funny now but almost put the truck in the river,buddy and I took his 2000 f-250 with a 10.5 ft camper and 20ft alumaweld down to the big c we launched at beacon rock,in case you have never been there its a pretty steep ramp I began to back it down the ramp and when I hit the brakes the truck could not stop the load wound up having to put it in first to stop it,point of story buy the right truck for the job or it will cost you in the end,my prefernce is my 2001 chevy 1ton this can handle same load no problem....

Milage on the first run towing the boat(4500lb) was 14.5 mpg @60mph. This included a 6%downgrade that the transmission held the truck at 60 mph with no brake action required. Second run was made at 70mph and yeilded 14.25 mpg. Dodge never made it over 12mpg with this boat on tow.

I am impressed.(I am easily impressed)

I have to agree w/ fish4steel! My wife has a 2000 Ford Excursion w/ the V10 and it is awesome! I have never been a desiel guy, hate the smoke noise, etc. Her V10 w/ compter chip and 4" exhuast get 15 MPG on the freeway! Tows my 22 1/2 foot willie predator like a champ, the 3/4 chase is awesome as well, rides very smooth and actually is very easy to see out of.

I am in the market to get a new Ford Crewcab 4X4 and will go with the V10 again!

My powerstroke is a 95! Ive had the Auto replaced and a vacume pump. Its got 150000 hard ash miles on it. The older trannys do suck but my new commercial tranny is awesome! I pull hard and always tow in overdrive on the freeway! I love the sound of the turbo so I drive it very hard all the time! Im gonna be the true tester to see what these trucks are capible of!
As far as lots of maintence...Who ever said that has no clue what there talking about!
My truck is a 95 with 150000, I change the oil every 7 to 10 thousand and the fuel filter every other! I do run unleaded once in a while to clean it and I get almost 21 on the freeway if Im extremely nice! Keep in mind mine has 3.70 gear ratio. I spin 1900 rpms at 70mph. Get a 1 ton and your stuck with 4.10s and 16 miles to the gallon. I get that with 6000 pounds behind it!(If Im nice)
You will also spin 2400 to 2500 at 70! Everyone I know is stuck doing 55 to 60 if they want 20 out of there 1 ton and a decent life of the motor. Also the 1 tons handle and drive crappy compared to the 250's. The front solid axle isnt as forgiving as the twin I beam. And the steering is not even as responsive! My truck was beefed in the suspension and drive train. It was a custom factory order. Its almost a 1 ton but more than a heavy duty! It gets 20 to 21 on the freeway if Im nice!
The blue book is still 17,000 on it with those miles! If it was a gas truck it would be about 10000. Ill never own a gas pig!
Also I saw a post about the trannys for the powerstrokes were made by CAT! I do heating and air conditioning for Cat Construction and logging equip. and know the company VERY well.
THEY DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE BIG 3.

The new Dodges are ok. By ok I mean there good but the lowest in power!
The 2000's and below have weak flexible frames. They had a demo at Emerald downs and the Dodges were terrible! Dont believe me! Pull yours up on a 2 foot ramp leaving the other side on the ground and see if you can open your doors!
Also notice your bed is almost touching or is touching your cab! And your 3rd and 4th doors probably leak or squeek now! And pre the new body style around 90, had even worse frames that cracked all the time!
Best frame was the new Chevy, followed close by Ford!
Ive been watching the chevy Duromax closely as my good fishin bud works for Grey Chev in Port Orchard and there selling the crap out of the new desiels. Then there coming back with torque converter bolt problems and head problems!
So Ill keep my old Ford for now and probably forever as no one would want this truck when I get done with it!

Travis, you buy that V10...Ill see ya when you finally make it past all those gas stations, or you could leave a hour early! And are those miles per gallons obtained when your wifes driving it? JK.
Every V-10 owner I know wishes they would have bought a "D".

I've went 557 on one fill up! 34 gallons of fuel!
Thats a 16.38 mpg avarage! God I must have been sleeping at the wheel! I can get 20 to 21 but I need a rev limiter...

