# Best truck for hauling?



## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

PeppersMama said:


> My husband and I are looking to buy a used truck that will be able to haul a 3 horse slant load (which we also have yet to buy.) He wants an older Ford with the 7.3L diesel engine, and I'm wondering if anyone has other suggestions?


We just sold our 1999 Ford F250 7.3L diesel engine with 287,000 miles on it. It still looked very good, ran like a top and has several thousand miles left in it. That truck is a serious work beast and I was very sad to see it go but due to commuting back and forth for work and gas prices, we decided to go with a CNG car. 

My truck is a 2011 Dodge Ram 2500 Turbo Diesel 4 X 4 and it's a beast too. I don't even notice the trailer behind me when I'm hauling, uphill or down. The Ford hauled the same. Due to the inability of Dodge to keep up with parts demand during their recalls (3 on this truck since I bought it) I'm hesitant to recommend a Dodge, no matter how much I love my truck. The Ford had 1 recall the entire time we owned it, and it was fixed very quickly. The last recall from Dodge, affected something in the area of ball joints, was considered a critical recall and it me over a year to get the truck serviced. The delay was all on Dodge and their lack of parts, not because I dragged my feet. So, if you look at Dodge, check the recall history and make sure everything has been done before you buy.


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## PrivatePilot (Dec 7, 2009)

The 7.3 in that era was a good solid engine. It doesn't compare in the horsepower range to the newer diesels, but you're also going to pay a fraction of the cost of a new truck and that engine will have no problems at all with a 3 horse config.

As with any older truck it's wise to check the health of the engine and transmission by doing some basic checks - if your husband isn't savvy..spend the money on hiring a quality/reputable diesel-specific mechanic to come with you to (if you can't bring the truck to him) check out the drivetrain with some pre-purchase health checks. Diesels are great, but buying a diesel that has hidden or underlying problems that you will need to fix can end up being a nightmare as diesels *can* be significantly more expensive to repair. Also plan to spent a bit of money upfront to bring the maintenance up to par before throwing the truck into hauling duty - again, I have nothing against older trucks (I tow a big 4-horse head to head monster with my 1997) but it's a reality that not everybody takes care of their older trucks in their latter years, so often there's some maintenance or upkeep that needs to be done to bring them "up to snuff" ahead of time.

Again, this is where the opinion of a quality mechanic can mean a lot, potentially saving you a LOT of money if you accidentally end up buying a truck with a mile-long list of problems that need addressing before you could safely use it for hauling, or a serious underlying mechanical issue (Engine/tranny) that could possibly cost you what you paid for the truck over again in repair costs.. It really all comes down to how mechnically savvy your husband is - if he's mechanically savvy he can likely do a lot (if not all) of the pre purchase stuff himself, and honestly, if he's really mechanically savvy he can likely do a great deal of any required maintenance/repairs himself after the fact as well - the nice thing about the older trucks is that they are *simple* compared to the new ones. I do so much work on my own that it saved me thousands upon thousands of dollars over all my years of ownership.

Make sure you don't buy a slightly newer Ford with 6.0 as they were known as being turds (huge engine issues, some of which were never really 100% resolved) and you'll likely end up regretting it.


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## Mingiz (Jan 29, 2009)

We have an 2000 F250 with the 7.3 6 speed manual in it at 230k on it. Very reliable. I also have an 06 F250 with the 6.0. It has more pulling power than the 7.3 but in the 8 yrs I have owned it I have only 3 issues with it. Had to replace the high pressure oil pump ST fitting @700$. Then recently replace the EGR & Oil cooler on it at 2100$. But all in all it was cheaper to fix it than replace it. The worst years for the 6.0 was 03-05. My 06 only has 115k on it. But yes they are know for issues. But yet when they are running right they are a good pulling motor. Hope your lucky enough to find a 7.3 as they are hard to come by. Yes diesel maintenance is expensive. But with them if you do regular oil changes, replace your air and fuel filters. They keep on going. 
Good luck in your search.


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

I love hauling with my boyfriend's truck. It's a 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins turbo diesel with the 6-cylinder high output engine. Pulled a two-horse trailer like it wasn't even there. I'm sure it'd pull even a good size LQ trailer without a problem, but it's a 4x4 sitting on 20" chrome rims and offroad tires, so it sits too high. :lol:


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## PrivatePilot (Dec 7, 2009)

I've pulled a 6 horse gooseneck with a 6.0 Ford. They do pretty well all things considered but knowing their track record for reliability I'd never own one. There's a lot of jobs that require pulling off the entire cab to accomplish as well because of terrible engineering. This translates to huge labor bills. 




