Need help with truck decision

[Steves LX]

We are looking at buying a good used truck from a private owner. This will primarily be used for towing. Enclosed trailer with my car will be what is primarily towed around. Not just in town but over the road out of town as well. I have heard good and bad about the 6.0 power strokes. I have heard the same about everything else out there as well. So really not sure what route to go. Power stroke 6.0, 7.3 or F250 with a 5.4L. Or disregard Ford all together and go Chevy or Dodge. Whatever I get I dont want to have to spend a boat load of money right away to make it do this that and the other in order to not have future problems if not neccessary. Any help would be great.

[facemelter71]

My Dad has a 99 F-350 7.3L PSD dually that he pulls his ( i think 9300 Pound) trailer with and im pretty sure this last trip netted him well over 200k on the odometer.This is his 6 speed truck.
His other truck (00 F-350 7.3L PSD dually) has close to that amount of miles on an Auto.
I also remember him saying he gets "good" gas mileage out of both of them. Ill find out tonight what that "good" number is. I think he said 20,but im not sure.

[1987LXVert]

Powerstroke it!!!

[mustangboy]

I would definately go diesel if you are looking to tow. Ita hard to beat an old 7.3, they.pull pretty good stock but a programmer helps a ton

[93mustang]

i never disconnect my 7x16 tandem trailer from my truck!! I HAVE A 2006 GMC 2500HD 6.6l DIESEL. best truck i have ever owned. dont let people try to tell you they get 20+ mpg towing. IT AINT TRUE! i tow city and highway and get around 15 with a edge box. my dodge cummins was around 17 towing but the cost of repairs is rediculous. they always need complete front end job around 100k and it was a horrible ride. Fords are also great, never owned one, but hear great things about the 7.3.
The duramax is a great ride with the non straight axle up front. also with a 100hp tune, you will smoke the other two. i do get around 20 mpg empty and doing about 65-70 on the interstate.

[2Kblacksleeper]

I would advise to not get a 250 with a 5.4.

I had a 08 tundra with the 5.7. I picked up a few mustangs with the rental u haul trailer. It pulled like a dream. Plenty of passing, and merging power. I sold it when I got my 12 GT.
Well I picked up a roller from Greg on here. I borrowed a 06 f250 5.4. I rented the usual uhaul trailer to go to Dayton to get the car.
We get the car loaded and I head down the road. It feels slugish. I go to merge on the highway and it has no balls or power at all. I was far from impressed with it.
Both had factory tow packages. Crew cab short beds.

My work rentals trucks have the 5.4 and even when mildly loaded down they are not impressive either.

That's been my experience.

[90fastgt]

Stay away from the 6.0 powerstrokes unless they have the head gaskets fixed an egr deleted if you ot when you get to a 100,000 miles your goin to have problems i would go 7.3 or a cummins with a six speed no auto cummins unless the trans has been built

[RIXXX93GT]

Steve I have towed with f250, f350 dually and e350 RV, and an Expedition. Hands down the 7.3 F350 dually was the cream of the crop. The RV was second. You want the extra two rear wheels on a dually, makes towing a hell of allot less stressful.

[leroy93lx]

I have had a few Dodges ( and currently do) and like said before the front ends do need more work than some.....and transmissions, and injectors. I really like the Cummins, but my next one is probably going to be a Duramax. Other than the early ones having injector problems, the 04.5 up are awesome. They don't seem to have the problems of the other 2. I have never personally owned a Ford truck , but all the local guys around here are working on them more than driving them! They are using them as play trucks, not work trucks though. Right now my 04 has a 4" Turbo back exhaust , Edge CTS , S&B cold air intake, Fass DDRP, and some other things and its a blast to drive and will pull anything I put behind it. It is about to get bigger injectors, but only because I have a one getting weak. Another common problem on Common Rail Cummins unfortunately. I would go with a Duramax..

[bangingears]

Stay away from the 6.0 powerstrokes unless they have the head gaskets fixed an egr deleted if you ot when you get to a 100,000 miles your goin to have problems i would go 7.3 or a cummins with a six speed no auto cummins unless the trans has been built

I have a 6.0 ford truck, it has a trailer on the back of it almost all the time, and I love it. If I was spending the money, I would get a newer truck. The interiors are nicer, quieter, less beat on, and more options.

[jktruckin06]

7.3 all the way. The one guy on here has a badass one for sale, or did.

Went back and looked it is 89coupe and never said it was sold

[Chunk94GT]

I would go with a 04, 05 cummins 6 speed

[full force]

I love my 7.3's, on my 4th one with over 370,000 miles... all had over 300,000

Maintainence is key to any diesel, I personally like the Fords, a 6.0 can be a great truck if it was taken care of, EGR delete is a MUST

I think Ford interiors and bodys hold up better and having 4 trucks over 300,000 miles I can say.. mine all ride great! held up well...

last 2 fromTexas look like new still...go to Texas and get em cheaper and ZERO rust

These are both 370,000+ mile Texas trucks..



http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e41/86lxmustang/P7074609.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e41/86lxmustang/cid__IMG00240-20101204-1220.jpg

[furiouslyfaster]

I have always heard great things about the 7.3L Powerstrokes.

[90fastgt]

89 coupee has his still i just seen it thursday very nice truck

[331lx]

I have had several dodge diesels and the motors can't b beat, the dodge truck leaves some to b desired though, I currently have a 7.3 that I have had since I was 15 and I wouldnt trade it for the world, it regularly pulls my dads bobcat with boom,bucket, and forks all on trailer it weighs 16k. If u buying a diesel stay away from 6.0 ford a lot had problems with them there r lucky ones out there but more bad than good.

