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
