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need opinions on tow rig.

6K views 71 replies 11 participants last post by  tnadanzig 
#1 ·
I've been looking for a tow rig/ work / all around truck for a while. It will not be a daily driver. They are both in great shape, which would you choose and why?

The first is a 96 F250 7.3 w/191k on it for $4800. It is pretty much a top of the line truck.

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The second is a F350 7.3 dully w/117k for $6500. It is pretty much just a bottom of the line truck. Vinyl bench seat, manual Windows, locks and such.

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#3 ·
I've had both trucks and either one will make a great tow rig. The best choice you could make in your price range. But if you don't need a dually don't get one. A dually makes a great rig for a gooseneck pulling 15000 or so. The F250 will pull a heavy trailer with one rig just fine, will be a little cheaper and easier to maneuver.
 
#4 ·
I really wasn't looking for a dually, I just ran across it. The other truck is a little older than I want but for the money is a great truck. It's in pretty good shape but I get the feeling it has been "used" a little and they're trying to cover it up or they let some things go on it and fixed them when they decided to sell it, don't really know, I just have that feeling. I will probably pass on it and keep looking. I just don't know if I really want a dually either even though it's a great truck and the owner seems to be pretty straight forward on what he used it for, hauling his bobcat and such.
 
#5 ·
I would personally not buy any truck thats not a 4x4. And I would only buy the dually if you need having dual wheels. Which unless you are hauling a huge 5th wheel or a gooseneck with absurd amounts of weight you dont need a dually. I advise against one as anything but a dedicated heavy hauler.

I have a friend that hauls scrap with a SRW short bed cummins. Grosses usually at 26 or 28k. Max at 32k and thats pulling over the pass.

I have an F350 SRW V10 and its my Jeep hauler. Never a need for a dual wheel. When I get the gooseneck hitch and hook up to my friends 25 footer I know I still wont want dual wheels when I am towing two jeeps.
 
#7 ·
I have been kicking around the truck idea as well. What I have learned is the 7.3L is the desired Ford engine if you want diesel. Diesel engine are heavy.... I mean heavy.... if you get off pavement at all, gravel, grass, etc.,. with a diesel, you will want 4x4 as a little dew on the ground and they will be stuck. Anytime you talk about buying a used diesel with an automatic transmission in it, you best keep 3k in a transmission fund because you will need it. If you have never seen them, www dot powerstrokehelp dot com has some real good videos on the Ford diesel trucks.
 
#8 ·
I've driven bigger trucks, all makes, and tow a bit at work. Most I've ever towed was a overloaded 9999 gross dump trailer, with about 6 tons of dirt in it, with a SRW f250 with a 5.4l v8....

All I can say is that 5.4 has NO business being in a 3/4 ton or a 1 ton truck. Go for your 7.3 as i have heard great things about it.

That being said, I've driven DRW trucks too, and all I know is I would never want to own one unless i absolutely needed one, because they are a PITA to drive in traffic and to park.
 
#31 ·
I've driven bigger trucks, all makes, and tow a bit at work. Most I've ever towed was a overloaded 9999 gross dump trailer, with about 6 tons of dirt in it, with a SRW f250 with a 5.4l v8....

All I can say is that 5.4 has NO business being in a 3/4 ton or a 1 ton truck. Go for your 7.3 as i have heard great things about it.

That being said, I've driven DRW trucks too, and all I know is I would never want to own one unless i absolutely needed one, because they are a PITA to drive in traffic and to park.
Youre kidding right. Maybe no business in a 1 ton but its a great 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton engine. My GF owns an F250 with it and I own a V10 F350. I hauled as much weight in hay and it towed like a champ (n her truck before I got mine). Gotta know how to drive a modular engine. High revving little guys.... I do not expect a 5.4 in an F350 (granted there are a few).

And with that being said I am so unimpressed with the 7.3 its almost laughable.
 
#9 ·
I'm bypassing both these trucks, I was looking at something I could just pay cash for but that might not be the way to go. I still have one more truck I'm going to look at, a 2000 F250 crew cab 4x4 but it has 205K on it. A friend looked at it the other day, thinks it's in great shape but they asking $9900 for it. Might be a little more than I want to pay for it.

