I have been finding all kinds of tow rigs here in Northern Cali but many of them are older suburbans with the 6.2 liter diesel engine. I can find them all day long with about 200,000 miles and for about $2K to $3K.

So, post up. What is the deal?

buy a dodge you fool. Mine had 242K and I got it for $5500 with my trade which was not much for a down really since I only had it a year.

buy a dodge you fool. Mine had 242K and I got it for $5500 with my trade which was not much for a down really since I only had it a year.

I dont really want something crappy, but cost is a real issue right now, and I need to stay under 3K....which will be difficult to say the least.

I like the older ford diesels myself. As long as you treat them right, the 6.9's and 7.3 idi's are pretty much bulletproof, athough they do have some common failures points, but arte not too hard to fix. You can get one anywhere from $1500-10,000, depending on condition. For a fairly nice 6.9, figure $3-4k. If you're lucky you can find one already with a turbo, if not, it's another $1500-2500 (depending on manufacturer) but a turboed idi is pretty much equivilant on power to an early psd or ctd, and you can get above that fairly easyily with a water and/or propane injection setup. And, these older rigs are simple to work on.
-John

Thanks John. I have been searching craigslist and found quite a few of the Fords with relatively low miles, and priced around 2K - 5K.

You sayin' my rig is crappy SUN! :p

I hear ya, might want to just look into a 3/4 reg cab Chebby work truck with a 350 and call it a day. Should be fine really.

You sayin' my rig is crappy SUN! :p

I hear ya, might want to just look into a 3/4 reg cab Chebby work truck with a 350 and call it a day. Should be fine really.

I found a really nice Dodge here, has banks everything on it, but they want $7500 and that is a little out of my range right now.

I have been finding all kinds of tow rigs here in Northern Cali but many of them are older suburbans with the 6.2 liter diesel engine. I can find them all day long with about 200,000 miles and for about $2K to $3K.

So, post up. What is the deal?


The 6.2L diesels are total slugs. :barf:

i use to think a good cummins was out of my range too. but i held out and didnt buy crap.

finally found one online and close to me. guy was going through a divorce and needed money. drove it liked it loved it. offered 1000 less than he wanted cash on the spot and he took my 4g offer. i love this truck i have now. 92 w250 with 158k on it. runs like new.

keep your eye and dont settle. i used an 78 chebby pile all last year and while it did work, it did also SUCK and i will never do it again. if you do get one, get a manula behind the SB


jiMMy

Im with Jimmy.. keep your eye out for a first gen dodge with a cummins.. I was lookin at those before I decided I wanted to spend big bucks and buy new.. Nice trucks, and last forever... If you are in the right area, they can be had for fairly cheap, although the paint may not be the best.
Scott

OK, so cummins or possibly early ford, provided the mileage is not bad. ;)

the 6.2 isnt a bad motor just lacking in power, theyll run a long time not as long as cummins but they are good motors, they get a bad rep b/c a lot of people think them and olds 5.7 diesel are the same thing

I would much, much rather have a 350 or BBC instead of a 6.2 for towing duties. Go test drive a 6.2, then imagine towing 6k+ with it.

OK, so cummins or possibly early cummins ;)
fixed it for ya. :D
Scott

provided the mileage is not bad. ;)
How's 22 unloaded all highway and 18-19 mix and 15 towing sound? :smokin:

How's 22 unloaded all highway and 18-19 mix and 15 towing sound? :smokin:
I logged 19.7 mpg with my '01 CTD 4x4 QC over the weekend on a camping trip in the Ozarks.... carrying a minimal loadout (about 200 lbs of gear).

I would much, much rather have a 350 or BBC instead of a 6.2 for towing duties. Go test drive a 6.2, then imagine towing 6k+ with it.

Its not that bad. Thats what i bought my 6.2 K5 for. Its slow unloaded, but it doesnt get much slower when you start loading it down. Most ive had behind mine was 6K, and i was suprised how well it handled the load. The key is to turn up that injection pump. I still get 24mpg with it to, just road tripped it and got 26mpg, all highway.

If you look hard, you can find a nice cummins equipped dodge for a decent price. If you can find a 6.2 with a banks kit though, dont overlook it. At least test drive it. Especially if its in a crew cab or suburban. The added interior room is nice.

How's 22 unloaded all highway and 18-19 mix and 15 towing sound? :smokin:

sorry Chris....I meant odometer. ;)

I will try to find something with around 150K to 200K miles. Diesels should last twice that long if taken care of.

