Should I Stick With My Truck? Buy "new"?

F-250 for towing regardless of what the rated towing capacity is.

The rust bucket truck you have has an engine with 225K and a transmission that needs to be welded, new bed and lots of rust. Its worth what a junk yard will pay. Forget about it.

New or newer F-250.

Go to Dogerville and get it sprayed for rust at the Rust Cop Shop is thats near you. About $100.
 
If your willing to spend high 20s low 30s that buys a lot of brand new base model trucks. Silverado Custom for example quite cheap.
 
If going to step down, A one ton Truck is a serious Truck, a 1/2 ton or even a mid size truck is a Huge step down on stability.

3/4 ton would be a Better choice imo , also move somewhere , where the atmosphere doesn't destroy the Truck and rust it out.

As to new trucks, especially Ford, they have certain models that turn the engine off at every stop sign and they totally suck, whether truck is warm or cold, it will shut the motor off. There's a button to prevent shut down , but has to be deactivated every time you start the vehicle, again total sucks, especially if that button eventually breaks.
 
If you're going to tow car trailers, or anything heavy, I would stick with the full-floating rear axle (which you have). A good idea would be perusing Copart & Craigslist, in more southern rust-free areas, you might be able to come up with parts cheaper that way. I did the same thing with the F-450 in my sig-rust free cab, front fenders, bumper, including front seat & interior, for $700 in northern TN. Had to pay a guy to swap cabs & paint all of it, cost some money, but it held together & is still running well & making money today, and the rust is only starting to come back. Old cab was more holes than steel.
 
Just don't expect a half ton to even begin to hold up long term in the frame department as your 3/4 tons will. They're just so much thinner in that department. They tend to waste away rather than grow scale yet stay solid under the scale. You can thank Northcountry road salt for that. Next one I get I'm definitely spray oiling every December starting the 1st year. It's suspended the slow death on my rust bucket 2000 Sierra quite well.
TAcos are good little trucks. Probably well suited for your needs as stated. Tundras nice trucks horrible on gas. 15-17 mpg. You can put a light 7' plow on one of those though. I did one last year.. Makes a nice personal plow truck for friends n family but definitely has a glass jaw if you like to hit lots of obstacles.
 
Mid 20's to mid 30's you say?
Need input whilst deciding between 1/2 and 3/4 ton?
So you've just begun this search.
EX: A 2009 4 door Nissan Frontier w/94K for $9.4G isn't what you're looking for?
PM sent...just to torture you.

Hang a FOR SALE-TRUCK ONLY sign in your truck while you're using it so you have a buyer lined up.
 
Sounds to me like you're at the point of the old truck nickel and diming you to death. Agree it's a fantastic idea to take your Dad along when you get the replacement.


Originally Posted by wallyuwl
If you want or need a 3/4 ton, you can get a new one for very close to your budget. If you wait until Feb rebates are usually better than Jan.

https://www.gandruddodgechryslerjee...bay-63343d450a0e0ae83a84e5ff9078388d.htm



Good point here. I have priced out HD trucks and they are very close to the F150(for example) and offer much greater capability. Perhaps some time spent online pricing out trucks will help to illustrate this. wallyuwl's example looks to fit your needs....except maybe driveway?
 
Originally Posted by Miller88
Originally Posted by CKN
The truck you have now needs to be replaced. You have not mentioned cost to buy another truck-so I guess you can afford it. My only suggestion is to look at half-ton trucks verses smaller ones. It opens a lot more of possibilities -as far as looking at used vehicles.

Your towing experience will not be that great-towing your Jeep behind a mid-size truck.

BTW-you will get a lot of replies on here by people who don't own a truck or have never even owned one-or even towed with one.

It happens on every truck thread.


It does need to be replaced. Everytime I tell my dad that I'm towing somewhere longer distance with it, he just shakes his head and goes "you know that truck is junk right?"

A 1/2 ton would be better --- tows better and gets the same or better mileage than the midsize trucks too. As far as power goes, I don't need much. I can't imagine anything being slower than the tired old Triton in the hills. I'd be fine with the NA v6 versions of the Big three or even a Titan. But it's a size issue.

Since it will be replacing my primary vehicle, it would have to be a 4 door (regular doors, not suicide like F150 has). I can't fit a 4 door cab 1/2 ton in my driveway, even with a microbed. My single cab F-350 barely fits in the part of the driveway infront of the house. I could fit a crew cab / long bed truck in the garage without issue, though.



Originally Posted by OVERKILL
What's the budget?


Mid 20s - Mid 30s

The biggest issue I'll have used is I want a work truck! I want vinyl interior and steel wheels.


