Hauler purchase time - looking for advice

F

Function > Form

Well-known member
Club Member
Hey gents, I thought I'd start a dedicated thread now that I'm looking more seriously for a new/second ride, and hunting for something under 10k. Interior has to be 'nice' (leather, sunroof, cruise, heated seats). Keeping the liberty on the road for now.

Looking for something that will still get up the unmaintained road and then onto our rural property (no driveway or road onto the property), so it needs 4x4 and some clearance. For an idea of what we need: a Forester *might* make it, it...
Please login to view full content. Log in or register now.
 
Kunker

Kunker

Administrator
Club Member
[MENTION=11]CaptainFitz[/MENTION] since Tim recently had an Expedition as a tow/camping rig.
 
aweber

aweber

This thread is :rainbow:
Staff member
Club Member
That ad is no longer up, but a Yukon or Tahoe would make a great choice!
 
F

Function > Form

Well-known member
Club Member
Yeah that looks nice, thanks gents. Honestly, I need something turnkey (i.e. wife will killlll me painfully if I buy anything that remotely resembles a project) and I think under 10k isn't going to cut it, not even close. I think I'd have to bump it up to around 15k to get what I'm looking for.

$7000 is crazy cheap for that truck...doh!!

I'm just going to give a lil more love to the liberty for now.

So, just for the record, are gas dodges really all that terrible? I think [MENTION=63]Kunker[/MENTION] or [MENTION=641]junkpile[/MENTION] said that you would not recommend one based on your own experience. What makes them so terrible?

What about the 2004-early 2008 and the late 2008-2014 F150? Anyone have opinions on those? The former generation goes for 'cheap' with low kms. What's the deal with these?
 
Kunker

Kunker

Administrator
Club Member
I own a diesel Dodge, so everything I have opinions on is based on 3/4T design.

Front end design seems terrible for the weight, steering is the dumb y setup that toes in/out with every bump in the road, transmission is made of glass if you have any sort of power, and as someone described it on Pirate - the entire truck was wired front to back with the cheapest speaker wire you can find for everything, so get used to chasing electrical gremlins. Rust in the quarters/cab corners and box has been ridiculous as well, although admittedly I'm not the best on washing the truck.

Comparing 1/2T rentals, a similar gen (2004/2005) Chevy walked all over the Dodge in terms of comfort as well as fuel mileage, 5.3 vs 5.7.

Personally, I'd spend whatever it took to get a Chev/GM with the 6L80/5.3 like that Tahoe, or similar year Silverado. Proven to take a beating, tons of gears for hauling whatever you want, and Scott (@baja I think?) has knocked down better mileage with his Suburban than I do in the Dodge long distance driving with their displacement on demand setup.

Note - I'm not a Ford guy in general aside from the Superduty, and have no experience any which way with their offerings. If I were looking at a 3/4-1T right now, I'd be looking for the cleanest coil sprung V-10 I could find as an occasional tow vehicle, and pick up a Corolla/Civic/whatever as a daily beater.
 
F

Function > Form

Well-known member
Club Member
Fair enough, that sounds like a pile of issues on the Dodge.

I appreciate you took the time to provide your insights, thanks a ton. Thanks also for mentioning Pirate, I always forget about it.
 
J

junkpile

Well-known member
The pre ‘03 dodge trucks were pretty solid beasts, with minimal issues, weak spot being transmission but not terrible. The 5.9 magnum has pretty decent power for towing for a gasser. The 03-07 generation is plagued with issues... the 08 and up are pretty decent though. I’ve a few clients with F150’s, the 08 and 10 have under 120kms and needed, an egr valve, ball joints, coil springs, and wheel bearings, and the interiors are terribly cheap feeling. The two ‘17’s and one ‘18 are very comfortable interiors, and very nice to drive.... The new 5.0l seems powerful enough too.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
CaptainFitz

CaptainFitz

Official Wannabe
Club Member
Being a Ford guy i have driven various vintages over the years, from diesels , straight six, 5.0 old and 5.0 new also had the 5.4 in the expedition.

the 5.4 is not so good on fuel, so if that is a major concern for you, then you might want to go with Chevy 5.3l. As long as the plugs are changed and continue to be changed regularly you should be ok on that side for older ones. Any of that vintage rust and body condition will be major factors.

Each truck has pros and cons. The older tahoe's and expeditions will be cheaper to buy, and will tow the weight you are looking for, though the yukon/tahoe list a lower tow capacity, they should be ok. easy on creature comforts and wife pleasures. the truck market is crazy because of the dollar and anything good going to the states. that is why i bought new vs. used, after looking i was spending a ton on junk or that was going to rot away before i could use it. I only had the expedition for 1.5 years, and had to do some things to it but it towed my 4runner easily, fit the family well and lots of gear, never let me down. i had to replace the rockers on it, but for the price was a easy decision.

towing the libery with a explorer is getting risky. while it can do it, lighter tow vehicle to trailer ration ads inherent risk. they are also not that far off the ground for your property, but are nice drivers and better on fuel than other options on here. when you are calculating weight of your liberty, don;t forget 1500 - 2k for a trailer on top and all gear. It adds up quickly.

