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Buy American
To add to this discussion. I found my '94 Cummins (DRW, reg. cab) w/ 19X,XXX miles on it for less than 5K. It gets an honest 20-21 MPG on the highway. I have put about 10K miles on it, mostly towing, and have had to do very little to it - dowel pin fix (cheap), filter and fluid changes. It is not a pretty truck, nor did I want one. I use it for hauling crap and towing and it's nice not worrying about it. It will last much longer than any gas powered truck will under the same conditions and cost less to operate. The deals are out there, you just have to be patient and jump on them when they pop up. If/when I get another truck it will be an extended cab SRW 4wd.
BTW the Ford V-10 we have here at work gets 9.5-10 MPG unloaded and about 7 pulling a trailer. It does ok pulling but there is no confusing it with a diesel, especially getting up to highway speeds. It is more comfortable than my Dodge too.
With all that said, if you find a screaming deal on a V-10 and you won't be driving it that much, go for it. I do have to say though that it does sap some of the fun out of a wheeling trip when you have to think about pumping a shit ton of $$$ gas in your tow rig just to get there. I'd rather pay more for the truck and less for fuel. Just my .02 FWIW.
Last edited by rstrucks; 09-22-2010 at 04:54 PM.
Well then Canton MS must be full of Japanese buffets.
and you guys can't rag on me too hard. Look at all the old USA truck parts on my bugly. It's an america-hell-yea-mobile
Sorry Clay, back to your thread
LOL, I don't give a damn about thread hijacking, I was enjoying it
I have all American cars myself
Me too. Always have
My Ram was assembled in Mexico, profits shipped to Germany... Welcome to thje global economy.
Yea but now we ship profit to canada at least.. eh.
The injection pumps which are "notorious" with failing are on the second gen dodges 98.5-02 however the issue is not the injection pump, it is the lift pump in the tank which fails. So the result is the injection pump has to work harder to pull the fuel from the tank, which it also causes it to not get adequate fuel. The fuel is what lubricates and cools the injection pump. A good fuel pressure gauge and monitoring said gauge so the pressure does not drop below 8 PSI will help make the injection pump last longer. Proper fuel filter changes can help it last even longer because even if the pressure does not drop crud from the fuel still kills it.
Also for what its worth I am making an honest 22+ on the highway empty. I towed 2 XJs with a 30 foot trailer to big dogs from my dads house ( ~240 miles round trip) for 75 bucks in fuel at 2.89 a gallon
The trailer empty weighs 8800 pounds, add 2 XJs ~4000 lbs each, plus camping gear, a bed full of coolers and tools, and 3 passengers. And you get the idea of the weight I was hauling
The diesel is more efficient yes but he mentioned not being about to find one in is price range or being able to justify its maintenance for the small amount he would use/drive it
However, you could sell the Tahoe, get a nice diesel truck and make that your DD/tow rig
And my truck takes 3 gallons of oil, Not 5! Haha
To add to what Ryan said, I bought my 99 extended cab 2500 5spd with 100k miles for 12k. Came with 4 in exhaust from the turbo back, A piller tri pod with boost, fuel pressure and exhaust temp guages, an Edge comp box, and a South bend clutch for 12k
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110% Dead nuts accurate right there. Most failures come from a failing lift pump that goes unfixed. Then the cust who is a dope calls his truck a pos after he/she ignored the warning signs/drivability issues until it wouldnt run anymore.
Im sure it is simillar with other brands but my experience and knowledge base is strictly with diesels in CJD products. ie Cummins, Vencini Martelli, and MBZ
If I only had $5000 to spend I would either sell the Tahoe and get a DD truck. You could get a nice GMC/Chevy gas 2500 that would do plenty fine towing a rig. Or of course the diesel of your choice.
Or, save the money and invest in a good WD hitch with sway control, an extra trans cooler, regular mainteance on the trans and some sort of suspension assist.
Then you have money left over to spend on your rig! Of course everyone has their own situation but I just don't see spending $5000 just to have a tow rig making sense. Besides you have to park it somewhere, insure it and maintain it. Wait to get the tow rig you really want.
