My dream tow rig...

[dfreeman616]

Like Izuzu's that much?? (God, that burns up Chev-heads to point out their cherished Duramax is a Jap.)

 

 

 

Ever seen a Ranger parked next to a Mazda?

 

the differance is tho, the mazda is a ranger with diff skin...

 

working at a ford dealer in the service department, i've been most impressed with the 7.3's. the 6.0 is fairly decent, aside from some issues with the turbos, egr coolers, and oil coolers. most trucks with that engine are still under warranty, too. i know of one 2000 f350 with the 7.3 that makes daily trims from indy to chicago and back, weekly oil changes, going on 1.5 million miles. at just under 1.2 million miles, a sales guy looked at the odometer and said it looks good for just under 200,000 miles...

 

despite working here, i'm not even a ford guy. i'm a whatever works guy.

 

can't really go wrong with a cummins, but dodge transmissions are iffy...

 

as for comfort, ever been in a king ranch f-series seat? they're niiiiice.

[DansGreyMj]

Did I not say, mine will not be anything ford beyond the body?

It would be custom built from the ground up. :D

 

Same here (Ford circled the problem) If I don't sell it, the 304/727 and Dodge (or Jeep, depending what front diff I get) NP208.

 

ford owns mazda, youe ever seen a navajo next to an explorer or a tribute next to an escape

[pingpong]

I am here to tel you I won a Chevy tow rig and it will be the last one. The fit and finish suck. I wish I could have spent 30 days with my rig before I bought it... I would have realized how loud the interior was/is. Rough ride.. ride in my rig empty or loaded.. feels like a old lifted CJ.

 

 

If I had to buy a new rig it would either be a new F650, or the CXT. its only money

[Oizarod115]

I'm a ford guy all the way, i HATE the dodge front clips to much to think about buying one... but the cummins is hands down best engine in the class.

 

round here it seems every old truck is a ford, a handful of old chevys but not nearly as many as the fords.

 

i read a car and driver (iirc) report on the 05 F250, 2500 cumins, 2500 duramax, the dodge was quietest inside and had most power yet the for weighed more than both and made less power but towed best and 0-60 fastest :dunno:

 

gotta love the blue oval (that said the only two trucks in the fam are toy and jeep ;) )

 

did some digging on google... amazing what a few well placed searches can find you this is the exact article i mentioned if you care to read

 

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/pickup/163_0409_2004_truck_comparisons/

[rockhardzj]

If I had to buy a new rig it would either be a new F650, or the CXT. its only money

I wouldn't buy either, Well, Maybe the International version, but I'd take the MXT, it looks like a mad, aggressive truck.

 

I want an all original vehicle, I hate being like everyone else. Not to mention, building it how you want, makes it most economical for your uses for it.

 

Being that my truck would have a tractor trailer axle out back, and something furious up front for 4wd, it will pull whatever I want it to, and not break. Probably over 50 tons of stuff on a trailer.

 

That's a lot of MJ's! :D

[pingpong]

I know there are a few Ex military tractors out there running the 5 ton rockwells being used as toy haulers

[rockhardzj]

I know there are a few Ex military tractors out there running the 5 ton rockwells being used as toy haulers

Dual gear reduction at the axle, is too slow. I also want the truck to haul @$$ and get places, not guzzle fuel like a drunk guy at the end of the bar.

[whowey]

Like Izuzu's that much?? (God, that burns up Chev-heads to point out their cherished Duramax is a Jap.)

 

 

 

Ever seen a Ranger parked next to a Mazda?

 

I realize that Ford owns a portion of Mazda. And has for many years. It doesn't bother me, but some reason telling HeartBreakers that they use a Jap diesel rather than a US diesel gets them wound for sound.

[Renegade]

I REALLY get'em wound up when I inform them that 99% of them don't need an oil burner to haul/tow what they do. I could buy 2 of my gas trucks for what they spent, so the fuel mileage argument is a wash in my book.

[87manche]

say what you want, but in this area ford's are king when it comes to farm trucks.

 

everything else falls/rusts apart, but there's an awful lot of those 80's F250s running around here everyday.

 

that said, if I had the cash to drop on a brandy new rig, it'd probably have a duramax in it.

 

Like Izuzu's that much?? (God, that burns up Chev-heads to point out their cherished Duramax is a Jap.)

