OK, not a hard core tow rig question, more of a rant of sorts, but the section is the closest to the right spot to post.

My 91 big Bronco is getting kinda tired with nearly 180,000 miles on it. To get it where I would like it to be, it would require steering, exhaust, motor, paint, etc, etc...basically a pretty good refresh to get it reliable for cross country stuff and make it nice to drive again, stuff like the AC not working, etc. I figured 8 - 10 grand to have most of the work done by others, some by me, maybe more $$ if I want it really pretty.

But since I want to be able to flat tow the Jeep every once and awhile in the future, I thought a newer truck would make sense more than re-do'n the Bronco. It has been a great truck, though, very reliable.

I need the vehicle to pull the pop up camper for family camping (non 4 wheelin) trips and just general weekend duty. I don't commute in it. Like to spend under $15,000.00

So, I began with the 7.3 Powerstrokes but I am having a hard time finding one that is either in my price range or is what I want...extra cab (preferably 4 door), 4WD, etc. The cavitation and cost of diesel repair is an issue to be aware of.

SO, I begin to think that really a Powerstroke (or a Cummins Dodge) is really waaaay overblown for my needs.

Start to look at gasser stuff:

Looked at the Hemi Dodge. Not a big Dodge fan, but the large cabs and strong HP makes me take notice....till I read about the Hemi valve train issues with noisy lifters and broken valve springs. No fix from Dodge on this.

Ford F150 supercrew. Just recently find out about the spark plug issue where the Tritons blow plugs out of the heads due to not enough threads and poor install/maintenance on the plugs. It is an 'over the fender' fix if it does not damage a piston on the way out. Hmmm. Well, at least I could repair it if it did not do anything other than strip the head...or I could 'repair' it ahead of time before it goes.

Look at Chevy. Piston slap in the years I can afford. It does not seem to break anything, but I need to buy pre 99 or post 03 to get around it. OK.

Nissan Titan. Probably too rich for my blood, but the braking system is giving owners fits and any vehicle that has the words classactionlawsuit.com with the name of the truck in there somewhere is not good.

Toyota Tundra. Well, kinda small for my taste and the early brakes are underbuilt. Still, a bit of googling and I could upgrade the brakes in my driveway, but not get around the smallish overall size.

Good grief. I guess I am learning too much or? It sure seems like you should be able to go out and buy with a lot more confidence than that. Sad.

Not sure what to do. I guess if the Chevy is not making noise as a used truck, it probably will not do it later. The Ford is a possible time bomb (some folks never have an issue) but they give very little warning before they go, but at least it is somewhat preventable. The Dodge seems to be hopeless, but again, some trucks do it/some don't and if they are not noisy with mileage on them, they may never do it at all.

Tired of thinking about it. Maybe I should buy a pre 99 (I think) Chevy Suburban 2500 and keep the 5.7 running. I was pondering that this morning. That would do it I guess, but I kinda of like trucks. Or I could keep my Big Bronco forever.

Well, rant off. What is that Merle Haggard song..."I wish a Ford and a Chevy, would still last ten years like they should"

Should've bought my Dodge.

Pretty much the same thing I encountered when I was looking. I bought a chevy cause I liked them. Figured any of the big 3 were going to have issues anyhow with something and as far as gassers go they're all offered pretty much the same way.

As far as I'm concerned nothing out there, including new toyotas, is as reliable and has the build quality that my 1988 toyota truck has.:D

You roll the dice and takes yer chances!
Kevo

I got a 99 F350 crewcab 4x4 for 13k?

Should've bought my Dodge.

There would have been a sound decision:laughing::flipoff2:

I love my 1996 f-350. It had 256k on it when I bought it, and now has 283k and has been very reliable. I wouldnt think twice to drive it cross country.

After about the 15th line of your post I fell asleep....:D

There would have been a sound decision:laughing::flipoff2:

I love my 1996 f-350. It had 256k on it when I bought it, and now has 283k and has been very reliable. I wouldnt think twice to drive it cross country.

After about the 15th line of your post I fell asleep....:D

You think my posts are boring, you should meet me in person:D

1988 Toy truck. No doubt.

Yeah, I was not trying to be scintillating or profound, etc. Just venting. Ya gotta wonder how you can produce thousands of motors over 5 or 6 years and still make the same mistake that you made in the first ones. I guess it is all a $$ thing.

what I bought used:

1998 K2500 Burb- 454, 4l80e with 117k miles on it. Cost me $7k.

It is completely loaded with everything in the book and it was cheap due to folks getting rid of the gas hogs. Worked for me cause it's not a daily driver, just a tow rig and family adventure wagon so it maybe sees 2k miles a year.

