Opinion: best value HD truck under 20k?

Several suggested a 5.9 Ram Cummins truck but only with the manual transmssion. You will have difficulty finding one -- those are very rare and will probably bring a premium if you can even find one. The auto trans in the 3rd Gen seems to get a bad rap, but it is a decent trans if not abused. I had mine beefed up at 150K miles for $2800 by a builder who only builds Ram transmissions, and it is solid and reliable for towing.

If you feel like a gamble you can find a Ford 6.0 or 6.4 diesel for cheap - what could go wrong - it's a Ford after all.

LanceRKeys wrote:
I do think a 3500 van is the best answer. The value is hard to deny. Add an air mattress and you increase your sleeping capacity while camping.

A van is great bang for the buck to get a mid level capacity HD chassis and low to mid level (gas) towing power.
IF that’s all you need or want.
Ever wonder why vans are such a great value? It because they are a compromise compared to everything you can get in a pickup, except the ability to haul more than 5-6 people.
No 4wd
No diesel
No manual trans availability (if that’s your thing, we are talking used $20k here. All of the big 3 have handshakers andDodge has a lot of them out there). A manual trans is hands down a better “towing” trans than anything before the Allison or Torqueshift. )
No truck bed. (You can turn a truck bed into van-like storage easily with a topper. You can’t cut the top off a van to make it a pickup.)
Virtually no upscale interior options. Especially in HD models.
Louder inside
Worse accessibility for maint and repairs.

People tout the value of a van. A base model gas 2wd pickup goes for the same $ maybe less. That’s what the “value” should be compared to. Then decide whether you want a pickup bed or 4 rows of seats.

I picked up my 2009 F350 FX4 V10 w/4.10 rear end about four years ago for less than 20k. For how little I drive it and what it's capable of towing I think I got a pretty good deal, and they are hard to find.

I do think a 3500 van is the best answer. The value is hard to deny. Add an air mattress and you increase your sleeping capacity while camping.

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Is a VAN a TRUCK???

Why yes I do, thanks for asking. The OP did not specify pickup truck, class 4 truck, class 7 truck, etc. His statement was HD truck. The only thing that I have not used a VAN truck for was towing gooseneck/fifth wheel and loading gravel by payloader. I had pallets of heavy items loaded by forklift. It tows 9600 lbs, has over 3k payload, and can be purchased for $20k with 50k miles and 3 years old.

So if OP was looking for the best value to tow 8k pounds with a bumper pull, able to carry 3k pounds of cargo that is not loaded by frontloader, and still have warranty, I would suggest a 3500 Express Van with 6.0.

jerem0621 wrote:
Thank you all for the replies. Much to think about.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

Are you not going to share your opinion you said you had?

Mike

Me Again wrote:
I would look for the newest/lowest mile GM 2500HD with Duramax that you can find that has had the injectors replaced.

Why does it have to have the injectors replaced? Are you referring to the LB7 engines? Otherwise the rest of the engines did not have injector problems.

Thank you all for the replies. Much to think about.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

For anyone slightly interested in an old 7.3L Ford there is a FB group called 7.3 Powerstroke that im on. People will share for sale listings when a good one comes up. Of course its all over the country but still worth a shot if in the market for an under 20k reliable truck.