I'm looking for a tow/rally service/eventual expedition rig. What I'd like to do is get something which can tow a car trailer while carrying a slide-in camper- I like flat/utility beds for this since they're not rendered completely useless by installing the camper. Is this F350 I found a reasonable deal? I'm thinking it's either one of these, or an HD GMT800.
All I know is that the V10 likes to blow sparkplugs out of the head (And it always seems to be #9 and #10), gets atrocious mileage and eats coil packs like they're candy. A friend of ours had one and he ended up buying a second V10 truck with world's worst rod knock for $600 simply for the $1000+ worth of coil packs. Stripped the coil packs off and scrapped the rest of the truck.
What he said. Ford v10 seem to be more down sides than up sides. If you don't need that much power get a v8. If you do need that much get a 7.3 diesel.
Seems fairly expensive for a gas version. I have driven a similar year f250 with the v10 and it has decent power but I would probably go with the v8 or diesel.
OK, then can we turn this into a craiglist thread? Requirements:
-4x4
-8 ft bed
-Crew Cab or GM extended cab (Ford/Dodge has smaller back seat)
-Budget cap $6k
-Towing capacity sufficient for car trailer while carrying 3k lbs in/on truck without completely destroying drivetrain/suspension
My home craigslist is Allentown/Philly but of course will travel, including fly-n'drive for a good enough deal- have fun!
As I was looking at tow vehicles over recent months I came to the conclusions these guys already mentioned in regard to the V10s. There seem to be some reliability issues, and combined with the mpg and the unknown lifespan at high miles I just felt putting my money on a diesel. If I had found an older truck with the 460 I might have gone gas, but I wasn't comfortable with the V10.
THis one looks like it's probably 2wd, but hard to tell from the ad. 1996 F250 Supercab
looks pretty good, horrible wheels 1997 F250 Supercab
I have a 2006 F350 V10. So far so good. I've had to swap out one coil pack but I bought 8 of them off eBay for $65. I carry a spare but so far haven't had to use it. Our truck sees farm duty as well as towing a horse and car trailer. Mileage is lousy but the truck sits for the most part. Diesels generally don't like to sit so I went with the gas. Cheaper buy in too.
This one looks pretty decent for the money, but it's a regular cab: https://indianapolis.craigslist.org/cto/5393324476.html
Out of the box. Would be some work on your part, but the price is tough to beat, and it would have plenty of room: https://indianapolis.craigslist.org/cto/5370616514.html
This one would need to be towed, but there's room in your budget to tow it to a nearby shop and have the work done: https://indianapolis.craigslist.org/cto/5370330044.html
ultraclyde wrote: THis one looks like it's probably 2wd, but hard to tell from the ad. 1996 F250 Supercab looks pretty good, horrible wheels 1997 F250 Supercab
Pretty sure the top one is 4WD, look at the front hubs in the one photo. Second one is super clean. look at the interior, it's mint
ultraclyde wrote: THis one looks like it's probably 2wd, but hard to tell from the ad. 1996 F250 Supercab looks pretty good, horrible wheels 1997 F250 Supercab
I wasn't considering those primarily because the jump in comfort and handling for the '99-up trucks is pretty huge, and the jump in price isn't. Feel free to let me know why I'm wrong.
STM317:
Regular cabs are definitely out, if I'm going to be driving a behemoth it better be able to carry 4 adult humans- same deal with 4wd, if it's huge and inefficient why not have the capability? I love those cabovers but the size and lack of title scare the poop out of me.
Well, FWIW, Jack Baruth says the new curvy pickups had lousy crash safety (link here , scroll down about two thirds of the way; there's also a link to a very scary IIHS video) so maybe that has something to do with the price? That said, I have no idea what happens if you hit something with one of the older ones.
In reply to Stealthtercel:
Meh. The two vehicles I put the most miles on last year were an old Toyota pickup (no airbags, paper thin doors) and a motorcycle (duh). By comparison, almost anything has excellent crash safety.
EDIT: I read the article- his point is that a 1997 truck wasn't as safe as a 2004? No berkeleying E36 M3 sherlock, great job. 
How about this one? High mileage and older generation, but leaves room in the budget...
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: How about this one? High mileage and older generation, but leaves room in the budget...
