Intermediate Truck?

I'm with the wait-and-see line of thinking . . . you know what you want . . . now you just need to be patient and wait things out . . . buying a vehicle simply because it is there and a good deal (but not what you really want) will just result in you being happy for a time with a new "toy" but a few months from now you'll be wishing you had waited and saved the money for what you really want to buy . . . and if you have my luck you would find your perfect vehicle a week after you've settled. . . . Good luck in your search.

I have three pickups 79 chevy 3/4 with a aluminum flat bed that truck takes me to work and pulls two trailers I have that are made out of old dump trucks and will haul three cords of hedge fire wood each. I also have a 06 ford 1/2 four wheel drive small v eight that we use to run to town in. Third and final truck is a 05 one ton four door four wheel drive diesel that we pull our flat beds with and haul our 941 cat track loader and misc equipment and we take it on trips. I am giving some serious thought to getting down to one pickup as the 05 has 18,800 on it and the 06 has 18,000 on it. Plates and insurance get up there so I think I will get a one ton single wheel gas or diesel and put the aluminum flat bed on it to save some money and shed space. Good luck on your quest.

hedge wood said:

I have three pickups 79 chevy 3/4 with a aluminum flat bed that truck takes me to work and pulls two trailers I have that are made out of old dump trucks and will haul three cords of hedge fire wood each. I also have a 06 ford 1/2 four wheel drive small v eight that we use to run to town in. Third and final truck is a 05 one ton four door four wheel drive diesel that we pull our flat beds with and haul our 941 cat track loader and misc equipment and we take it on trips. I am giving some serious thought to getting down to one pickup as the 05 has 18,800 on it and the 06 has 18,000 on it. Plates and insurance get up there so I think I will get a one ton single wheel gas or diesel and put the aluminum flat bed on it to save some money and shed space. Good luck on your quest.

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Im not to sure a single wheel will be very happy with a 941 sitting behind it.At least not very often.

Danno77 said:

firefighterjake said:

I'm with the wait-and-see line of thinking . . . you know what you want . . . now you just need to be patient and wait things out . . . buying a vehicle simply because it is there and a good deal (but not what you really want) will just result in you being happy for a time with a new "toy" but a few months from now you'll be wishing you had waited and saved the money for what you really want to buy . . . and if you have my luck you would find your perfect vehicle a week after you've settled. . . . Good luck in your search.

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I hear ya guys. I'll probably just keep waiting, but I guess I didn't really state that i have enough money to buy this truck and then buy the truck i want an hour later (if it were to come along).

Once I get the truck I REALLY want, then I'll sell off the Jeep (I don't want to trade it in). I would probably (but not definitely) sell off the intermediate truck, too. It could just end up living out on the farm at the timber.

I don't want to give the impression that I'd be settling, but I guess that is a fear that I have: That I'll get a truck that isn't what I REALLY want and then it would be hard to step up, because I would be getting the job done, just not as well. I guess that was what I thought someone might claim. that they bought what was supposed to be an intermediate vehicle and then found themselves driving it years later and wishing they wouldn't have done it.

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That was me in my last truck for about 10 years and 180,000 miles, a 1998 chevy half ton. It had just enough power to get the heavy jobs done. I liked driving it and it was a nice truck. Trouble is that whenever I was hauling or towing I was either beyond or right at the legal limits and safety was compromised. The towing was white knuckle at times but I got used to it. When the extended cab became too small for the kids to ride in with their car seats which are now required until they are about 23 years old I "had" to move up to a crew cab. I swore my next truck would be rated highly so as to prevent regular overloading and once you enter the heavy duty truck world you can easily go really big. Well it turns out that everything is better with the big trucks. More room, more comfort, more power, much more stable towing, the same mpg (I switched to diesel too), better visibility, better safety (7500 lbs empty helps), and an overall much improved driving experience. The truck before my 1998 chev 1/2 ton was a toyota 4x4 regular cab pickup that I also loved. Moving up to the full size chevy was just as much of an improvement as moving up to the F350. The half ton was my intermediate truck.

