Tow rig to buy?

benmack1

benmack1

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2010
Location
USA
I'm sure this has been covered in a bunch of posts but I'm gonna seek some input anyway.

I have an F-150 supercrew (2002) 4x4 currently. ALso an 18ft tandem axle trailer (7K rating). I want to haul my TJ around a bit as I am just getting into the wheeling thing. I had the truck and trailer previous to the jeep thing so it wasn't put together to haul the jeep. Just seems the jeep on the trailer is probably a bit much for my truck anyway. So, I am thinking I'd like to get a tow rig of some kind that's beefier. Not really in the mood to buy anything new. I'd also like to get something that could drag a 5th wheel flatbed type trailer eventually and a 5th wheel camper maybe. Nothing a huge one, but a 5th wheel hook-up nonetheless.

After looking over CL a bit, it seems there are quite a few mid-90's rigs for sale. I am thinking a 1 ton rig with DRW is what I want. I'm kind of a Ford guy but not diehard. Do I have any hope of getting into a truck (F350 or the equivalent Dodge or Chev) for 7-8K? I see several in that range so I just toss out that for discussion. I don't want to turn wrenches on this every time I get in it. Maybe I am too optimistic on these costs. So my questions are the following. Happy to have all thoughts on the subject.

1) Ford, Chev, Dodge???

2) Gas or diesel? (I like the idea of gas actually, but wonder how much of a dog they would be with a 5th wheel trailer and the jeep (say a 20 ft, 14-20K lb trailer) or a 20 ft camper 5th wheel just as a generic size (not gonna pull any 35ft 5th wheels). I will head over the blue ridge now and then I suspect.

3) Auto or manual?

4) 2wd vs. 4wd?

5) What motors are good, what are problems for both the gasser or diesels?


I'd appreciate not getting the 'do a search' responses. If not interested in contributing to this specific discussion, please just click on!

Thanks!
 
depending on what kind of creature comforts you gotta have,a work truck can be had fairly cheap . I don't need much to be satisfied so I bought my old fuel truck when it was drummed out of service. Then again,if your trailer has brakes and you upgrade the F150's brakes,it might be cheaper in the long run just to upgrade what you have now.You can spend 3 to 5 thousand on a "new"truck or spend half to less on upgrading. My F350 with a 5.8 pulls good on the flats and fair in the mountains except on long steep grades.Then again semi's do too. I assume your 150 has the 5.4 so that should be good enough to pull as long as the tranny is in good shape and kept cool.Brakes can be upgraded with pad make up , style and slotted rotors. The rears if drum I would think could be upgraded to discs or as in my case,make sure they are adjusted correctly.
I went back and re-read what you were wanting to do. if you want to go to a fifth wheel set up, you will need to upgrade to a better truck for the job. I hope you know by asking a question about which tow rig you have opened a can of worms. I'm sure a "toyota" will even be thrown into the mix.
 
You can't go wrong with a dodge cummins truck with a manual in it, people say the bodies fall apart, but mine has 260k on it and is still in great shape. Just depends who had it before and that goes for any vehicle really.
2wd vs 4wd I always go 4wd never know where you will end up I have used mine in places I wouldn't have thought was needed, and if you go to sell it a 4wd truck is easier to sell because they are more desirable.
If you want a full size gas truck (my grandpas chevy with a 6.0) expect poor mileage it gets 10-11 empty or loaded but pulls great. A diesel on the other hand (my 99 cummins 5spd) gets 17-18 unloaded and when hauling 2 jeeps in the mountains I got 12, and anywhere inbetween depending on weight.
 
i got mine 2000 ford f350 DRW 4x4 7.3L auto with 128,xxx miles for $10,500
took me 6 mons to find it but well worth the cash
i would look hard for a f350 with a 7.3L
there out there but hard to find at a good price

here it is the day i got it

f350 truck pics 001.jpg
f350 truck pics 004.jpg
 
^^^^^^nice.
 
benmack1 said:
I'm sure this has been covered in a bunch of posts but I'm gonna seek some input anyway.

I have an F-150 supercrew (2002) 4x4 currently. ALso an 18ft tandem axle trailer (7K rating). I want to haul my TJ around a bit as I am just getting into the wheeling thing. I had the truck and trailer previous to the jeep thing so it wasn't put together to haul the jeep. Just seems the jeep on the trailer is probably a bit much for my truck anyway. So, I am thinking I'd like to get a tow rig of some kind that's beefier. Not really in the mood to buy anything new. I'd also like to get something that could drag a 5th wheel flatbed type trailer eventually and a 5th wheel camper maybe. Nothing a huge one, but a 5th wheel hook-up nonetheless.

After looking over CL a bit, it seems there are quite a few mid-90's rigs for sale. I am thinking a 1 ton rig with DRW is what I want. I'm kind of a Ford guy but not diehard. Do I have any hope of getting into a truck (F350 or the equivalent Dodge or Chev) for 7-8K? I see several in that range so I just toss out that for discussion. I don't want to turn wrenches on this every time I get in it. Maybe I am too optimistic on these costs. So my questions are the following. Happy to have all thoughts on the subject.

1) Ford, Chev, Dodge???

2) Gas or diesel? (I like the idea of gas actually, but wonder how much of a dog they would be with a 5th wheel trailer and the jeep (say a 20 ft, 14-20K lb trailer) or a 20 ft camper 5th wheel just as a generic size (not gonna pull any 35ft 5th wheels). I will head over the blue ridge now and then I suspect.