If I don't like that one I'm heading to a local Dodge dealer and looking at a 08 2500 4x4 quad cab with the 6.7 ( I think) in it. It is a top of the line truck minus leather interior, it has 74K on it and they're asking $27K for it. If I can get them down to around $22 I will buy it. Thinking of taking the GF with me, she loves to argue and they will probably drop the price just to get me to take her away.
 
#13 ·
Read post #7.... Bill at Powerstroke help has about 6 videos in his free section about the differences between the 7.3L and the 6.0L... His view is that the 6.0L is an engineering marvel.... with one major flaw. The 6.0L was designed in Europe by some of the top diesel engineers in the World... The problem is, in Europe, the diesel fuel is highly refined and it is very clean compared to what is sold in the USA.... the 6.0L just cannot stand up to the crud left by our diesel fuel on a long term basis. No one thought this information was something the designers of the 6.0L might need to know. This is just another example of a Manufacturer spending an untold amount of $$$ to build and design a product that is not suitable for the area they desire to sell it in.
 
#11 ·
The old 7.3s are underpowered compared to the new stuff, but they are great engines. If it was me stay away from trucks with the DPF on them, (08ish to 10) as they get bad fuel mileage unless you do a DPF delete. thats just my 2 cents take it for what its worth
 
#14 ·
Both, I gave one away and lost lots of money. Great trucks, but lots of issues with the HPOP system.
If you guys care, early trucks had pumps that would push high pressure fuel to each one of the injectors. All modern trucks have a common rail, which provides HP fuel to a rail, and the injectors fire when they need to from the rail. The 6.0 went with a low pressure fuel rail, and used oil to pressurize the fuel at the injector. Early 6.0s had lots of issues with quality, and lots of issues with the high pressure oil pump (in the valley under the turbo so PITA to mess with). 05s have issues with a output line in the same spot (real PITA to fix). I think the 06s were ok, but not a fan of the 6.0....
 
#15 ·
Also lots of issues with the EGR, but most diesel trucks have issues with the EGR.... the 6.0 had turbo issues early on but they fixed it with programing (would have the turbo vanes sweep at idle to keep them moving free). Now to bash on my current truck, chevy's LB7 (01-04.5) had issues with cracking injector bodies-OEM go bad at about 80-90K and new injectors go for about 150K
 
#19 ·
One thing for sure, the 6.0L had to be a very expensive mistake to Navistar.
Fixed ;)

I wouldn't completely write off the 6.0. The early model years were not so good (2003-2004) but the later ones were much better. People seem to thing late model 7.3s (01-03) are gold mines and subsequently they are way overpriced. You can get an 05 6.0 with all the options around here for the same price you can get an 01 similarly equipped with double the miles. I'd rather spend the money on a newer truck, even knowing I am going to need to invest $2-3k into it to make it bulletproof reliable (Head studs, EGR cooler, tune). The fact of the matter is, when you make these couple of upgrades to the 6.0 the 7.3 can't hold a candle in the wind to it, it makes substantially less power and among other things it rides like **** compared to the coil-sprung setup on the 6.0s.
 
#18 ·
Well they wouldn't come down to my price. I spoke with the dealer we buy all our company vehicles from, they told me what to pay for it. I'll keep looking and they are also looking. I won't buy a Ford with anything other than the 7.3. I have several friends with the 6.0, all years and all ***** about them. I'll go with the Cummins or Duramax if I can't get a decent 7.3.
 
#20 ·
^ very true, if you get a 05 do the HG/head studs, turn off the EGR, fix that connect output on the HPOP, about 20 hours of work and (guessing) 3k in parts and you fix the 05 6.0. To the OP, the duramax is a great engine, the LB7s have injector issues (01-04.5) but after that it is just minor stuff that chevy messed up (I think it’s the LLY 6.6 that has a bad intake) but no major issues. the 7.3 is a great engine but if you look at the HP/Tq he is 100% right. I will say that the 6.0 ran strong when it was running
 
#21 ·
So a friend of a friend is selling his 99 250 super cab 2wd because he lost his job and needs the money. He said its in good shape. Top of the line with all the gadgets, leather, 7.3, 6 speed with 185k on it. What is a fair price for it? He told my friend to tell me to come look at it and make an offer. I want to be fair to both of us.
 