And just to add to the V10 portion of the topic, guy at work got a Dodge V10. He loves the truck, hates the milage. But he didn't buy it for towing, it's his DD.
These guys never had a 6.5 have they Cam?
I gotta disagree with ya JT.. The gassers are cheaper to keep on the road but diesels will go at least 100k further traditionally before overhaul.. But with gas engine technology advancing the way it has in the last 10 years well maintained gas engines are lasting much longer..
Sounds like a v10 would serve you well clay..
I would love to sell the Tahoe and DD a 2500 truck but the Tahoe is the family hauler, and I need the very back for the dogs when we travel, so I am stuck with an SUV for those purposes.
Small variation on this thread, but somewhat related. Would you consider buying a cummins with 260k on the clock?
I would buy an old mechanical Cummins with 260k no problem. Mine is a 6.7 and I'm ok with it since I have a warranty but the newer trucks just haven't proven themselves yet. I've seen the older Cummins north of 300k often. They are easy to work on too.
Depends on the year and condition of said truck. Also some background on what its life was like would help a lot
Well maintained the cummins will out last the truck surrounding it
It is a 1997 2500 4x4. The current owner needs a smaller DD, but he has only had it for a year, so I do not know what kind of abuse it might have taken previously.
260k is too many miles on anything man. People get carried away with this my buddy got 375,000 miles on his and only changed the alternator b.s. I'm not saying it wouldn't last that long, but 260,000 is alot of wear and tear man. I take that back I would buy a tractor trailer with 260,000 miles. I just don't want you to buy someone elses problem man, I wouldn't buy it.
Haha no joke. What a PITA
I have to admit, I'm a bit jealous of the situation you're in with your Tundra, that seems to be in great shape and needs zero major maintenance for a pretty good while... Live it up while it's cheap! Although, even when you do get to the point when it's time to flush and fill fluids, and change all the filters, maybe swap waterpump, etc. it will still seem like pennies compared to that paycheck gobbler you used to pull with.
Knock on wood, the average monthly maintenance on my Titan has been extremely low compared to the diesel and that's even with me running Amsoil in just about everything. Even if only half of the savings is due to it being a gasser (some is obviously due to it being a newer truck), it's still been way less expensive. Just my experience...
Where the diesels have their place is in moving mountains or hauling 2+ rigs together, IMO
Last edited by ATL ZJ; 09-23-2010 at 04:47 PM.
No prob man.
If you are interested go take a look at it and bring a friend or good diesel mechanic that you know and trust to go with you.
260k sounds like a lot but if the truck does not show it on the exterior then it could most likely be highway miles. Work trucks have dents, lots of them as well as a trashed interior
Not saying you should get it but taking a look at it is not a bad idea. If the guy is using it as his DD now then it cant be but so bad
Also for what it's worth a friend of mine hauls golf carts from here to Florida as well as empty trailers all along the south east. He easily racks up a lot of highway miles. Empty trailers and a load of golf carts are nothing for a diesel to tow.
If you are dead set on a Cummins hop on www.cumminsforum.com and ask any questions of concern you have. Those guys will tell you all you need to know
But again, on the flip side, like Cam said, a diesel is a work truck. If you plan just to tow 1 rig, and firewood here and there Id go with a gas truck. The Chevy 6.0's from what I've seen are really good trucks to go with.
I am deep down a Chevy man, so I really like the 6.0s; but, the 6.0s weren't offered in the GM vehicles until 2000, and the ones that are in my price range already have 140k plus on them.
Yea no experience with anything other than the diesels I listed in my previous post. Im not hating on gas either (although I did drink my haterade this morning) every vehicle I've owned with the exception of one has been gas powered. But when it comes to towing mileage etc diesel wins IMO at least for CJD vehicles. IMO that is why the cummins equipped ram was built 5:1 with respect to the v-10. Same with hemi 2500 and 3500 trucks. Wait wait now ask about the 6.7 diesel cough, GARBAGE I wouldnt own one if it was given to me. Unreliable piece of ash spewin sooty dawgshit.
See Im not biased.
Honestly I agree with Pearce find what you really want in a DD and tow rig at the same time and sell the Hoe. 3 cars = pita
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