Steve has a good point, in that you'll regret not enough truck, but never regret too much truck.


Most of my major girl friends drive trucks (like this is a suprise ).


3 F250's , 3 GMC 2500's, 2 Dodge dually 3500's, 2 Dodge 2500's, and an F150. All 8 foot beds, towing packages, 4 X $, crew/super cabs, etc. The bigger trucks, except for 1 F250 (2 horse bumper w/7 ft. dressing room), pull 2-3 horse goosenecks with 10-14' dressing rooms, all loaded w//tack, hay, ice chests, dogs, BBQ's, maybe a moped or two, you name it.


Everyone of us has driven the others rig, or my truck/her trailer combo's at various times, and like the way they all haul (I wasn't fond of the Dodge 3500 duallys, but it worked) with one exception. The owner of the F150 says she's way under trucked, even for her bumper pull 2 horse w/no dressing room.

I waited 10 years for my truck & trailer. It was worth it to me.

Danno the right truck will come by right after you settle for the one that is going to be sitting in your driveway and the longer you wait the harder it will be to look at the one you settled for!!
I was lucky the one I wanted appeared when I wanted it, everyone is right you can never have to much truck when you are hauling 10+/- tons (4-5 cords) of wood home every year to heat your home. The cost & size of the vehicle depends on how much time you want to spend hauling home your wood! My time is worth more to me than the cost of a reliable truck that will safely haul home 2 +/- cords at a time (with the aid of a good trailer) so I upgraded 2yrs ago to a 3/4 ton crew from a ranger. I have never worried about overloading the truck thus far And I know eventually I will find something to hook on or load onto it and I will be out there looking for a 1ton or bigger and looking at the one in the driveway trying to figure out why I settled for a 3/4ton truck

Goodluck hope you settle on one soon

You'll be fine with that gas HD for a long time. It makes very little sense to go bigger unless you want a diesel or a dually. A dually has mucho more capacity.

Highbeam said:

You'll be fine with that gas HD for a long time. It makes very little sense to go bigger unless you want a diesel or a dually. A dually has mucho more capacity.

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I only drive it 5-6K a yr so the diesel just didn't make sense for me, I looked at one but it was 8 grand more than the 6.0 gas that I ended up with and it had 10,000 more miles. I told my 6yr old son he would be learning to drive on this truck!

Neat, but not a great wood hauler. Too bad they don't make 'em like that now.

Here's one within 100 miles from you.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2006...iewItem&pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item3cafbc840e

deck2 said:

Highbeam said:

You'll be fine with that gas HD for a long time. It makes very little sense to go bigger unless you want a diesel or a dually. A dually has mucho more capacity.

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I only drive it 5-6K a yr so the diesel just didn't make sense for me, I looked at one but it was 8 grand more than the 6.0 gas that I ended up with and it had 10,000 more miles. I told my 6yr old son he would be learning to drive on this truck!

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My f250 has the V10. Almost as much power as the diesel, but much cheaper and quieter too. The big gas engines are fine. I'm thinking that you'd have to drive one of those oil burners something like 40,000 miles a year for ten years to get your money back. By then, the diesel engine might still be strong, but the rest of truck will be worn out.

You must be some kind of un-American trader. Buying something with saved cash is a crime against your country. Financing is the American way. Debt is good. Savings bad. Get with it will you?

I am still there, doing that. Working on not being there. Slowly. It is not easy. Congrats to you for getting caught up.
It is hard to find something in that price range. Not the best time to sell in my opinion. Still lots of life left in them and not worth enough to make a sizable down payment on a new one. May as well hold on to it until it is junk a that point. I spent months looking for a good used F250 back in '96. I finally gave in and bought a new one. I was young and single then. My expenses were pretty low so a new trucl loan was manageable. Not anymore.

