Truck Buying in 2020

ChugiakTinkerer · August 12, 2020, 12:50:12 PM

Top of the morning to you all.

I am in the market for a new-to-me truck, and am having trouble defining my needs. I turn to the wisdom of the board to put me on the right path.

I am a few months away from leaving my 9-to-5 job and see my retired self doing tasks that require towing bigger loads than my 2001 Dodge 2500 can presently handle. The loads would be logs, rental equipment, my tractor, etc. I have been enamored with the idea of a flatbed but I'm not sure exactly why. I'm not sold or soured on any particular brand. I also would consider diesel but since I live in Alaska and will be using the truck to get to our winter getaway I want to have confidence that it will start at -20 F and colder.

Used 4WD trucks hold a premium up here, so I am in the market for new or used. I would also consider purchasing out of state if that helps me find the perfect vehicle. I'm looking at a ~~club~~ crew cab and preferably a single rear axle. I don't know that I'll be doing any towing that will need a dually. But at this stage I don't know what I don't know.

I've read through the truck-buying threads on this forum from the last few years and appreciate the breadth of knowledge and experience you all have. If anyone has advice for me please share it. Thanks!

sawguy21 · August 12, 2020, 10:10:58 PM

You need to determine the weight and lengths of your loads and go from there. Will you be hauling or towing heavier equipment? If towing what would be the maximum weight on your trailer? Receiver hitch or gooseneck? You need to pay attention to payload as well as towing capacity. An F-350/3500 dually would be a logical upgrade but is it enough to cover future needs? I imagine clean well maintained used trucks would fetch a premium there if you could find one.
I can't see going out of state. Anything from the lower 48 is going to cost a fortune to bring in, a Canadian unit may be attractive due to the exchange rate but delivery will be expensive and there is a cost to have it inspected and certified. Would a pre owned MDT be more practical? Here they are often cheaper than a pickup.

snowstorm · August 13, 2020, 06:28:05 AM

easy answer ford 6.7. the coldest i started mine was -28. it started it was not plugged in . the only difference between a f250 and 350 srw. is 1 rear spring. if towing a 5th wheel or gooseneck get the ford hitch that bolts to the frame. its made by reese only sold by ford from what i could tell. its impressive. i have 3 with the 6.7 they have been very good

gspren · August 13, 2020, 08:11:12 AM

Quote from: snowstorm on August 13, 2020, 06:28:05 AM
easy answer ford 6.7. the coldest i started mine was -28. it started it was not plugged in . the only difference between a f250 and 350 srw. is 1 rear spring. if towing a 5th wheel or gooseneck get the ford hitch that bolts to the frame. its made by reese only sold by ford from what i could tell. its impressive. i have 3 with the 6.7 they have been very good

There are other brands that match the Ford mounting pucks for 5th wheels and goose necks, I use a B&W 5th wheel hitch made in Kansas. Had it in my last two Fords, an F450 DRW and a F350 SRW.

firefighter ontheside · August 13, 2020, 08:45:59 AM

I too have started my Ford 6.7 diesel F350 single rear wheels in some very cold weather. Its designed to be started down to 0 without being plugged in. I started it in -19 with no trouble at all without being plugged in. That being said, Ford came out with a new 7.3 gas engine that rivals the diesel for HP, but not for torque. I've heard good things about it. I too have fallen in love with the idea of having a flatbed, but I wouldn't want it to be my only truck. I'd like to have an older Ford 450 or 550 with short flatbed dump. For a flatbed I'd want it to be a dually. I would never want a dually pickup. It wouldn't fit in my garage.

Some of the newer heavy duty trucks come with the bigger 2 1/2" receiver which I like having on mine. I have the B&W turnover ball which I use solely for my fifth wheel, but I have the option to tow a goose neck with it too, which is nice.

Good luck in your quest.

Walnut Beast · August 13, 2020, 09:29:31 AM

Build a bigger garage 😂

firefighter ontheside · August 13, 2020, 09:52:35 AM

Quote from: Walnut Beast on August 13, 2020, 09:29:31 AM
Build a bigger garage 😂

Yeah, Ive told my wife I need to build a building to house my woodshop, sawmill and tractor and Kawasaki mule and I guess truck. She didn't agree.

Old Greenhorn · August 13, 2020, 10:20:46 AM

My truck parks outside, but my Mule is always in the shop at the end of the day (well with a few stupid exceptions ;D) because it is usually full of tools. I may have to add a "Mule Port" in front of the shop door to get more floor space in the shop. You never have enough shop/garage space. EVER! I wish I had a tractor.

gspren · August 13, 2020, 12:28:31 PM

My 2019 F350 has a 3" receiver and came with an adapter to drop down to 2 1/2", I also have a 2 1/2" to 2" adapter, sometimes use both.

farmfromkansas · August 13, 2020, 01:47:12 PM

Is your old truck 4wd? If so, I would put off buying a truck for now. Used vehicles have increased in price due to the covid shutdown. I have a Tacoma, that i use for everything I can, as the gas mileage is good, and also have a Chevy HD2500 4wd that I use to pull heavy trailers. The skid steer is too much for the Tacoma, as is the 20' cow trailer, but the taco handles the smaller trailers with logs, lumber and lawn mowers, UTV, and other stuff. BTW, my Chevy makes about 4 mpg loaded with cows. Taco averages 25.

