Truck Shopping

Carol Reed

In Memoriam
Messages
5,533
Location
Coolidge, AZ
Think I want to begin to shop for a truck. Always have had Ford trucks and have had real good luck with them. Their ride is the best. I want a diesel for the power available. In other words, a truck truck. Regular cab with long bed. Truck bed could also be a utility bed or a flat bed or a cube box. Wouldn't rule one out with any of those.

My diesel mechanic for the MH recommends the 7.3 diesel engine. Disses the 5. whatever as a money pit. Cummins is a great diesel but comes in a Dodge. Hard ride and looks like a plastic Tonka truck (says Sam, my mechanic).

Want an older truck. Budget limited to $8k. Would love a truck bought for hauling an RV but didn't get used much. Within 500 miles of southern Nevada. OK, everybody, start looking! LOL!

Wonder what the feminine equivalent of Bubba is?
 
Heh, That description is real close to Bubba!

I've had people make comments on it due to the 7.3l engine. I reckon I'll be keeping it around as long as I can keep him running.
 
Bubbette?

Wonder what the feminine equivalent of Bubba is?

Bubbette maybe? :D

Hard to go wrong with a Ford. One thing that doesn't have the appeal it once did is the diesel. A well taken care of gas engine gets much closer to the longitivity of a diesel engine than they did forty years or so ago. Even twenty years ago I figured I would be at close to two-hundred-fifty thousand miles before I went in the black on the cost of the diesel compared to a gas drinking big gas burner. The numbers may be even worse now with diesel being sold at a premium over gas.

When looking for power you have to consider the torque at various RPM and the rear axle ratio. Also what will the truck be used for and how often will the power really be needed? I pulled 12,000 pounds plus with my Ford half ton with the 5.4? gas burner and tow package. I did turn the overdrive off towing that heavy. Towed the same load with my half ton Suburban too, 350 engine. I would have wanted more tow vehicle for regular towing of that kind of load but for maybe a dozen times or so a year I didn't need the every day penalty.

The Ford usually shines when maneuvering in tight places too. The Dodge(got one now) won't turn in a forty acre field and the Chevy is better but still doesn't turn as tightly as the Ford. My last new truck was about ten-twelve years ago and the Ford got the nod on ride comfort and turning ability. One shot into a parking spot instead of taking a couple shots to get into the typical parking spot. You didn't mention it but you definitely want to shop for a light colored truck, white preferred. Easier to cool.

Most true regular cab trucks are fleet vehicles. The disadvantage is the seat can't lean back. The supercab that just adds maybe a foot makes for a much more comfortable ride for long trips. The four door trucks with full sized doors and a long bed are just monster long in any brand and can't turn as tight as my eighteen wheeler did.

I request bids on new vehicles and buy them very close to dealer invoice, the last truck I requested bids on was actually purchased for a few hundred below dealer invoice. Custom ordering exactly what I want as far as engine, rear end, tow packages and such, and buying the trucks for less than many two year old trucks makes new look pretty good. My brother did pick up a really nice deal on a half ton Ford SuperCrew in Houston, trade in with less than a hundred thousand on it for about ten or twelve thousand I believe. He had looked awhile before finding that one though. Takes a little luck and being in the right place at the right time.

You do want to consult your mechanic about the particular diesel or gas engine if you find a truck you like. I haven't kept up with such things for many years but I know some of the Ford diesels were considered stinkers. I made a lot of money off of diesels, . . . back when I had an auto-salvage!

Hu
 
I don't know squat about trucks. However I have several friends who love their Toyotas. You mentioned comfort. I do know that the Toyotas drive very much like a car, that the seats are comfortable, and they are quiet. That's my 1 1/2 cents worth.

In my opinion Chrysler products were excellent 50 years ago. I really do not like the way they handle now and the construction leaves a lot to be desired.

The only Ford products I have had since I was age 16 were two Thunderbirds. I purchased the first one and really liked it (I was doing consulting and driving to doctor offices all around the area). So I picked up the phone and ordered a duplicate---except it was the next year model. Those two vehicles had the same problems at the same mileage. At x miles one of the engine mounts broke off, at y miles a rust band went across the body behind the back window (shop people said bad sheet metal bending), at z miles the manifold bracket broke off, etc. So after many trips to the shop I got rid of both of them, even though I liked to drive them.

