What truck for $4000?

Tough bill to fill. I'm in the market for a truck and here are some guidelines of what I want. The following criteria are not up for debate:

-full size 1/2, 3/4, or 1-ton, SRW-extended cab short bed or crew cab short bed.

-diesel. Strong preference for 94-02 7.3 powerstroke, early duramax, and 12v cummins. Will consider 6.5L, but a 6.2L is a no-no because its just so wimpy.

-needs to be road-ready since I have no garage right now, so suggesting a beat duramax to fix up isn't really an option.

Other guidelines to use:

-I don't care about options. A rubber-floor, manual window, no-stereo work truck is just fine since that means I can get more truck for the money. A/C is pretty much a must in TX, but I'd love a cosmetically ugly, mechanically great work truck.

-2wd. Cheaper, and I would only use 4x4 exactly twice a year for 5 minutes each. One lake where I go has a sand launch ramp, but I can borrow the campground's truck for launching.

-On an absolute extreme situation, I would consider a gas model. I have many reasons for wanting diesel, including their simplicity, the torque for towing my 10,000 lb trailer, my 3500-lb boat, and other various things. But for now, let's try to stick to diesel.

-I can stretch it to a $5000 max, but I'm saving a down payment for a house, so I'm trying to accept less truck in the chase for home ownership.

-To that effect, if you can think of a $2000 truck that fits those criteria, offer it up.

condensed version: extended cab or crew cab shortbed, full size, diesel, fewer options OK, Under $4k-5k.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/cto/988048848.html

Dodge Ram 12 valve.

I have had a 2000 Chevy (6.5) a 95 Ford (powerstroke) and a 96 Dodge (12 valve Cummins)

The Cummins ghetto stomps the other engines, The dodge has worse rust problems than the other two. Get a 5 speed or a rebuilt trans and paperwork to back it up. (otherwise it didnt happen)\

Finding one for under $4000 will be tough though. The earlier (pre 94) rotary pumped trucks are okay and going to be cheaper but the P7100 pumped trucks are much better.

Only problem with the Dodge is you are not gonna get one in a short bed or a crew cab from 94-early 98 which are the years of the desirable engines.

You will have a hard time finding a diesel truck old enough to be cheap and having a 6.5 foot bed. Truck were not cool, and fewer man vans and more real trucks were built during the era that your price range corresponds to.

I wouldnt give up an 8' bed for anything. If I am gonna put up with the hassle that is driving a full size truck, its gonna be FULL SIZE. An extended cab long box is much more useful than a crew cab short box.

not what you want but.. CHEAP

http://www.govdeals.com/eas/itmDisplay.cfm?itemID=199&acctID=168

93gsxturbo wrote: Finding one for under $4000 will be tough though. The earlier (pre 94) rotary pumped trucks are okay and going to be cheaper but the P7100 pumped trucks are much better. I wouldnt give up an 8' bed for anything. If I am gonna put up with the hassle that is driving a full size truck, its gonna be FULL SIZE. An extended cab long box is much more useful than a crew cab short box.

I've had some of both long and short beds. I occasionally carry 8' lumber, but a couple feet of wood sticking out the back is never an issue. Very infrequently I have a need for longer lumber like 16', but that's why they make lumber racks. I use a bed for utility junk carrying; engines, transmissions, axles, etc. I have had many trucks of varying lengths, and in a town like Austin, big is NOT a possibility. I have trouble enough with a full-size car.

I also agree with the cummins thing... the P pump is better, but the VE rotary is quite capable of providing more than enough torque with a fuel pin and and some pump tweaks.

I can understand the need for larger trucks... I just don't need it. I wouldn't mind the longer bed in a single cab truck, but with two people and three small dogs on a summer road trip, its gotta be extended cab, and for DD use in a city, its gotta be a SWB if I'm going to be happy.

Don't get me wrong, I've had P-vans, F450s in varying lengths, a crew cab longbed, an extended cab longbed... all have their place, but right now I absolutely cannot have an LWB truck.

As I am personally going down this path... I can only say that an inexpensive diesel truck can be one of the most costly purchases you'll ever make. Seriously, uness you'll be driving the truck enough miles every year (at least 10K) to justify the fuel savings, then go with gas powered. Cheaper to buy, cheaper to maintain, cheaper to fix.

The simple fact is that any diesel-powered truck in the 4-5K range is going to have a lot of miles... and with suspect maintenance. What I failed to think about before buying my 12V was the maintenance and repair costs. It takes 3 gallons of oil... that needs to be changed every 3K miles... oil filter... fuel filter... etc... and nothing on this truck is inexpensive... and I shiver when I think of when (not "if") something breaks... can pretty much guarantee the repair will run 4 figures...

Hell.. catch me in the right mood, and I might let my truck go for $5K... just to be rid of the damn thing... but in all likeliness, I will be selling it in the Fall (usually best time to sell a 4x4 and hopefully for more than $5K). My next truck will either for another van or a late '70's Ford 4x4 (classic insurance FTW!).

...and for those familiar with my story, this has less to do with the frankenstien nature of my truck and more to do with me thinking I needed something I don't...

Oh yeah... early Dodge 5 spds are junk transmission... something else I didn't research before hand... should have bought an automatic (and I hate automatics...)

I bought my 1999 2 wheel drive, long bed, extended cab cummins for $3000 this summer. It wasn't too clean and needed a little work (cost about $800 for everything) and now I have myself a haluer. I had been looking for a gas truck in the same price range but I bought this one for a good price so here I am.

3K mile oil changes on a diesel.. no.

boss runs amsoil in his powerstroke. 25k changes work with blackstone labs backup