Flatbedford said:

deck2 said:

Highbeam said:

You'll be fine with that gas HD for a long time. It makes very little sense to go bigger unless you want a diesel or a dually. A dually has mucho more capacity.

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I only drive it 5-6K a yr so the diesel just didn't make sense for me, I looked at one but it was 8 grand more than the 6.0 gas that I ended up with and it had 10,000 more miles. I told my 6yr old son he would be learning to drive on this truck!

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My f250 has the V10. Almost as much power as the diesel, but much cheaper and quieter too. The big gas engines are fine. I'm thinking that you'd have to drive one of those oil burners something like 40,000 miles a year for ten years to get your money back. By then, the diesel engine might still be strong, but the rest of truck will be worn out.

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expect that the big gas engine gets 8-11 mpg loaded and the diesel get 15-21 (depending on type). Over 100,000 miles that is $12,000 dollars more your pay in fuel. Based off of 10 mpg vs. 18 mpg and with diesel being on average 20 cents more a gallon. My 93 has 210k on it so it has saved over its life time (probably even more because diesel was cheaper than gas) over $24,000. Not to bad of a pay off for 17 years of service.

but i do understand the argument if you don't drive a lot. But i feel if your buying a truck to be a dedicated work truck and haul heavy diesel is the way to go hands down. Don't want to start an agument but many people don't realize the savings that mpg gets you in a diesel.

Danno77 said:

Which diesel get's that much loaded? I know that my Dad's Duramax gets about 12-15 with his 5th wheel, my buddy's v-10 ford get's about 10 pulling a full load of hay bales. Ford powermax info i've read is maybe a little less than the duramax, but sometimes i read people getting up to 15.

So, if those numbers are a little more accurate, then I'd say you should be comparing 10mpg gas v 15mpg diesel Let's also say you change oil every 10k miles (easier for math). Lets say you are paying 5bucks a quart for something nice. Let's use US averages on 8/2/2010 for fuel prices.

100,000miles on gas would be 10,000gallons of gas ~6quartsx10 changes = 10,000x2.735 + 60x5 = 27,350+300=$27,650

100,000miles on diesel would be 6,667gal of diesel ~15quartsx10 changes = 6,667x2.928 + 150x5 = 19520 + 750 = $20,270

7,000 more to run a gasser v10 over a diesel. and that's if you were towing for 100,000 miles. i'd rather pay that 7000 over 7 yrs than the difference in cost when new. I wish it were as simple as that math, though. resale of diesel will be higher, likely. and then there are things like fuel filters and spark plugs and injectors and things that are pluses on one and not the other.

my opinion is that it really doesn't matter which you get. Heck, I'll drive a ford v8 3/4 ton. I don't need to move the wood fast, i just need to move it.

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My dodge along with my brothers both get 18mpg pulling our campers (~7000#s) they are both 12valves. A lot depends on the year, what emission crap they have on it, how you drive and what is done to the truck. My Brother in law has a Duramax and gets 17 pulling his 5th wheel and is an 04. Don't know how about any of the powerstrokes because no one in my family will ever own. But i do know about the fuel mpg on the v-10 fords. We have 6 of them at work. They all have a custom bodies which are very heavy for the glass business. I have never had them on the scales but we will easily load 1-2k pounds of materiel on them every day not including our tools and everything else. All 6 of them average 8 mpg that is a mix of highway and city driving. I do have to say though that the v-10 ford is a HUGE step up from the POS chevy 6.0. The other 4 trucks we have at work are Chevy 6.0s and they are an absolute dog. They have lighter bodies (was told the bodies are 700 pounds lighter on the Chevy) and they struggle to maintain 65 down the highway. They average 9mpg. We are required to keep our fuel mileage at every fill up at work. if i think of it Monday i will photocopy our fuel mileage records and post them. So i really don't feel that a 10 mpg vs 15 is correct either. How about 9 mpg vs 16 mpg? That still is a $12,088 savings over 100k miles.

