Off road
4 seats
Bikes
& tows.
(86 the split rims on the old ones)
Off road
4 seats
Bikes
& tows.
(86 the split rims on the old ones)
The general is currently offering $7500 off on ZX2 Colorados
Hit the easy button. Find a 6.0 Stroke and fix its shortcomings. There are cheap ones out there. Everything about them is a known quantity by now. Low resale (because 6. blow YO!) but you said it was going to be a keeper. Can be a reliable beast.
While I love Unimogs, for something like this I would recommend a modern-ish vehicle that's comfortable to drive, relatively quiet, and doesn't beat you up badly. Searching iaai locally I came up with:
2009 F250, rear ended with some front end damage:
https://www.iaai.com/Vehicle?itemID=28499554&rowNumber=7&loadRecent=True
2004 Ford F350, utility bed, rear ended with some front end damage:
https://www.iaai.com/Vehicle?itemID=30390775&rowNumber=8&loadRecent=True
Both diesel. I think something like those would be perfect. Who knows what they'll sell for. I do wish there was historical auction sales info for research purposes - I use that all the time on eBay and I'd love to have it on iaai or copart.
Under $10k, I would go super duty with a 5.4. They are slow but bomb proof. I had an 08 with over 300k on it and my buddy has a 5.4 with 500k. I pulled skid-steers and dump trailers all the time with mine. Plan on doing head-studs and manifolds. If you need more power swap in a Cummins.
In reply to 914Driver :
Cummins examples of those trucks sell for obscene money these days. They were selling for crazy money when I bought my '95 Cummins back in 2007. A '93 was what I wanted, but a reasonably rust-free example was easily 50% more than the $9K I paid for my '95 (which proved to be too much). Crew cab versions of those trucks are even more rare. I've seen with my eyes maybe a half-dozen in my life and I actually look for them. In a nutshell - there is no way in hell you could build one of these with a Cummins within the $10K budget.
Some more elaboration: we can exclude the cost of steel for the bed, for the most part. I have a source for that. I also have time to camp out and wait for a good deal.
On the motor side: Obviously diesel is "better." What about gas stuff? SBC vs. BBC vs. LS vs. Modular Ford vs. the Japanese trucks vs. Dodge? We have one vote for the Ford already.
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The crew cab sits 4 better than the extended cab. Everything just bolts together, otherwise. If you want a longer wheelbase, start with the crew cab long bed, and just add your own shocks and long travel kit. I want to do the utility bed part to my Colorado one day.
We see alot of high mileage fleet 5.4, and 6.8 fords but in your case I'd try to find a diesel. I was trying to find a photo of my friends Cummins. It has a sleeper conversion and he got it dirt cheap because it needed an engine. Would work well for your needs.
One of my favorite builds.... DT360 in a 08 F350. Long lived sleeved bullet proof engine, modern frame/suspension.
For $10k I would get a newer gas truck. You will be able to get a much newer truck in better shape. A gas truck will meet all the criteria you laid out but won’t be as cool. To me all the trucks have their positives and negatives.
I prefer fords because of their simplicity and availability. I think a gm rides better for long hauls. If going with a domestic truck I would stick with 3/4 or 1 ton. Other than that a 5.7 tundra is a solid truck with lots of support in the aftermarket.
Personally not a fan of ford diesels that are in your price range. Cummins is a hell of an engine, but a dirtymax and Allison is great too. If you’re planning on heading south of the boarder check diesel type and availability.
If you look hard you can get a mid 2000s GMC/Chevy 2500 crew cab with the Allison transmission. Not too tall and as capable as you’ll need for any sane use.
If you hadn’t insisted on truck my answer would have been 3/4 ton Suburban.
In reply to java230 :
Pretty sure that build is a 450/550 with an international engine swap and super singles. It’s one of my favorite builds too.
In reply to 80sFast :
Yep, DT360, manual trans in a F350. Its really nicely done.
KyAllroad (Jeremy) said:If you hadn’t insisted on truck my answer would have been 3/4 ton Suburban.
I know, tried it. The fact is, when I had a pickup I wished for a covered storage area maybe... once a year? With an SUV I wish for a separated/external and taller/longer storage area several times a month.
I think those I6 IH diesels (DT360) even top the Cummins for reliability and toughness.
java230 said:One of my favorite builds.... DT360 in a 08 F350. Long lived sleeved bullet proof engine, modern frame/suspension.
Is that what's going in the Ski Bum when the 6.4 decides to retire?
In reply to A 401 CJ :
I don't even want to think about that yet! I'd prefer a 466 but not sure it would fit.
if you go diesel, make damn sure you get a pre-2008 truck. the newer emissions crap with the urea is just a major failure point that costs $$$$$ to fix. also,keep in mind, that the HD 3/4 ton and up trucks are HUGE. the F250 i looked at the other day, on stock suspension/tires, had the top of the grill at least 5.5ft off the ground, and any major engine work is gonna require the cab to come off. flatbeds are good and having some form of small crane will come in super handy too, so that your not muscling stuff up onto it all the time. with the ford F250's in particular, you want the 6.0 truck. the 4r100 transmissions in the previous 7.3 trucks are junk. the 5R110 transmission in the 6.0 trucks are pretty bulletproof as long as you change the fluid and dont boost the engine to pieces. the 5r110 also has a factory PTO on them that can be used to run damn near anything you want. i was looking at getting an F250 for all the reasons you want a new tow rig, in the end ive realised my tacoma does majority of that, and with a 6500lb tow rating, anything that i cant put in the truck will just get mounted to the trailer instead. just means ill have to go slower up the hills since i dont want to mess with a turbo/supercharger on it.
Are you looking at this as a truck to build? What are your horse loads like? What sort of highway speeds are normal to you and what do you want them to be?
If you can live with building it yourself you can buy a chassis at the bottom of depreciation at the expense of NVH and refinement. The faster you want to cruise at highway speeds, the more you want a modern chassis. Horses are heavy. Four+ horses are really heavy.
In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
I'm happy with 65mph towing- my Yukon does it but isn't necessarily stable. 2 horses in an appropriately sized trailer max. And yes, this is something to build, it can take years if it has to.
I still think if your looking to build, and want lifetime rebuild/maintenance, a MDT mechanical diesel is the way to go. Billions of the out there, last forever, sleeved block, no electronics to age out (engine wise). And if you dont want MDT chassis, put it in a 3/4t truck chassis....
Personally, if I wanted to build a 65mph off road tow rig, I'd be looking at something like a square body Ford crew cab. Don't worry too much about what motor it has in it (unless you have inspections that make it matter) and then figure out what motor you want long term. Stripping the cab bare will let you insulate and soundproof things to a level that will make you happy. Choose more modern seats. Good AC, modern stereo, that sort of thing. Build axles with the proper parts/gears for your tire size. Transmission is your choice. Build a utility bed that will let you haul bikes or camp or whatever. There is a good thread on Pirate where they make a quickly detachable dove tail for a medium duty truck that would be ideal for bike days.
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