It's not a diesel, but it pulls my junk around good enough. I can't see spending a ton of cash on something that's going to sit in the driveway. The ability to pull up the grades a few mph faster isn't worth it to me.

For your budget, consider looking at used Conversion Vans as well. You can get some very nice Chevy/Ford 3/4 ton versions w/ 100K on them for $5-10K... I love my Tundra DC, but hindsight would have my 96 4Runner in the garage sitting next to a 3/4 ton Vandura for towing (and, frankly, sleeping in...)

Just pick up a used 02-04 1/2 ton Dodge quad cab with the 4.7. They will pull your little test trailer just fine and will also tow whatever you want to flat tow but doing it the safer way by putting it on a car trailer.

Rebuilding your old Bronce will cost a lot more and take alot of time and your still stuck with a Bronce as a tow rig which shouldnt be done unless your towing jet ski's.

Get something cheaper, safier, and more reliable if you get something newer. This isnt the 80's where you can give the old chevy a tune up and head cross country.

what I bought used:

1998 K2500 Burb- 454, 4l80e with 117k miles on it. Cost me $7k.

It is completely loaded with everything in the book and it was cheap due to folks getting rid of the gas hogs. Worked for me cause it's not a daily driver, just a tow rig and family adventure wagon so it maybe sees 2k miles a year.

It's not a diesel, but it pulls my junk around good enough. I can't see spending a ton of cash on something that's going to sit in the driveway. The ability to pull up the grades a few mph faster isn't worth it to me.

Funny you should mention that. I was just researching the late 90s 2500 Burbs. Think the 454 is worth the penalty in gas mileage over the 5.7? I do not drive it a lot, like you, but I hate to get into low, low teens MPG for a motor I do not really need.

What kind of all around MPG do you get?

For your budget, consider looking at used Conversion Vans as well. You can get some very nice Chevy/Ford 3/4 ton versions w/ 100K on them for $5-10K... I love my Tundra DC, but hindsight would have my 96 4Runner in the garage sitting next to a 3/4 ton Vandura for towing (and, frankly, sleeping in...)

Good advice, but I not really a van guy. Good utility though. I think I would swing towards a 'Burban first. I do like the idea of sleeping in it, the van I mean.

I want to find a Ford service van with a 7.3.In a pinch I could sleep the whole family and it's still a diesel.

Funny you should mention that. I was just researching the late 90s 2500 Burbs. Think the 454 is worth the penalty in gas mileage over the 5.7? I do not drive it a lot, like you, but I hate to get into low, low teens MPG for a motor I do not really need.

What kind of all around MPG do you get?

well.....fuel economy is certainly not it's forte. It averages about 9.5 towing up and down the mountains. It gets about 10.5 not towing. It does have a pretty big tank and will hold 45 gallons so range isn't an issue, it's just the hour it takes to fill it:D

Seriously though, it gets the job done. It's no diesel, but it's comfortable, four wheel drive for the snowy weather and so big that it's hard to notice the trailer back there. The last time I towed over eisenhower and vail, I was able to hold at least 45 mph on the steepest parts of the grades, and 55-60mph on the rest. It could go faster if pushed harder, but I am in not that big of a hurry. BTW, my truck has 3.73s and non-stock sized 265/75-16s on it. It should have 245s on it, which ironically I just bought today. I am not sure if it will help the pulling power but time will tell. Most of these trucks came with 4.10s (mine is an oddball) so I am considering a gear change in the future. I have the parts, just need to find the time.

I have never towed over the passes with a 5.7l motor. I am sure it will do it, but unless the truck is a 2500, it's going to have the weaker 4L60e and 10bolt. If you get a 5.7l 2500, you will get the better 4l80E and the semi-float 14 bolt axle. I went with the bigblock because I did not want to worry about drivetrain issues when climbing the 9% Vail grade eastbound. Economy wise, I am sure the 5.7l will delivery better economy for those non-towing events, but when towing, it will probably be the same as the big block.

Just watch out for front end issues, these trucks are notorious for alignment problems and eating tires. Mine had a bunch of parts replaced in the front before I bought it, but I still had to replace the steering box and have it realigned again. It still needs some help with the brakes (warped front rotors) but the engine is strong, trans shifts good, and everything else works. I had a failure of the ventilation fan control (bought new speed control on ebay) and an intermittent radiator leak. The hydroboost mechanism developed a leak and had to be replaced by me recently as well. Still though, total cost adds up to less the $8K not including the tires I just bought. Not bad.

