Old iron..?

[Circle B MN]

I need a "new" 1-ton or better to haul logs and my skiddy around the county. My average trip is 3o miles or so one way. With the price of new trucks being near half the value of my house, I am looking at old iron. Where's the cut off for regular use where price vs reliability becomes an issue? I see a few clean 89-90 F-series around priced right, but that may be pushing it?

 

[babybart]

How much weight you haul? My old F350 was falling apart and I could not afford new, researched and discovered some half tons that could haul my overloaded dump trailer no problem. I figured I don't haul everyday so that's the way I went.

 

[Mustang71]

A lot of newer trucks have a much higher towing capacity then trucks from the 80s. If you are talking about a power stroke from the early 90s then you could pull some stuff. My 06 f150 is rated to tow 11000lbs it has the HD package which includes the tow package 4.10 gears and heavier suspension and a large aux trans cooler. 7 lug wheels too right from the factory.

 

[Streblerm]

I’d look at 99 and up Ford super duty trucks. Pre ‘06 have nearly indestructible 2 valve gas engines. There is no real capacity difference (brakes, axles, frame are all the same) between the F250 and F350 unless you get into a dually. I’m running a 99 SRW 5.4l gas. It will haul and stop anything I’ve had in or behind it. 9k towing capacity with the 5.4 and 14k with diesel or v-10 and a fifth wheel.

 

[svk]

I’m very partial to the 80-96 Fords but finding one in your area that isn’t rusted out may be an issue. The early pre-efi trucks are much easier to work on and replacement engines, especially small blocks are easy to come by.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

I just brought home a 97 Chevy 3500 dually. It's got almost 175k on the clock, but was very well taken care of. I don't know if you're considering a dually, but for hauling wood, I figured it was almost necessary (I don't have a dump trailer though, so that might change the equation. I just figured that by the time you subtract the curb weight of a big block, automatic, 4x4 truck with an extra cab from the GVWR, there isn't much left for payload capacity.

When I was shopping I discovered that Ford didn't make any 4x4 dually trucks until the super duties started in '98. Personally I like the Fords, and my last truck was a '90 Ford but the super duty trucks are pretty spendy. Plus, the spark plugs are an enormous pain to change. The layout under the hood just isn't that great for a shade tree hack like me.

Speaking of old trucks though, if you want something real basic but 100% reliable I still have my old Ford. I lent it to a friend for a couple weeks, so I haven't gotten around to listing it yet. It's a single cab, 2wd, 5 speed F250 with the bulletproof 300-6 and almost new BFG AT tires. Not a fast truck, but dead nuts reliable and it has an incredible legal payload. Gross weight is 8600#. Curb weight is about half that. I've put 4000# of feed in the bed. Try that with a half ton.

 

[Circle B MN]

There was a mint F350 SRW on CL yesterday in the cities for $3850........"was".

I could see going this route if I came across another.

 

[svk]

I just brought home a 97 Chevy 3500 dually. It's got almost 175k on the clock, but was very well taken care of. I don't know if you're considering a dually, but for hauling wood, I figured it was almost necessary (I don't have a dump trailer though, so that might change the equation. I just figured that by the time you subtract the curb weight of a big block, automatic, 4x4 truck with an extra cab from the GVWR, there isn't much left for payload capacity.

When I was shopping I discovered that Ford didn't make any 4x4 dually trucks until the super duties started in '98. Personally I like the Fords, and my last truck was a '90 Ford but the super duty trucks are pretty spendy. Plus, the spark plugs are an enormous pain to change. The layout under the hood just isn't that great for a shade tree hack like me.

Speaking of old trucks though, if you want something real basic but 100% reliable I still have my old Ford. I lent it to a friend for a couple weeks, so I haven't gotten around to listing it yet. It's a single cab, 2wd, 5 speed F250 with the bulletproof 300-6 and almost new BFG AT tires. Not a fast truck, but dead nuts reliable and it has an incredible legal payload. Gross weight is 8600#. Curb weight is about half that. I've put 4000# of feed in the bed. Try that with a half ton.

My friends and I had several of those 300-6 trucks in HS and into college. They would actually beat many V8 trucks off a stoplight up to 55 mph but then it was like hitting a wall and the V8 would blow past you.

We put a tremendous amount of weight in my friend’s (85?) F250 4x4. He had the 4 speed and 351w and it was nearly rust free. I would have bought it if he had told me he was planning to sell.

 

[Circle B MN]

Damn shame the salt does what it does to trucks up this way. Just dont seem right to spend good money on a truck with a hole in it already.

 

[svk]

Perhaps take a ride south? I’m going to look for a southern truck this fall to drive back north.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

Damn shame the salt does what it does to trucks up this way. Just dont seem right to spend good money on a truck with a hole in it already.

Couldn't agree more. My Ford was a WA truck. I love how easy it is to work on it. The last 5 winters have started to take a toll, but you can still spin nuts without an oxy/acetylene torch. My new Chevy has been a Midwest truck it's whole life. I looked pretty hard down south and in Portland (got family there). I found some nice ones, but nothing perfect for the price I wanted to pay and then this one popped up in Minneapolis for a great price. 4 new Michelins on the rear too.

