New to TT and TVs - Budget truck for 5200 lbs max

I haven’t looked into them, but is it possible to find a used Ecoboost for that price? I would think at altitude this would be a good choice.

For the OP, a question (or 2..or 3) to ask yourself....

How long do you plan to keep the tow vehicle/trailer combo? At some point, would you want to go to a bigger trailer, ie, as the family grows?

Family growth. Those kiddos under 5 years old now, will grow, and at some point, rapidly! And the stuff that they want to bring along will grow exponentially. Factor in perhaps a dog (please, daddy, can we get one...PLEASE???) and a bit more weight. Payload will be something to consider.

That Mallard M185 looks like a good floorplan for a family starting out. But after a while, you may want to consider a trailer with a slide out or 2 to give all of you a bit more breathing room.

Just throwing some other things to consider, so there are no surprises when you go to buy.

Half ton hate is a bit strong of an accusation.

I get it that folks on these forums seem to recommend extra capacity with an over abundance of caution, but there's also a great kernel of truth learned from experience in there.

I started with a station wagon for towing my small 20ft trailer, and although it got the job done it wasn't the tool for the job.

So I traded a beloved sports car for a new 2013 pickup truck, a half ton. It had enough power to tow my little trailer anywhere I wanted, and didn't have to max out the motor and transmission to accomplish this.

But the half ton was very limited on payload. The tongue weight combined with passengers and cargo quickly overwhelmed the suspension and the poor truck was dragging it's rear end pretty bad. The model I was driving was meant to haul groceries not heavy loads.

So after three years, I traded the 1500 for a 2500 and it's made a world of difference. Now I can tow my trailer and carry a bed full of gear without the rear end dragging.

Ok so maybe I gave up on the half ton too soon? Sure I could throw bandaids like air bags, weight distribution hitches, stiffer shocks etc at it, but they're expensive too and they still don't equal what a 3/4 ton can do.

I shopped around and found a 2500 for not much more than the 1500, just had to give up some bling like satnav and heated seats.

IdaD wrote:

donn0128 wrote:
Consider 4 in the cab I think you would be much happier with a 2500.

I get that America has an obesity problem, but I think a half ton would probably suit OP's situation just fine unless the whole family is drinking gravy as a beverage at every meal.

Agreed. Seeing it being a 4450 GVWR 21ft TT and knew it wouldn't be long before it would be suggested to get a 3/4 ton. So much 1/2 ton hate in the world.

Yes, research common issues for sure but in general, other than party stopper issues, when looking at 10-20 year old vehicles miles and condition will mostly out weigh “issues”. Most of which have a hack or fix for by now anyway.
More good advice, if you can swing one with a 6 speed auto that is a big plus over all the old 4 speeds ( and Dodges 5 speed) but I wouldn’t give up a bunch of miles or condition for a 6 speed.
You might even find an elusive 6 speed manual 3/4 ton Ford V10.
Dealer vs private party? I wouldn’t even consider 99% of old used cars on used car lots. Main reasons? 1. Price. 2. You have virtually zero chance of knowing the history of the vehicle. If you buy private party you can size up the owner at the same time. That’s worth as much analyzing the vehicle imo when looking at stuff with high miles.
To that point, big problems aside, I’d rather see an old truck with a stack of receipts for new(er) parts than the one that “went 120,000 miles and has never needed a repair”.
To me that means the next buyer will foot the bill for ALL the stuff about to wear out.

Last thing and this comes from many years of old rusty cars that I had to get under and fix.....buy one that is clean and rust free. Period. Pay more if you have to. Hence my NM reccomendation.

Aaronsmity wrote:
Thanks for all the feedback. I guess I need to do more research into engines as I want to avoid the problemed ones. May have to up my budget but this has all been helpful in providing me some direction.

Someone mentioned avoiding buying from a dealer, do a lot of you hold the same opinion? Thanks.

With one exception I have only bought used vehicles from a private party. It takes more time that way, but I feel a lot more comfortable talking to the person who owned it. Some folks are really flakey, but you can also find folks who are the original owners, have all the maintenance records and are straight-shooters.

You will probably have the truck a while so take your time, be willing to look around a bit and wait for the one that looks right.

Good luck,
Stu

Thanks for all the feedback. I guess I need to do more research into engines as I want to avoid the problemed ones. May have to up my budget but this has all been helpful in providing me some direction.

Someone mentioned avoiding buying from a dealer, do a lot of you hold the same opinion? Thanks.

If you're looking at F150's, I discovered during my research the consensus is the worst years for the 5.4's cam phaser issue were 2004-2006. The 2v motors have less HP than the 3v's too. I test drove a 2006 5.4 and it seemed less peppy than the 2009, although that could also be the 6 speed transmission in the 2009.

I have a 2009 F150 with the 4.6 3v and have put about 35,000 miles on it. All I tow with it is a 3500 lb pontoon or a utility trailer 1000-2000 lbs (loaded).

Whatever year F150 you find, make sure you research the engines. I'm hoping to avoid any spark plug bombs or cam phaser issues.

If you can find a later 5.0, that's the engine I'd go with, although I doubt it'd be in the 10k price range.

I highly recommend something wwith a 6-spd transmission over 4-spd. That means 2009+ Ford F-150 GM Twins, and 2007+ Tundra. I don't really care for the Ram half ton transmission ratios, but 2009 was a redesign. Be careful on payload of the crew cabs.

I don't know about Colorado, but here in PA a 4x4 that sells for $10K is going to be super high mileage and a never ending hole into which money is dumped be it Ford, GM, Dodge, or anything else in most cases. That's not an all inclusive statement because the little old lady with the 2005 4x4 used for church and trips to the hair bluer, who knows not what she has and it's worth, still exists. She is just really hard to find. Private party is almost a must. An independent used dealer for that price range will be hawking junk picked up at auction and reconditioned for aesthetics. The new dealer sent it to the auction when it was traded in.

On a side note was at the GMC dealer last week. A regular cab, 78" bed, GMC Sierra 1500 4x4 parked in front had a sticker of just north of $45K...... And it was not the top o the line Denali either, but the mid level SLE. Totally out of control on prices. Just 3 years ago I paid $42K in real dollars for a 15 2500HD double cab, 8' bed, upper level SLE right below the Denali, that stickered at the time just north of $48K.

I wish you luck finding a 10K truck that does not end up nickel and diming you to death.