3) Auto or manual?

4) 2wd vs. 4wd?

5) What motors are good, what are problems for both the gasser or diesels?


I'd appreciate not getting the 'do a search' responses. If not interested in contributing to this specific discussion, please just click on!

Thanks!
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I just did the same thing for the same reasons and replaced my 04 ram quad cab 1500 with a 2500 series suburban. One additional item I wanted besides higher towing was 4wd so that I would have less to worry about when towing on gravel or dirt roads and also something decent in the snow as my hemi with open diff was basically driveway bound.
I have a family so the extra covered space was a major bonus to me and also when I want to haul my dogs it's now easier. An additional bonus was that the kids have more room and a tv/dvd now to distract them on the long trips. I have access to a single axle landscape trailer for stuff I might have wanted to do with my truck like mulch or hauling tall stuff otherwise that would have been a drawback. Another reason I went the suburban route is the value was about a 2-4K delta between a comparable truck. I wouldn't have minded and would have even liked a diesel but resell on those bad boys seemed astronomical and I was having a hard time finding one with both a decent engine/tranny and a decent interior in my budget. I could usually find one or the other but not both. Comparable excursions even with the diesel were selling 2-4K more. Good luck.
 
When i did this research I heard repeatedly the older Fords with 7.3 were one of the better older options. Heard the Dodge's (manual especially) were nice minus the cracked dash's. Regarding trucks I read go diesel or go home just because of fuel and add on options. On the newer trucks I read the allison/duramax were probably the better drive train combo and Ford had fallen off some. All of that of course is a summary of all the opinions I read. Cases were made for every option. The less brand loyal you are the more options you'll have. You leaning towards Ford should leave you decent options on the older diesel models on what are supposed to be pretty well regarded motors.
 
This was the gist of what I read repeatedly about the ford diesels. It may all be urban legend and I am neither a ford or diesel guy but it was fairly common out there.
While they are all very solid trucks, it is hard to beat a late 1999-2003 crew cab with the 7.3. If you're wanting newer, avoid the 2003-2004 6.0 trucks like the plague. 2005-2007 6.0 trucks were better, but still not as reliable as the 7.3. I'm sure this'll spark some "I've got a 200X year 6.0 and have never had any problem" debates, but when you look at the facts, 7.3>6.0.
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This is as reference to what I mentioned about the excursions versus Suburbans. This is the same year and similar options (except this is a 7.3) but it's more than double what I paid for my suburban with 60k less on the clock.
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/3665821818.html
 
Patience can get you an 03 Crewcab 4x4 Duramax in good condition with higher miles in your price range. But you've got to be ready to act when they come up too, cash is king.
 
Great info folks! Another question, I saw a couple F350's from the early 2000's (02 specifically) with a gasser V10 motor. I am aware of the Ford 460 and Chev 454 are tried and true but what about this V10? Any worries on that motor? Wondering if it is OK on reliability and length of service as well as if it gets any better mileage than those other V8 gassers?
 
Again not a ford guy but I was told the v-10's weren't all that desirable if you could have your pick. Gas mileage will be low especially compared to a diesel. My 2500 suburban came with a chevy v8 8.1 gasser. It's essentially a 496 BBC that replaced the 454 in truck applications. It's pretty bad on gas (10mpg) but pulls like a beast and it's comparable to a v-10's power and torque wise from what i've read. The 8.1 supposedly does it at lower rpm's though and they put the chevy 8.1 into a lot more RV's than I believe they did those Ford V-10's. if you get a good enough deal anything can be worth it depending on your needs but I think generally in a dually a diesel gives you better mpg and many more performance upgrades over the v-10.
I found good info on the large gassers in RV forums because that was one area where consumers in some cases got a choice between the 2 powerplants. Seemed useful to me because usually drivetrain comparisons are saddled with totally different chassis and the whole brand loyalty schtick.
 
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Supposedly for the year range your looking at the Ford v-10 was not all that well regarded even for Ford fans. I think that would be especially true when considering that those years are some of the more desirable 7.3 power stroke years.
The 2005+ is supposedly the v-10 of choice with higher power and torque. The early ones under heavy load were reported to hunt around a lot and be a higher revving gas consuming option. It's what you want and like and what you can get a good deal on for you that matters though.

The earlier 2 valve V10s (1999-2004) weren't that great. They were reliable, but HP wasn't spectacular (275HP-310HP).
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Thanks. I did some googling and most read bitching about the V10's. I used to have a motorhome with a 460 and know from those days that the MH community has alot of the V10's. Always sounded preferred to the 460 I had but not so sure after what I read this morning. Of course those that have problems tend to complain and those that don't are silent. I appreciate the thoughts.
 
AX(J)15_tudor said:
This one looks like a good deal.

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ctd/3706035529.html
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That does look like a decent deal. I think I wanna DRW at this point. I've settled in on DRW and 4wd. I can live with gas or diesel, Ford or Dodge. Seems the Dodge 12v is the best or the 7.3 in Ford. I can't seem to find alot of good commentary on the Chev's from the 90's (much into 2000's is probably going above my budget). Was reading alot today on the 12V vs. 24V cummins. Man, seems every brand has some big issues to watch out for. I need to quit reading I think, scaring myself into a prius before I'm done :eek: haha.
 
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