Chevy & Ford have their versions of work trucks with vinyl floor covering , simple upholstery , stereo , A/T , power steering , etc . Look into one of those . Go to carguru.com and similar web sites .

Best of luck to you ! :)
 
I'd ditch the F350 as I hate rust.

Anyhow. Just to play devil's advocate here. How many miles per year? Whenever I ask on here about moving my stuff around, the recommendation is always to quit owning stuff and just rent when I need it. $20-30k should be a pretty big kitty for renting for several years I'd think.

Getting past that... What about a Suburban or similar? 4 doors, so you can take your friends. Or to just use the interior for stuff you want locked up.

I'm guessing a full sized van is out? Those can be decent towing vehicles while having gobs of interior space. Punch a hole in the side and vent your generator out that (after bolting it down of course) and now you have a portable shop.

Edit: Used of course is what I'm thinking about. Fly south and find a 2WD version to drive home.
 
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Sounds like a rusty money pit.

Finding a base model work truck will be difficult. My advice for finding something price-wise would be to look for something similar in size, maybe slightly newer, but from down south. You can find amazing deals on trucks that may have 100k+ miles, but are spotless underneath and drive well.

Buying a new truck in the northeast is a huge waste of money, because trucks these days are insanely expensive, and after 10 years in a place like upstate NY they will be rusted out already. Something like fluid film will slow the development of rust, but the corrosion still gets into wiring, the engine bay, and places you can't just coat with oil. My Jeep Wrangler TJ I got from California. It's a 1998 and looks newer underneath than many 3 year old vehicles here in CT, and it was cheaper than the cheapest TJ I could find here that had frame issues. A friend just did a similar thing with a truck from Georgia.
 
There's a big gap between 20-30k and a rust bucket with major mechanical issues. Maybe a more modestly priced truck would be a better value for you?
 
My advise is to start looking at fleet auctions outside the rust belt for your next ride if you are wanting a 3/4 ton or higher base model truck in your price range. Plenty of utility companies and the like start to send their trucks to auction around the 50K mark. Engine hours may also be higher, but most will have had the scheduled basic fleet maintenance done to them.
 
Lots of good input here. I'd be looking later this year early spring 2021.

For only a few thousand towing miles a year, I would probably be okay with something small and light. I am aware that everything rides on the axle shaft on the lighter trucks and as they wear, you'll have seal issues. However, I personally drive about 20K miles per year. I would like around 20MPG if possible. The F350 gets 14-16. Subaru is high 20s.

I had considered a used HD truck, but they are still fashion accessories and finding a good used one for $15-20K is impossible or in the same condition as what I have. People really hold on to them. The biggest plus , for me, to 3/4+ trucks is they are emissions exempt here in NY. So I don't have to fight the check engine light to get it to pass inspection.

Fully boxed frames here in NY are a death sentence. Unfortunately, every truck now has them. The C channel frames will scale and scale and scale but usually won't break on the 3/4+ sized trucks.

I could get a brand new Ranger optioned exactly how I want for $31K. The GM WT 1/2 ton seems to be a few $k more with the 4.3 but it can tow also.

A van would be the most practical option, but not exactly the best DD. I have some friends who tow their Jeeps with vans and it's such an awesome setup! You have room for spare parts, you can camp in it and they're cheap. But they're all way too tall to fit in my garage.

As for renting, I was thinking about renting from Enterprise Commercial for the maine trip. It would be about $600 for the 3 days, so that kind of eliminates that for me. I'll probably take that one with the Subaru and popup.
 
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For 20k miles a year and your desire for midsize, perhaps the 2.8 colorado/canyon diesel would be ideal. Some people can get 30mpg unloaded, towing is probably in the 10-15 mpg range of course.
 
You can find pretty nice 2008-2012 F250's and F350's in Texas for way under $10,000

I recently bought a decent 1997 F350 XLT Dually (5-speed, 460 7.5L gas V8.. last year for it!) with 4 new tires on it for only $2,000... and it's in better shape than your black F350.
 
The canonado trucks are nice and the little Duramax in them seems to perform well. But I'm very, very afraid of modern electronic emissions diesels.


Originally Posted by Linctex
You can find pretty nice 2008-2012 F250's and F350's in Texas for way under $10,000

I recently bought a decent 1997 F350 XLT Dually (5-speed, 460 7.5L gas V8.. last year for it!) with 4 new tires on it for only $2,000... and it's in better shape than your black F350.


Friend of mine did that. Bought a 1996 F350 460 / 5 speed / 4x4 crew cab long bed out of texas and drove it home. I wish i had the time to be able to do something like that!
 
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