What truck would you buy?

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Let's say you had $10,000 to buy a used truck. You need it for work and personal use both for probably 5 or more years. Some day you're going to tow a 2 horse bumper pull trailer with it, and other than that you have to keep a LOT of tools and various smaller items in it most of the time. It'd be a daily driver. Needs to have cheap AND easy maintenance, be able to pull that 2 horse bumper pull without struggling, and be able to do it while climbing mountain roads once in a blue moon... I know that's hard to ask of any non-turbo truck, but it simply needs to be able to do that maybe 3 or 4 times a year. Obviously needs to be reliable.

Other than that... it needs to get me from one place to another.

What would you look for and why?

Oh forgot to add it also needs to be 4WD. 2WD is just not an option when you work on farms...
 
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2 horse trailer you're talking about a Heavy Duty pickup, and "not struggling" means diesel.

$10k might not be enough to get the reliability you need but to answer that question it's probably best to spend some time on a manufacturer specific website to find out the common problems.

You're looking at an early 2000s model though, here's a sampling from around St Louis area:

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/...RUCKS&Log=0
 
I'd be looking at a Ram pick up with the Hemi. Probably less $ than a Ford or GMC and should do what you want with ease. My buddy sold his 08 Hemi Ram for $10K a few months ago, the truck was clean and very well maintained, so they're out there.
 
Have a lot of experience in this area.

Specifically, what trailer did you have in mind? Weights can vary dramatically (construction, living quarters, etc.). What horses?

"I know that's hard to ask of any non-turbo truck"

You're being sarcastic, right? Please tell me you are...
 
I want to say some form of Ford F150 or Dodge Ram 1500. I saw some decent 1500s with the 4.7, and depending on mileage you can get a 5.7. The Fords have their issues with the 5.4s, but an older one with low mileage can be maintenanced and be ready for all kinds of work.


Or, a high mileage cummins dodge would probably do all of this, but I would tend to think repairs/maintenance would be more expensive.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I'd be looking at a Ram pick up with the Hemi. Probably less $ than a Ford or GMC and should do what you want with ease. My buddy sold his 08 Hemi Ram for $10K a few months ago, the truck was clean and very well maintained, so they're out there.


Ehhh Ram was and still is extremely questionable. All I've heard is endless transmission issues from the early 2000s on. I like everything about them except the reliability.

If anyone can show me good evidence that says otherwise, I'd be happy to look at Rams.

Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Have a lot of experience in this area.

Specifically, what trailer did you have in mind? Weights can vary dramatically (construction, living quarters, etc.). What horses?

"I know that's hard to ask of any non-turbo truck"

You're being sarcastic, right? Please tell me you are...


You've driven an NA vehicle over a mountain with a 7000+ pound load, right? Please tell me you have... Lucky to get 50MPH with it absolutely floored for the entire climb.
 
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I'd be looking at a 3/4 ton GMC 5.7 gas rig, 4-speed with a utility bed.

I'd be checking the LA Craigslist regularly. Maybe the SF Bay Area and the Sacramento area too... When I found one that I like, I'd PayPal a deposit and catch a flight out. If the truck pans out, buy it and drive it home. Could do the same in Phoenix and prolly Texas too
laugh.gif


No rust to speak of, will do what you want all day, every day. Parts are cheap. You can get it fixed at any Mom & Pop Garage anywhere in the country
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: BrocLuno
I'd be looking at a 3/4 ton GMC 5.7 gas rig, 4-speed with a utility bed.

I'd be checking the LA Craigslist regularly. Maybe the SF Bay Area and the Sacramento area too... When I found one that I like, I'd PayPal a deposit and catch a flight out. If the truck pans out, buy it and drive it home. Could do the same in Phoenix and prolly Texas too
laugh.gif


No rust to speak of, will do what you want all day, every day. Parts are cheap. You can get it fixed at any Mom & Pop Garage anywhere in the country
smile.gif



What do you think of the 8.1? Other than getting basically negative MPG...
 
Any 3/4 ton truck.

A 1/2 ton will do it, but I'd want the bigger engine, transmission, and braking systems if I was going to regularly pull trailers up and down mountains.

Gas engine will likely be cheaper and easier to maintain, but diesel will likely struggle less while pulling that trailer on mountain roads. Take your pick, either will do the job.

Chevy/GMC or Dodge would be my choice.
 
I've towed a two horse trailer with a Tracker... With only 600lbs of goats and sheep in it, but it was surprisingly easy on our small hills.
Personally I'd look at a manual Frontier because I like that size of truck and I prefer a manual, and Tacoma's are usually over priced and the back seat headroom is a bit cramped.
For big 3 full size, I'd just shop on condition, which ever brand shows up with a responsible owner and a set of reasonable maintenance records will do the job. Probably I'd slightly prefer the GM 5.3 trucks for mileage I guess.

What kind of two horse trailer and 2 horses gets up to 7000lbs?
 
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Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
I'd buy the best condition Hilux or Hardbody I could find and pocket the difference.