ChugiakTinkerer · August 14, 2020, 08:35:25 PM

Thanks all, I appreciate the input.

My present truck just completed 20 years of service. It's a 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 Quad-cab 4WD with the 5.9L gas V8. It was more truck than I needed twenty years ago, but I have pushed its limits more than once in towing and I don't like pushing that envelope.

I'm not in an urgent rush, but we do need an extra set of wheels. I'm not looking to replace the 3/4-ton, rather add to the fleet. I can let my son drive the Dodge and I get the newer ride.

I hadn't thought much about a medium-duty truck. I will definitely broaden my research to include them.

Kindlinmaker · August 16, 2020, 07:06:20 PM

Been there, done that over the last couple years. Gave up a 15 year old 2500HD for a new 1500 everyday driver and a mint condition new to me 550. Was retiring and planned to get much better gas mileage with the 1500 and much more towing and hauling capacity with the 550. All worked as planned and everything is good. But the whole deal was/is expensive and my actual needs in retirement are different than I anticipated.

My daily driver demands dropped to less than I expected so mileage savings are not what I expected and probably a loss when you figure the registration, insurance, maintenance and depreciation on the 1500.

My heavy hauling needs are not nearly as much as I expected as well. The 550 works great but I am averaging less than 2K miles per year which are pretty expensive miles considering high insurance (even at insurers most minimal rate), 8mpg, extremely high annual maintenance costs (16 quarts of oil, several very expensive filters, even a simple tire rotation costs Almost $500), rust control and depreciation. Additionally, DOT like the 550 a bunch more than they did the HD with a 6 ton dump trailer.

Friends from both user and reg enforcement sides convinced me not to get a CDL to be able to tow heavy trailers with the 550. More expense, health cert requirement and whole different set of rules to live under. So I still pay somebody else for heavy hauls which is fine because there are actually so few of them.

The whole plan works but I would have saved a great deal of money investing in a new 2500HD or 3500 with a new dump trailer.

Maybe spend some time retired evaluating your actual needs before you make a substantial investment.

ChugiakTinkerer · August 17, 2020, 02:30:30 PM

Quote from: Kindlinmaker on August 16, 2020, 07:06:20 PM
...
Maybe spend some time retired evaluating your actual needs before you make a substantial investment.

I think you hit the nail on the head my friend. In aviation terms it is "defining the mission". I need a better sense of what I will actually be doing in retirement.
If I can't wait that long, I think I will just look at something that allows me to tow up to 26,000 lbs. That would at least allow me to tow a mini-excavator or similar equipment. I had to limit myself last time I rented because the 3/4-ton towing capacity is so abysmal.

nativewolf · August 17, 2020, 03:09:26 PM

I bought mine as high milage from a RB Auction in CO. I flew in on a $49 ticket one way and drove home in 2 days (long days). The truck had emissions issues and 270k miles but had a foldaway gooseneck, 100 gallon fuel transfer tank, and toolbox. 4x 4 door f350. White. Simple. Had the bad diesel (6.4) but if you see almost 300k miles you know it has been dealt with though if folks check emissions around you ...it is a problem. Oh, had a cracked windshield too.

Total cost with tax, flights and service fees was $5k. A year later the only real issue is a grounding issue in the wiring harness that keeps the clutch fan from cutting off properly, etc. Could use a front end treatment this winter, not bad. They often put on new tires, do all the fluids etc.

I chose Denver because the high desert don't really get much snow and they don't get salt issues like a midwestern truck. The oil fracking sites in TX and New Mexico are going to throw off lots of trucks this year. Nice ride home and could save you $10k+.

ChugiakTinkerer · August 18, 2020, 11:35:46 AM

Thanks for sharing the story of your truck. That's kind of my dream acquisition. I wouldn't mind the long drive back, although it would be more than a couple days.

I'm still a little nervous about starting a diesel in the winter. It's not a concern at home where the truck can be plugged into electric power for pre-heating. Away from home the cold starts could be well below zero. I need to research more.

sawguy21 · August 18, 2020, 02:01:03 PM

That is where you need a tiger torch and a length of stove pipe.

hedgerow · August 18, 2020, 05:03:09 PM

I ran diesels for years for my farm trucks. Then a new 05 6.0 Ford F-350 made sure I will never own a diesel pickup again after three engines the extended warranty's were almost done in 2010 I bought a 2011 new four door F-350 dually 4X4 with a 6.2 gas engine and put a aluminum flat bed on it. It been a great truck and and does a great job towing. I still have it and also have a 2020 F-450 dually with the new 7.3 Gas and a aluminum flat bed on it also. Regular boxes just don't stand up for me on the farm. I retired from my town job three years ago next month and my miles driven the last three years has went down a bunch. Now I am just farming.