at speed. In MOST cases, shorter framed trucks will have more weight rating, but that's not carved in stone. A short bed will limit placement of a gooseneck hitch somewhat compared to a longbed, but once again, not carved in stone.

Diesel/manual transmission pick-ups are THE WAY TO GO for heavy towing. BTDT, got the tee-shirt. Gassers and automatics will suffice, but over the long haul, get a diesel. Back it up with MANUAL tranny.

Most newer trucks are available with factory towing packages. GET THAT..... They generally consist of transmission coolers/extra engine cooling capacity (including engine OIL coolers)/heavier brakes/suspension components/pre-wired lights and brakes/ect. Cost savings is only a part of that equasion. Having factory engineered components rather than shadetree installed mix-match of parts is worth its weight in gold.

Brakes on 1/2 ton trucks are their biggest liability when towing. They're only marginal at best when approaching tow ratings. Trailer brakes aren't designed to STOP a load by themselves. They're intended to ASSIST the trucks brakes. The truck is doing (if set up correctly) 60% to 75% of the stopping. A big stout trailer behind a marginal pick-up is suicide in my book.

When planning out a tow rig, you don't set up for 99.9% of your hauling needs. You set up for that .1% of the time when you need to make a panic stop or deal with unexpected highway conditions. YOUR LIFE and the lives of those sharing the highway with you depend on your good judgement.

I've down-scaled my farming in the last year. I still do some "hobby farming" though. I haul two different tractors from time to time. Usually they'll have some sort of implement hanging on them. My "cargo" will usually be in the 7000 to 8000 lb range. That's on a 14,000 GVWR gooseneck trailer. I have one truck of my own, and access to my sons. I have an '04 Dodge 2500 4WD, 4-door, long bed, HO Cummins (Automatic tranny.... I broke my own rule on this one. Old age, sore knee and clutch don't mix well) Sons truck is '05 Dodge 3500 dually, 4WD regular cab, long bed, HO Cummins/6-speed manual shift, both with B&W "Hide-A-Ball" hitches. I consider either of these trucks just barely enough to be safe in most cases. Anything LESS is just kidding ones self.

If yo're talking about towing a lot, and/or over long distances, all these recomendations become REQUIREMENTS. Anything less is foolish.

 

[HGM]

I've got to agree with Farmwithjunk for the most part... You are planning alot of time on the road.. You definityl dont want to have a truck that will just "do the job".. You want one that will do the job well.. In reality, the 3/4-1ton might even be cheaper because less people demand them.. Personally I wouldnt think of anything less than a diesel, for this application.. Birdhunter mentioned the pre Power Stroke Ford(not sure why), but if I were looking for something relatively inexpencive, to do what you described, I would concentrate on the mid-late '94-97 F-250-350 with the PowerStroke diesel.. You wont be disapointed, have a dealer tech check it out for you, it will be the best $100 you ever spend.. The V-10 is a great engine too, but its only available in '99-up, so its not in your criteria, maybe cheap enough though.. I also prefer the automatic trans, but the manuals are very tough.. Depends on what you like to drive..

 

[777777]

Thanks again all,

After listening to all the advice, been looking at a 94 Chev 3500 dually. Can live with a dually re not going to be an every day driver.
Is gas but 454\auto. Mileage not bad as really only been used to tow around a house trailer. Full tow package and brake controller already installed. Coolers plus on this thing. Regularly maintained and he has given me his mechanics name\address to check with. As well, he has no problems bringing it in to any mechanic I like for a full check as long as I pay for it.

So, will let you know how it goes.

Would prefer deisel but but gas, have all the help I need to fix anything that goes wrong with it.

Thanks again

Tom

 

[HGM]

You wont regret a 1 Ton dually for towing...

 

[sandman2234]

Glad your thinking about a one ton...
Just for the record, just because a half ton truck is a half ton truck, doesn't mean it is a half ton truck. Case in point is in my driveway. I bought a new 1991 extended cab Silverado, 8' bed. Bought basically the same truck, year, 2001 used from a very good friend. Only differences, besides some of the whistles and bells,(like cdplayer, etc) and the older truck is the towing package. It was the highest rated 1/2 ton towing package I could find at the time. Rated at 7500 pounds from the factory and trust me, it will tote a load (and STOP it). The new one doesn't have the high rated towing package and although it will tow a load, it knows it is back there.
I have considered rebuilding the old one just to haul my tractor, but what I really need is a 3/4 ton. The tractor weighs in at 7k without any attachments, plus the trailer/bushhog/fuel, etc and I have over played my hand...