WOW totally missed the horse trailer... Reading comprehension is not with me this late in the day.

Reliability and 10k... That's an iffy game to play. Diesel is definitely the way to go, but if you don't mind spending money on fuel a gasser F250 might get down into your price range.
 
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
I've towed a two horse trailer with a Tracker... With only 600lbs of goats and sheep in it, but it was surprisingly easy on our small hills.
Personally I'd look at a manual Frontier because I like that size of truck and I prefer a manual, and Tacoma's are usually over priced and the back seat headroom is a bit cramped.
For big 3 full size, I'd just shop on condition, which ever brand shows up with a responsible owner and a set of reasonable maintenance records will do the job. Probably I'd slightly prefer the GM 5.3 trucks for mileage I guess.

What kind of two horse trailer and 2 horses gets up to 7000lbs?



I have no idea why you're only arguing against yourself but...

2500 pounds is a HEAVY 2 horse BP if you don't have a dressing room or anything. Unless you're somehow fitting 2 draft horses into a standard 2 horse BP there's no way it's breaking 5000 pounds generally. Add a small dressing room or anything above a very basic trailer it might weigh 4000, still you'd have to put extremely fat horses in to break 7000. I was making a worst case scenario based on the limits of what could happen.

You don't ever just plan for what you expect to happen, that's very stupid to do. You plan for the worst/most extreme that's feasible.
 
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At that price point, I'd find the nicest truck in the best mechanical condition possible.
Make would be secondary.
 
I'm starting to think about the Ram transmission issues...

If it's made it to say 150,000 miles and hasn't needed any major work done, would that be an indicator it's a strong transmission and will likely last? Or is it just luck?
 
Originally Posted By: horse123
You've driven an NA vehicle over a mountain with a 7000+ pound load, right? Please tell me you have... Lucky to get 50MPH with it absolutely floored for the entire climb.

I got involved in this thread because I legitimately thought you needed assistance in a vehicle purchase; turns out, you're just bored, and this is some theoretical exercise to take up some time.

Good job on pulling the 7k number out of thin-air; if you're looking to crest grades at the same speed as you cruise on the flats, then by all means, go get whatever you'd like. It's always amusing to see pickup cowboys demand this performance, while the semi that's actually designed solely to lug loads down the road must go foot to the floor, downshift, and be lucky to hit 50 MPH.

Originally Posted By: horse123
You don't ever just plan for what you expect to happen, that's very stupid to do. You plan for the worst/most extreme that's feasible.

You're not planning for anything. You don't have a trailer, you don't have horses. It's merely speculation and theory. That's stupid.
 
chevy 2500 6.0, plenty out there, they last forever, and rather easy to service.
 
Originally Posted By: horse123
Let's say you had $10,000 to buy a used truck. You need it for work and personal use both for probably 5 or more years. Some day you're going to tow a 2 horse bumper pull trailer with it, and other than that you have to keep a LOT of tools and various smaller items in it most of the time. It'd be a daily driver. Needs to have cheap AND easy maintenance, be able to pull that 2 horse bumper pull without struggling, and be able to do it while climbing mountain roads once in a blue moon... I know that's hard to ask of any non-turbo truck, but it simply needs to be able to do that maybe 3 or 4 times a year. Obviously needs to be reliable.

Other than that... it needs to get me from one place to another.

What would you look for and why?

Oh forgot to add it also needs to be 4WD. 2WD is just not an option when you work on farms...


You got a few conflicting requests there. Daily driver + able to tow a two-horse traier without struggling means either a diesel or one of the big gas-hogs (6.4 Hemi, 6.2 Boss, etc.) If you're willing to over-spend on fuel for the daily drive part, then I'd go for one of those.

But realistically for all your requirements, I'd look at a mid-2000's Dodge/Cummins pre-DPF truck (first choice) or a GM Duramax (2nd choice) from around that same era. Fords of that era are a non-starter unless you want to spend as much as you paid for the truck with aftermarket fixes for the 6.0/6.4 diesels. All you really have to do with the Dodge is make sure the restrictive little check-valve is removed from the transmission cooler line if you have a 47RE (or H) trans. and your driveline is then bulletproof. If you get a truck late enough to have a 68RFE (2007 and later), then it comes pretty well bulletproof already, though it might need a solenoid pack every 150k or so. The Allison in the GM was OK after the mid/early 2000's, not exactly when they got the short injector life problems on the Duramax sorted out.

Finding any of the above in good condition for your 10K price might be a trick- you're sorta looking for an old creampuff to get in that range of price/reliability. Most of the diesels have been wrung out by the time the price drops that low, most of the gassers that can tow a load like that will be new enough to still be above your price. Even the smaller gassers hold value like crazy these days.


CAN you tow a two-horse trailer with a 5.4 Ford, 5.3 GM, or 5.7 Dodge gasser? Sure. But it'll be like when I tow with my 4.7... it'll be extra driver workload planning all your moves with the limited available power.
 
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