Pickup recommendations? - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

t walgamuth · #16 12-17-2016, 08:16 PM

Of course it one could find a clean early two valve cummins they are very simple and would be preferred if findable. They are very poor for rust though and the really robust transmissions did not come until 02 or 03.

jplinville · #17 12-17-2016, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TwitchKitty

An unmolested 94-98 dodge cummins would be nice.

Unmolested is the key word with used trucks. It seems many young males feel like they must render a truck useless before they can get on with their lives.

Performance wise our old 1991 F250 with the fuel injected 460, overdrive and 410 limited slip rear is up to the job. Torque, gearing and brakes make a truck. A gasser is lighter and has more margin for load. Myths of mileage are greatly exaggerated in my experience.

Parts are getting to be an issue. Parts stores carry many inferior products for old trucks. I have three failed starter solenoids in the cab now. The cheap AZ part is the only one that worked, go figure. I am going to have to return the signal switch in the wrangler too.

It has taken thirteen years to put 60K miles on the truck. Don't spend a bunch of money on something that you realistically won't use that much. Many months we have spent more on insurance than any other truck expense.

Earlier this year, we went through 3 solenoids before finally giving up on 'Zone's offerings. I made friends with the son of a local smaller Ford dealer out in the country that had a couple of the NOS solenoids...NOT made in China crapola. I picked two of them up from him, just in case. One went under the hood, and the other in the glove box as a back up. So far, it's doing well.

I agree with you on not putting out big bucks on something only used a few times a year. Since January, my wife's F250 has only gotten 750ish miles put on it. Under 5k miles, and I don't have to pass a sniffing emissions test...so not driving it may be really saving me some money.

gatorblue92 · #18 12-18-2016, 07:39 AM

I love my F150 with the 2.7 TT EcoBoost. It may not have quite enough power for what you are looking to do but the 3.5 EcoBoost can tow up to 12,000 lbs. The road manners on the F150 will be MUCH better than the F250 when you aren't towing.

oldsinner111 · #19 12-18-2016, 07:51 AM

I want a mexican Ford ranger with the larger diesel motor,king cab,rubber floors,and manual windows.

Botnst · #20 12-18-2016, 08:26 AM

Twitchkitty, that's some good perspective right there. Appreciated.

Thanks for the comments about Dodge wiring. This is why a single bad experience can so easily bias the listener.

Concerning older vehicles, life has told me that some people have a gift for mechanical maintenance and repair while at the same time other people should pay them.

link · #21 12-18-2016, 10:41 AM

I dunno anything about pickups, but if towing is going to be an issue, make sure that the suspension and driveline are agressively over rated for the tasks you plan to do.

As a possibility, buy a rebuilt something or a suitable well used near carcus from a used lot and replace the necessary bits.

There are a lot of search engines which can save a lot of time and help you find the right platform. Some of these are carfax.com, edmunds.com (great for new/used reviews), truecar,com, autotrader.com and what became my favorite, cargurus.com

iwrock · #22 12-18-2016, 12:19 PM

What's your budget?

I've had a few different trucks in the last few years, and have seen the good and bad! A truck budget of $5000 is vastly different than a truck budget of $50k - at $50k you're in you choice of and diesel, but at $5k - I'd shy away from most diesels.

Botnst · #23 12-19-2016, 05:41 PM

I was hoping for $40K or a bit less. Maybe a year-old truck.

kerry · #24 12-19-2016, 06:10 PM

You must have a hell of a prosperous farm to be shelling out 40K for a farm truck.

engatwork · #25 12-19-2016, 06:23 PM

Its a tax write off kerry.

Txjake · #26 12-20-2016, 11:01 AM

You're more likely, I'd think to find the sort of truck you want in Ford's work truck line up. They seem to produce more trucks to used as trucks than the others. Wichita has a dealership annex just with work trucks. As far as capability goes, I'm for overkill. I'd do an F350 4x4 with a diesel.

iwrock · #27 12-21-2016, 01:10 PM

$40k is a pretty substantial budget - you can pretty much buy anything!

What are you looking for? Something that you can use daily, or something you just need to tow with?

TwitchKitty · #28 12-22-2016, 04:55 PM

I had to think about the concern over Dodge wiring.

I drove XJ jeeps many miles for many years with no problems.

Now I have this TJ Wrangler and I have replaced just about every switch on it. Not sure what to make of this.

The replacement switches for the TJ do not impress me as high quality items but they come with lifetime warranties.

76w115 · #29 12-22-2016, 05:17 PM

For 40k, you can get the Toyota Tundra with the work truck package. It's a 5.7L, long bed, king cab, with rubber floor mats, vinyl seats, tow mirrors, and integrated trailer brake controller. Not much else.

I didn't opt for that model, but mine has the same engine and transmission. It pulls my 26' camper very well, and does well with a small rented excavator and a bed full of tree stumps. Tow capacity is just under 10k pounds.

I like it because they haven't fooled around with the engine much, a la GM's Active Fuel Management, Ford's turbos, etc. It's just a good running, full time V8 truck.

jake12tech · #30 12-22-2016, 05:26 PM

You can't beat a 7.3 late 90s early 2000s or a 6.0 with all the work done to it already (DPF, Turbo, EGR) etc. Or a duramax with an allison trans.. The f250 7.3 lariat would be a luxury workhorse that you couldn't beat.