Author Topic: Does anybody make a work truck anymore? (Read 2709 times)

glockfan.45 · « **on:** July 15, 2007, 03:32:25 PM »

So my trusty old F-150 rolled over the 250k mark today and I have decided its time to purchase a new work truck. I count on my vehicle to earn a living so at 250k miles it has started to have reliability issues and I don't want to invest the time & money into to keep it running day to day. So off to the dealership I went yesterday.

After searching through their inventory I left disapointed and irritated to say the least. When did all pickups become luxury cars? Sure I can buy a stripped Ranger, but I need a fullsize to fit my boxes, and ladder racks. I can buy a stripped F-150, but only with a V6. I have to pull a trailer from time to time and pulling a trailer on the interstate with a fullsize pickup equiped with a V6 is no fun to say the least. You can't find a F series with a V8 that isn't fully loaded, 4x4, and $39,000 to start. It's all very annoying and I guess I will have to special order one. Oh also try to find a manual tran as well undecided

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MechAg94 · « **Reply #1 on:** July 15, 2007, 04:35:39 PM »

My Dad has a Chevy that was a work truck. It has the bench seats and such. It is 4x4 and at least 3/4 ton. Probably more common to find them in the 3/4 and 1 ton variety. I am not sure where you are looking either.

Have you tried to order a truck?

onions! · « **Reply #2 on:** July 15, 2007, 05:13:52 PM »

Yep,special order.We(a GMC dealer)keep a couple of beer can 1/2 tons on the lot.Three quarter & one ton work trucks are special order.It seems that the majority of buyers of new HD work trucks buy more than one.Quite often they are small fleets who have their preferences of interior,body style,driveline option,& even a special(non-standard,ie.you won't find that particular color on the palette) color.The half ton strippers are bought by folks who want a new fullsize to commute in & may never use it to really haul anthing & as parts chasers or local delivery/service vehicles.

A couple of our fleet customers have started buying smart.They buy lease trade in trucks in the most popular body style & color.Buy buying what everyone else has they have a great selection.And by buying trucks w/30K +/- miles on them they save about 30-40% off sticker.A big chunk when your fleet of just one type of truck numbers over 100...

BTW,I checked into a HD 3/4,diesel,A/C,manual tranny 2wd a couple of years ago.It was cheap,I was laughed at(manual tranny),& I was told it was a special order.

Wacha gonna do? grin

Ben · « **Reply #3 on:** July 15, 2007, 07:06:03 PM »

I've found it can depend on where you and your dealer are located. I just got an 08 F250. My local dealer only had crewcabs, FX4s, and Lariats in stock. Up where my folks live there's a lot of farming and the dealer there had a much greater selection. Although I wanted an XLT this time, that dealer had a half dozen regular cab F250 XLs with the 5.4 gasser and the 6.4 diesel on the lot.

Also try this URL (if you're looking for a Ford). It's how I found mine.

http://www88.forddirect.fordvehicles.com/Dispatch.jsp?.CurrentState=HomePageFlash

vernal45 · « **Reply #4 on:** July 16, 2007, 03:30:33 AM »

Nissan Titan. I work in the oilfield, and put trucks through hell. I am impressed with the Titan, have had it for over a year and I am not looking back. I checked out the F150, nice truck, Price was way out of reach, even on a plain model. Just like the ford, the Titan has a fully boxed frame, and will take a pounding. Check it out, I am sure you can find one in your price range. I would have paid an extra $8K for the ford with the same options that came with my Titan.

mike · « **Reply #5 on:** July 16, 2007, 03:44:45 AM »

Have you looked at GMC?

Brad Johnson · « **Reply #6 on:** July 16, 2007, 08:28:57 AM »

It's not that they aren't available, you just have to order them most of the time. Plain-white-wrapper trucks tend to sit on the lot a long time so dealers rarely have them as a stock item.

Here - the Kelly Blue Book "configurator" for the XL series Ford F-150.

http://www.kbb.com/KBB/NewCars/Options.aspx?VehicleId=Ny8xOC8yMDA3fDI0MDQy&ManufacturerId=15&VehicleClass=NewCar&ModelId=841&YearId=2007

Base model - V6, manual, steelies, and A/C - invoices around $18k.

