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Hi all….
have done some research…and shopping… have just about decided to get the chevy 1 ton cab and chassis with diesel and auto trans… will use for concrete crew to carry forms, etc, and drag around bobcat on tandem trailer.
any other words of advice from ya’ll ???
eric
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Replies
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awesome
*Cummins makes the best diesel engine. Keep up with your oil changes and fuel filter maintainence and you'll be real happy with it. Chevy -- Ford -- Dodge -- take your pick. They all have their problems. Jake brakes with an automatic diesel from the get go are a real good idea if you got your share of hills around your area. There is alot to be said for a fith-wheel setup for towing if you take the time to design adequate removable side and top racks with clearance considerations. A seperate tilt dump trailor for tearout, soil and rock hauling would certainly save on the bed and hitch brackets. You could use it for vacation too, with a rented luxury trailer. Yeah I know -- What's a vacation? Good Building,Jim Malone
*I agree....let me know how you like it before I buy one. I have no qualms about the truck, I would like feedback on the diesel. I think Chevy finally got a good one along with the tranny to back it up!John
*Hey-My business is changing, so, I've got a nice Bobcat 753 with combo bucket, 607 backhoe and pallet forks, that all fit on a custom designed 16', 15k gooseneck dump trailer for sale. The 753 is a '97 and has 1050 hrs. The attachments are all new in '99. The trailer was new last summer. I am the only operator and the 1000 hr maint. was just done.If anybody would like more info. email me. This is a very together package in very good shape. The unit is in Arizona, but I could deliver wherever for a fee.I post this here 'cause this setup is an extremely capable package that tows great behind a 1 ton, and so thought someone looking in on this thread might be interested.
*Freelance....$10 grand and tow it to my shack and I'll let you write off the rest with the IRS.near the stream,]aj
*Is this the new HD3500 chassis ?
*Jim, Jake brakes AAGHHhhh!! wear out a set of pads or rebuild an engine? They sound neat though coming into town though. BBBLLLaaaattttt.
*Hello All, I ordered a 2500 HD with the Vortec 8100/Allison Transmission/4.10 rear at the end of October and it was just built last week. From what I have read and heard it it an awsome vehicle. The 2500 HD was named Motor Trend Truck of the Year. I got the extended cab with 4WD and the trailering package.I expect to get about 10 MPG with the big block, not bad for all that power.If you can show the dealer a Commercial Builders license you should be elegible for a free diamond plate toolbox or a set of steel racks. I took the box because I want to put on a set of TracRacs and they cost more than the allowance. I also will be putting on aluminum wheeels and larger tires as soon as I get the truck.Hypertech makes a reprogrammer that will reset the shift points, ABS, speedometer etc. I am counting the days till this truck arrives. Good Luck with yours.Scott
*AJ-Thanks for the, um, Offer. As it is, with a wife in a Master's program related to our business I've got more expenses than I know what to do with.$29,500 and I'll meet you at the Mississippi.
*Eric, one thing I'd do is verify the weight of your payload, new body, and trailer with bobcat ......no guesswork. Make sure the new truck is within specs. you don't want any nasty surprises ....no fun driving an squirelly overloaded truck. One last thing ...drum it into your crew's head, DIESEL FUEL ONLY! Sounds dumb but it happens more often than you might think ........warranty won't cover it.
*Can't miss on either GM/Chev or Ford. My pick depends on local dealer service, some dealers are worse than others, and sales price. Can't be too heavy duty for what you want to do.Recommend you take another gander at the powerplant. Unless you already have lots of diesel equipment it usually doesn't make any dollar sense to buy diesel in the new pickups. Used to be the diesels lasted longer, needed less maintenance, etc. No longer true. Gas engines are made just as tough and are just as reliable.In fact since anyone can work on them gas engines often get turned around faster when they need to be fixed.Yep the diesel gets a little better fuel economy. Mainly this is when used unloaded. But you can buy a lot of fuel for the difference in purchase price between gas and diesel. Plus, you don't buy a work truck for economy. You buy it to get the job done. I've done a fair bit of dollar costing and I've never found where a diesel made sense in a new pickup vs gas. Didn't used to be so. But it is now.