Hope this helps!

Bob D

Well, it seems I've got a different approach than the rest of these guys...

In 1994, I bought a 1983 GMC Vandura 2500 - that's a 3/4 ton, 6.2L diesel conversion van. I paid $3,500 for it, and it had 85K miles on it when I bought it. It now has 320,000 miles on it and finally needs a new motor... the motor still runs strong, but has developed a knock (piston skirt?) and a head gasket leak, so I've parked it until I find a good replacement motor.

Up to this point, I've had to do no maintenance to the motor itself, other than your normal filter, fluid, and glow plug changes. I've done stuff to the rest of the van - radiator, brake pads, rotors, master cylinder, starter, etc, but hey, it's 19 years old and has 320,000 miles on it, what do you expect? Whoever said diesels have more maintenance has never owned a good one.

I get 19 mpg, and don't notice much of a difference while towing my 19' Custom Weld... plus, I don't need a camper, I've always got a queen-size bed in the back... I get tired, I pull over and sleep... it is sweet.

You want to talk about economy? How about paying low insurance? I calculated that with registration, insurance, diesel fuel, and parts & service, I'm still only about $0.22 a mile on this vehicle... what are you guys with your new $35,000 vehicles paying?

There have only been a couple of times I wished I had a pickup truck... when I've bought a couple of garden tractors and needed to get them home, and when I thought about buying a driftboat, and started thinking I needed FWD... but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it... and don't get me wrong, I'd take a new DuraMax if someone gave it to me...

Check out this page, it's got lots of good info about diesels and fuel economy:
http://www.62-65-dieselpage.com/mileage.htm

-N.

Your right Stormin!
A Van conversion with a "D" is optimum. I looked at a few but I wanted a extended van 1 ton 4x4 with a power stroke! It was 50 grand! I setteled on a Beefed suspension 250 and I HATE getting in the back!
I need the 4x4 option so its a custom van if I want it! I looked at a few but man were they spendy!

Bob D

You're killing me Major Brown! You know how Dondi drives.. she might get 10MPG maybe!

But I can buy a ton of gass for the extra $5K I saved over the big D. Lets see, 3 mpg saved.. and fuel for the big D is $1.41 ouch (down here on the SC) I would have to drive an extra 100K that's 5 years to make up the difference.. and at $1.31 a gallon reg. gas,.. I'll take the V10 anyday!

But we both know the only time I get to drive is when the boat is behind us!

TH,

You may be able to buy more gas for that $5K but I will get my $5K back in resale value so it is not a loss! Plus a lower cost for the fuel needed to operate during the lifetime and twice the longevity.
The economic trade-offs speak loud and clear IMHO.

MB

That may be true... but I don't plan on owning the truck for my entire life.. and the resale value is a wash because of the up front cost.. you may get the $5K back in the end, but the V10 won't loose $5K at it's end... buy for $35K or $30K sale for $20K or $15K.. bluebook values are a wonderful thing!

Anyway.. this chevy vs ford, V10 vs. Big D is fun!

Still gonna look into the Duramax w/ the Allison.. they arn't very loud.. ???
Wife says NO on the Chevy's though!

Yeah the Duramax is surprisingly quiet! First time I saw one, it was just sitting there idling and I did not even register that it was a diesel. I like the diesel PURR myself though and the whine if the turbo as I catch the little sport car that blew by me thinking I was some slow poke tank going down the road. That surprising reaction when they see nothing but grill in the rear-view going 80+!

See Travis, she dosent just make good Elf steaks! She also knows how to pick a truck!

Bob D

Hey Bob D,

Check out this site, sometimes they have reasonable used 4x4 vans on here...
http://www.quigley4x4.com/Ordering/OrderUsedVans.htm

-N.

sounds like you make good money selling rods TH

Actually my wife and I both have pretty good day jobs.. but thanks! The rod business supports itself and that's about it!