Dam what kind of price are they asking for 96 to 01 dodge and ford 3/4 tons up there. If you pay over 16,500 for one with over 125.00 your getting bent. The dodge gassers leave them dogs along. mileage on them flat out sucks. Now chevy 3/4 6.0's are workhorse's. Ford,nisson,yota v8's gasser arent work motor. built for daily driving.

well.....fuel economy is certainly not it's forte. It averages about 9.5 towing up and down the mountains. It gets about 10.5 not towing. It does have a pretty big tank and will hold 45 gallons so range isn't an issue, it's just the hour it takes to fill it:D

Seriously though, it gets the job done. It's no diesel, but it's comfortable, four wheel drive for the snowy weather and so big that it's hard to notice the trailer back there. The last time I towed over eisenhower and vail, I was able to hold at least 45 mph on the steepest parts of the grades, and 55-60mph on the rest. It could go faster if pushed harder, but I am in not that big of a hurry. BTW, my truck has 3.73s and non-stock sized 265/75-16s on it. It should have 245s on it, which ironically I just bought today. I am not sure if it will help the pulling power but time will tell. Most of these trucks came with 4.10s (mine is an oddball) so I am considering a gear change in the future. I have the parts, just need to find the time.

I have never towed over the passes with a 5.7l motor. I am sure it will do it, but unless the truck is a 2500, it's going to have the weaker 4L60e and 10bolt. If you get a 5.7l 2500, you will get the better 4l80E and the semi-float 14 bolt axle. I went with the bigblock because I did not want to worry about drivetrain issues when climbing the 9% Vail grade eastbound. Economy wise, I am sure the 5.7l will delivery better economy for those non-towing events, but when towing, it will probably be the same as the big block.

Just watch out for front end issues, these trucks are notorious for alignment problems and eating tires. Mine had a bunch of parts replaced in the front before I bought it, but I still had to replace the steering box and have it realigned again. It still needs some help with the brakes (warped front rotors) but the engine is strong, trans shifts good, and everything else works. I had a failure of the ventilation fan control (bought new speed control on ebay) and an intermittent radiator leak. The hydroboost mechanism developed a leak and had to be replaced by me recently as well. Still though, total cost adds up to less the $8K not including the tires I just bought. Not bad.



Good info. I've been thinking about a $5000-$6000 'Burban 2500 lately. Pay cash, have no monthly payments, and the ~$110 per month for gas to and from the trails doesn't look so bad. It would be a lawn ornament most of the time, only getting used for tow duty.

well.....fuel economy is certainly not it's forte. It averages about 9.5 towing up and down the mountains. It gets about 10.5 not towing. It does have a pretty big tank and will hold 45 gallons so range isn't an issue, it's just the hour it takes to fill it:D

Seriously though, it gets the job done. It's no diesel, but it's comfortable, four wheel drive for the snowy weather and so big that it's hard to notice the trailer back there. The last time I towed over eisenhower and vail, I was able to hold at least 45 mph on the steepest parts of the grades, and 55-60mph on the rest. It could go faster if pushed harder, but I am in not that big of a hurry. BTW, my truck has 3.73s and non-stock sized 265/75-16s on it. It should have 245s on it, which ironically I just bought today. I am not sure if it will help the pulling power but time will tell. Most of these trucks came with 4.10s (mine is an oddball) so I am considering a gear change in the future. I have the parts, just need to find the time.

I have never towed over the passes with a 5.7l motor. I am sure it will do it, but unless the truck is a 2500, it's going to have the weaker 4L60e and 10bolt. If you get a 5.7l 2500, you will get the better 4l80E and the semi-float 14 bolt axle. I went with the bigblock because I did not want to worry about drivetrain issues when climbing the 9% Vail grade eastbound. Economy wise, I am sure the 5.7l will delivery better economy for those non-towing events, but when towing, it will probably be the same as the big block.

Just watch out for front end issues, these trucks are notorious for alignment problems and eating tires. Mine had a bunch of parts replaced in the front before I bought it, but I still had to replace the steering box and have it realigned again. It still needs some help with the brakes (warped front rotors) but the engine is strong, trans shifts good, and everything else works. I had a failure of the ventilation fan control (bought new speed control on ebay) and an intermittent radiator leak. The hydroboost mechanism developed a leak and had to be replaced by me recently as well. Still though, total cost adds up to less the $8K not including the tires I just bought. Not bad.

Great info. Thanks for the response. You echo the advice from a Texas buddy who owned a 454 Chev in a dually truck. He said it will be poor MPG, but will not drop much at all when towing where the SBC will dip quite a bit from normal.

10.5 mpg is pretty rough, though. Kinda surprised considering folks seem to get the mid to high teens for highway mpg on the 5.7s. Is that 10.5 all around mileage or?