*Some good points, Fred.Jim Malone
*I've dragged my bobcat around behind a Chevy HD one ton dump with a 454 and standard and a Powerstroke with an auto, and it makes no sense to have a gasser when the diesel does that much better of a job, at a cheaper cost per gallon. The 454 was brand new, and in the course of 2 years it was feeling tired. The diesel never knew it had a load on. 454 got 7 mpg, uphill, downhill, tailwind, headwind, put on the bobcat and it got 4.5. Powerstroke gets 18 unloaded, 15.5 pulling. Powerstoke cost another $4000. Money well spent. I would rather work on the diesel than the gasser to.
*Keith C:To make your point you need to say what model year each truck is.Frankly I could care less what brand, type, color, fuel, etc anyone buys. It is the individual's money, business and ego. But, I hate to see someone waste any of that based on outdated info.In fact I've got an aquaintance who always buys diesel pickups even though it costs him more, and he knows it. He talks fuel economy but when pressed he admits its' because he likes the idea of driving the diesel.
*Diesels don't make economic sense for many but if you rack up a lot of miles (30,000+ a year) plus carry and/or tow heavy loads, diesels will pay off- usually in 4 to 6 years. My experience was much the same as Keith's ........2 Ford F-350 2wd flatbeds, one with a 460 and a manual, and the other a 7.3 diesel/ automatic. The 460 got 6/7 mpg loaded ...the diesel 14/15 loaded. The current V-10 is more fuel efficient but a couple owners I've talked to say they can't break 10 mpg with a heavy load. There are plenty of Navstar (Ford) diesels around with well over 200,000 miles and Cummins (Dodge)with 300,000 miles logged on them. There may be some out there, but I haven't seen any gas V-10's hold up as well.
*FredB.....Chevy was a 95' 2x4, manual with 4:11 rear end, duals ,15,000 GVW 10' gallion dump, regular cab. Ford is a 97' 350 4x4(have never needed the 4x4 to pull though), crew cab, Powerstroke(444 cubic in.)auto, 4:10,single rears. I had a 97' ford equipped the EXACT same way as the current ford(down to the paint) with the 460 gasser in it. I had it for 10 months before I traded it back in for the Powerstroke. Like I said, there is no comparison in pulling, they pull totally different. I know there are some ego problems out there, but if you had to drive and pull with one ,there also would be no way anyone would rather pull with the gasser, unless it was a 2000# trailer. The bobcat, with bucket, and forks on a butler double axle trailer go about 9500#.
*Before buying the new truck you should check with your insurance company and see how they rate each truck. When comparing Chev., Dodge, and Ford one tons the Chevy would cost about 75.00 more every six months over the Dodge and about 90.00 more than the Ford.(where I live) Does the Chev. have a straight axle? I assume you are getting 4wd. I chose Dodge for the simple Cummins engine and Dana rears.Bought an old Chev. in excellent condition for snowplowing, has Turbo 400 and cast iron transfer case. I don't know about new Chevy's but Ford and Dodge have aluminum transfer cases and I couldn't bring myself to put a plow on my Dodge 1 ton with less than 30000. miles on it(unless I planned on selling it after two or three years.rh
*Oh yes I agree in the 460/454 days the diesel was the way to go. The 460/454 engines weren't even the best available of their time. At that time old money monitoring me owned diesels too. They made financial sense; and for business that is what counts.But, now the big gas engines from GM and Ford get very equivalent fuel economy loaded as the diesel. BUT, fuel economy isn't the driving factor. Every set of records I have seen except over the road truckers shows that fuel cost is one of the smallest parts of the ownership cost, if not The smallest part.What is important is not the fuel economy but the total cost over the time you own the machine. For today's heavy duty pickups that means a gas engine; usually the V10(~400CI).Plus, I have seen many trucks that are trash except for the powerplant that is happily churning away. So, it doesn't do much good to have a powerplant that lasts forever when the rest of the thing is trashed in a few years.
*If the 283 in my '66 Chevy stopped churning away, I'd be getting a new truck!...fv
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Hi all....
have done some research...and shopping... have just about decided to get the chevy 1 ton cab and chassis with diesel and auto trans... will use for concrete crew to carry forms, etc, and drag around bobcat on tandem trailer.
any other words of advice from ya'll ???
eric