#23 ·
little_Jeep said:
Regular cab, 2wd... Are you going to get off pavement with this truck, like in gravel? If so that 2wd is going to be a Real pain.....
It's an extended cab. It will go off road on gravel, grass only. Is it just f250 trucks because I've have friends that tow with 2wd trucks and go off pavement without any problems.
 
#24 ·
That diesel engine weighs a couple tons, not anything to compare to a gas engine. The Extended cab is a little more $$ than a regular cab. Depending upon the mods, the condition of the truck, tires, paint finish, etc., I would estimate the truck to be $10k +/- but it is hard to say because so little is known about the truck.
 
#25 ·
My friend says it's in great shape. The truck is pretty much stock, the paint and interior are in good shape. He says the guy has taken care of the truck. He thinks I should offer $6500 for it if I like it. That's seems to be in the ball park on Craigslist, $6000 to $10000
 
#26 ·
Seems a little low to me even for a 2wd, but prices differ greatly from one area to another. Go look at it, if you like it, offer $6,500 and see what happens. Seller may want/need to price it for a real quick sale. You can sit here and play what if all day long, but you can't work a deal until you and seller are face to face and this assumes that seller even has something you desire.
 
#28 ·
I too am kicking around the truck idea,,, the bigger cab seems to be required for me as Grandkid and other are usually in my vehicle so a regular cab just won't work for me... even though I like the price on some of the 2wd, regular cabs. The 4x4 in a Jeep hauler is also something I don't think I can live without, but I do love the prices of the 2wd. I am not sure that I even will do the diesel instead of a gas engine. All I really know, is I'll never buy a Dodge 5.7 Hemi :eek::eek:
 
#29 ·
My dad has owned a bunch of 2wd, and with good tires they do ok in the grass. At the same time, our DRW trucks would get stuck in wet grass (no really, wet grass) with street tires on it. With a good set on the back you can do a decent amount with 2wd in the diesel truck IMO
 
#32 ·
For a trailer hauler that is not going to be a daily driver, a 7.3 is the obvious answer, preferably a turbo. It just can't be beat for a combination of price, reliability and hauling pleasure. If money is no object, maybe the choices widen, but as long as price is a factor, that's the rig.

As for 4WD, I don't think I ever one time had a 4wd rig engaged in 4wd with a loaded trailer on it. Of course, I am in favor of 4WD pickups generally, but as a dedicated trailer hauler I don't think it makes much difference. .
 
#35 ·
Of course a gasser V8 will pull 7000 pounds. Really an F250 4.9l straight 6 with 4.56 gears will get the rig to the trail, but it is so so much more pleasant and relaxing to have a diesel tow rig. When it sits in the wet for 2 months and you turn the key it will spring into life. and when you are creeping up a long interstate hill in a traffic jam it will stay cool as a cucumber. If money was the only factor, diesel would not be the choice for a dedicated tow rig, but its not and most everyone I know either has a diesel tow rig or wishes they did or doesn't know enough to wish they did.
 
#37 ·
little_Jeep said:
I know the truck in the link you posted is a stick, but if you buy a Diesel with an automatic transmission, you better keep some $$ in the budget for a transmission rebuild. I personally, wouldn't have a problem with a stick. However, the Wife thinks she **might** like to drive truck a few times a year and she does nothing but automatics.
No problem with the current GF, she can drive a stick. It's reaching the pedals she has a problem with! :laugh:

Anyone have any suggestions on it, anything I should look for? I'm going to try and look at it tomorrow but my schedule is crazy right now. I also have my mothers Christmas party to go too which doesn't help and missing that is one of the seven deadly sins! Missing family events is a straight ticket to hell!
 
#38 ·
I posted the link to Powerstroke help dot com.. there is a video on buying a used Ford 7.3L diesel truck. Takes a little work to filter the good information from the junk, but there is some really good information about checking blow by, looking for broken manifold bolts (sign engine has been run hard & hot), and getting an idea if truck has an injector issue ($$).
 
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