Looking for a 3/4 ton hauler

[rondo]

Sold my 1/2 ton Cheby 4x4 pickup and need a replacement. Would like to move up.

Ford: have never had one. I love the idea of solid axles.
I think I'd like to find a 2005, 2006, 2007 Ford 3/4 ton with the 5.4 V8 crewcab No lift kit and for the softer suspension I think they came with.
Probably hard to find, I know. not sure what to expect. These have any issues?

Anyone know anything about the 08 and later Ford with the big block gas? 6.2?

V10? I don't need a lot of power. A friend had one and he said it cost 5$ just to start it In his driveway.

Diesel? Besides the 6.0 in the Ford that I've heard so much bad about, I don't think a diesel is right for us. I want a hauler to take us to moab 1x or 2x a year, tow my junker to the rockcrawling trails, or go to the grocery store. probably not good for a diesel to sit a week or 2 at time without use. I have no real commute. might get a big camp trailer this summer and want to tow that.

Nissan: loved the titan I used to have. but it's a 1/2 ton.
Toyota? would love one of these, I suspect they are way overbuilt but none are in the price range.
Dodge: never had one so I don't know a thing about them.

A friend had a Cheby 2500 with the big block; said it was very hard on gas but I'd be somewhat open to that.

price range about 15k or so.

thoughts? advice?

 

[skippy]

Buy Barts duramax that's currently listed in the classifieds super clean well taken care of rig.

 

[spencevans]

I recently bought a 2014 Ram 2500 with a Cummins and a 6 speed manual. It is one smooth riding truck. That being said I know you are looking at these Fords but I have 1999 Suburban 6.5 Diesel that is on the market and in your price range. It should be able to tow 7000lbs with out issue. It has a brand new optimizer diesel engine that is still under warranty, many upgrade and full leather. It's a great ride. It's not a big deal to let these diesels sit for weeks on end without being started. Let me know if you are interested.

 

[Greg]

Got a link to your Suburban, Spence? I've always thought the 6.5's were kind of neat.

 

[TurboMinivan]

You say you want a 3/4 ton rig to haul your crawler to Moab? You say you want it to be durable? You say you want it to have a comfortable ride? You say you want it to not mind if it sits for weeks at a time without being used? You say you want to avoid the added expense of a diesel engine? And it would be great if you could spend a lot less than $15k?

There is a perfect answer. Go out and buy the cleanest 8.1L Suburban 2500 you can find. You'll be amazed at how perfectly it fills all of your needs.

 

[boogie_4wheel]

Rondo, I'd be hunting for a 3V V10 Ford. They make great power, the 5spd auto trans is reliable, and it will get just as good mileage towing as the 5.4L would. Empty economy will be lower, but the added power will more than make up for it. You mention a camp trailer, yeah, get the V10.

As you already said, the 6.0L PSD was a joke (I had one), and the 6.4L wasn't a great step forward in the reliability dept. But, diesels are fine just sitting. My 'older' Dodge sits for weeks at a time, sometimes for over a month.

I don't have any experience with GMs 6.0 or 8.1 gassers. I heard about both having piston slap and some oil consumption. The 8.1L is supposed to be a torque monster though.

 

[spencevans]

Got a link to your Suburban, Spence? I've always thought the 6.5's were kind of neat.

I plan to put it on the market in the next week or two. It's in great condition and being a 1999 it is the last year they made a diesel Suburban. While it has 230K miles it has a new Optimizer engine with all the upgrades which is around $8-9K upgrade. This engine is a huge upgrade over the stock engine. They have stronger blocks, forged cranks, high flow heads, new gen water pumps and turbos etc. Those are the major differences which makes these engines good for 500k miles. The current setup also puts out around 230hp and 475ft lbs torque which is a nice jump from the stock 6.5 motor. The 6.5 is backed by the tough 480L-E transmission. It has Bilstein shocks, 4" Diamond Eye exhaust w/new free flow muffler and cat. It sounds pretty mean. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwi6KYgrfZI

The inside is in great shape with a just a small tear in the drivers seat.. It has soft leather by gm standards, power heated seats, cassette player, cd player, trailer brake controller, 3 rows of heat and AC etc, etc. It's from Montana so it is shockingly rust free. Come to find out it's too cold for salt on the roads or at least that's what they tell me. I would like to keep it but I need to down size. I have 5 vehicles and I only need 3. I will post it in the for sale adds later on today.

 

[Gravy]

I have a 5.4 Superduty. (Extra or super) cab long bed.
I've been very happy with it.
Not the fastest thing in the world towing but it gets decent mileage and has been supremely reliable.


I also had a 6.5 turbo diesel Suburban. It was fine for towing but it was no modern diesel by any stretch of the imagination. I liked it well enough and it actually got decent mileage.
It did have a catastrophic ABS module failure that left me with NO power brakes while towing... quite unpleasant.

 

[mbryson]

I think a 3v V10 F*rd would be a sweet tow rig. Quite happy with our '99 v10

 

[rondo]

great discussion. thx to all for their input.
I really want a pickup; can't imagine being without one. A short bed at a minimum.
I'm so scared of diesels. Too many people I know have had catastrophic (ie read expensive) failures of some kind that cost a lot of $$ to fix. I'm also told they are not good to sit around unused. may have to relook that.

 

[spencevans]

I have a 5.4 Superduty. (Extra or super) cab long bed.

I also had a 6.5 turbo diesel Suburban. It was fine for towing but it was no modern diesel by any stretch of the imagination. I liked it well enough and it actually got decent mileage.
It did have a catastrophic ABS module failure that left me with NO power brakes while towing... quite unpleasant.

I have always been very happy with the mileage from my 6.5 as well. I went to Yellowstone in October and averaged 24mpg. Having the new Optimizer engine really brings these diesels into the modern age. Driving my Suburban does not feel any different than driving my New 2014 Cummins or my 2009 Jetta TDI. They all purrrr like a kitten.

 

[spencevans]

great discussion. thx to all for their input.
I really want a pickup; can't imagine being without one. A short bed at a minimum.
I'm so scared of diesels. Too many people I know have had catastrophic (ie read expensive) failures of some kind that cost a lot of $$ to fix. I'm also told they are not good to sit around unused. may have to relook that.

My recommendation is drive as many vehicles as you can. Sometimes we depend too much on interweb and not enough on real world experience.

 

[Houndoc]

You said not interested in a diesel, but if you are thinking 'big camping trailer' in the near future, should stay on your radar screen.

I have an 04 Cheve Duramax crew cab that would be interested in selling. I think would be perfect for the occasional tow rig duties you have in mind. Has 345k+ miles on it, but has been very trouble free (we bought it two years ago with just over 300k miles.) But it doubles as my wife's DD, so we are wanting to trade to one with lower miles.

Let me know if interested.