Just out of curiousity, how many people have a reese hitch under their bumper that is rated for even close to what they use it for? Most of them are rated at 5k max...
Mine is Chevrolet made and mounted, 10K max.
David from jax

 

[aardvark]

If you are going to tow the mileage you've posted, the initial extra cost of the diesel will most likely pay for itself once you've towed for the first six months. Do the math, I suspect it will work out. I used to tow a 48' long enclosed race car trailer on a gooseneck with a 1999 F450 and a powerstroke. It got about 14 mpg fully loaded, 70 mph, probably 20k lbs behind it for the two race cars and the trailer. I don't see how a gas engine would have been capable of doing that.

If you look around for a 1997-2000-ish E250 or E350 Ford van with a powerstroke, it basically has the same capacities as an F250 or F350 for about 1/3 the purchase price. Also an early 90's Dodge D250 or D350 with a Cummins diesel is a sub $5000 truck also, but doesn't ride anywhere near as nice as the newer Ford van.

If you really want a real truck that can haul those loads, for an affordable price, and get good mileage with a diesel engine, then look at the Isuzu NPR and Mitsubishi Fuso FS (I think the model is an FS, it's basically the smallest Fuso you can buy). You could throw a couple F350's on the back and still haul your 7000 lb trailer. Look around, and you can find late 90's models for under $7000 with 100k-150k miles. Avoid the automatics though. In reality, if you just found one with a landscape bed that's long enough, and a tailgate ramp, you wouldn't even need the trailer. They aren't speed demons with either the 135hp or 175hp diesel engines, but they are reliable and efficient.

Also, most of the older two ton trucks could take the 7000 lb tractor right on the bed as well. Many are available dirt cheap, in the 20-25 year old age range.

 

[George2615]

Sandman,
I ordered my 05 3/4 ton Chevy with tow pkg. It has the V5 Northern Stamping frame mount Reese type receiver rated at 7500# or 12,000# with WD hitch. This is what my truck is rated to tow with that hitch setup or I can go up to 15,500 with a fifth wheel / gooseneck in bed type mount. I have both a 20' tilt bed trailer and a gooseneck trailer I tow with it. Both have brakes on both axles. For 05 the 3/4 and 1 ton had the same trailer tow rating capacity. I didn't need a 1 ton dually so I got the 3/4.

 

[sandman2234]

Good deal George!
It is the people that buy a p/u without a hitch, and run to U-Haul to have one mounted, because they can get it mounted cheaper than paying for it at the dealer. My F-I-L did it twice, and both times ended up with a 5K rated receiver, dispite the fact that he was pulling a 32' camper loaded with enough stuff to support them on the road for weeks at a time.
David from jax

 

[jayhaitch]

For a 454/auto, you'll be using LOTS of fuel, but towing is wonderful, especially if it has 4.11 gears. To maximize milage, tune up everything replaceable (plugs, ignition wires, rotor/cap, etc with performance items like MDS parts), use an engine flush, and install whichever PAO fully synthetic oil you like in the engine, trannie, and differential. Regrease bearings with synthetic grease. Get a cat back perfomance exhaust. Use a bypass oil filter setup and do oil analysis to save even more and keep an eye on your motor. If well maintained until now, it will last a long time under continued careful care.

 

[777777]

Hi All,


Jared, had thought long and hard about deisel and probably would not be reluctant if I had one already or if it was a fairly new one that I felt comfortable with. With gas, I figure I can pretty well patch up most things on the fly should the unforeseen happen. With diesel, would kinda be there scratching my head thinking what next. Maybe down the road if I can get someone to give me a crash course in them but gotta stay where I feel most comfortable for now.
Jaihitch, if it pans out then we will be rechecking everything again with full tuneups using best parts available and everything flushed to start out new.
Me and my buds can do it ourselves so we will know exactly where everything stands and I will not be fooling around with marginal stuff but instead just replace.

Thanks again everyone. Really appreciate the thoughts and guidance

Tom