Truck to pull TT that's readily available & not too $?

Post removed - changed my mind

An F350 with 7.3 diesel is a great puller but they are getting scarcer. My neighbor bought a 2002 F250 w/7.3 and I tried to trade him straight up for my truck but he didn't bite.

I have 200K on my 2003 5.4 F250 and have had minimal repairs. An owner will have to realize that any vehicle that is aged and has a lot of miles is going to need repairs at some point. A new truck should be problem free for the first 50K miles but one pays for that privilege.

FWIW, I was a vehicle mechanic at the start of one career. From those years I can say that doing extremely detailed maintenance during the first years of ownership pays dividends during the later life of the vehicle. Moving metal against metal, when adequately lubricated and kept clean is the key. There are some parts in the vehicle that are engineered to last less than the life of the vehicle. Replacement is the only way to deal with that.

Look for a 99-2001 F350 Powerstroke. Plenty of truck for any trailer out there in the price range you are looking at. They resale on those years is under 10K for a decent truck. Things to look for, front wheel hubs, ball joints, rear pinion seal and steering gear box. These are all the things I wound up replacing at one time or another, but it was a solid truck, just too much for what I needed at the time when Diesel was $5 a gallon. I wish I had that truck now!

A few other things to look at, if the transmission has been replaced and or the PCM reprogrammed to eliminate shift flare, See if a coolant filter was added(not something done a lot, but helps a lot keeping coolant clean), and check the oil pan for rust. Early 99 through 2003 had the 7.3 Powerstroke, stay away from the 6.0 powerstroke in later 2003+ models.

Gdetrailer wrote:

BillW44 wrote:
Hi folks. Someone I know wants to upgrade their Class A and they want to get a TT (hopefully something newer $7500-$15000) and they're wondering what a good pickup might be to get. Something that's typically available. Doesn't have to be diesel. Something not too old. Maybe $8500-$10000. It would be nice if it was easily worked on and not full of this newer engine compartment stuff where you have to take the engine out to change the oil.

Thanks for any suggestions! Probably been asked before but perhaps not in this way. Hopefully it hasn't, and hopefully I'm asking in the preferred category.

Thanks.

Bill

Gonna burst your bubble a bit on the expectations..

To get anywhere near your price ranges you ARE going to be looking at trailers late 90's to at best 2000..
.

Are you sure? I'm looking on rvtrader online and seeing lots of 2005-2016s for 9k-12k.

BillW44 wrote:
Hi folks. Someone I know wants to upgrade their Class A and they want to get a TT (hopefully something newer $7500-$15000) and they're wondering what a good pickup might be to get. Something that's typically available. Doesn't have to be diesel. Something not too old. Maybe $8500-$10000. It would be nice if it was easily worked on and not full of this newer engine compartment stuff where you have to take the engine out to change the oil.

Thanks for any suggestions! Probably been asked before but perhaps not in this way. Hopefully it hasn't, and hopefully I'm asking in the preferred category.

Thanks.

Bill

Gonna burst your bubble a bit on the expectations..

To get anywhere near your price ranges you ARE going to be looking at trailers late 90's to at best 2000..

Trucks, well lets put it this way, trucks HOLD their value..

What that means is $8,500 - $10,000 won't buy you much at all and you WILL be looking at extremely high mileage vehicles from early to late 90's. RUST and mileage are what you are going to be dealing with..

Heck, I have a 2003 F250 5.4 gas super cab 2wd with 200,000 miles and it is worth easily $6K-$7K. In the last two years I have had transmission lines rot out twice, brake lines once, repaired bed wheel well rot, one starter (and those are a bear to change), parking brake intermediate cable.. Easily have spent $4K in repairs over the last two years..

The 5.4 is a solid engine and and the 4 speed transmission keeps going, however, spending a bit more on say 2006 and newer you get a lot more engine (our 2003 has 2V 265 HP engine and our 2006 has 3V 300 HP engine). You also will see advances in the transmissions, our 2003 has a 4 speed transmission and the 2006 has 5 speed PLUS Tow Haul mode). Tow Haul, really makes a huge difference, it alters the shift pattern and has automatic downshifting when you are descending hills.

The only reason I have kept the 2003 is my DD started driving a yr ago and keeping it and fixing it up was cheaper than buying a 5-6 yr car then dumping money into a used car..

You WILL be fixing the older trucks, they will have considerable mileage, wear and tear, you will be spending some money to make it reliable.

Sure, there may be some deals to be had, but keep in mind, be very leery of any "too good to be true" type deals on the Internet.. There are a lot of scammers just looking for the desperate deal seeker.. And they are plenty happy to take your money and you end up with nothing.

Words like in a warehouse, will ship, someone died and many other sob stories walk away..

Walaby wrote:
crazyro - looks like your WD hitch needs to be adjusted a bit. Pic makes it look like your rear is squatting and front may have too much weight removed.

Mike

Hey Mike. Yes, you're right, in this pic the truck was empty and I have the hitch set up for when we're all in the cab. I may need to go up to 4th link instead of 5th in some cases.

crazyro - looks like your WD hitch needs to be adjusted a bit. Pic makes it look like your rear is squatting and front may have too much weight removed.

I think any of the big three trucks would be fine. You really need to figure out what TT first, and then make sure you match the truck to the trailer. For a small(ish) trailer in the 5K pound range, any of the half tons should do a good job.

Mike

Our entire setup is less than $20,000 - got the truck for $14,000 (4WD, large cab - there's 6 of us; payload of #2,000) and camper for around $5,000. I LOVE our Dodge. It's the 3rd gen and it's a great workhorse. We got stuck behind an idiotic driver on a two lane road, up and down for miles, who kept slowing up and speeding up and the Ram had no issues pulling the trailer. Our is the 5.7 HEMI with 3.73 gears.

Here's our rig:

Your area of the country is certainly conducive to finding something older and rust free. I would just keep looking for something in the AZ, TX areas.
I bought my now 14 yr old TV sight unseen except pictures from an auto broker out of San Antonio and had it shipped here to Mich. Couldn't be happier with it and the entire buying experience.
Good trucks under 10 to 12k are hard to find but they pop up occasionally and sell quickly.
Good luck in your search!

DanNJanice wrote:
As others have said, without knowing the size of trailer, nobody can really recommend much.
If they are looking at smallish trailers, say <=25ft or so, you are in 1/2 ton territory and will have lots of choices, especially if you are willing to forgo 4wd. I had a 2002 F150 that I pulled a 24ft trailer with, sold it for $5000 a couple of years ago, with 130000 miles. I know the people who bought it, and it is still running perfectly.

I'm certainly willing to forgo the 4WD btw.

So you're another F150 fan. I took a look on sold ebay transactions. They're not cheap. Perhaps name brand is stifling??.