I need a bigger truck.

[Johndirt82]

As stated an Oil burner is the way to go. I just put my 79 f250 up for sale to get a mid 90's f350 crew cab powerjoke. Damn good trucks.
Im not using my new dodge for haulin wood. although th 6.7 cummins could use the workout .

 

[Big_Al]

I would agree on the 7.3 powerstroke, had a 97 4wd and loved it. They do get decent mileage but around here diesel is usually more expensive than gas so that is something to throw in the equation. It was probably my favorite truck and I regret selling it. Currently use a 93 250 4wd gas/w racks and a 8x16 trailer if I feel energetic, use my 06 Ranger 4wd with a 4x8 trailer if I don't.

 

[kugss]

I had a 97 taco with procomp add a leafs and i put a ton and a half of dirt in it and the springs were straight when loaded

 

[Steve NW WI]

Regardless of the make or model, you just can't get a small truck to do the same job as efficiently and safely as a truck of proper size for the job. I'd look into a beater wood hauler before I spent a dime on the Toyota.

That'd be my "A" plan as well, but I don't know how Maine is for registration, insurance, inspections, etc. Out here, the cost to keep a beater truck around probably doesn't add up to much over a couple hundred a year, but in some states it can get prohibitive, and then it might make more sense to replace your 'Yota with a bigger truck.

Heck, I put more gas in mine a couple weeks back than I paid for the annual registration!

A trailer would likely be a good compromise for ya as well, and would still be useful if ya do upsize down the road.

 

[Nosmo]

It is nice to have a bigger truck for larger loads and maybe a smaller truck for most of your shorter trips to work etc.

I have a 93 Nissan (bought it new in 93) and it will haul a fair size load of wood. But the thing about my situation is I'm not hauling wood but only for myself and not very often.

I also have a small trailer (7-foot) which will carry more wood. You might consider adding a trailer onto the Toyota.

Nosmo

 

[STLfirewood]

hello,
Here is my venture with wood haulers. I used to have an 84 toyota with short bed. It worked ok for several years. Actually it worked great for what it was. I could pile the bed high until it wouldn't hold any more and the truck did just fine. It was slow but it did just fine. It just wouldn't hold all that much, even stacked above the cab.

I upgraded to a 7.3 superduty a couple of years ago and love it. I can haul twice as much as the toyota and it still has enough power to tow the world. With a small trailer I can haul a cord of green pine with out trouble. Dry pine I could probably haul twice that. I paid 8K for it but it needed a lot of work. It now has 200K miles on it and it runs and drives perfect. These trucks are bullet proof.

If it were me I'd try to find a ford with a 7.3 diesel. They came to be in 94 and lived all the way to early 2003. The engine is bullet proof and fairly simple to work on. Don't let the electronics scare you, they are very reliable. The early trucks (pre-99) were not intercooled and didn't make as much power as the later intercooled ones. If you look at an old body style look for the F350 because the F250 got the hokey IFS. The superdutys are all solid front axle. The superduty auto tranny is a fuzz better than the older trucks auto but neither are particularly great. I'd look for a truck with a manual tranny. The superduty got a 6 speed where-as the older trucks got a 5 speed. The 6 speed is by far the better set up. The superduty also got 4 wheel disk brakes where-as the older trucks are rear drum. Overall the superduty is a far better truck, from the more durable interior on down.

Fuel economy is good with any of the diesel trucks. I get 17-18 MPG out of mine most of the time, Even hulling wood. You wont be sorry with diesel power. I don't know what your budget is but if you can swing a coal burner go for it.

Bullittman

They are good trucks. I have a f-550 with a 7.3. I'm trying to figure out a no start problem right now. I think it's the IDM. Unless you drive a lot of miles you might want to stay away from the diesel. They are good engine and have a decent amount of power but they are expensive to repair. If you get a powerstroke you need to learn to work on it yourself. If not you could leave the repair shop with a couple thousand dollar repair bill in a hurry. If you don;t drive a lot of miles fine a f-350 with a 460. It will have a cheap up front cost and repairs are cheap compared to a diesel. They will pull plenty. To me a diesel is only worth it if you drive a lot of miles.

Scott

 

[kugss]

They are good trucks. I have a f-550 with a 7.3. I'm trying to figure out a no start problem right now. I think it's the IDM.

They do have some problems with the IDM but also the cam sensor goes bad a lot to the point that the tow truck i use to drive had a spare in the glove compartment. If you need any wiring diagrams of flow charts just let me know.

 

[Alaskat]

96 cummins for plowing and woodhauling, 1970 mercedes unimog 406 for skidding and hauling and BMW M roadster for fun. Oh the old f 450 w/ small crane, the international w/ pto dump bed and the 53 Diamond T and on and on.

 

[bottlefed89]

Scott, as to your no-start 550, I've got a friend that just scrapped a bunch of psd busses, and pulled all the IDM's etc. If you need one PM me and I'll see if has any. If its the cam-pos sensor, the tack wont move at all while cranking. . . . I've had 2 times a truck wouldnt start, after lots of checking on this and that, I fileld the HPOP with oil, and they'd fire right up. . . easy to do before spending any $$, especially if its sat for a while.

 

[STLfirewood]

Thanks I'll let you know. I checked the HPOP and it looked pretty full. The scanner shows 3800 psi. Is that enough to fire the injectors? I changed the cps but that didn't fix it. The tach is jumping a little when I crank it. I was told that means it's working. we cleared the codes yesterday. The guy with the scanner is coming back today to crank on it again o see what codes it's throwing. It had 11 stored codes. Scanner guys says they will throw some sometimes when you crank on them for a while. I charged the batteries over night so they will be good to go today. Thanks again for your help.

