Help finding the right "horse"

Hopefully I have responded to everybody's post. I did not intentionally leave anyone hanging.

valhalla360 wrote:
I would be pushing down at least close to 100k miles regardless of engine. Either type should still have a good 100k miles left in them. The days of diesels lasting much longe are gone. More importantly by 250k miles, the rest of the truck is going to be worn out. That's why we sold our 1992. We were up around 220k miles and the engine was still humming along fine but the rest of the truck was falling apart.

If you can find a single rear wheel 1 ton long bed, that would be my recommendation. A 3/4 ton may be within weight limits but you are likely pushing close to the limits. Since you know the exact trailer, no excuse for towing over the limits. Buy one that can handle the trailer. (pin wieght is the big limiting factor)

For $15k, you should be able to find plenty of nice trucks at around the 8-10yr mark (we bought a 2001 a couple years back for $6k with 100k miles. It's gas but there were diesel trucks in similar condition/milage available.)

I don’t know if it’s a location thing being “winter” now and trucks in demand. Trucks seem to be more expensive up here in general though, no matter the time of year. Finding the 350/3500 with 100k miles and under $15k isn’t that easy up here. Even looking out a couple hours away. Gassers do bring the price down quite a bit seem like they’d be underwhelming in a large 350/3500 (thinking 6.0, 5.4 or 5.7) Doesn’t feel like a good fit in the 250/2500’s but who am I to disagree. However, I do agree on getting the proper truck to tow this beast. I’ve been using 2400lbs for pin weight and 600lbs for just the family (4). Not including a friend or 2 and possibly dogs. I still haven’t worked the logistics of all that out.

Thanks for the info. I am going to limit searching to 350/3500’s only and see where that leads us. The only long beds around here are with the DRWs though. She isn’t a fan.. but she also probably isn’t going to be driving.. ever. lol Not because she can’t but because she won’t.

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Dave H M wrote:

djgarcia wrote:
Just another opinion,
1. Dodge-diesel
2. 3/4 ton
3. I would rethink using the criteria of "miles per gallon" as your primary concern. For me, the cost or mpg of rving is not a concern. Rving has some basic costs that can't really be regulated. If I worry about the cost of fuel then I stay home until I have sufficient $$$ to make the trip. Yes I do try to get the best price for my diesel:)
4. After you select your truck, really consider replacing your stock fuel tank with a larger auxiliary diesel fuel tank to give you greater degree of choices on where to buy the best diesel price. Auxiliary fuel tanks are not available for Gas engines. I have a 60 gal. tank:)

Would you please expand on your comment on aux gas tanks? If installed and plumbed properly, i don't think you will be able to come up with documentation concerning them not being available and/or being used.

Related to aux fuel tanks

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djgarcia wrote:

Dave H M wrote:

djgarcia wrote:
Just another opinion,
1. Dodge-diesel
2. 3/4 ton
3. I would rethink using the criteria of "miles per gallon" as your primary concern. For me, the cost or mpg of rving is not a concern. Rving has some basic costs that can't really be regulated. If I worry about the cost of fuel then I stay home until I have sufficient $$$ to make the trip. Yes I do try to get the best price for my diesel:)
4. After you select your truck, really consider replacing your stock fuel tank with a larger auxiliary diesel fuel tank to give you greater degree of choices on where to buy the best diesel price. Auxiliary fuel tanks are not available for Gas engines. I have a 60 gal. tank:)

Would you please expand on your comment on aux gas tanks? If installed and plumbed properly, i don't think you will be able to come up with documentation concerning them not being available and/or being used.

Call Transfer Flow in Chico Calif. 530-893-5209. Call Titan Fuel Tanks 800-728-4982. They make diesel fuel tanks that replace the original fuel tank.

Related to aux fuel tanks

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laknox wrote:
Outlaw85, as the others have said, you're going to have a tough time finding something decent at that price point. If you don't plan on taking a lot of trips, especially if you stay in the Midwest, a gasser is fine. You just need to know how to drive a gas engine effectively to get the best out of it. Don't plan on much speed on the hills and make d@mn sure your brakes are good all-around, since you'll have less engine braking than a diesel. You'll also want a 350/3500 series truck. I couldn't find the weight specs on the Damon, but I suspect it's pretty heavy and probably too heavy for the age 250/2500 that you'd be looking at. An SRW would likely handle it just fine, though a dually might be easier to find. Look for trucks from down here in the SW, as they're much less likely to have cancer like ones from snow country. If you =can= find a diesel, you'll certainly like it for towing, but fuel costs for daily driving will be higher, so take that into consideration. This being said, if you do plan on frequent trips or =long= trips, the diesel will be the better choice, IMO, simply because it will handle the towing better. I love my Duramax and won't have another gasser as long as I'm RVing, but that's just me. :-)

Lyle

Forgot I had the sticker pic on my phone. Here it is. Not too helpful outside of the GVWR and I didn’t think to grab the manuals from the camper before we left.


I would still prefer the diesel for towing this large of a load period. Just my preference. See my above response on gassers in 350/3500. You are correct. the 04 F250 we liked is rated at 8800LBS GVWR? I think. With pin, people, cargo, we would likely blow that out of the water. I’ve only looked as far south as central IL and as far west as Madison. Longer drives would possibly require time off which I will have to wait til the new year to get more of. I would like to use it when not towing the camper for other things our other vehicles can’t do. My dad is also “collecting” free fire wood and riding mowers so he could also put it to lighter duty work for that. It wouldn’t be a daily though.