One other thing my friend said was that I may not expect to get as much longevity out of a 454 as the 350. I knew that rebuilds and such were more costly, but I was surprised about the 454s not lasting as long. He is no amateur on trucks/4x4s, etc but maybe he is thinking of trends in the older carb'd motors.

This isnt the 80's where you can give the old chevy a tune up and head cross country.

Why not:confused: Our 260k mile '82 chevy cab and chassis went from North Dakota to Colorado (1400 miles), North Dakota to Minnesota (twice, 1300 miles), North Dakota to Kansas (2200 miles), and that was just in the last year we had it. It has been quite a ways north into Canada, also. There were no issues with it either. A maintained vehicle is a maintained vehicle. :shaking: I wouldn't think twice about heading cross country in that truck. It started in -40 weather every time, without even having the block heater plugged in.

Dam what kind of price are they asking for 96 to 01 dodge and ford 3/4 tons up there. If you pay over 16,500 for one with over 125.00 your getting bent. The dodge gassers leave them dogs along. mileage on them flat out sucks. Now chevy 3/4 6.0's are workhorse's. Ford,nisson,yota v8's gasser arent work motor. built for daily driving.

Come up here and price some Dodge diesels. That's IF you can find one for sale...

There are more Fords available up here but they still aren't cheap. I actually seriously considered flying down to TX to pick up a truck and drive it back but I didn't really have the time to do that.

Great info. Thanks for the response. You echo the advice from a Texas buddy who owned a 454 Chev in a dually truck. He said it will be poor MPG, but will not drop much at all when towing where the SBC will dip quite a bit from normal.

10.5 mpg is pretty rough, though. Kinda surprised considering folks seem to get the mid to high teens for highway mpg on the 5.7s. Is that 10.5 all around mileage or?

One other thing my friend said was that I may not expect to get as much longevity out of a 454 as the 350. I knew that rebuilds and such were more costly, but I was surprised about the 454s not lasting as long. He is no amateur on trucks/4x4s, etc but maybe he is thinking of trends in the older carb'd motors.

10.5 is the mileage I get on the highway not towing. The 9.5 is for towing or town driving. The mileage does not very to much.

Longevity-wise, even if the truck has 100K miles on it, it should still last another 30-40k before any major work is needed with proper maintainance, but that of course depends on how the truck was treated before. Mine had all the records so I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting into. When the motor does die, I plan on doing a cummins conversion. I will probably find a complete 12v or maybe a 24v donor truck and swap the entire drivetrain- engine, tranny, t-case and maybe the axles too.

Why not:confused: Our 260k mile '82 chevy cab and chassis went from North Dakota to Colorado (1400 miles), North Dakota to Minnesota (twice, 1300 miles), North Dakota to Kansas (2200 miles), and that was just in the last year we had it. It has been quite a ways north into Canada, also. There were no issues with it either. A maintained vehicle is a maintained vehicle. :shaking: I wouldn't think twice about heading cross country in that truck. It started in -40 weather every time, without even having the block heater plugged in.

I'm assuming your mileage number are round trip... and then some... cause they sure as heck aren't one-way!!!!

10.5 is the mileage I get on the highway not towing. The 9.5 is for towing or town driving. The mileage does not very to much.

Longevity-wise, even if the truck has 100K miles on it, it should still last another 30-40k before any major work is needed with proper maintainance, but that of course depends on how the truck was treated before. Mine had all the records so I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting into. When the motor does die, I plan on doing a cummins conversion. I will probably find a complete 12v or maybe a 24v donor truck and swap the entire drivetrain- engine, tranny, t-case and maybe the axles too.

Or he could just buy my Dodge that's already had all the major repairs done. Everything is new from the flywheel back, as well as the VP-44, and the FASS 150/150.
I drive it cross country daily.

I'm assuming your mileage number are round trip... and then some... cause they sure as heck aren't one-way!!!!

Yes, round trip. There is no "and then some" though.

I drive it cross country daily.

Thats why he doesnt want it:homer:

I have my 1997 Dodge in the for sale section for $7K. See my sig for link...

Buy what you like and run with it. The internet has everyone overloading on info. Chances are VERY good that you will never encounter ANY of the problems listed on ANY of the trucks mentioned. Just buy something and use it.
Travis..

All trucks/cars/van/mopeds have problems if you dig far enough.
I just get what ever offers the better deal.

I thought you could get brand new 07 extra cab chevy 1500 with the small V8? for about 16k out the door?? That would suit you good.

I have a 02 sub 3/4 with the 8.1 in it. I get 10..... untill I tow, then it goes down to 6 pulling 10,000 toyhauler