Scott

 

[deerlakejens]

The best small truck by far is a 90-94 Mitsubishi Mighty Max 4x4, a really undervalued vehicle. Rated as a one ton, they have an oversized clutch, 3.0 FI V6, and get 16 around town with a trailer, 20 mpg on the highway. I have two for a landscape business and really like them. The only drawback is a short bed and they weren't available with an extended cab. Really easy to work on and parts interchange with several other models. You have to keep your eyes open for them but when they do come up, they are typically under $2,000.

 

[bottlefed89]

3800 is CRAZY high. they rarely see over 3000. 400-600 is more normal when cranking. What pressure does it read when you're NOT cranking, just have the key in the run position??

 

[STLfirewood]

The best small truck by far is a 90-94 Mitsubishi Mighty Max, a really undervalued vehicle. Rated as a one ton, they have an oversized clutch, 3.0 FI V6, and get 16 around town with a trailer, 20 mpg on the highway. I have two for a landscape business and really like them. The only drawback is a short bed and they weren't available with an extended cab. Really easy to work on and parts interchange with several other models. You have to keep your eyes open for them but when they do come up, they are typically under $2,000.

The Mighty maw and the D-50 are great trucks. Number one reason. If you have a 5-speed you can bolt a 4G63 Turbo engine from an Eagle Talon right in. Change the intake and run the wiring. Could of mods and you have an easy 300hp fun to drive little truck that will spank a few people at stop lights and still get great mpg.

Scott

 

[johnha]

Why not just get a trailer? Oh, wait.....

 

[HD-tech-NH]

the best bet is to buy an american vehicle. I'd recommend a 1975 chevy el camino. It should easily quadruple your hauling capacity. Plus then you no longer have to be embarrased driving around in a foreign heap!

rofl!

 

[Strattz]

My wood Hauler....

My wood hauler is a 79 Chevy 4X4 dump....406 small block Chevy

 

[bullittman281]

Hello,
scott, a good place to start on diagnosing a no start is the cam sensor and then high pressure oil pressure. The quick dirty test on the cam sensor is to verify the tach comes up when cranking. Your looking for a few hundred rpms. An occasional twitch doesn't cut it. If you have a good scan tool look at the cam sensor signal when cranking. It should come up and and keep giving a signal as long as you crank. any dips or dead spots and its the cam sensor. They are now cheap enough that just swapping it for a new one is a valid test. It it still wont start at least you have a spare for when you need one.

The next test is the hi pressure oil. key on not cranking it should read none. If it reads a bunch of pressure I'd suspect the hi pressure oil pressure sensor. Its on the front top of the drivers side head. Once you start cranking you should see at least 600 psi but more like 1,000 psi oil pressure to get it to fire off. If the oil pressure comes up and is low suspect bad injection control pressure regulator. It screws into the back of the high pressure oil pump. It could also be injector "o" rings are bad but I'm not sure how to test to determine which it is with out it running. By this point you should have found your no start problem.

Another test if you suspect a bad hi pressure oil pressure sensor is to unplug the sensor and see if it runs then. With out the sensor it will guess on an IPR value and run that way. If you get it running look at IPR duty cycle and pressure. At idle you should see ball park 1,000 psi and low teens for duty cycle. If pressure is low or duty cycle is way high possible bad IPR valve or bad injector "o" rings. If it runs try and go for a drive and see what oil pressure and IPR duty cycle values are. You should get up to 3,000 Psi and duty cycles of ~60% maybe. you should not see 100%. If pressure is low and duty cycle is way high it probably need injector "o" rings.

One last thing that I almost for got, a good scanner will be able to do a buzz test. Perform a buzz test, it test both the injector coils them selves and the IDM. This is the only way to retrieve IDM codes.

This should at least get you going on finding your problem. If you have any more questions let me know.
For more help go here. linkey: http://www.thedieselstop.com/

Bullittman

 

[bullittman281]

Instead of editing my last post, some other things to think about are the glow plugs functional? Glow plug relay still functional? how about the lift pump? Does it have fuel pressure going to the injectors? The glow plugs can be checked with a volt meter on the relay to see if they get voltage across the relay. An ohm meter will test the glow plugs though the plugs on the valve cover gasket. On a super duty its the outer two pins on the valve cover plug. You'll know right off if a glow plug is bad with the ohm meter. I'm not positive on testing fuel pressure though. About the only quick and dirty test is to turn the key on and listen for the pump to run maybe for fuel to flow through the fuel filter bowl and regulator. In any case the lift pump rarely seems to give trouble. Does the truck smoke a bunch during extended cranking, lots and lots of white smoke? If so it may be just glow plug problems.

Bullittman

 

[Bob95065]

I had a 1994 Toyota 4X4 that I was killing slowly by overloading it with firewood. 4 years ago I sold it and bought a 1997 Dodge 2500 diesel 5 speed with the camper package which got me the 1 ton springs.

I can put as much wood as I want on my truck and it will pull it. I pass people loaded up the big hill on Highway 1 south of me. Being I amm in California I will have this truck for a long time and if no one hits me I may never need another truck again.

I get 24 MPG on the highway with this thing and it weighs 7400 pounds empty. It is the best truck I ever had. I'll never have a gas truck again.

Bob

 

[Big_Al]

I like the dump bed chevy, nice setup!! Only thing I would add would be some racks. Can't beat the full size beds or flatbeds. Plus it's a 4x4, always a plus for running around the woods/hills.