How about 19 mpg light and 15 towing, with a 20 year old truck that needs some serious work? Bet I could beat your cheby if I had a good engine and a turbo. :)

The 6.9 and 7.3 idi's do have some issues, but they're not too hard to fix. The best to find would be a 87 6.9 with the zf5 trans, but those are kindof rare. The 6.9's have some issues with lifters and head gaskets, athough alot of rigs would have been undated by now. The 7.3 solves most of these problems, but they like to cavitate, and cavitation will kill the motor if it's bad enough, and can't be detected unless it's far enough to total the motor. (Block will need sleeving - $$$) It's real easy to prevent by taking care of the sca's in the coolant, but you have no way of knowing if this has been done. Almost all 6.9's will have a non overdrive trans, which kindof sucks, athough you may get lucky and find one with either a od trans or an add on od box. But, the 6.9's are much more likly to be in your price range.

If you find one of these rigs and can get it up to the sac area, I'll take a look at it for you and at least give you an idea of what it needs.
-John

so with you buying a new rig ............does that mean your ganna sell me your older 2wd sub...................on 20s and 22s layed out would be siccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkk

Keep your eyes pealed you can find a bunch of 2wd diesel dodges, fords, and chev's for under 3 grand. You may have to drive for them. The other day i found 2 6.9 f250's 4x4, stick, one with 140k on it unknow mileage on the other $750 for one $1400 for the other. Depending on shape those would have been killer deals. If you don't need the room the old fords and cummins can be had for dirty cheep.

I logged 19.7 mpg with my '01 CTD 4x4 QC over the weekend on a camping trip in the Ozarks.... carrying a minimal loadout (about 200 lbs of gear).
DAMN! That's great seeing how yours is a 4WD to boot :smokin:

Almost all 6.9's will have a non overdrive trans, which kindof sucks, athough you may get lucky and find one with either a od trans or an add on od box.
I'm selling my 85 crew cab F350 with a turbo 6.9 and a Gear Vendor OD, but I'm in Texas. Don't know if you want to travel that far or not.
That said, if you can find a deal like jiMMy's, I'd jump on it.

DAMN! That's great seeing how yours is a 4WD to boot :smokin:
Then you're gonna hate this.........

I bought a 99 Dodge QC SB 4WD 5spd in Salt Lake City last week, and drove it back to Chicago. Last tank of diesel from Omaha to Chicago, I got 21.0 mpg, running about half of that at 70 mph, the rest on 2 lane back roads at 60-65.

ChiXJeff

so with you buying a new rig ............does that mean your ganna sell me your older 2wd sub...................on 20s and 22s layed out would be siccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkk

I didnt get that sick-ass sub... I didnt get anything. The person I was supposedly going to get it from needs psychiatric help. :cool2:

No hate at all. Mechanos and I are friends and I was just surprised he got that kind of milage out of his much newer, turned up, 4wd is all. My 2WD and 22 mpg blazing at 80 for 5 hours straight made me real happy as well. Love it

No hate at all. Mechanos and I are friends and I was just surprised he got that kind of milage out of his much newer, turned up, 4wd is all. My 2WD and 22 mpg blazing at 80 for 5 hours straight made me real happy as well. Love it
I didn't mention that a little less than half of that was blasting 65+ through the foothills on windy, hilly 2-lane highways through the National Forest.... the rest was cruising 75-80 on 4-lane highways. Had a big grin on my face when I was acelerating UP the steep grades at partial throttle and still had to roll out of it because I was building too much speed to comfortably negotiate the corners. I need to turn-buckle my turbo or something.... exhaust temps rise a bit more rapidly and a bit higher than I really care for. Need to cram some more air through the engine when I'm gettin' it.

I found a really nice Dodge here, has banks everything on it, but they want $7500 and that is a little out of my range right now.

I think have Bank$ crap is a liability in my book. Lots of money for little power gain and YES, it DOES VOID your warranty regardless of what banks says. I wouldn' t pay extra for a truck with banks crap on it.

I have Gale Banks's 2500 suburban with a 6.5 diesel and his stuff on it in my yard. My family is close friends with his family. The thing is slow as hell! It has low mileage and my dads 350 chevy with 210K w/ 3.5? gears will out pull it. Mileage is around 15-18. I would look at a cummins or ford 7.3 if I was you. Maybe save some more $$$ to get something a little nicer.

earlier this year I bought a 75 3/4 ton chevy camper special from a guy on this board for $1500. Nice running 350, built TH400 with 6 bolt allison converter, converted AC, nice stereo, bling rims with michilens, straight body with paint that still shines, nice interior. I love driving this truck. Yes, it doesn't have the torque of a CTD and towing will net me 9-11MPG, but I would have to tow a lot of miles to justify the price difference between this and an $8-10K used CTD or PS.

Plus my rig is a 75 and smog exempt so a little extra cheap bolt on power is readily available if the mountain passes prove too steep.

SeanP