Do everything truck?

[Firewoodjoe]

I have a personal truck and a work truck. (100% wright off) Then a junky plow truck. I'd like a do it all truck. Trailer hitches, snow plow 4x4 tool boxes back seat. Do it all 3/4 or 1 ton. I've alwasy liked haveing a emergency vehicle, but plates and insurance and up keep is it worth it? Or just have one!? What's your thoughts? 

[Bruno of NH]

At one time I had 2 trucks and a van
All work rigs it's nice to have a spare.
But the insurance,inspection got to costly.
I kept a 2007 gmc 198500 miles runs good but getting rusty. 
2008 f350 I got last summer 20000 miles no rust on frame or body,but needs a new dump bed.im not running it on the roads this winter.
It will be my only truck when the gmc is done.

[GRANITEstateMP]

I have a new(er) truck and a car.  The car is kinda the family rig / commuter rig for us (my wife has a Tacoma ExtraCab).  The truck is a 15 GMC Reg cab, 3500HD.  I got an 8ft CM Aluminum body on it.  It has a built in g/n hitch, and a tag, built in headboard, and is pretty sharp.  It's got a couple fancy alum Buyer's underside boxes.  I have a Fisher 9'6" XtremeV stainless plow.  The truck is nice enough that it's my personal truck, but it's job is to work.  It normally either has the plow on it, or the dump trailer hooked to it.  The body allows me to not worry so much about scratches and such, only really need to worry about not bouncing the cab area off of things!

It sure is nice to have the car for when we take a longer ride, for when the truck is down, or for when my Mom visits and needs wheels!

[Firewoodjoe]

I have a new(er) truck and a car.  The car is kinda the family rig / commuter rig for us (my wife has a Tacoma ExtraCab).  The truck is a 15 GMC Reg cab, 3500HD.  I got an 8ft CM Aluminum body on it.  It has a built in g/n hitch, and a tag, built in headboard, and is pretty sharp.  It's got a couple fancy alum Buyer's underside boxes.  I have a Fisher 9'6" XtremeV stainless plow.  The truck is nice enough that it's my personal truck, but it's job is to work.  It normally either has the plow on it, or the dump trailer hooked to it.  The body allows me to not worry so much about scratches and such, only really need to worry about not bouncing the cab area off of things!

It sure is nice to have the car for when we take a longer ride, for when the truck is down, or for when my Mom visits and needs wheels!

That's what I want. Trucks are so expensive though. Unreal. 

[sawguy21]

Plow trucks take a beating, I would not want to use one for everyday driving. It would have to be making money before I would consider licencing it for use off my property. As Bruno mentioned, a spare is good as long as you can afford it.

[Firewoodjoe]

I have a very long drive way and I'm a logger. The plow is handy. 

[Okefenokee_D]

Spare truck is always handy.

Always have a vehicle that is capable and dependable for long trips that is in pretty good condition.

Have a work truck that you don't mind getting scratched up, etc. Dependable enough to get around. You may want it to be capable of a long ride in case the better vehicle has an issue.

[snowstorm]

i always have 2 pickups. a new crew cab 6.7 to tow the camper and sxs with and a f350 6.7 reg cab with tool boxes fuel tank and a 9.5ft vee plow and 2 f550. how hard plowing is on a truck depends on the driver and the truck. my old f550 is an 04 its plowed roads since it was new. so far this year i replaced the radiator . it cracked the plastic tank and yesterday a front spring. neither had ever been replaced. and thats with a 10ft plow and a 9ft wing. and yes i only buy fords.i did see where ford updated there plow weight rating. f250 and up 1400 lbs for a gas motor and 1200 or so for the stroke. a couple yrs ago there were rumors of a fight between fisher [snow plows] and some gm dealers. fisher said the gm 2500 didnt have a front axle heavy enough to hold up there 9.5ft vee plow.

[SawyerTed]

Went from two half ton trucks to a one ton truck.  I had a daily driver and a sawmill/firewood/farm truck.  A half ton just wasn't enough truck.  I now have a 4x4 diesel ton cab-chassis crew cab with a custom built flat bed dump and 24" white oak side boards.  It can haul anything I want to haul and tow anything I want to tow.  If I plowed snow, I'm sure it would be fine doing that too, mine came with the plow prep package whatever that means.

We took it to the Southwest and Pacific Coast last April towing our 27' travel trailer.  The truck never groaned pulling 7,500 pounds uphill and down and averaged 10.5 mpg over 8,500 miles.

It is a Ram 3500 SLT with 6.7 liter Cummins.  I picked the Ram for the Cummins and the specific truck had the interior features I wanted.

[chevytaHOE5674]

I have an F250 farm/work/plow truck that is used for the business and is a write off, all the expenses get paid for via the farm. I would drive it across country tomorrow if needed. UP here a plow truck takes a beating I dont care how easy you are on it, so maintenance can add up. Daily driving with the plow on the front beats a truck to death with our roads.

Wife and I both have SUVs that we drive around and use daily. Much more comfortable and cost effective to bomb around in. Also allows me to leave the gooseneck trailer hooked to the truck most of the summer and the plow all winter. 

[firefighter ontheside]

I have a '17 F350 crew cab and I do everything with it, but I'd rather not. I want to get something like a F350 duelly with at least a flatbed and maybe flatbed dump, regular cab.  That would be my working truck obviously and the other would be reserved for pulling camper and such.  

