Good old beater truck?

[TreeGuyHR]

You might consider a small dump truck (5 yard) that has a custom winch on a little tower installed. That way you can load logs to take them to where you store them , and cut and split later. Leaves one of the 4 or 5 times you handle each firewood length out of the equation. I worked for a tree service that had one years ago; the owner loved it, and so did us groundies -- saved our backs! It was probably not "legal", though, but this was back in the day when you just wore a baseball cap doing tree work and you were responsible for your own hearing protection and glasses. If you travel around any old loggging town, you can probably make an offer on one of these beasts.

 

[winland]

OP , what part of the country you from?

A friend of mine has a 96 F250 4x4 460/5spd for sale pretty cheap. It would make one heck of wood hauler if you could aford to put gas in the thing.

yea, up in NW ohio, but my brother is in Cincy.
Let me know.

Chuck

 

[Cerran]

Looking for suggestions on buying a used, good old beater truck to haul firewood.
Obviously needs to be a 4x4 to get in and out of some dirt trails.
But if you were looking for a "less than $2000" pickup truck to haul firewood/logs/rounds
what make/year/engine would you be MOST likely to be interested in?
What old beater 4x4, long bed, pickup did you sell that you wish you had back?

Chuck

I bought a 1986 F250 for 1850 dollars about 3 years ago and it's been a great utility truck and wood hauler. 460 V8 in it so not great on gas but since it only gets driven about 1500 miles a year that's not a big issue.

 

[winland]

Gas mileage is not my big concern.
Not going to be driving it to the grocery store or to work every day.
Looking for something to get into farmers' field, tree lines, etc
I do not own a lot of acreage with any trees so I have to scrounge for my firewood.
Always looking for downed trees, logs, etc. Just need something to get in and out of the
area with a big load of wood.

 

[Mac88]

We had an '86 F250 2wd long bed that we regularly used to haul a 450 gallon water tank (3600 lbs.). 300" 6-banger, 4 spd. with granny low 4.10 axle. It squatted about 3-4" with a full tank. Fuel mileage was ok, but it turned about a million rpm's above 55 mph. The only down side was that, off the road and empty, it wouldn't get out of it's own way. Just spun the tires.

 

[Patrick62]

Lots of great suggestions here!

seems that the F250 is a favorite, and for good reason. I am not a fan of the 460 tho...

Chevy's are common, and parts are cheap. which is a good thing, cause you would need a bunch.

My preference is a stinkin' Dodge. Fairly reliable, but the bodies are ****.
The 5.9 cummins is designed to destroy everything behind it. Tranny/transfer/driveshafts/axles.

That 300/6 ford is a heluva engine, and would be excellent. Old school is go with a stick with a granny. A properly built Auto can be workable. The only reason to do a "lincoln locker" is to break axle shafts faster. You are loaded heavy and that means that both axles need to share the load. 3/4 T trucks use the same basic front axle as 1/2 tons, don't cowboy it as hard as you might a honest 1T rig.

 

[tld400]

Buy a 88 or older 3/4 to 1 ton chevy dodge or ford and then you can put historic QQ tags on it. Be real cheap for insurance and any of the 3 will haul anthing you want. Chevy 1 ton with a 4sp you wont kill it.

 

[stihl023/5]

I had a 79 F250 4x4 35" hawgs and a 429 interceptor I miss that truck.

 

[StephieDoll]

Picked up an 01 F250 SD V-10, auto, 4X4 with 194,000 miles for $2,000 a couple years ago. Like the 460, crap gas milage, but pulls/hauls anything. Had to do a little body work, but runs like new.View attachment 271864View attachment 271865

 

[WidowMaker]

OP , what part of the country you from?

A friend of mine has a 96 F250 4x4 460/5spd for sale pretty cheap. It would make one heck of wood hauler if you could aford to put gas in the thing.

====

Look no further there's your truck...

 

[ropensaddle]

Something like this

Or this

 

[stihl023/5]

Very nice up here it is a fight to keep rust away.

 

[Cerran]

Here is mine:

View attachment 271877

View attachment 271878

Great thing about the PNW is almost no rust on the rig but the clear coat is starting to peel off. May have to have a cheap paint job done to it in a few years.

It's carbureted but that's not necessarily bad as it's pretty easy to work on. The only thing that has been done to it is a new fuel pump and general maintenance (Oil changes, Fuel pump, belts, tuneup ect).

 

[tld400]

You cant go wrong with any old heavy duty truck. Easy to work on and a ton of new and used parts.

 

[EXCALIBER]

80's Chevy 1 ton with either an auto or a manual, preferably an ex military one. It will have heavy duty 1 1/4 ton suspension, brush guard, and tow hooks already on it. Either tranny is almost impossible to break in stock power levels. I personally would look for a 6.2L in it. I can consistently make 21 mpg on the highway with my 1 ton crew cab 4x4 with 6.2L and 4 speed. Mileage is and will be important as it gives you greater range in scrounging wood, that you would not be able to do with a gas hog. Most the older trucks were built more for work than show. Get a good deal and buy it. I will say this though, there is and was a reason the military only ran the Chevy's with the 6.2L for the last 20 years. They are tough and last, but are not real fast.

 

[AIM]

I have a 94 chevy 4X4 2500 and have really learned to respect this truck. I have not been kind at all to it and it just keeps going. Very few issues and the body is pretty decent for the 175,000+ miles. It has the independent front suspension and while maybe some have been troublesome I haven't had an issue.
Someday i want to build a "super truck" and might just start with a 1 ton version of what I have.

 

[Smcgill]

You don't know until it's gone!

Boy after reading this I miss my 1978 f-250 with the 400 and 36"inchers!!

 

[autoimage]

i like the f350/250 the 300 motor with c-6 trans is good, just a thing to remember in '87 the gasoline engines had weird emissions equipment with air pumps and hoses running everywhere

 

[jh35]

....
What old beater 4x4, long bed, pickup did you sell that you wish you had back?

Chuck

I had a 1984 3/4 chev 6.2dsl 4x4 TH400.

She succombed to cancer but I loved that truck. Family/work/school/stuff prevented me from keeping it as a wood hauler.

 

[ropensaddle]

i like the f350/250 the 300 motor with c-6 trans is good, just a thing to remember in '87 the gasoline engines had weird emissions equipment with air pumps and hoses running everywhere

Thats why i have the 65 no emission bs the 79 is ok but the 400 is too smogged of course with some Aussie heads it has potential. I have around 50k miles on the rebuilt 400 with no issues but it don't hold a candle to the 390 in my 65! I decided if the 400 lays down I will go diesel next