Seeking Advice -- Purchase of Older 3/4 Ton Tow Vehicle

3/4 ton subs are in that range. They are tow limited but have good payload.

"3/4 ton 4WD crew cab truck with a short bed".

Doesn't sound like you are looking for one to tow a fifth wheel. What kind of "bumper pull" a tent camper, pop up camper, cargo trailer, or a travel trailer?

The Ford V10 got the 3 valve heads starting in 2005 as well as the 5 speed tranny. Both worthwhile upgrades.

I think you'd be hard pressed to find a diesel in your price range that's not beat to death.

OP...I have observed a few trends from your replies and I think I have a decent idea of what your looking for.

1) $12,500 ish budget
2) Crew Cab
3) need largeish amount of payload
4) I "think" you are leaning towards a single rear wheel instead of a dually.

For $12,500.00 you have basically eliminated the 6.0 diesel and the early Duramax as a simple head gasket can take 25% plus of your budget out.

Crew cab requirement eliminates the 94-01 cummins powered Rams.

Believe it or not the early 7.3 powerstroke F250's suffered from a healthy lack of payload. I had a 97 F150 and my FIL had a 7.3 PSD F250 and he had about 300 lbs more payload than me. 1900 ish vs my 1600 ish lbs.

Many choose to ignore this fact and add airbags or Timbrens to prop up the rear end on the early F250 super duty's. This doesn't rule these trucks out it's just something to be aware of.

The way I see it there are three trucks that meet all four requirements

1) Ram- 03 Ram V10 2500/3500, 03-05 ish 5.7 Hemi... Be warned, they have 4 doors but the rear cab is smallish

2) GM- 2000-2006 ish Silverado/Sierra with the 6.0 or the 8.1

3) 2000-2007 v10 SuperDuty, buy as new as you can with the better years being 05-07 (new suspension, nicer trucks)... I had a 99 and be warned about them, early 99's (like mine) had a few unique parts mostly with the front suspension that only existed in the early 99's.

If it were me, I would try to find a 150 ish thousand mile 2000-2004 v10 Superduty F350 SRW lariat for around 6000-8000 bucks, have the tranny rebuilt and enjoy the new ride.

I would not pass on a 3500 SRW GM twin in good shape either.

Thanks and good luck!

Jeremiah

rhagfo wrote:
You will get many reply's warning you to stay away from diesel at all cost, too expensive to repair, to costly to operate.
Here is where the come from.
#1. Those loyal Ford owners that bought the 2003 to 2006 6.0 diesel, and had the engine go south. Ford had a real issue with that engine (Navastar.

#2. Those that bought the new improved Ford 6.4, while much better than the 6.0, still had more issues than it should have had.

#3. Those that have driven gas all there life and #1 and #2 have them scared to death of Diesel and the high cost of operation.


What you want to listen to are those that didn't get one of the bad Ford 6.0. One of those that bought a Durmax or Ram. One of those that made the switch, and discovered the pulling power of diesel.

Yes, there are those that went to diesel, and have gone back to gas for one or more reasons, they think the overall cost are too much, because in the winter when gas price drops diesel doesn't.
Well summer is here and gas is rising, and diesel isn't.

The trailer you are looking at can easily be towed with either. Find the best deal you can and go for it.

Then read this thread, this has both the good and the bad. I was really pleased with the responses.
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/26381356.cfm

#4 Yeah lets not listen to those that purchased the 6.7 cummins that would clog egr valves and DPF's like crazy. :W

Since the change to ULSD, diesel is ~.60/gallon more than gas and will continue that trend.

brooks379 wrote:
The 7.3 goes back to the early 90's but the 7.3's that are considered the best are from 01, 02, and 03. I have thought about trading my 02 F350 many times just because of the age of it but it starts up and hauls anything, anywhere , every time.

x1 on the 7.3

You will get many reply's warning you to stay away from diesel at all cost, too expensive to repair, to costly to operate.
Here is where the come from.
#1. Those loyal Ford owners that bought the 2003 to 2006 6.0 diesel, and had the engine go south. Ford had a real issue with that engine (Navastar.

#2. Those that bought the new improved Ford 6.4, while much better than the 6.0, still had more issues than it should have had.

#3. Those that have driven gas all there life and #1 and #2 have them scared to death of Diesel and the high cost of operation.


What you want to listen to are those that didn't get one of the bad Ford 6.0. One of those that bought a Durmax or Ram. One of those that made the switch, and discovered the pulling power of diesel.

Yes, there are those that went to diesel, and have gone back to gas for one or more reasons, they think the overall cost are too much, because in the winter when gas price drops diesel doesn't.
Well summer is here and gas is rising, and diesel isn't.

The trailer you are looking at can easily be towed with either. Find the best deal you can and go for it.

Then read this thread, this has both the good and the bad. I was really pleased with the responses.
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/26381356.cfm

krobbe wrote:

C Schomer wrote:
I drive a company F V10 and GM 8.1 daily. The v10 gets almost double the mpg of any of the 8.1s I've used and has plenty of power. I'm not a F guy but the F's aren't in the shop as much as the GMs. I have/had 2 terrific CTDs. 97-98.4 was the best 12 valve CTDs - bulletproof fuel system/no emissions/great mpg. 98.5-2002 was the 24v but the fuel pumps were somewhat problems but not all of them. 4w disc brakes came in 2001.5. 03 was the first common rail fueling and the lift pumps can be weak. 03-04.4 had no emissions/great mpg. The 7.3 6 spd trucks I know of are very good trucks but not the autos. You have to keep up on the 7.3 glow plugs/control. A friends 7.3 wouldn't even start on a 50 degree morning when his glow plugs didn't work. Don't go older than about 98 7.3 - no inter cooler. Craig

I'm calling you out on the 2valve V10 getting twice the mpg of an 8.1L. All things being equal, the 8.1 has more hp, more torque, and better fuel economy while towing. And if one keeps one's foot out of it, better non-towing mpg. Now, GM stopped production of the 8.1 for 2007. Ford continues to use the v10.

I'm with you. I know my 8.1 sucks gas but he's getting double the mileage? DOUBLE? Hard to believe.

I think that kw/00 right on, however I think you should stay with the 4:10 gears even in the 6sp trucks. Since you plan to mainly use the truck to pull a trailer. You also state that you will be doing your towing in CA and the AZ high desert. CA has the 55 mph towing limit and most 2-lane highway is also 55 mph, so you don't need 70 mph gearing.

C Schomer wrote:
I drive a company F V10 and GM 8.1 daily. The v10 gets almost double the mpg of any of the 8.1s I've used and has plenty of power. I'm not a F guy but the F's aren't in the shop as much as the GMs. I have/had 2 terrific CTDs. 97-98.4 was the best 12 valve CTDs - bulletproof fuel system/no emissions/great mpg. 98.5-2002 was the 24v but the fuel pumps were somewhat problems but not all of them. 4w disc brakes came in 2001.5. 03 was the first common rail fueling and the lift pumps can be weak. 03-04.4 had no emissions/great mpg. The 7.3 6 spd trucks I know of are very good trucks but not the autos. You have to keep up on the 7.3 glow plugs/control. A friends 7.3 wouldn't even start on a 50 degree morning when his glow plugs didn't work. Don't go older than about 98 7.3 - no inter cooler. Craig

I'm calling you out on the 2valve V10 getting twice the mpg of an 8.1L. All things being equal, the 8.1 has more hp, more torque, and better fuel economy while towing. And if one keeps one's foot out of it, better non-towing mpg. Now, GM stopped production of the 8.1 for 2007. Ford continues to use the v10.