The GMT-400 chassis is nigh indestructible in my experience. Our K1500 went 280K miles on the factory balljoints, the engine was never gone into other than a throttle body gasket and tune-ups (And never used oil and made 60psi of oil pressure at all times) Never had anything done to the transmission other than services up until 200K. We finally retired it at 310K miles because it had gotten so rusty that the frame was starting to crack and the driveshaft literally corroded through and broke.
I'm not a Chevy guy, but I gather from the peeps here that 250k isn't bad on those at all. Got a thing for flat beds?
As for the old body style 250/350s....I just got one and I think the ride is and driving experience is fine. Maybe not as nice as the later ones, but as good as my 97 Explorer, easily. I've got comfy seats, cruise control, power windows, cupholders, a/c, decent speakers...
I personally dislike the SD body style immensely, too, so it's mostly personal preference. I've ridden in a bunch of them though, and I don't find the OBS trucks any less comfortable. In either case, trim level has a LOT to do with it. Any year, any make, the bare bones vinyl seat trim is going to suck a little more.
I would throw the GMT800 8.1l in the mix. They will pull a house down, the truck version (I had the Suburban) has an Allison, the ride quality in my Suburban was great, and it had the leaf spring rear like the truck. Mileage sucks but all these suck so whatever. It is a sweet package. Plus if you find one that someone owned personally (not a work truck) then it is likely still in good shape. They aren't worth anything either, it seems.
In reply to singleslammer:
Find me one and I'll buy the damn thing- they're all 6.0s or Duramaxes out here.
I have a ford v10, eats gas, makes power, although it really like to rev it seems. I haven't had any issues with it yet, knock on wood! The v8 version spits plugs and eats coil packs too.
FWIW my rv get 8-9MPG if I stay at 60, its 12k lbs and a brick.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: In reply to singleslammer: Find me one and I'll buy the damn thing- they're all 6.0s or Duramaxes out here.
Mine is a shortbed but ticks your boxes otherwise. It has 198k but I just put a "new" 88kish engine in it. 8.1, 5spd Allison, 4x4, ext cab short bed. Rockers are rusty (just the others, inners are good) and $6200 would buy it. They seem to go for way more around here.
Steps aren't on it anymore.
I hate working on Ford trucks, have you worked on one before? consider that before buying one.
In reply to ¯_(ツ)_/¯:
FWIW I had a friend who towed his rally car behind his F350/7.3 with a slide-in camper and a 22'(IIRC, it's been 12-years ago) enclosed trailer. I know he had to do a custom hitch to get the receiver far enough back to work under the camper, but he was happy with it otherwise. We took it up to Headwaters(and won!) the one race I did with him, and having never drove a rig that big and/or heavy before(although it didn't have the camper, just a topper shell then) it drove/pulled/stopped very well.
https://dayton.craigslist.org/grd/5393863976.html
Heres a real similar truck for much less money that needs unknown work. Something to consider.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: How about this one? High mileage and older generation, but leaves room in the budget...
i'd go for that one. i have an 05 avalanche and have developed a strong hate for gmt800 trucks. FIL has an 05 2500HD and even with the beefier parts has had similar issues to me. my GMT400's on the other hand? they really don't ever let me down except for rotting out around the drivetrains. I drove a 90 454 extended cab dually daily for 7 years first with a service bed, then with a flatbed when the service bed rotted out. I retired it, it's getting recycled soon because it rotted way quicker when i started plowing with it. the only things i ever had to do were one clutch, brakes, and the typical brake/clutch hydraulic lines from rust. Most of those days it was towing a 13kgvwr tandem axle heavy duty enclosed trailer full of tools.
I "upgraded" to the 05 avalanche and smaller single axle tool trailer that's about 5k under the truck's towing capacity. won't list all the things that have gone awry, but i paid 13500 for a newer truck with 110k so i would have something "reliable" and all i've been dealt is around $5000 in repairs doing everything myself but the transmission rebuild and rear axle rebuild. 2nd rear axle i might add. it's a sweet truck if everything is functioning properly but it almost never is. I'm never buying another GMT800 unless it's an LS swap engine donor. I will, however, keep driving GMT400's like i have been doing since i was 16.
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