Diesel tow pig discussion. pros and cons

[dose]

Ive been kicking around the idea of getting a used diesel for our out of town truck and towing.
Currently we have a 08 tundra 5.7 with 170,00 on the clock. I love the truck but we do a lot of 500-800 mile weekend trips with a 14' toy hauler and get 8-9 MPG.
I would like to get a bigger toy hauler and do longer trips.

Seems like there are some nice superdutys with the bullitproof diesel upgrades around 200k miles for $15-20k
Im not against a chevy or dodge either.

I guess i need to weigh the variables and what to look for or avoid.
I like the idea of the pre smog pre def trucks that can be turnt up for better mileage and power. I don't need to roll coal on 37s, just want better mileage and solid reliability on stock wheels


What do you recomend? 7.3, 6.0.,cummins, dmax?
My buddy has a 08ish dmax that im not too impressed with. I feel like the older trucks may be better

 

[partybarge_pilot]

7.3 or any pre def cummins. Dodge interiors in those years suck balls. The brakes are not all that either.

The 7.3's with autos need a good trans build and LARGE cooler. Sticks are bullet proof, just not traffic friendly.

6.0/6.4 can be had cheap but have a lot of issues, about half are caused by the owners.

An 05 and up SD with a Cummins swap gets you good suspension, brakes, interior and reliable power.

 

[partybarge_pilot]

Just for giggles, my 02 SD with a stick and 35's gets about 12mpg pulling a 32' goose toy hauler that is 9700 empty.

Power is not an issue, brakes could be better. Would like to upgrade to the 05+ axles.

 

[dose]

Nice. Looks like I would want a pre 98 in CA to not deal with the emissions BS. I like the OBS fords too. they have the 7.3

Do the 05+ axles have bigger brakes or stronger or both?

 

[Obaja]

05+ sd have coil springs in front instead of leafs which make the ride way smoother and improve turning radius

 

[bri_man57]

Emissions in ca for a super duty 7.3 are just a plug in test, a visual, and a rev test (although they didn't do that last time I got it smogged)

I like my 02 7.3 6 speed, it's not the powerhouse that newer diesels are but it holds it's own, reliable, less expensive to work on these days, relatively simple for a electronic controlled diesel, no emissions stuff in them (although some do come with a cat's, most of the stick shifts ones do from my reading).

6.0s can be a headache, but all the problems with them are well documented and have fixes. When done right they are a powerful motor and their autos and leaps and bounds better than the 7.3 autos.

You couldn't pay me to own a ford 6.4. I hear the 6.7s are nice, and people are getting some good mileage out of them, but they would be out of my price range.

Duramaxes are good, they are ifs which makes for a nicer ride but pisses off 4x4 purists. They pull some coin, especially for the desirable ones.

I like cummins motors the best, the truck wrapped around them can be questionable. Inline 6 just makes different power, and after towing with my 7.3 a bunch, I can see the desire of a inline motors powrband.

I think it comes down to budget, amount of work your willing to do on them, amount of money you are able to spend on them if something goes wrong, and preference.





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[themoneypit]

I'm a big fan of the 95-97 7.3 powerstroke trucks. Sweet OBS styling, decent interior, and a damn reliable engine.

Nice ones tend to go for crazy money though. Lots of demand.

 

[84projectford]

Everyone goes full retard on 7.3 sale price. 300k, seats worn out and sun faded paint they still want 15-20k. F that. 6.0 and 6.4 are crap imho. They keep diesel techs in business.

Duramax lb7 can be had cheap and they now have a fix for injector issues. Still not fun to fix though. Ifs front end wears out just as fast as a dodge but there are ways to mitigate it (both dodge and gm).

Cummins again gets over played. 48re sucks ass, 68 is even worse (you will be putting a trans in every 100-150k even 100% stock power). Nv5600 is a good stick, g56 is weak beyond stock power.


Basically, pick your poison. They all have something bad about them so find the lowest mile, cheapest priced, best maintained one you can find and roll with it. Maintenance is expensive on a diesel so keep that in mind

 

[85yota]

My 2006 mega cab 3500 dodge 5.9l 6 speed manual was an awesome truck. Interior gauge cluster etc was less than desirable. Im looking to get a 2012 f250 f350 6.7l for my next truck. Hopefully can find a lariat or king ranch in my price range since I sold my 06 dodge with 192k miles

 

[Obaja]

My 2006 mega cab 3500 dodge 5.9l 6 speed manual was an awesome truck. Interior gauge cluster etc was less than desirable. Im looking to get a 2012 f250 f350 6.7l for my next truck. Hopefully can find a lariat or king ranch in my price range since I sold my 06 dodge with 192k miles

Keep in mind the first gen scorpion engines (2011-2012) 6.7 powerstroke had ceramic bearing turbos which were known to blow and sometimes take the engine out with it. The 2nd gen (2013 and up) scorpion engines used ball bearing turbos that solved this problem