Mid 90's Dually??

jerem0621 wrote:
For a 5000 lb trailer I would not buy a dually... unless you are planning to upgrade the truck. Jeremiah

Thanks for the reply Jerimiah. Can you expand on the "upgrading" that would justify the purchase of a dually? Just wanting to insure I fully understand what you are meaning.

For a 5000 lb trailer I would not buy a dually... unless you are planning to upgrade the truck. Two main reasons.

1) MPG.. the extra tires will cost you 1-2 mpg's ... especially in a gasser
2) 50% more cost for tires....

I have a dually and really wish I had a F150... (Yup, heard that right, had a 5.4 F150 and wish I had it back)

Thanks!

Jeremiah

Just to add some more info. I have a 99 F350 CC LB Dually 4x4 with the 7.3 and am getting about 15 mpg in mixed driving. Not towing but using it as my daily driver right now.

All valid points I believe.

The 4WD is optional for me. In fact, it could even be a negative

1- "I" don't really need it in a tow vehichle,,, others might though. In an average year, I might "need" it once for ice on the roads. Beyond that, it's likely never to get engaged unless I start spinning on wet grass or something. Mudding is a thing of the past with my drivers. ( Got a 4 wheeler for that.

2- 4WD will surely affect MPG

3- Buying a mid/late 90's 4WD is a scary thought for me. It's hard to really measure wear on the transfer case and axles and such. But I guess it's hard to measure wear on most any other piece of the puzzle too.

If you're looking for a 4WD truck you will find that in most, if not all, of the '90s Ford didn't make a dually in 4WD. For me, the way I use a truck, that would be a deal breaker.
MPG on a 20 year old 460? Yikes, single digits I would imagine for sure. In that year range of trucks I would be looking for a Dodge with a manual for sure, and I'm a Chevy guy. I hate 90's Chevy trucks. In that span I bought a '96 Dodge and it was great except for the auto trans.

We had a '95 F-350 7.3L diesel, auto, 4.10 gears, 2wd, crew cab dually. Bought new and put about 250k on it before the trans started to slip. We had a Banks Get-Kit (chip and turbo down pipe) to boost the torque from 425 to ~500ft-lb.

14-16mpg was the norm running empty. Don't remember loaded... We grossed 14-18k combined for a majority of its life pulling a horse trailer. OD on the flats and 3rd on the big hills.

Was a comfortable ride, easy to work on. Only downside was glowplugs, damn that truck ate glowplugs; was about as fun getting that thing started in the real cold as stubbing your toe. Plugging in the block heater was a must, but then only about half of the glow plugs worked on ours at any given time.

I actually looked at a couple of 7.3Ls before we bought the Dodge (my trailer isn't that big, lower purchase cost, the wife wanted a 3rd Gen Dodge). The crew cab Ford from that era has more interior room than my Dodge!

Had a '90 F-350 460/auto/4.10/4wd, reg cab single wheel on 35x12.50 tires. 10-12mpg empty. Bought used from original owner that carried a 9.5? cab-over. Was a good truck, just drank fuel. Luckily I drove this back when it was rare to spend more than $50 to fill the ~18+19gal tanks. Had to lock it in 3rd for the same trailer as the diesel, and it saw 2nd on the hills. The 35" tires did hinder it, we did put stock sized on it just to see the difference it made, still had no chance at running with the 7.3L.

7.3L huh? I'll keep that in mind.

BTW- I'm in the camp that can't bring themselves to pay $75 or more an hour to do anything,,,,, atleast not as long as my hands still work.

IF you can find a mid-late 90s Ford with the 7.3L, you'll definitely see better MPG than with the gas 460. Without knowing the numbers, I'd think significantly better...maybe 15-16mpg in mixed driving with the diesel, and 10-11mpg with the 460?

Now that the gap between diesel and gasoline prices has closed somewhat, that could equal a not-so-insignificant yearly savings in fuel costs.


Your biggest obstacle with an older truck like that may prove not to be powertrain but rather accessories; things like power window motors, windshield wiper motors, AC compressors, fan clutches, etc. sometimes wave the white flag after 15+ years of use and countless heat up/cool down cycles.

My thoughts on older vehicles has always been: if you're the type that's inclined to keep it in tip-top shape, don't mind spending a Saturday here-or-there replacing this or that, and have a little bit of a repair budget socked away, older, high-mileage vehicles can be an incredible bargain.

If you're in the camp that wants to just hop in and go and will need to take it to a shop for every little issue, keeping an older vehicle on the road can cost every bit what a monthly payment on something newer would.

Anyhow, good luck in your search and of course keep us posted as to what you come across...