DraftyAiresMum said:


> I love hauling with my boyfriend's truck. It's a 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins turbo diesel with the 6-cylinder high output engine. Pulled a two-horse trailer like it wasn't even there. I'm sure it'd pull even a good size LQ trailer without a problem, but it's a 4x4 sitting on 20" chrome rims and offroad tires, so it sits too high. :lol:


You have to be really careful hauling *anything* with raised trucks or ones with aftermarket parts, especially rims and tires. Suspension lifts and such muck with the stability needed to be effective hauling trucks, and blingy aftermarket rims and tires are notorious for being able to barely carry the weight of the truck itself anymore (especially when it comes to a heavy diesel vs a half ton gasser) much less any additional weight. 

I had a friend of a friend who wanted to borrow my big gooseneck last year. When he showed up with his truck it became pretty obvious it was going to be impossible, not only because of the 24 inch body lift that would have made hooking it up almost physically impossible, but when I looked at the flashy aftermarket rims and balloon tires (and their weight ratings) he was actually overloaded on all four of them sitting at the curb. There was no way I was going to let him hook to my trailer which puts 2000 pounds on the truck (pin weight) before you even add horses, and then go pick up horses with the trailer. With four horses on board the pin weight is somewhere between 3000 and 4000 pounds. It would have been plain dangerous. 

He had affectively taken a really nice three-quarter ton Dodge diesel and made it into a grocery getter for what amounted to appearance purposes.


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## david in md (Jun 13, 2013)

As someone surrounded with diesel tractors and heavy trucks I have to admit my pickup is gas. Unless you are going to tow a lot you won't recoup the higher purchase price, higher oil changes, higher fuel price, and potentially higher repair bills of a diesel. I have hauled up to 8 market steers on a 20' gn and not been short of power. With a diesel truck you are buying an engine that may last 300k miles in a truck that may last 200k. On top of that Epa pollution regulations have destroyed the superior mileage and reliability of a diesel. You can probably buy a newer lower mileage gas truck for less money than a diesel. You don't need a diesel for towing. Now if you want one that's a different story.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

Actually, that is only true if your hauling truck is your only vehicle. We have always owned a car in addition to our truck. Our 2008 Dodge 3500 4x4 doolie, Cummins diesel has less than 40K miles on it. I have to start it once in awhile and look for an excuse to pick up supplies during the winter for it to keep the oil flushed through the engine.
Though I missed by 2014 Fall window, I will be putting my 1993 3/4 ton Dodge 350, Cummins diesel up for sale, with 117,000 miles on it. Although if I were keeping it, I think it's time for a new transmission bc it drags into the highest gear, I could still hook it up to my STEEL 4-horse slant load trailer in an emergency. I can feel it on THIS truck with 4 horses, but with my Dodge 3500 I HAVE to use the Cruise bc I end up driving fully loaded with a lead foot. You really do NOT even feel the load behind you. Engineers will tell you that you build 2x stronger than you need, and people here who drive (horses) will agree that their horse needs to be able to pull more weight than is in the buggy or cart behind him. Same with a tow vehicle.
If you don't plan to haul often, look for used. If you have a good mechanic, you can buy used and repair what needs to be done. I am starting at $10K, but looking for $6K, and even with repairs, and new tires, that is far less than buying my 2008 truck, that was originally, $48K.
Last hay run, it STILL drove better with 35 (65 lb) bales of hay on the back than it did empty.


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## STT GUY (Apr 23, 2014)

PeppersMama said:


> My husband and I are looking to buy a used truck that will be able to haul a 3 horse slant load (which we also have yet to buy.) He wants an older Ford with the 7.3L diesel engine, and I'm wondering if anyone has other suggestions?


That platform is legendary for durability. 

I found a 2008 50k mile F250 6.4 (avoid the 6.0 like the plague!!!) and deleted the particulate filter and put a economy tune on it. Pretty happy with it and it rides nice. Pulls like a mo-fo when I need it to but I'm only pulling a 3 horse slant with two horses and a bit of gear. 

If you want a diesel to live a long life there are a couple of tips...

After you've been working it hard, DO NOT just pull into a gas station, rest stop, home, etc...and shut it down. The turbo bearings rely on oil and the incoming fresh air to cool them. When you shut down you take away both but the heat in the exhaust side of the turbo is still there and cooks the oil and bearings. Let 'er idle for five minutes or so to cool everything down. That five minutes can save you a lot of $$$ 

Fuel filters are cheap compared to injectors. Pretty self-explanatory. 

Don't lug the them loaded, it's ok to rev them a bit and it's better to rev an engine a bit than lug it down low, think of you riding a bike. Easier to spin a bit faster than try and mash a tall gear.

I agree with the tire and rim comments. My truck came with the "upgraded" 20" wheels and tires, I'd like to trade then for the "downgraded" 18" set-up. I cant fit a 20" spare under the bed..sucks. More selection for tires in 18 inch as well.


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## PeppersMama (Feb 1, 2014)

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm actually the more handy of us two (took auto shop) but I know nothing about diesels.


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