[JGavey]

I have a 99 powerstroke 7.3l dually with the 6speed manual trans it has a programmer and straight pipe exhaust with a cold air kit. I pulled a 28' enclosed with a 3100# car golf cart and all the spare parts you would need at the track. It pulls great no problems out of truck. I would go with a manual trans hands down.

[90stang]

7.3 7.3 7.3

[mad max]

Stay far far away from the 6.0 ford . Ive towed at least 20 of them in the 3 years i have worked for my dad . They blow head gaskets and have the egr problem . The local ford dealer pulls the cab off to work on them , so i imagine that labor is quite expensive when fixing one. Back when i was racing motorcycles with some friends he had an 04 dodge dually with the cummins , nice truck and had plenty of power , but like was said before , he had to have the front end rebuilt at about 120k miles.

[full force]

Stay far far away from the 6.0 ford . Ive towed at least 20 of them in the 3 years i have worked for my dad . They blow head gaskets and have the egr problem . The local ford dealer pulls the cab off to work on them , so i imagine that labor is quite expensive when fixing one. Back when i was racing motorcycles with some friends he had an 04 dodge dually with the cummins , nice truck and had plenty of power , but like was said before , he had to have the front end rebuilt at about 120k miles.

The head gaskets are RARELY the issue unless you go more then 80 hp tune on stock headbolts, and the cab does NOT have to be removed if you are talented....

[qwk93ta]

My son just bought an 03 F250 6.0 PSD with a 6 speed...Only 38,500 miles. I've read all the issues with the 6.0 motor and he will be doing the EGR delete in the near future. He has no plans on major mods, it already has a K&N and some kind of catback exhaust. Good luck with your search.

[jlt2006]

I am happy with our 7.3 F250.

[Chunk94GT]

My neighbor has a F250 with a 7.3 auto. He has over 500k on it, runs a landscaping company. Plows snow, hauls big trailers of mulch, and lawn mowers. He says he has the money to buy a new one but, he can justify getting rid of a good running truck that he has no problems with. Guess they are like everything else. Some people have good luck with them, or bad luck. Companies don't build a good line of trucks anymore, they build a couple of good ones along a line of many.

I would still go with a 04, 05 Cummins. Newer body, older non emissions motor, great power, and is a cummins. What more do need. A major diesel company that still make motors today, that haven't changed that much over the years. The powerstoke was made by international for years untill recently, and the duramax not to sure about, but I know its had alot of changes and problems over the year

[fastone]

My neighbor has a F250 with a 7.3 auto. He has over 500k on it, runs a landscaping company. Plows snow, hauls big trailers of mulch, and lawn mowers. He says he has the money to buy a new one but, he can justify getting rid of a good running truck that he has no problems with. Guess they are like everything else. Some people have good luck with them, or bad luck. Companies don't build a good line of trucks anymore, they build a couple of good ones along a line of many.

I would still go with a 04, 05 Cummins. Newer body, older non emissions motor, great power, and is a cummins. What more do need. A major diesel company that still make motors today, that haven't changed that much over the years. The powerstoke was made by international for years untill recently, and the duramax not to sure about, but I know its had alot of changes and problems over the year

Powerstroke is still International. The new motor in Ford's trucks is made by Ford, not someone else. And as for Dodge's I have driven a few, when pulling a load, 10 grand or more they don't stop or handle worth a crap. They only weight in at 6000 lbs, where as the ford is almost 9000lbs. Don't know about Chevy, so I will not say anything about them.

[Camaro86SHOCKER]

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f199/Camaro86SHOCKER/truck-1.jpg

I have an 06 F-350 6.0 Diesel and its a great truck. You may have seen me drive it to Dougs. Other than a pinion seal i've never had to do any maintenance and i use it to pull my 18' car trailer loaded, and this 26ft bayliner all the time with no issue. Look around there are several people that own these trucks with this engine with over 300k and little to no issue. Their all machines and they all need something from time to time. The 6.0 also far surpasses the 7.3 in power and drivability due to the engine design and variable turbo.

Don't buy into all the hype. If you read enough about any truck you will find alot of Opinions that lead you to think a truck isn't very good.

The 5.4 is a decent engine but it wont be that impressive under heavy load pulling. I couldn't really tell much difference except when first taking off when going from my 4.6 to a 5.4.

I don't know much about Dodges other than I read alot of people having issues with the automatic equipped trucks in every series.

The Duramaxs seem to be great trucks as well. Have several friends with them that swear by them. Most of them have had injector issues but said it was no big deal to replace them.

[DSSKing68]

Stay away from the 5.4 if possible. I had one in a Expedition, very lightly loaded it was not an impressive tow vehicle. Just my experience.

[5.0calypso93lx]

Gonna go out on a limb here and say I'd rock a 01-05 Chevy or GMC pickup with the 5.3 or 6.0.

[03z06vette]

I would go with a 04, 05 cummins 6 speed

At least someone knows what they are talking about.. :rockon:

[Steves LX]

Well I appreciate all the input. We bought a 1991 Chevy S-10 2.5L 5 speed. J/K... We are probably going to go with a F250 or 350 with the 7.3L.

[Stangman]

Well I appreciate all the input. We bought a 1991 Chevy S-10 2.5L 5 speed. J/K... We are probably going to go with a F250 or 350 with the 7.3L.

Sounds like my old S-10 LOL!

[331lx]

Good choice Steve, u won't b dissappointed

[stangman_5]

You cant go wrong with the 7.3 they last forever.