Used Truck shopping...maybe

[UncleDave]

Ive been very happy with the Titan and am in no hurry to buy a new truck as its still fulfills all my needs, and does some things even better than the newer trucks...

I got a fully loaded 04 4x4 LE with the big tow kit the day It became available.
It's got over 100K prob 80K of that towing between 5 and 9500 lb.
The vk56 and 5 speed are rock solid.

I put a cooling cover on the rear end, as I heard and read the rear ends were weak, but Ive not seen them break towing, but rock crawling in 4x4 low.

It still holds it own today in towing and performance and has none of the engine problems the hemis, or 5.3 have.

UD

Whats it do better...fills up with dirty crappy loads headed for the dump without giving me a heart attack - doing this kind of work with a 70K new version makes me cringe.

 

[supton]

Re Tundra: I agree, leave the 4.6 for others. Mine does ok, but it "always" needs to a kept in a gear lower than it wants to shift into, just kinda doggy otherwise. But it will get the job done. I did see 20mpg on a few tanks, albeit driving for mpg and using LTX's for low drag. Right now mine is at 16mp but it's rarely seeing highway. Then again, at 3 miles to work for you, not much will see "high" mpg, but that shouldn't matter either, not with so few miles.

I've done ATF changes on mine twice. It's harder to do than if a dipstick was available--but not that much harder. I can jerry rig a fill tube out of some PVC pretty cheaply for refill (which is the same method for a manual trans), and checking level just means waiting for it to be at the right temperature and pulling a check bolt (5mm hex head, nothing fancy required). While I'd like to have a dipstick it is a small cost for getting a 6AT.

 

[UncleDave]

some action shots..

 

[SeaJay]

Other than extreme rust of the suspension, steering, ball joints, etc from being parked near the ocean for the 17 years I owned it, my 2002 F-250 with the 8 cylinder performed well. An Arizona truck will not face those issues.

I will say that if I only drove it downhill with a tailwind, I would get as much as 12MPG, it did have the 4.10 rear end and 4WD options that I suspect cost at least a few MPG. Even with stock tires, I could load down much more gravel in the bed than the manufacturer's max cargo weight with no issues. It was a beast of a vehicle.

 

[panthermike]

Supton, the kids are small both in rear facing seats. Our son will be switching to forward facing in the next year.

Uncledave, thanks for sharing. I love hearing real world feedback on the Titan since not many people have them!

 

[AZjeff]

I'm selling mine if you can drive a manual. I just took a job downtown and I don't want to sit in stop and go traffic for 1+ hour with a manual.

Located in NY but willing to ship.

2003 Dodge Dakota Sport 4.7L V8 5-speed Manual 4x4 Club Cab

2003 Dodge Dakota Sport Club Cab 70,599 miles 4.7L V8 5-speed Manual Transmission (NV3500) 4x4 (2HI, 4HI, 4LO electronic shift) Fiberglass Tonneau Cover Towing Package Cloth Bucket Seats Winter Wheels & New BF Goodrich Winter Tires OEM Wheels & New General Highway All-Season Tires The...

www.bobistheoilguy.com

Nice truck but a person living in Arizona would be nuts to buy a NY truck. Native trucks have no rust to deal with. None. I came from western Pa and am still amazed.

The GM Ecotec3 4.6 6 cylinder is a great engine if you don't have tow heavy stuff. I had one and was happy with it but the truck was 2wd and we were going to get a bigger trailer.

Where are you moving to panthermike?

 

[UncleDave]

Here's its last heavy lifting chore - moving a 2K desert car in a 7500LB enclosed trailer loaded with tools fuel etcetera

at 9500 its maxed and Id say thats probably all Id feel comfortable with, but the platform is steady and capable.

 

[panthermike]

Jeff, we're moving up to the Show Low area. It will be a big change for the family, but we've been yearning for the outdoors for a while now.

 

[panthermike]

Duramax

Listed above is another possible? It's a dmax with 192K, price seems good and looks good plus carfax is clean. Only concern is that diesels don't really like short tripping right?

 

[dareo]

That DMAX has potential. Do you need 4x4? Cause i purchased an 05 GMC 2500 6.0 SLT 2wd truck with great options for like $5k a few years ago. The premium for diesel can be really high and never pay off. The 6.0 gas truck would do 12-15 mpg but it wasn't driven a ton so it didn't matter.

 

[panthermike]

That DMAX has potential. Do you need 4x4? Cause i purchased an 05 GMC 2500 6.0 SLT 2wd truck with great options for like $5k a few years ago. The premium for diesel can be really high and never pay off. The 6.0 gas truck would do 12-15 mpg but it wasn't driven a ton so it didn't matter.

Where we're moving to, 4x4 will definitely be preferred. When I'm serious to buy I'll just have to be diligent. The truck market is pretty hot right now.

 

[AZjeff]

Jeff, we're moving up to the Show Low area. It will be a big change for the family, but we've been yearning for the outdoors for a while now.

