what to do: Off-topic discussion forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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April 25, 2011 5:23 p.m. barnca Reader

lookin at a 98 f150 4wd auto 187,000 mile 4.6liter with a plow.. surprisingly not much rot.. just some on the bottom of the doors and the dr side of the bed buy the rear bumper.. there askin 4 grand.. im interested but that seems steep.. i looked underneath and it isnt bad.. no holes. didnt get to hear it run.. any thoughts.. other than the one that i already have of stayin away from it.

chris
April 25, 2011 5:40 p.m. mad_machine SuperDork

depending on where you are... that is either a decent deal or a bad one. Down here where it only snows a couple weeks a year.. the rot would be a deal breaker
April 25, 2011 5:49 p.m. barnca Reader

NH
April 25, 2011 5:52 p.m. mad_machine SuperDork

I would consider taking a trip. Summer is coming and fuel is through the roof. I bet you can pick up a nicer truck with less miles for similar or less miles down here in NJ, or PA, or MD
April 25, 2011 6:47 p.m. Kramer HalfDork

A little rust now means a lot of rust in a lot of places in the very near future.
April 25, 2011 7:04 p.m. barnca Reader

Kramer wrote:

A little rust now means a lot of rust in a lot of places in the very near future.

this is true
April 25, 2011 7:13 p.m. aussiesmg SuperDork

This cost me $1800 with a 5.4, tow package and leather, the rust was free
April 25, 2011 11:33 p.m. 93gsxturbo HalfDork

Buy the truck and plow separate. A used plow truck is always beat.

A Grampa Fresh 1/2 ton short box short cab or 3/4 ton long box short cab that was never used as a plow truck and a used plow should cost about the same and will get you something with far less rust, far less wear, far tighter front end, and a better transmission.

Plowing is death for a nice truck.
April 25, 2011 11:51 p.m. fasted58 Reader

93gsxturbo wrote:

Plowing is death for a nice truck.

^^ what he said
April 26, 2011 9:32 a.m. cwh SuperDork

It's been a (long) while, but when I lived in Ohio, you couldn't miss the trucks that had been used for plowing, and up there, they got a lot of use. Totally ragged out by the time they were 3 years old. Rev it up, run into a wall. Repeat many times. No thanks.
April 26, 2011 9:45 a.m. AngryCorvair SuperDork

+1 to each of the last 3 posts. plowing = truck sodomy.
April 26, 2011 9:49 a.m. bludroptop SuperDork

My former employer on plow trucks: "if you're not breaking equipment, you're not working hard enough".

He had four f-250s at the time, none more than 4 years old. By the time they reached 50k miles, they were steaming piles of poo.

...cost of doing business.
April 26, 2011 10:12 a.m. cwh SuperDork

Exactly. If you bought a truck for plow duty, you expected a short life span, and God help the next owner.