Looking for advice for on which full size trucks best fit my requirements.

UHAULER

Explorer
I bought an 04 f250 v10, 6 speed last year to pull a small camp trailer. On the 500 mile drive home from Oregon it got about 15 mpg. Pulling the small 3,500# camp trailer it got about 10-11 mpg. Average around town mixed driving it gets about 12.5-13.
The reason I went all the way to Oregon was to Get a manual trans in an older truck. Didn't want a 4 speed automatic. If I was to get an 05 up Ford
I would be fine with a v10 5 speed auto or 6.2 with 6 speed auto.
 

Trixxx

Well-known member
In your price range, I’d likely look for a excellent condition, sub 150k mike 1999-200r super duty with the v10 engine.
My boss has one he bought new and just rolled over 400k miles with minimal repairs. He just pulled it out to rebuild it.
My other buddy has a lower mileage one that I’d buy in a heartbeat.
 

Grassland

Well-known member
I'm finding the price range of trucks across the continent very interesting.
As well as the fact there are places a truck 15 years old is even safe to put on the road and isn't compromised with rust.
With regards to Fuelly, I find that 9/10 people just leave 50/50 as city/highway miles when logging info, don't leave notes, and don't list any helpful descriptions of their vehicle.
So it doesn't paint the best picture of fuel economy.
I too was super concerned about fuel economy when getting my first truck for fleet and then again seeing that cargo vans were worse yet, but at the end of the day, the more weight you haul the worse on gas a vehicle generally is.
 
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Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
I wouldn't rely on Fuelly as a good source of info WRT MPG when you're talking about a big truck. There are too many variables to take into consideration: City vs. Highway, mountains vs. flatlands, towing or not towing, hauling or not hauling, stock or aftermarket mods, etc. In theory, large numbers should smooth out the variables but in the case of 3/4 ton trucks I don't think they do.
 

nitro_rat

Lunchbox Lockers
Interesting. I'll definitely look into this as well. I definitely don't drive fast once I have the camper on, but I want enough power that I feel safe on interstates. Any specific years of the 2500/3500s with the Hemi you'd recommend?

Any pre-09. 09 introduced the vvt I think which is just problematic. There was a comment about poor oil return in the Hemi. I don't know if you've ever seen inside a late Hemi bit there's nowhere for oil to puddle up top, it all drains directly off the lifters and falls right back into the sump. And it's pressurized back to the lifters from the rocker end like a slant six with hydro lifters. It's not a great engine to idle for long periods due to the lifter design. They will eat cams after 75-100k if you let them idle. If you're running it hard no problems...

I'm also a big fan of the Ford V-10. Very long lived engine with minimal maintenance concerns. Good power and decent mileage for a 3/4 ton 4x4 gas rig!
 

Athansinis

Member
I bought an 04 f250 v10, 6 speed last year to pull a small camp trailer. On the 500 mile drive home from Oregon it got about 15 mpg. Pulling the small 3,500# camp trailer it got about 10-11 mpg. Average around town mixed driving it gets about 12.5-13.
The reason I went all the way to Oregon was to Get a manual trans in an older truck. Didn't want a 4 speed automatic. If I was to get an 05 up Ford
I would be fine with a v10 5 speed auto or 6.2 with 6 speed auto.

Those MPGs are definitely close enough to the T100 that I wouldn't feel too bad about a small drop in MPGs for having twice the payload and more HP, Torque, and creature comforts. I had originally been thinking I'd stay away from V10s completely, but this thread has me rethinking it.

I'm really struggling with the idea of a newer truck partially because of the transmission. If I do get an older truck, I'll definitely go manual. That said, I'm definitely liking the idea of a 2011+ F350 with the 6.2 and it looks like I'll be going auto if that's what I settle on.

Wow, it sounds like you are trying to build my rig:


That's pretty sweet! I like the simplicity of the camper design.

I'd love to go with a 2017+ but probably out of the range of what I should be spending. I could probably go up to 35k, but I think I'd want something almost new (and still under warranty) for that price because I couldn't afford any major issues.

In your price range, I’d likely look for a excellent condition, sub 150k mike 1999-200r super duty with the v10 engine.
My boss has one he bought new and just rolled over 400k miles with minimal repairs. He just pulled it out to rebuild it.
My other buddy has a lower mileage one that I’d buy in a heartbeat.

Seems like these are fairly rare in the configuration I want (extended cab, long bed, manual transmission), but I've added to my shortlist of vehicles I'm learning about and keeping an eye on prices for.

With regards to fully, I find that 9/10 people just leave 50/50 as city/highway miles when logging info, don't leave notes, and don't list any helpful descriptions of their vehicle.
So it doesn't paint the best picture of fuel economy.

I wouldn't rely on Fuelly as a good source of info WRT MPG when you're talking about a big truck. There are too many variables to take into consideration: City vs. Highway, mountains vs. flatlands, towing or not towing, hauling or not hauling, stock or aftermarket mods, etc. In theory, large numbers should smooth out the variables but in the case of 3/4 ton trucks I don't think they do.

This all makes sense... I was just hoping that, while it might not be accurate to each make/model, it would at least be accurate in the comparison to other similar makes/models since, I would assume, people typically do the same thing across makes/models when they set it up.

I think it just comes down to finding the best truck (or at least a good one) for my needs and dealing with the gas mileage. It's always worth it once I'm out on the back roads.

Any pre-09. 09 introduced the vvt I think which is just problematic. There was a comment about poor oil return in the Hemi. I don't know if you've ever seen inside a late Hemi bit there's nowhere for oil to puddle up top, it all drains directly off the lifters and falls right back into the sump. And it's pressurized back to the lifters from the rocker end like a slant six with hydro lifters. It's not a great engine to idle for long periods due to the lifter design. They will eat cams after 75-100k if you let them idle. If you're running it hard no problems...

I'm also a big fan of the Ford V-10. Very long lived engine with minimal maintenance concerns. Good power and decent mileage for a 3/4 ton 4x4 gas rig!

Thanks for the info. Have added it to my notes on going with a gasser Ram. Always been a fan of the way the third gens look too... I used to do granite countertops and drove my boss's brand new 2006 Cummins once and man it felt plush compared to the 98 4runner I had at the time. Now that I think about it, all my Ram experience came from that job. Over the years I drove his 2006 3500 SRW, a 1998 2500 12v, a 1995 2500 with the Magnum V10, and I borrowed one of my boss's old trucks, a first gen dually Ram with the Cummins diesel and a flatbed, for a few months after my car died while I was looking for a good condition 4runner. I didn't go anywhere fast in that Ram, but I felt like I could go anywhere with the torque. :LOL:

Yet again, thanks for the feedback everyone.
 
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