Nice. Small town just big enough to have what you need. Good that you have a job lined up.

4WD is definitely preferred if you want to get off the beaten path. Lots of nice country close by.

 

[wpod]

Do you want a 4X4 just for the snow?

 

[panthermike]

Do you want a 4X4 just for the snow?

Snow is a part of it. But there are tons of places around our new home to go off the beaten path, which we will. Show low is in Forest country here in AZ, all kinds of recreation.

 

[wpod]

Put a much lower price on the F250.

 

[captno4]

How old are the kids? I thought the double cab was sufficient for my kids--when my son is 6' maybe not, but he hasn't gotten there yet, plus... what do I care about the kid's comfort? we all had to suffer, way back when we were kids... I recall having to ride three across in the family station wagon, no a/c ... I digress!

I suspect that DC will be tight if not a real pain if dealing with rear facing infant seats. Not sure, never tried. Once I put on running boards the kids seemed unfazed with my truck. They have enough space. The down size of the Gen 2 crew cab is that they have a shorter bed--I thought the 6.5' bed of the DC was about right for my needs, balancing cab vs bed. [Although lately I've been disliking the bed size and would be ok with a shorter bed, it's too hard to get to stuff!]

My 6'2", 270 pound son road in the back of my double cab Tundra quite often back and forth to football practice, games and other activities when he was in high school. Only complaint I ever heard from him was about the music I was listening to. Obviously the crew max would have had more room but the double cab is not too shabby.

 

[UncleDave]

Driving a 3/4 ton truck around unloaded is painful, half tons aren't great, Bilsteins help.

 

[clinebarger]

Ive been very happy with the Titan and am in no hurry to buy a new truck as its still fulfills all my needs, and does some things even better than the newer trucks...

I got a fully loaded 04 4x4 LE with the big tow kit the day It became available.
It's got over 100K prob 80K of that towing between 5 and 9500 lb.
The vk56 and 5 speed are rock solid.

I put a cooling cover on the rear end, as I heard and read the rear ends were weak, but Ive not seen them break towing, but rock crawling in 4x4 low.

It still holds it own today in towing and performance and has none of the engine problems the hemis, or 5.3 have.

UD

Whats it do better...fills up with dirty crappy loads headed for the dump without giving me a heart attack - doing this kind of work with a 70K new version makes me cringe.

I repair A LOT of Titans with Rear Differential & Exhaust Manifold problems, Neither being cheap. I could put a low mileage 6.0L in a GMT900 for what a Titan would costs to repair if it needed Manifolds & a Differential.

 

[UncleDave]

The 49 state solution to the manifold problem would be headers, but in Cali you cant really do that, so guys go with the magna flow replacement at 1700 a side.

The OEM manifolds are expensive,Ive lost one and had it replaced under warranty which was extended to 70K for that part as it was considered emission related in cali - so far so good with me on the rear end, I push it pretty hard, but dont abuse it.

The reason I have boat towing picts is that Im a part owner in a boat company so I see all these clients trucks
I see lots of guys with 5.3 that have rocker problems and AFM problems in general on Chevy trucks.
I see lots of 5.3 completely clapped out at 150K- the popular local lake is a brutal tow through the desert with lots of hills (hence the 117 degree pict) this route is hard on trucks towing with long wide open stretches to pull the hills.
On the fords I see can phaser and timing chain problems, and on the hemis the dreaded valve tick.

Maybe all these problems are actually cheaper and easier to fix though because there are so many parts available?
I recall reading you are a mechanic so you'd probably have sold grasp on that.

 

[ls1mike]

So I read it all, lot of good info, so I will throw in my 2 cents.
I bought a used new to me truck last year. My price range was 35000 to 40000. So I was certainly looking for something different. but I was looking at just about everything.

The used car market is tough right now. At the price range you are looking at overall condition no matter who makes it. Most of the diesels in that price range have logged some miles, which is fine, but the rest of the truck has those miles too. Something to think about.

If you look at a GM half ton between say 02 and 07 they do not have the AFM problems and are pretty solid.

When I was looking what I found was deals could be had on gasser 3/4 and 1 ton trucks. My 02 was a good 3/4 ton Chevy rode a bit rough empty and I was lucky to see 15mpg unloaded.

I am not sure I would consider the Duramax you listed at the mileage unless the some work has been put into it.

The V-10 is good, just make sure they have changed the plugs at least once. I think they had the spark plug blowing out issues.

I have had really good luck with my 6.0 GM trucks. If you can find a decent one with 6.0/4L80E they are rock solid. The are cheap and easy to maintain and fix.

You might have to keep looking. When I picked up my 02 in 2009 it had 23,000 miles on it. It was a 4 door long bed 2WD with no options but A/C. I only used it to tow. I traded it in with 56,000 miles on it last June. They gave me $6800 for it. they later sold it if for 11,000. Not sure I could have gotten that price and I didn't want to miss out on the 1 ton I was looking at.

Like I said earlier the one in the best condition with lowest miles no matter the manufacture will be the one you want.