I need a tow vehicle

Prefer a Ford powerstroke with manual, but some flexibility, keep it cheap...it is GRM afterall.

The van has just done its last trip, and got beat up by the hitch that snapped in two, photos pending

steve

hmmmmm.. very curious to see those photos.

Steve,

I know it's a haul but look in TX. I found my '02 F350 Crewcab Dually 6spd 2wd there on Ebay a few years ago. I paid about $7000 less than they were going for locally (central FL) if I could even find a manual one. I flew out and drove back to Tampa in under 24 hours though YMMV.

Car lots in Houston were full of trucks unlike here where it is all cars... I love the 7.3 and '02 is the last year. If I had to do it over again I would probably try to find a 2wd F350 crewcab long bed non-dually automatic. While I love the stick, driving it around town is a bear with the 4:10 gearing.

As I'm sure you know, the Powerstroke 7.3 was intoduced in mid-94. Any Ford diesel earlier than that will be an IDI which is significantly down on power from the Powerstrokes. I usually don't see any decent Powerstroke-equpped trucks for much less than about $4,000, so I don't know how cheap you were thinking of going.

If that isn't cheap enough, the Dodge Rams got the Cummins in 89, so there are probably some deals to be found on older Cummins Ram trucks. Or you could look at an IDI Ford, which aren't bad, just slow. I think the consensus is to stay away from the early GM diesels.

hobiercr wrote: Steve, I know it's a haul but look in TX. I found my '02 F350 Crewcab Dually 6spd 2wd there on Ebay a few years ago. I paid about $7000 less than they were going for locally (central FL) if I could even find a manual one. I flew out and drove back to Tampa in under 24 hours though YMMV. Car lots in Houston were full of trucks unlike here where it is all cars... I love the 7.3 and '02 is the last year. If I had to do it over again I would probably try to find a 2wd F350 crewcab long bed non-dually automatic. While I love the stick, driving it around town is a bear with the 4:10 gearing.

Agreed. It's not a stereotype that there's more trucks in Texas. Fact is you're more likely to find what you're looking for in an area with a very large selection pool. And I second the automatic notion. It's a nice thought, but it gets very tedious very fast with none of the rewards.

If you need some eyes on the ground in the Houston or Dallas areas, hit me up.

Yeh most of the fun of a manual is being able to pick how you shift it.. but with a 1ton truck manual there is only one possible way to shift: Slow.

I 2nd the automatic thing, especially since the E4OD is a pretty decent trans and very buildable if you want more power.

If you want a diesel 3/4-1 Ton, strictly money-wise, it's about 2-3k for the conversion parts, about 3k for a 24v Cummins, and 4k or less for a GAS Ford SD. You then end up with the "best" engine in the "best" chassis available.

As much as I "like" PSD's and can fix them on the side of the road when they break, no way would I buy another one. Doesn't matter if it is a 7.3/6.0/6.4, you can't beat the stupid simplicity of the Cummins.

Brian

I drive Town Cars all week long guys, so shifting on the weekend doesn't bother me, in fact I am so sick of autos. That said a well priced F350 dually crew cab would be well considered in auto or manual.

To those in TX please look out for me, I would very much appreciate it, it works doubly well as your trucks haven"t been rusted out like they do around here.

Although I tend to agree with you Ranger50, I have 12 projects under varying degrees of resto or customizing, another project is just not on the cards right now.

Not the best pics but here is the aftermath.

Vigo wrote: Yeh most of the fun of a manual is being able to pick how you shift it.. but with a 1ton truck manual there is only one possible way to shift: Slow. I 2nd the automatic thing, especially since the E4OD is a pretty decent trans and very buildable if you want more power.

i heard from somebody that some trucks with automatic tranny have reduced power (vs the manual) so it doesn't blow up the auto box. is that true? which ones?

i'm a diesel noob but would like to get a tow vehicle sometime.

aussiesmg wrote: Although I tend to agree with you Ranger50, I have 12 projects under varying degrees of resto or customizing, another project is just not on the cards right now.

Don't let AADD get in the way. Be like Nike and "Just do it."

Brian

How did you get that rear end modification? A Draw-Tite like hitch connects to the frame, that's some hit.

Dan

i heard from somebody that some trucks with automatic tranny have reduced power (vs the manual) so it doesn't blow up the auto box. is that true? which ones?

That's probably true but i dont know about which ones.

Ive never owned a diesel truck, ive just pulled, sometimes build, and reinstalled trans in a bunch of them because they seem to go through transmissions a lot faster than the general public.

Vigo wrote:

i heard from somebody that some trucks with automatic tranny have reduced power (vs the manual) so it doesn't blow up the auto box. is that true? which ones?

That's probably true but i dont know about which ones. Ive never owned a diesel truck, ive just pulled, sometimes build, and reinstalled trans in a bunch of them because they seem to go through transmissions a lot faster than the general public.

MY07+ cummins diesel rams with auto trans are torque limited in 1st gear. Might be 2nd gear too... I can't be sure of 2nd..

In reply to ignorant:

torque limited in 1st is completely understandable. the ftlb numbers get big in 1st

914Driver wrote: How did you get that rear end modification? A Draw-Tite like hitch connects to the frame, that's some hit. Dan

If you can make it out, the hitch snapped in the middle, clean into two pieces, I must admit there is rust on the van.....ok a lot of rust and that probably helped the failure

torque limited in 1st is completely understandable. the ftlb numbers get big in 1st

They get big everywhere between the diff carrier and the tire.. but the torque before the first gearset is only what the motor+torque converter can make, regardless of ratio after the gearset.

Based on my real-life experience with diesel trans the gear that needs to be limited the most is 4th or otherwise top gear. Those clutch packs tend to be the weakest in the trans, with the possible exception of trucks made in the last few years. Those are the ones that burn up most often and have owners coming in for rebuilds.