 

I only buy Ford's for my trucks at work. We have an 89 that has about 500k miles on the damn thing. Yea, it looks like complete crap, and it rides like a work truck. But that isn't why we bought them. I wish we could have kept all the 7.3l around. The first few 6.0l we got were not good trucks at all. But they seem to have the problems worked out.

 

My boss lost one to many trannys in his Dodge for us to ever buy one.

 

I don't care what the Dmax is, the damned thing is a good motor.

I was/am aware that it's a zusu motor. They've been doing small truck diesels for a long time, and it's probably better than anything GM could come up with. remember the 6.2 suckage?

 

hands down, in this area it doesn't matter what the body is. It's all gonna rust anyway. So it comes down to drivetrain, I'd buy whatever has the best drivetrain, and right now that seems like GM.

The Cummins are great, except that they're loud, and the dodge autos blow goats.

the new superduties look really nice, but again, it's an unproven motor, and I've seen a few ford diesel autos die as well.

 

You can be damned sure that if I was to buy a tow rig, I'd probably find something with a 5 or 6 speed trans in it.

I can replace a clutch, but rebuilding an auto trans and it's TC is something I can't do in the garage.

[Renegade]

I agree 100% about getting a manual trans......if you can find one. Almost rules out a new truck. GM has discontinued manual trannies behind their diesels. Can't even special order one. That just sucks.

I seriously think my next truck will be a 1 1/2 ton chassis cab with a flatbed.

[JeepcoMJ]

I'm less concerned with gas mileage than safety and ability to get out of tight spots. hence the fact that my second car and DD is another comanche, and it's 4wd.

 

SO that leaves me NEEDING 4wd. unless I'm driving a lowrider truck, there isn't any point in having 2wd.

 

and yes, I would only buy a cummins with a manual or a duramax with a manual.

 

fords are out because I hate working on them. ford has made them too difficult to work on and they've odne it on purpose. they also sell CRAP because then they know you will be coming to the dealership to get them fixed often...if you even make it off the lot.

[87manche]

oh, and just so we're clear, my dream tow rig would be a 715, with a dodge 3/4 ton diesel drivetrain swapped in.

 

top down, towing the MJ at 70 mph baby.

[JeepcoMJ]

and cummins powered

[87manche]

and cummins powered

well, that's why I'd steal the drivetrain outta a dodge ;)

[Tracker]

I used to fantasize about what my next new rig / tow vehicle would be. I finally got tired of dreaming and was then forced to face reality. Winning the lottery didn't seem like it was going to happen so I went with an off-the-lot choice. In my job I have taken five 4WD trucks from zero to 100K+ miles and there has only been one that I couldn't break: my current Dodge. It has 142K on it right now and it has never broken down. Keep in mind- the State pays for gas and repairs so I do not baby it. So, I went Dodge.

 

Anyway, I've been quite pleased with my choice of an '02 1500 for a tow rig It drags this loaded toyhauler wherever I want to go, and it has done so for 5 years now. Fully loaded the trailer is right at 8K pounds. I got the small (4.7L) engine but with low gears it doesn't have a problem. The trailer has OBA so airing down to drag the trailer out into the dunes is no problem..

[pingpong]

Here is how I ended up buying my tow rig... Back in the summer of 05 the big three had the "employee pricing" sale. Which was a smoking deal. When I went looking for my rig.. I really didnt want a chevy, but the only 3/4and 1tons ford and dodge had on the lot all had prices in the upper 40's before special pricing and mid to upper 30's after (way to much considering they were only offering 48 month financing) Went to a chevy lot, and they didnt have much slection.. fully loaded 1ton ,dually crewcab longbeds with everything, and a work truck specail My tow rig is a stripped 3/4 ton hd long bed 4wd extended cab ( rubber mats, roll up windows, am/fm radio :D ) and I love it. Yeah its a gas 6.0 and gas mileage empty sucks (14) but towing it only drops to an avg of 12, where as the d-maxes only average 14 towing and 18 around town not much difference for 9 grand more. I have only driven my rig just shy of 15000 and my only regret is not getting the 8.1 motor instead :nuts: The d-max is a great motor, but I know more then a few ppl who have had issues.. Bacically when you start looking at 3/4 ton rigs and higher it is only a question of who you hand 40K to.

 

 

BTW my rig was only 26 out the door :D