Getting a new wood hauler, in desperate need of advice

[OakBuster]

Well i have 2 choices the first one is a 1987 f250 dually quote from the guy selling it "1987 Ford f-250 4x4 steel Flatbed,Ford 8 hole 1 ton wheels. 460,4-speed. New clutch.Stereo,Cold air,Hot Heat.Good floor boards and seat. New brakes all the way around. New power steering pump, Goose neck plate.Tons of power. 57,000 miles on speedo." the guy was asking 2200 i got him down to 1600. I checked the truck and it runs great, nothing wrong with it.

The second truck is a f350 same setup with a 7.3l engine and 243k miles on it. I haven't seen this truck but i got the guy to go down to $3000 for it. quote from the guy "7.3L 5 speed, runs and pulls great. gooseneck hitch, reese hitch, vacuum over hydraulic brake set up, new 3" exhaust from cab back, less than 1000 miles on motorcraft oil change and fuel filter, power windows and door locks, A/c blows ice cold. factory ford tow mirrors, dual fuel tanks. More truck than i need. looking for $3,550."

My dilemma is i'm really short of cash and the wife is not happy about the purchase. the f250 is a great truck but it's got a 460 gas engine, the f350 has a nice 7.3l engine and i have no doubts it will last forever. The f250 won't break the bank as much as the f350 that will surely put me back to paycheck to paycheck. I need advice lol, thanks guys.

BTW my wood haul trips are around 25 miles round trip probably 4-5 times a month.

 

[Rockland Farm]

Do you need a 4x4 ? It looks like the 250 is 4 wheel drive and the 350 is not . I need 4 wheel drive often in the spots I cut but maybe you don't . The 250 looks like it needs tires in the pics . I think in some states insurance for one tons is alot more than 3/4 tons . I would see what the difference is if it is gonna put you into a paycheck to paycheck thing to buy the 350 . Without seeing the trucks in person it is hard to tell .

 

[Mac88]

I don't know how far you commute. My '99 F-350 7.3 gets 18+mpg on the highway, empty. I doubt the 460 will get much more than half that.

 

[H 2 H]

4x4 is worth it's weight in gold when you have a load of wood on when its soupy/sloppy were your getting your wood - that's all I have to say on this matter :msp_wink:

 

[Garmins dad]

Dads 460 gets 8mpg.. One question.. uh.. dually 3/4 ton??? Never heard of one..

 

[WidowMaker]

What H 2 H said...IF its just a wood hauler and not a daily driver I'd go for the low mileage F250, the 4wh dr is worht it's weight in gold to a wood hauler. A 2 wh dr one ton with out any weight on it is like a pig on ice...

 

[Ductape]

As has already been suggested, two very different trucks. F250 with duals on it doesn't give it a higher GVW than it has with the original single wheels. Personally, with gas @ $4 / gal you couldn't get me to buy a 460 if you paid me. However, if it is something you are literally only using a couple thousand miles per year, then the added expense of fuel is negligable. My 97 F350 with 7.3 powerstroke gets 20 mpg on the highway.... very respectable. As has already suggested, 4 wheel drive is a must if you are cutting off road. If it is a truck that is more to deliver some firewood you are selling.... 2wd will likely be fine. Out of those two , personally, I'd buy the diesel hands down.

 

[OakBuster]

My wood hauling trips are around 25 miles. A month I don't think ill put more than 300 miles hauling wood. Ill be using it to make deliveries too. Ill check on the insurance thanks for noting that. I also haven't heard of f250 dually before. Yes tires need changing. The guy said he used it to transport cattle. He's had up to 20k on it without any issues.

 

[Garmins dad]

The guy said he used it to transport cattle. He's had up to 20k on it without any issues.

i hope he meant on a trailer :msp_tongue:.. just watch your weights and you should be fine with the gasser if thats all you will drive it... 4wd is very helpful with duallys..

 

[stihly dan]

New tires and you are now at the diesel range.

 

[Wazzu]

I owned one of those non turbo 7.3 Fords and it was a POS. The starting system on them is way too unreliable for me, plus that is a lot of miles on a pickup no matter how you look at it. The deal killer for me is the homemade flatbed on the F350, totally useless for wood hauling if you ask me because it has no stake pockets and no headache rack. Be sure to check out the steering real good on those pickups, they are real tire eaters if they have worn steering components. As far as the F250 goes I would just put an extra spring or something.

 

[OakBuster]

Thanks everyone for all the feedback. I called my insurance ans liability for the f250 is 150 for 6 months and full cover is 219. It doesn't get cheaper than that. I'm buying the f250.