I did a little run through and added:
5.4L V8
Trailer towing package (for the uprated engine and tranny cooling systems)
HD suspension package (for the 4.10 gears, frame reinforcements, heavier tires/wheels)
Limited slip differential
Cruise control

MSRP came out to $24.5k with an invoice just over $23k. Figure in the dealer-direct incentives and figure that you could probably get the truck bought for somewhere around $22.5-$23k including TT&L.

Brad

Thor · « **Reply #7 on:** July 16, 2007, 08:48:22 AM »

I haven't exactly studied what's available at the local Ford dealer, but they have a significant number of work trucks there. Of course, Elk River, MN might be quite a drive to get one.

Brad Johnson · « **Reply #8 on:** July 16, 2007, 09:13:41 AM »

Poked around a little more on the KBB site above. You might want to check into the F-250 (SuperDuty) line, too. Only $600-800 more than a comparably equipped F-150. They are built like a tank and designed to be use hard.

http://www.kbb.com/KBB/NewCars/Options.aspx?VehicleId=Ny8xOC8yMDA3fDg0NDAx&ManufacturerId=15&VehicleClass=NewCar&ModelId=843&YearId=2008

Base vehicle comes with the 5.4L V8 and a 6-speed manual (with PTO point, even!). Adding the heavy service suspension, stabilizer package, A/C, cruise, tilt, engine heater, and uprgrading to the 265/70R17 all-terrain tires took the MSRP to just over $25K.

Going to the SuperDuty line also gives you engine options you don't have in the F-150 - namely the 6.8L V-10 (a surprisingly inexpensive upgrade option) or the new 6.4L diesel (a very expensive upgrade option).

Brad

glockfan.45 · « **Reply #9 on:** July 16, 2007, 09:46:44 PM »

Quote

Have you looked at GMC?

Its a brand loyalty thing with me there. I have always driven Ford and had good luck with them. The two GM vehicles I have owned were nothing but junk to honest, and Dodge need not apply either. Not trying to brand bash or start the stupid Chevy vs Ford vs Dodge war just sharing my past. I have looked into the Titan, but if I were to go to an import it would probably be the Tundra.

A 3/4 ton or larger is really more truck than I need and while a full size truck won't get the best MPG I don't want to drive around more truck than I have to. After making a few phone calls it looks like I will have to order one after all to get the V8/manual trans in a stripped out truck. I really hoped to avoid the 6 month or so wait, but oh well. I am still considering the Tundra though and the sad thing is the Toyota is more American made than the Ford, Chevy, or Dodge.

MechAg94 · « **Reply #10 on:** July 17, 2007, 05:41:30 AM »

Each to his own I guess. My GMC 1/2 ton is about kick over 100K and has been a great truck. Not a baseline model though. My Dad has been driving Chevy work trucks for years and years and has told me he likes them better than the Ford and Dodge trucks he has seen. He never had to mess with diesel though.

Tallpine · « **Reply #11 on:** July 17, 2007, 07:05:57 AM »

Get a 1976 GMC like mine. Nothing on it that you can't keep fixing.

Art Eatman · « **Reply #12 on:** July 19, 2007, 02:57:46 AM »

Not a full-size deal, but: My 1985 Toyota 4WD PU got to 290K miles. I'd bought another '85, a rollover, with 120K on it.

I got a guy to swap out the axles, engine and transmission. New grill and windshield. New shocks and new bushings throughout. Painted. $4,300, and I still have a usable motor, transmission and miscellaneous spare "good used" parts.

I do think thats better than $25K for a brand new Toy. If I was doing the full-size work truck thing, I'd follow the same process. I used to do it all myself, but age and arthritis has me hiring it done. Even so, it's cheaper than buying new.

Art

Tallpine · « **Reply #13 on:** July 19, 2007, 05:04:42 AM »

The MT DNRC has a big shop over in Missoula, and they are (or at least were, a couple years ago) buying up Chevy/GMC pickups from the seventies and early eighties (pre-88), stripping them down to the frame, and then rebuilding everything including engine, transmission, transfer case, axles, brakes, and any necessary body work to the cab and front end. Then they install a f/f bed (tank, pump, hose reels, etc) on the back and put them to work as Type 6 Wildland Fire Engines.