GL
 
F

Function > Form

Well-known member
Club Member
Thank you [MENTION=11]CaptainFitz[/MENTION] I don't think I'm particularly concerned with poor gas mileage since I've got this old AMC-based v6 pulling the liberty around, v6 power, v8 economy. Good to know though about how the 5.4 does.

Interesting what you said about the truck market and the dollar. I was at Donnely looking at an 08 F150 crew and it was a complete POS, but still listed for 9k, as is, needing full rockers and bed corner at least IIRC - a weekend of work, or $2500 pick your poison. The sales guy told me this same thing, and I thought 'maybe...' but also that it could be a sales pitch to jump on this truck while it was still around. It was pretty basic otherwise. Hell I looked at an 07 King Ranch (love that pkg) that had 230k and was listed at 12k. Nice truck but damn.

It's good to know about the explorer. I had considered the 2006 and earlier due to the body on frame, but maybe it's just too small. I guess similar logic would apply to any mid-sized V8 SUV, it would do it, but not at all ideal.

I appreciate the guidance on the trailer weights etc. I had been thinking I need at minimum the ability to haul 7000# plus a bit of gear so 4400 + 2000 trailer + 1500# stuff/people...I guess that's actually much closer to 8000! lol
 
CaptainFitz

CaptainFitz

Official Wannabe
Club Member
That is why i ended up buying the expedition over the yukons/or suburbans. In my case i only wanted it for a couple years max, Mine had very high mileage at over 365k when i sold it but considering it was less than $3k to buy, and putting on over 40k in that 1.5years it drove really nice, was good in the city (for parking etc), lots of creature comforts (leather heated and cooled seats etc) Even though very similar, the expedition (2006) has a 8600# tow capacity vs. the 5700 ish (depending on vintage) for the tahoe.

The tahoe can still do it, jut not rated for it officially.

The dollar and shipping of trucks unfortunately is true. SUV's seem to not be as badly affected. I spent about 6 months or more looking before i bought my new 2018 F150. I was looking at used trucks that were 2014s and they still wanted $40k for them, all over, i searched from toronto to montreal daily. (in my case i ended up finding a great deal in Toronto). I also love the king ranch package, there are some good deals that pop up on older trucks, but they are older, and often not as good under the covers as they appear. Search kijiji and similar daily and as soon as you see something that is a good deal, act fast :)

Good luck
Tim
 
Kunker

Kunker

Administrator
Club Member
Popped into the Ford dealer in CP - nice clean F250 parked out front. Fabric interior, short bed, 6.7 diesel, 4x4, crew, red. Super clean underneath (on par or better than my wife's '16 Acadia). Ask inside, it's a 2010, 200K, and a rebuilt title, asking $20K. Just about died laughing on my way out at paying $20K for an 8 year old truck with a rebuilt title that I'd never be able to sell for more than $5K. Truck market is nuts indeed.
 
F

Function > Form

Well-known member
Club Member
CaptainFitz said:
That is why i ended up buying the expedition over the yukons/or suburbans. In my case i only wanted it for a couple years max, Mine had very high mileage at over 365k when i sold it but considering it was less than $3k to buy, and putting on over 40k in that 1.5years it drove really nice, was good in the city (for parking etc), lots of creature comforts (leather heated and cooled seats etc) Even though very similar, the expedition (2006) has a 8600# tow capacity vs. the 5700 ish (depending on vintage) for the tahoe.

The tahoe can still do it, jut not rated for it officially.

The dollar and shipping of trucks unfortunately is true. SUV's seem to not be as badly affected. I spent about 6 months or more looking before i bought my new 2018 F150. I was looking at used trucks that were 2014s and they still wanted $40k for them, all over, i searched from toronto to montreal daily. (in my case i ended up finding a great deal in Toronto). I also love the king ranch package, there are some good deals that pop up on older trucks, but they are older, and often not as good under the covers as they appear. Search kijiji and similar daily and as soon as you see something that is a good deal, act fast :)

Good luck
Tim
Click to expand...

Thanks Tim, I will wait for a better dollar, or at least more of them in my bank account. I don't think it makes sense for me to drop a ton on a crappy truck that will only need more love.

Kunker said:
Popped into the Ford dealer in CP - nice clean F250 parked out front. Fabric interior, short bed, 6.7 diesel, 4x4, crew, red. Super clean underneath (on par or better than my wife's '16 Acadia). Ask inside, it's a 2010, 200K, and a rebuilt title, asking $20K. Just about died laughing on my way out at paying $20K for an 8 year old truck with a rebuilt title that I'd never be able to sell for more than $5K. Truck market is nuts indeed.
Click to expand...

Holy holey that's nutty and for a rebuilt no less.

Thanks everyone in this thread for making me feel less insane. I just could not believe what I was seeing on the used market for so much money.
 
Kunker

Kunker

Administrator
Club Member
Function > Form said:
Holy holey that's nutty and for a rebuilt no less.

Thanks everyone in this thread for making me feel less insane. I just could not believe what I was seeing on the used market for so much money.
Click to expand...

Take away the rebuilt title, and it's in the range of what I paid for the Dodge in terms of mileage and age. I just can't get past the title with a "not sure why it's a rebuild either". Flood damage on an emissions era, electronically controlled diesel would be a nightmare of corrosion problems in the future, and with how clean and straight it was underneath, I don't know what else it might have been (hail maybe?).

Good luck with the hunt.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top