[Firewoodjoe]

I have a nice 1996 f350 crew cab. But no plow and only has the 5.8. I'd like to keep that as a daily driver and buy a good dedicated woods truck. Crew cab 4x4 flatbed with snow plow. But as I said there either trimmed or there lots and lots of money. There's a nice f550 locally that has all but no snow plow for 15,000. That's about the best I can find. Idk what I'm going to do. Wait for the feel right truck I guess. 

[DDW_OR]

my 2 cents
f550 = 2 ton
get it then add the plow kit in the spring when they go on discount
Future - add under bed hoist to make it a dump bed

If you cant afford the $15,000, they may take less

find a long hill to try it out on. start at the bottom at 0 MPH, and floor it going up hill
check the exhaust as you go.
a good Turbo and engine should have little smoke
and listen to the truck noises.

I sold this 2001 F250 2wd automatic truck
wish i had not, but it did go to a good home

[Firewoodjoe]

I think I'm not going to let the snow plow make my decision. Really I don't have to have one in the woods. Just use the skidder. And I still have my junky frustrating plow truck at home. Plus I could pay someone for like 10 years to plow my drive for what a new plow cost! So just a spare and goosneck puller. And I'm thinking that f550 is a 6.0😕not the best reputation. 

[snowstorm]

I think I'm not going to let the snow plow make my decision. Really I don't have to have one in the woods. Just use the skidder. And I still have my junky frustrating plow truck at home. Plus I could pay someone for like 10 years to plow my drive for what a new plow cost! So just a spare and goosneck puller. And I'm thinking that f550 is a 6.0😕not the best reputation.

all the bugs have been worked out of the 6.0 by now or it is long dead. in a f550 it was not 325hp like the pickups its cut back to 225 or 250. have been told bolth. its gonna have 4.88 gears in the rear. gas would be 5.13. manual trans zf 6 sp. 7.3 4r100 6.0 5r110. mine has the zf. its been trouble free. the 6.0 has been pretty good. i have had 3 7.3 and 2 6.0. i prefer the 6.0. have 3 6.7 and they are way better. you didnt say what yr you were looking at. if its a 6.0 then 03  4  5  6. 05 had the wider and higher load rate front axle with coil springs. also 10 bolt wheels thats a plus. i have broke a few wheel studs. my 04 is 60" ca gvw is 17500 the newer 1 is 84"ca 19500 gvw 7500 lb ft axle the bigger frame. they both would weigh loaded 24000 or more. and handle it just fine

[dgdrls]

How wide an area are you looking in?
Perhaps you would have more options casting a wider regional net?

good luck

D

[DDW_OR]

 And I'm thinking that f550 is a 6.0😕not the best reputation.

I agree. I like the 7.3 and the 5.9

[Bruno of NH]

My friend has a 6.0 and has an egr delete and new head bolts
Runs like a top

[Firewoodjoe]

Well I called two dealers today. What a joke. Those prices online aren't even close. One add even said snow plow and he said no that's just for the add the price is just the truck. And that price was $7,000 to low because I didn't qualify for the sales promotions. Maybe I should restore my old truck. 😂 

[Bruno of NH]

I don't think I will ever buy a new truck.
The cost of a new one equipped cost almost as much as my land and house cost to build.
Granted I did most of the work building my house.
The used f350 I got only had 19.000 on it for miles.
They are out there you have to jump fast.

[Firewoodjoe]

Yeah. I call on a new one and the sales man has me frustrated and I call on a used one and "oh that One sold be we have another one almost like it" just more money. Maybe I'll  fix my old one and buy a skidder instead. 😆 I'll keep shopping if it's meant to be it will happen. 

[GRANITEstateMP]

That's what I want. Trucks are so expensive though. Unreal.

I made myself a list of requirements, a list of wants, AND a list of NO WAY will I buy something with this...  I kept my eye's on all the manufacturer's.  I beat up the keyboard for a while looking pretty hard.  When I backed off a bit a few popped up.  Things that helped me out the most were, the list's I mentioned, expanding the search area as dgdrls said, and I bumped up the amount I was willing to pay in my search.  Let's say my max was $25K, I'd do searches for $28 to $30K, knowing that if it was a dealership, I could trade one of my relic's in for a grand or two, beat them up a little bit, and find a way to get that little bit extra if the rig was that nice!
My truck had a dent that they didn't show in ANY of the 18 pictures they posted online  :(.  I used my trusty flip phone to send a pic to my body shop buddy.  He said customer cost was $1500 to fix, my price $800.  I got the dealer to knock $1K off the price.  He wanted his guy to do it, I told him that I work at a dealership, I don't want some hack fixing a truck I'm gonna own for the next 10 years, we met at the $1K.  They wouldn't budge on the truck price, but I got them to come up $2K on my trade in, I don't care how they make there numbers work, I went in knowing the max amount I was gonna spend, my truck drove there, worst case, I drive it home!
As to the plow, I bought a Fisher Xtreme V, 9'6".  It's a dang beast!  I shopped around a bit, I bought the truck late winter, and bought the plow about a month later.  I paid cash for the plow, and it being the tail end of winter that saved some $$$ too.  I had it installed here at work, I probably should have had my buddy do it at his body shop, they do a handful a year and I can usually do some bartering on price...
Trucks are expensive, just got to take it one step at a time, not overspend, and don't let anybody push you around!

[firefighter ontheside]

All this talk has me looking at used flatbeds on Facebook again.

[snowstorm]

anyone looking at used trucks. with the ford 6.7 there is extended warranty on some of the emission parts. 11 yrs 120000 miles.  

[Sixacresand]

We got a pickup 250K miles that we use for everything:  Vacation, milling jobs, shopping, Church, etc.  Constantly loading and unloading depending on what we doing that day.  We also have a backup vehicle parked in the yard.