 

[Circle B MN]

Couldn't agree more. My Ford was a WA truck. I love how easy it is to work on it. The last 5 winters have started to take a toll, but you can still spin nuts without an oxy/acetylene torch. My new Chevy has been a Midwest truck it's whole life. I looked pretty hard down south and in Portland (got family there). I found some nice ones, but nothing perfect for the price I wanted to pay and then this one popped up in Minneapolis for a great price. 4 new Michelins on the rear too.

View attachment 661674

I had a '96 just like it with the 7.4L. Good truck, only left me stranded once and that was when the distributor broke. Not a hard fix, but you gotta pull the upper intake to get it out....and again if you dont install the distributor correctly. Took me a few tries to figure out what I was doing wrong

 

[Mustang71]

I would think a 90s ford f350 dump truck with the 7.4 and a 5 speed in it would be decent for towing. A lot of them have had a hard life though. Those 2 valve 5.4s had spark plug issues so did the 2 valve v10s. I would still buy one though. The 3 valve 5.4 works good for me it's got 177k on it. I see a lot of them for sale on cl with over 200k on them.

 

[DSW]

Find the nicest 7.3 in your price range and never look back.

That's what I did.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

It'd probably help us make better recommendations if you gave us some more details. Are you looking for a crew cab, 4x4, auto, etc? How many miles a year are you gonna put on it? What's your skid on a trailer weigh?

Personally i wouldn't even consider a diesel, but that's because I only put 5-6k miles a year on my truck, and I use it a lot in the winter. If I was towing 20k a year, yeah the mileage benefit of the diesel would be a no-brainer, but around here guys want stupid money for 5.9s and 7.3s, even with 300,000 miles.

I needed a back seat and 4wd to justify trading trucks, so that limited me considerably. If I just wanted a truck for hauling I'd have looked pretty hard at the Chevy 3500HD trucks (bigger brakes and axles than a one ton and they gross at like 14 or 15k iirc) or the pre super duty F450s, either way, I'd want them with a big block. Depending on your requirements they may or may not be something to consider.

 

[Mustang71]

Yea the way you use the truck and how much makes a difference in what truck you buy.

I throw more stuff in my 8 foot bed and maybe tow once or twice a year so horse power isn't as big of a deal as it would if you were towing a full dump trailer every week. I'm planning on moving up to a f250 whenever I get another truck. I'm fine with the 5.4 but the extra suspension is what I want.

 

[Circle B MN]

It'd probably help us make better recommendations if you gave us some more details. Are you looking for a crew cab, 4x4, auto, etc? How many miles a year are you gonna put on it? What's your skid on a trailer weigh?

Personally i wouldn't even consider a diesel, but that's because I only put 5-6k miles a year on my truck, and I use it a lot in the winter. If I was towing 20k a year, yeah the mileage benefit of the diesel would be a no-brainer, but around here guys want stupid money for 5.9s and 7.3s, even with 300,000 miles.

I needed a back seat and 4wd to justify trading trucks, so that limited me considerably. If I just wanted a truck for hauling I'd have looked pretty hard at the Chevy 3500HD trucks (bigger brakes and axles than a one ton and they gross at like 14 or 15k iirc) or the pre super duty F450s, either way, I'd want them with a big block. Depending on your requirements they may or may not be something to consider.

I've sworn off diesel. My 12-valve Cummins were good to me...kind of. My 6.0 Ford I still curse at. An injection pump or injectors will put you north of $2k fast. A gas crate motor can be had for less.

My machine weights in right at 7k. I'd like to get a gooseneck flat to drag it around. 60 miles round trip either delivery of fetching wood is all I expect, few times a week.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

How heavy is the skidder? Even a 440 Deere is ~12,000lbs, figure 3-4k for a small trailer, that's nothing to sneeze at.

Can find F450s and 550s around here for pretty cheap. I have 2 F450s, both diesels, one is 4wd (Quigley conversion). Didn't pay much for them, 3-5k area.
I wouldn't even fart around with a baby truck. Put a 12 or 14ft bed on the F450 and it'll make a nice wood hauler.

About the only downside on a 1.5+ ton truck is the registration and insurance is more. In my case, don't really have a choice, I need something that can safely haul 1 or 2 cords of wood everyday. The older trucks run 16" wheels (10 lug) so tires are too bad. The 19.5s on the newer trucks are pretty expensive.

Edit... see that the skidder is 7k. Curious.. homebuilt? One of the little Rhino/Jinma 354L units?

 

[DSW]

I wouldn't judge diesels based off one of the poorest examples.

7k+ regularly isn't the end of the world for a gasser but most diesels won't even notice it.

Have you considered going up a bit in size? Capacities raise, purchase prices drop, and you can get them in diesel or gas.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

How heavy is the skidder? Even a 440 Deere is ~12,000lbs, figure 3-4k for a small trailer, that's nothing to sneeze at.

Can find F450s and 550s around here for pretty cheap. I have 2 F450s, both diesels, one is 4wd (Quigley conversion). Didn't pay much for them, 3-5k area.
I wouldn't even fart around with a baby truck. Put a 12 or 14ft bed on the F450 and it'll make a nice wood hauler.

I think he's talking about a skid steer not a skidder. He said in the post right before yours that his machine weight is 7,000lbs.