If your going to add oil into the equation it will not make a difference because generally you run diesel oil twice as long as gas and a diesel (pickup truck) holds twice as much as a gas. The price of oil is generally the same (unless if you buy in bulk) and a diesel filter is maybe 4 dollars more. A 5.9 cummins holds 12 quarts and a v-10 ford holds 6 and the recommended oil change intervals are 3,000 vs. 6,000.

100,000 miles on diesel at 6,000 mile intervals and 12 quarts $4.00 a quart - 16.6 (changes per 100k) x $48.00 (per change) = 796.8

100,000 miles on gas at 3,000 miles interval and 6 quarts @ $4.00 a quart - 33.3 x $24.00 = 799.2

And i agree, get what ever will get the job done a diesel is not needed by any means to haul firewood around. But i wanted to make the point that most (the newer diesels are getting crap for mpg) diesels will save you money in fuel over a gas engine and it is a substantial amount over 100k or even 200k miles. A lot more than the initial cost of the diesel over the gas engine. Plus it is nice to always have that extra power there you never know when you might need it.

The manual says my '00 V10 should get an oil change every 5,000 miles, not 3,000.

I actually own a 2000 powerstroke and keep mileage records. The 2000 has no emissions junk at all. I get 11-12 mpg when towing my 25' nash travel trailer that weighs, oh, about 6000 lbs. The same load with my gas 5.7 chevy was 9-10 mpg so 20% which is significant. When you work a diesel, you use fuel, when you cruise empty on the freeway you get great mileage. I can break 20 in that situation. Around town is 15 like every other powerstroke.

The claims about great mpg are from folks running empty over long distances along with a dash of optimism and lies. The Fords are not the highest mpg diesel, the tiny cummins 5.9 takes that honor. The good thing is that like most pickups on the road, mine is empty most of the time so I get no mileage penalty (vs. a half ton gas) for having a 7500lb truck that could tow a mountain.

Costs for oil changes and fuel filters are a drop in the bucket. Who cares about the extra 2 gallons of oil at 8.50 per gallon every 5000 miles when is costs 75$ to fill the fuel tank?

Flatbedford said:

The manual says my '00 V10 should get an oil change every 5,000 miles, not 3,000.

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interesting. Have you ever had a oil test done after 5,000 miles? Every manual i have looked at had two recommendation, one being for heavy/dusty use another being typical road use.

Highbeam said:

I actually own a 2000 powerstroke and keep mileage records. The 2000 has no emissions junk at all. I get 11-12 mpg when towing my 25' nash travel trailer that weighs, oh, about 6000 lbs. The same load with my gas 5.7 chevy was 9-10 mpg so 20% which is significant. When you work a diesel, you use fuel, when you cruise empty on the freeway you get great mileage. I can break 20 in that situation. Around town is 15 like every other powerstroke.

The claims about great mpg are from folks running empty over long distances along with a dash of optimism and lies. The Fords are not the highest mpg diesel, the tiny cummins 5.9 takes that honor. The good thing is that like most pickups on the road, mine is empty most of the time so I get no mileage penalty (vs. a half ton gas) for having a 7500lb truck that could tow a mountain.

Costs for oil changes and fuel filters are a drop in the bucket. Who cares about the extra 2 gallons of oil at 8.50 per gallon every 5000 miles when is costs 75$ to fill the fuel tank?

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Displacement wise yes its smaller but there is a reason for that. Them tiny inline six cylinders are found in everything from skid loaders to tractor trailers. In fact, the first 5.9 were put transit buses.

also the 5.9 will last 400,00 plus miles
they were actually designed to power back up generators
start and run full throttle,3200 rpm all day
now the powerstroke is a good engine I dont wat to start a ford vs dodge debate
just they are two different beasts
oh and if you go bigger than a F350 ford like a F450
guess what????
they come with a CUMMINS
wonder why??