Cheaper than new, and those older trucks are really more suitable for rough off-road use.

I wish I could get them to do a pickup like that for me. Would be worth $15-20K Wink

matis · « **Reply #14 on:** July 19, 2007, 07:57:42 AM »

Quote from: Art Eatman on July 19, 2007, 01:57:46 AM

Not a full-size deal, but: My 1985 Toyota 4WD PU got to 290K miles. I'd bought another '85, a rollover, with 120K on it.

I got a guy to swap out the axles, engine and transmission. New grill and windshield. New shocks and new bushings throughout. Painted. $4,300, and I still have a usable motor, transmission and miscellaneous spare "good used" parts.

I do think thats better than $25K for a brand new Toy. If I was doing the full-size work truck thing, I'd follow the same process. I used to do it all myself, but age and arthritis has me hiring it done. Even so, it's cheaper than buying new.

Art

Well, if you don't mind my saying so, Art, the age and arthritis sure hasn't affected your brain, has it? grin

Gewehr98 · « **Reply #15 on:** July 19, 2007, 10:51:42 AM »

I'd think that Chevy/GMC would start selling their plain-vanilla W/T series again.

In the meantime, I've got a '53 Chevy 3600 project that'll be my work truck to haul/pull heavy things around the farmland here.

cassandra and sara's daddy · « **Reply #16 on:** July 19, 2007, 06:36:56 PM »

my 90 dodge has 460 k miles on it and recently has aquired a mystery malady that caused me to get a backup till i diagnose the ailment in old grey. just picked up an 88 f250 utility body with 144k on it.slant 6 statrts on hills in second.1800 bucks. i hope to be posting about it a long time .

Tallpine · « **Reply #17 on:** July 19, 2007, 06:43:24 PM »

Quote

In the meantime, I've got a '53 Chevy 3600 project that'll be my work truck to haul/pull heavy things around the farmland here.

Ooooohhhh, that is so cool! cool

There is a 1-ton '58 (+/-) stepside pickup sitting at a ranch house a few miles from here. I doubt I could get them to sell it, and I don't have the time or energy to fix it up anyway. It looks pretty good though, but I don't even know if it runs.

Art Eatman · « **Reply #18 on:** July 20, 2007, 06:10:43 AM »

So far, my old think-box seems to work okay. Cheesy

My '85 Toy is a solid front axle, the last year Toyota did that before going to the double wishbone. Mine is stronger for off-road bumping and thumping. I griped to a salesman, who responded: "Art, you're only 20% of the market. We have to sell to those folks who don't go off-road, who want the better ride and handling."

They cater to the majority of the market.

So, similarly, in today's world, if you want a full-size "work truck", you either get a 1/2-ton with a towing package or you move on up to a 3/4-ton. And if you don't want the bells and whistles which happify most people, you have to special order.

Rebuilding is cheaper, but from a reliability standpoint it's better to get it all done at once instead of only fixing something after it breaks and doing that event by event. Do bushings, brakes, shocks, U-joints, hoses, belts, radiator all at once. It's a bigger lump of cash, but in the long run it's cheaper because of less down time.

Art

Tallpine · « **Reply #19 on:** July 20, 2007, 11:05:24 AM »

Quote

My '85 Toy is a solid front axle, the last year Toyota did that before going to the double wishbone. Mine is stronger for off-road bumping and thumping.

Not to mention that once you rip one of those rubber boots, the CV joint is going to wear out very quickly.

We drive our fire trucks through sagebrush and right over small pine trees. shocked

When I sold my 1980 K-10, it never even occured to me that they were going to stop making those cast iron transfer cases Sad

Art Eatman · « **Reply #20 on:** July 21, 2007, 05:31:38 AM »

Toyota dealership mechanics have told me they never do repairs on the solid axles; just routine maintenance--seals and such. But the double-wishbone jobbies get lots of repair work done. Mr. Toyota ran me plumb out of his sales room...

Art

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Author Topic: Does anybody make a work truck anymore? (Read 2709 times)

onions!

cassandra and sara's daddy