Trip wise.
My personal plan would be to take the family to yosemite or at least the grand canyon like I did when I was younger. We went from Wisconsin in a big counterclockwise circle seeing a lot of stuff.

I would really like a diesel after test driving one and not being able to get it due to budget. We did have a 1500 Yukon XL with the 5.3 and it was awesome for space and the smaller stuff we did but didn’t rub me the right way as the diesel did :D



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laknox wrote:

Dave H M wrote:

djgarcia wrote:
Just another opinion,
1. Dodge-diesel
2. 3/4 ton
3. I would rethink using the criteria of "miles per gallon" as your primary concern. For me, the cost or mpg of rving is not a concern. Rving has some basic costs that can't really be regulated. If I worry about the cost of fuel then I stay home until I have sufficient $$$ to make the trip. Yes I do try to get the best price for my diesel:)
4. After you select your truck, really consider replacing your stock fuel tank with a larger auxiliary diesel fuel tank to give you greater degree of choices on where to buy the best diesel price. Auxiliary fuel tanks are not available for Gas engines. I have a 60 gal. tank:)

Would you please expand on your comment on aux gas tanks? If installed and plumbed properly, i don't think you will be able to come up with documentation concerning them not being available and/or being used.

The biggest issue is with gravity-fed aux tanks. TransferFlow has a whole page of stuff about this, including some regulation citations. It =is= a grey area all across the board, but it seems to vary state-to-state, with some states virtually banning any gravity-flow aux tanks, even though on a Fed level, it =may= be legal. Moot point if you have a separate "nurse" tank, with a pump and delivery handle, but that's not what most of us look for with an aux tank; we just want to flip a switch and fuel on the fly, when possible.

Lyle

Related to aux fuel tanks.

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Dave H M wrote:
I am not calling transfer flow, as of 1 minute ago their home page states that they market aux tanks for gas.

My aux has a sticker on the side of it that states, Recommended for Gasoline.

The tank has no bottom drain or plugs that would permit install of gravity flow. The pick up is via the dip tube on top. In line is a fuel pump and a 12 volt normally closed veton fuel valve. I have installed a gauge for the aux.

So to transfer fuel I flip one switch and the valve opens and pump comes on and the transfer is on.

I challenge anyone to come up with some type of whatever that prohibits the use of a system as I described. No grey area for me.

Related to aux fuel tanks

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topjimmy wrote:
I just sold my 2003 Dually LB7 Duramax/Allison and it was an Awesome reliable rig now I have a LBZ Duramax (even better) but out of your price range ,as far as the injectors go on a LB7 alot of them were replaced with GM's 10 year extended warranty or just replaced by the owners and you are good to go and they are in your price range,when I had my old 34ft Montana I had a 2001 F350 V10 Gasser that was rock solid reliable but a gas hog but it hauled it great I miss that V10 it was great motor and it would be great for you as well

I will keep the V10 in mind when searching. I did see a couple if I recall correctly. Not sure of the series though (250 or 350). My friend was able to get an LBZ Dmax and I’ve been jealous since. When he told me his payment, I was OK without it. lol The work on the Dmax doesn’t appear to be as big a pain in the arse as the powerstroke which was what also lead me to wanting the gm. Dodges are just crazy expensive up here.

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Peg Leg wrote:
12k is going to be right at the limit of properly equipped 3/4's. You'll be in the 2500 lb pin range. For a gasser you'll need 4.10 gears. Rear axle weight for some trucks are more fluid than mud. You'll need to research any prospect based on individual specs. Watch out for the grocery getter trucks, big tires and high rear end ratios.

You may have to expand your search area and travel a bit to find your dream truck. It's out there just don't rush into a marginal truck. You seem to be gathering the info to help make a good decision. Explain to Momma that you both may have to compromise for safety of the family.

Good luck.

Thanks for the tips. I did start a spreadsheet (IT “nerd” here) to list all this out when known, including how many gears the trans has and axle ratios. From what I read 4.10 is preferred, 3.73 would still be ok depending on engine/trans combo. No to anything else. With keeping our searches to Dealers (for easier financing), they are usually stock or only have light mods. I have been using 20% (2400LBS) for pin based on GVWR of the trailer (pic above).

I’ve expanded the search out to about 1.5hrs away so we can keep them within a day. As said above. I don’t have time left at work to take off until next year so it is currently a limiting factor there. That “rush” is the other half of our discussions. She is confidently hopeful we will find something tomorrow to drive home. I am trying to play the other side and stay open, willing to walk away. It will be hard though with so many hours driven.

I will be sure to tell her: “But.. but.. honey, Peg Leg said we will both have to compromise to find our safe dream truck.” haha :D

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As I will continue to say. THANK YOU. The welcoming feeling and helpfulness on this forum is awesome!

Thank you,
Jesse


**update**
We have changed our scope after talking to the finance office. We will be focusing on diesel dually's and will likely be looking at 2. Mainly to get an idea of what we are looking at. Nothing guaranteed at this point. The options are there now. And we were able to raise the budget to $17k. :D

2006 Ford F350 SD Lariat DRW $15995 6.0PSD 5spdauto 150Kmiles
2004 Chevy Silverado 3500 LT DRW $15992 6.6Dmax 5spdauto 240Kmiles

Both are loaded, at least for the timeframe.