 

[rwoods]

It looks like a good woodhauler should look IMO. BTW check it out good, I wouldn't be surprised if you found that it has a F350 chassis - that or someone did a lot of work putting one ton components on to it. Ron

 

[samdweezel05]

I am not a Ford guy but I am a diesel guy. The 7.3 was/is a great motor. The fact that it's only 2wd takes it right off the list for me. The other is a gas hog 460 that I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole. 57,000 on the speedo means just that. If I recall correctly the odometer in that truck only has 5 places, not including the tenths, and returns to zero at 99,999 miles. could be 157,000 miles or 257,000 miles or.....you get the idea. I would say keep looking.

 

[brenndatomu]

OK, I'll throw in my 2 cents. Pretty familiar with this stuff, I used to work at a used truck dealership that specialized in diesel and 1 ton 4x4 stuff. I thought at first that the "250" truck is just a 250 with dual rear wheel adapter plates on it, (that is pretty common) but it has the dually wheels on the front too, hmmm... could be a full dually conversion, maybe a 350 with some 250 junk yard fenders and a repaint on it? Just sayin since it doesn't look like a correct '87 factory shade of blue. Better check the door tag, the 250 would be 8600# gvwr, the 350, 10,000 gvwr. If I recall correctly, back then Ford didn't make a F-350 dually 4x4 in a pickup, although it might was available as a cab n chassis. So people would buy a 350 dually 4x2, then hire a company specializing in converting them to 4x4, or, they would buy a 250 4x4 and throw a dually conversion kit on it, more common of the 2 scenarios by far. Remembering back, '87 was the last year for a carburated 460 and most of them were 4 spd. trans. (no O/D) so yeah it will use some fuel. That being said, you mentioned that you weren't planning on driving a ton of miles, so how long will it take to make back the $2k difference? It'll be a while, even at half the mpg of the diesel, especially since gas has been cheaper than diesel! That 460 is cheap, reliable and easy to work on and a ton of them in the bone yard if you need a cheap transplant at some point down the road. (I have a 400hp one for sale right now) Now on to the 7.3, great engine, solid as a rock torque monster, but without a turbo, not gonna win any drag races. At 200+ k miles, the bottom end of that 7.3 should be fine, but, it could be coming up due for fuel injector pump rebuild, new injectors, or valve job on the heads. If any of that is true, hold on to your wallet!!! Also, not every repair shop will work on that 7.3.:bang: OK now, you gotta have 4x4 for firewoodin! Take my word on this, a 4x2 dually will get stuck on dewey grass! Oh, by the way, likely not true mileage on that 250, probably 157 or 257, but it don't matter, check it over real well, it'll be fine. All this to say...IMO, cut your losses with the wife, buy the 250, go find some decent used tires, then time for go getterdun!

 

[OakBuster]

lol i really appreciate all the comments, I will definitely purchase the 250 tomorrow, can't wait, i'll probably dream about it tonight and drool all over my pillow :drool: .

 

[zogger]

All these non 4wd trucks on this farm just suck off road. All of them. Least little bit of wet, forget it, go get a tractor or even a crawler to get out, if it is one of the larger trucks. Heck, even the litter spreader has gotten stuck, and they are supposed to drive over fields all the time! the only way they can do it is put super duper singles on them, which are then illegal to drive on the public road with, which means you can't go deliver litter. It's nuts!

I don't care about some alleged "granny gear" or tons of weight on the back, they just slap get stuck. There's like one or two months during the height of the summer drought season you can go some places off the hard packed gravel farm roads, that's it, ten months outta the year, useless.

And when I lived up north, with snow plus having to go offroad, I had a grand total of one 2wd truck and sold that dude after a couple months. It just wasn't practical enough, for what I use a truck for. 2wd is plenty for a lot of uses..but not all uses. You have to get a truck based on what it it will be used for, and no compromises.

There is no substitute for 4wd if you absolutely have to go offroad all the time, anyplace I have lived anyway. And I think this is *why* all the truck makers started offering 4wd...just a guess...

Ha! Of course with 4wd you can still get stuck, and then it is usually a lot more..entertaining isn't the word..educational, that's it! HAHAHAHAA!

 

[OakBuster]

i guess i missed this picture...

 

[Steve NW WI]

I'm leery of the blue truck. Between the skin tires and the fact that the owner didn't bother to even wash it before taking pictures makes me believe it's had horse____ maintenance. Maybe not, and maybe the red one is a well polished turd, but that's the gut feeling I get from the pics.

I'd keep looking.

 

[Jim Timber]

I agree with Steve on this one. Both are bad choices.

Wait another month, get more cash saved, then buy something better.