Quote:
Originally Posted by RET.LEO
More truck is better (within reason) Dad had a livestock feed business. I would travel 40 miles twice a day with 80 bags of feed which equaled 4,000 lbs. Day in.....day out, never a glitch with a 3/4 ton pick-up.
We always considered 1/2 ton trucks to be "city trucks", "Gentleman Farmers" trucks, city trucks.
Farmers and construction guys always used 3/4 ton trucks for tow ability and most important of all: CARRY CAPACITY.
A Ford F-250 either gas or diesel depending if you run mountains or not would be a great choice.
A friend of mine who was a Ford Service Manager has always steered me towards the gas side. He is a firm believer in the ability of the F-250. He always says it is closer to a 1 ton truck in ability than being a 3/4 ton truck.
We're still in a holding pattern to drop the coin on a Cougar as my wife is about two years from retirement. When we finally do it........it will be towed with a F-250 Gasser. I like Gas as my buddy says: parts are available everywhere, just about any shop anywhere can work on it if needed, between higher maintenance and additional cost of diesel it offsets the increase in MPG that the diesel gives. With proper P.M. the gasser will last as long as the diesel
BUT:
If we decide to run primarily Colorado or to the East West Va then I would be tempted to go Diesel simply to get the exhaust brake.
|
The diesel torque is kinda nice in steep hills... I will say I would have liked to buy a gas truck but couldn't find a one ton gas truck in my price range (CHEAP). The 6.0 was in my price range as so many consider it a junk engine and they go cheaper than the 7.3 or 6.7. Nobody wants the 6.4. My truck has been fixed to where it is reliable. Cost me some but a lot less than buying a new truck. And please don't swallow the cool-aid on the diesel fuel mileage thing. 10 mpg towing and 14 not-towing. A one ton is too heavy to be a econo vehicle. Maintenance costs on a gas truck have to be less. My truck takes 287,000 quarts of oil at oil change time and filters all over the place add to this. I wanted a V10 but just couldn't find one. They are gas hogs too. Previously had a 7.5L super gas sucker and it was easy and cheap to maintain but was thirsty.
Last stupid comment... got a new battery for my camper. It weighs 47 lbs. Geesh those pounds can add up as far as eating load capacity of a truck. My load capacity is north of 4K lbs so don't have to quite eating pizza yet!