The 48 Chevy I had just kept running. The problem was that it sort of wanted to wander, floating down the street---like it was not attached to the earth in anyway. Even though it was running fine, I finally got rid of it. My Olds President (88) was similar to the Chevy except it kept falling apart. The entire right tail, stop and backup assembly fell off while driving down the freeway, it dumped most of its oil one time while I was driving down the freeway, the entire dash dropped down one time, the speedometer was totally erratic at one point (unless I was really going from 50 to 95 to 20 to 120 all in the space of 5 minutes).

These were all new cars except the 48 Chev---I was still poor from school when I purchased that one.

Boy, I sure got a bunch off of my chest didn't I?

Enjoy,
JimB
 
Good luck! I <3 my Cummins, but I'm not the biggest fan of the Dodge it came wrapped in. I think that 2003 was the last year they put that 7.3 in the Fords, which is also the last year their diesels were known for not blowing up. I totally agree with your mechanic on that one.
 
I have a '46 Chevy to sell you if you like (it comes with an island) :)

After that 48 Chev I swore I would never own another one. Some smooth talking guy must'a got 'hold of me because I bought a 2002 or 2003 Chev Caprice. I really wished I had kept my word to myself. They should have had me arrested for littering the freeways with parts that fell off.

Other than the forementioned, I have had good luck with cars, all of the way from inexpensive to the "you gotta be nuts to spend that much for a car" level.

Sharon, you should have been around---you could have tried them all out for me.

Enjoy,
JimB
 
Sharon, you should have been around---you could have tried them all out for me.

Well, I wasn't, but my parents were. They put their order in after the war. There was no choice of model, color, anything. When they got down to LA to pick it up, the dealer handed them the keys and said it was parked two blocks down and a block to the left (or something like that). They ended up with a 46 Chevy Fleetmaster (Wing Blue, I think).

You don't know happy my mom was when we hauled that thing up to our house. When my dad signed over the title he said he was going to report that the car was stolen :rofl: I kind of know how my mom felt now :doh:

:threadjacked: Sorry Carol...I will say I love Bubba. Especially when I drive it to town and get out of the cab having all the guys around wonder how a woman can handle such a big duelly (manual shift) all by herself. Hmmm, Brent hasn't let me drive it lately :rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
I wouldn't buy a diesel unless it had 4 wheel drive because they are front end heavy if you park on wet muddy ground you may not have enough traction to get it moving again. I have a friend that drove his 3/4 ton dodge diesel to a gun show where there were lots of truck & cars parked in a field that had seen quite a bit of rain & other 4WD's & tow trucks were busy pulling out mostly nose heavy diesels. Fortunately he parked on a hard packed high spot. His truck is a 3/4 ton 2WD Dodge & it rides real nice.
 
I do not plan to drive in areas where I would need 4WD. So I don't want the extra expense associated with it. That includes maintenance issues and insurance premiums. Looking at a Ford F250 early next week. Plain Jane work truck. Photos show it as clean. We'll see. Answers to my questions didn't raise any alerts. His asking price is in line and within the budget. I haven't bought a used vehicle in decades. Comments on services like CarFax?
 
Good call on the carfax. I actually have a few more numbers I can run on my account before it expires. If you want to PM the VIN to me, I'd be happy to check it out for you. We bought a car last month, and it was the 2nd usage out of my package of 5.
 
Carol,

Do Carfax any vehicle before buying. A bad Carfax is a major red flag. Unfortunately a good Carfax doesn't mean nearly as much. Take the truck to a good mechanic shop and a good body shop. Have the body shop check for frame damage, rust repairs, and obvious body work. What is obvious to a body man isn't always obvious to others. Have the mechanic check for a freshly filled AC system as well as the general looking over and checking all fluids both for level and foreign fluids and materials. Still common some places like where my auto salvage was for owners to use every trick in the book! Mostly honest sellers but better safe than sorry.

Hu
 
The downside is that this truck is several hundred miles away. I will speak with my mechanic tomorrow and get a detailed list of what to look for. Justin reports CarFax came back clean. So far, so good. But more due diligence to do.

Boy, the people on this forum are great! Thanks, everyone for looking out for me, and THANKS, Justin! You are awesome!
 
No worries at all, we RV'ers have to stick together, right? Looks like the woodworking crew does the same thing ( =

We just went through a very similar ordeal where we _had_ to buy the girlfriend a car, and our research time was when we were in Alaska, and the cars weren't. Carfax and a good mechanical lookover are better than buying it blindly, at least. Our local Aamco does a 'used car certification" where they look it over for $40. It's not the most inclusive, but it's better than nothing.
 
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