Time for a truck change....

[pELYgroso]

So I currently have a '14 f350 6.7 PSD. I daily drive it for awhile but decided to get a TDI jetta thanks to you guys and the truck has been mostly sitting. I have a 28' bumper pull toy hauler that runs a little under 10k lbs (I think) loaded up. The 6.7 hauls it easily, 80+ mph if I want and doesn't skip a beat. But, for the handful of times I use it to haul heavy each year, its hard to justify having it sit in the driveway depreciating.

I'm going to sell it and "downgrade" to something that I won't feel bad about not using to its potential regularly.

My budget is 10-20k so here is what I'm looking at in that price range:
-'99-'02 7.3 psd's. Ive had them and know that they can be super reliable.
-'03-'08 Cummins. I know nothing about these except the front ends are "junk."
-03-08 Duramax. I know little about these

The next question becomes whether to go with a gasser. I can get a gasser a couple years newer with 50k less miles for the same or cheaper than the equivalent diesel.

-My father in law drove a Ford V10 to 350k with minimal issues and it hauled lots of machinery regularly. I would definitely consider one of those.
-I have no experience with the GM 6.0 or the dodge gasser. Will these v8's do 10k lbs without too much trouble? Anything to look out for on these? I'm ok just cruising at 70-75 if thats what theyre comfortable at....

I know that there was just a similar thread but those trucks discussed were in the $35k price range so I'm assuming the slightly older rigs that I'm looking at will have some different feed back.

I'm leaning towards the ford options because ive been a Ford guy and have good experience with them but I'm open to other suggestions.

Thanks guys!

Ps, I have the $ in hand for the "new" truck so if you know of any great deals let me know!

 

[Houndoc]

From what I have heard, the V10 will kill your fuel budget.

I share the dilemma on gas v diesel. Tow up to 11K of horses and boat (6k) handful of times but have stuck with diesel for the horse loads

I have been very impressed with GM. Sold one 2 years ago with 350K, have little over 215k on my current 06.

 

[pELYgroso]

Yeah, the mileage on the v10 would be bad but I feel like it would take years to make up the purchase price difference with the use that it will get.

The duramax's I'm looking at have around 200k miles. Any issues to make sure have been taken care of at that many miles? For example, on the 7.3 PSD's at 200k I'll try to verify that something has been done to rebuild or upgrade the (auto) tranny.

 

[BCGPER]

I replaced my V-10 with a 6.0. The towing mileage on both suck, but unloaded the 6.0 excelled. If you're not driving it daily, I'd go with the V-10. Find one with the 4.30 gear option and you'll have a fantastic tow rig. Any other gear ratio, I'd walk away from.

 

[Caleb]

My 5.7L Tundra towed my 10k lb trailer with no issues. I don't think the weight will be a problem for anything you're considering. I'd go gas over diesel if it's not being used for towing regularly.

 

[Tonkaman]

Older Duramax trucks (LB7 and LLY '02-'05) had injectors go bad at untold mileage, andThe fix is several thousand dollars. That said they are excellent trucks.

The LLY ('04.5-'05) engines suffered overheating issues due to turbo and emission changes.

LBZ ('06-07) are the most sought after and definitely the best of the older body style.

 

[boogie_4wheel]

My work truck is an '05 V10 Ford with 4.30 (reg cab 4wd). I'm packing about 1500lbs worth of fiberglass utility shell (1ft taller than cab) with tools and junk. I can milk 12mpg setting the cruise at 65 and going from slc to Coalville. It makes good pulling/climbing power but doesn't feel like a rocket. It downshifts to 4th on Parley's where the 4th lane starts, but will pull the rest headed East in 5th unlocked. The trans tuning is good for me.

I love my personal '05 Cummins. I've got 121k now luckily haven't done anything to the front end yet. My trailer is at about 8k loaded, and could easily be pulled by something with sparkplugs but I don't want to. I'd be interested in a 6.4 Ram but don't want a truck payment.

 

[mbryson]

I liked my 3.73 v10 on 35" tires a lot more than I expected. Gears would do wonders for that pig. Towing mpg isn't that different than a turbo diesel. I see nothing wrong with a gasser.

I would NOT recommend an 03-09 Cummings. Worst truck I've ever owned. One of the coolest engines I've ever owned. Craptastic wrapper

 

[jeeper]

I move my f350 2013 v8 gasser. Pulling about 12k of dirt as I type

Edit: now that I'm not driving...
there is no doubt this truck is not a Deisel. I can pull 70 all the way to Moab and back, but I am pushing hard on the hills. If you need to be the fastest guy on the road, you will be disappointed. I am still passing people regularly.
The benefits to me outweigh the negatives. I don't wake my neighbors early in the morning, I can have conversations without the noisy engine both while outside the truck and driving. Oil changes are much cheaper, parts are cheaper, labor is cheaper, I don't have to go to a specialty shop if I need to pay for repairs. And the gasser fit my purchase budget.

 

[pELYgroso]

Awesome, thanks guys! This is exactly the kind of info I'm looking for!

 

[pELYgroso]

I'm not too worried about the towing mileage. My 6.7 PSD gets 8-9 mpg's with my camper full doing about 75.

I kind of wish I hadnt just sold my '95 PSD 5 speed a few months ago. It got 16. Mpg empty, mixed driving and only went down to 13 towing my camper. That was cruising at 65 though with the old loud 7.3.

 

[Cascadia]

The benefits to me outweigh the negatives. I don't wake my neighbors early in the morning, I can have conversations without the noisy engine both while outside the truck and driving.

Is this still an issue with other diesels? I'm honestly asking. Not pointing fingers. I have a GMC 3500 and I'm pretty sure my truck is as quiet as a gas motor. I never wanted a loud diesel and I've been happy with my choice.

 

[jeeper]

Is this still an issue with other diesels? I'm honestly asking. Not pointing fingers. I have a GMC 3500 and I'm pretty sure my truck is as quiet as a gas motor. I never wanted a loud diesel and I've been happy with my choice.

Not with the new trucks.. but the older trucks in his price range are. For sure the new diesels are very quiet. I just can't afford one of those.

 

[Toad]

My brother in law just picked up a 2002 8.1 GMC. He drives his acura every day for work and tows the camp trailer on the weekends. Truck sits most of the time. Sounds like a very similar position that you are in. He just could not justify the price of even a similar year diesel. Empty the truck gets about 13 on the freeway. I towed a 90s Tahoe from Burley ID with it several weeks ago. I was surprised with how well it towed. Fuel mileage was better than I thought. I never checked it but when I got home I still had about half a tank. I figure it was 9-10 mpg. My only complaint about the truck is that it needs a way to manually select and hold the drive position. The positions are od,3,2,1. Truck has the 5 speed Allison so 4th is the 1-1 gear. I believe the later models got that.

 

[TRD270]

Just to throw it out there, not really what i'd want for 10k but a properly equipped ecoboost can tow 11k maybe even 13k can't remember the specs. Think they started in 2012, I would think you should be able to find something in your budget range, 7,234,543,455 F150's are on the road so negotiating for the right one would be easier

 

[Gravy]

I like my newer 6.2L F250 gasser Ford. 13.5-14.5 mpg. For a 4 door long bed that's not bad at all. You can pick one up just barely in that price range.

 

[pELYgroso]

So I looked at some ecoboost specs. The earlier ones are rated for 11,300 lbs. I looked up my camper and it is 5700# dry. The Teryx4 is 1600# dry. So with a full camping load, some water, etc. I'm thinking 10k# would be the absolute max I'll weigh in at. probably closer 9k#.

The camper is 33' from tongue to tail, dual axle and I have an equalizer hitch. I could put air bags on the truck to help too....

For those of you who have used an F150 to tow with, what are your thoughts on this set up? We typically don't go too far outside of Utah if ever.

 

[frieed]

Mine has 3.55 rear and is rated to tow 9600# before I went with 33" BFG MS2's (one inch over the stock 32's). With my camper, 80 gal water, genny, and stuff, was about 8200#. My Eco pulled it up Daniels summit from Heber, cruise on, at the posted limit (65), at 2700 rpm. In the last 1/4 mile near the top it would drop a gear and run at 3300 rpm. If you want, I'll bring it over and you can try your setup with my truck.

 

[rholbrook]

I have a very loaded up EcoBoost with 110k problem free miles I'm thinking about selling. Getting time for a new one. I normally don't keep my trucks very long but I have really liked this one. I wouldn't make 10k on the tongue a habit but for what you explained, it would do it very well. I loaded my boat and truck with gear to that point every year for Powell and I would set my cruise at 75 and it wouldn't break a sweat

 

[Tonkaman]

I'm not a ford fanboy, but riding with Russ in his F-150 completely changed my opinion. I LOVE that truck