Here’s the scenario. We have a 1995 F-350 1ton Ford trying to haul an Arctic Fox Camper which exceeds the GVWR and the weight on the rear axel. My husband just found a 2001 F-350 Duallie that could very well work for us (weight restrictions wouldn’t be an issue). Only a couple of issues. we are in Washington, it is in Cali (500 miles away) we found it online and have not seen it in person (would fly down pre-purchase to make final decision) we called up a neutral party (Ford dealership) in cali to do a complete inspection on the rig and they found a handful of issues (pd. $165 for this) not reported by the dealer (we were screwed when buying the 1st truck - from Montana - so expected this, thus the desire for a neutral party inspection). Estimated costs to make repairs was between $1,500 -$2K the rig has 123,000 miles on it. my husband says this isn’t an issue since it’s a diesel (is it?).
So at this point we can look at this two ways.
It’s an older truck (so should expect some issues) and now we know what the problems are. If we have the seller agree to fix every problem the ford dealership found and give us a credit for the tires (the seller thought they were brand new and they are at 50%) then would it be a wise decision to move forth and travel to see it in person with strong probability of purchase? Or walk away and keep looking. We have to buy used though (finances) so eventually we’ll cross this bridge again, just with another truck.
I have NO idea what to do. My husband plans on telling the seller to fix the problems and we have a deal. I’m nervous. When we bought the 1st truck my husband asked that seller ‘xyz’ questions and bought it sight unseen (except via pics on the internet). When we received the truck, it had issues (not huge issues but we had to drop another $2500 into it). I really don’t want a repeat of that scenario (thus the neutral party looking it over).
What would you do? (we are in a smallish area so really the likelihood of finding something relatively close is…well we’ve been looking for 4 months now and so far nothing).
Overall Ford makes a darn good truck, but all have been treated and maintained different.
I would go look at the truck if you can afford the trip, I worked in the automotive industry for 10 years before I escaped, both on the Manufacturing side and retail side, and nothing replaces actually looking at the vehicle. You cant tell by certain signs of the true age, the way it was treated, and miles better that way.
Look at the brake and gas pedal covers for wear, under fenders for spring tower bushings cracked,upper and lower control arm play, weather stripping between the doors, and bed conditions near the rear springs bolts both in the bed and under it, stuff like that.
It probably has the 7.3L power stroke, which overall (IMHO) is a nice motor. They had some trouble with rough running, the 7.3L is fired off of oil pressure in the system, and the o rings around the injectors had a problem of deteriorating and causing a rough idle and skipping problem, about a $750 fix(IIRC) to replace all 8 rings.
No one can look inside an assembly and tell you when or if its going to fail, but you can get a better idea by eyeballing the truck and the owner to see how it was maintained.
No magic ball, or bullet, and a lot of luck involved I think.
WHat I have found with my Dodge 3500 truck, is that you can put a lot more weight than the suggested amount. WHen I had my 2500 one, I put airbags on it, and it hauled a ton(no pun intended) of weight. The thing you have to do, is make sure you have really good tires. Load range E at least, and that takes care of the weight issue, once you have the airbags. Those babies can hold another couple tons, and I had to rock in the back to prove it. Hauled 7000lbs in one load once, and they held like champions…
But it wouldn’t be bad to switch to a deisel either, they handle the weight a lot better than a gas engine, and get twice the mileage. Not sure about that year Ford, they did have some issues for awhile, but I hear the newer power strokes are pretty good. Do a little research and find out when they worked the kinks out, or maybe someone here knows… Take a look at some old Dodge’s. The Cummins has no issues, and has been around a long time. Probably a wash on the rest of the truck, but that is why Dan And I only get Dodges, the cummings engines…Good for a min of 300k, and I have lifeguard buddies that have over 500k on them, no rebuilds…That is an impressive engine…
I suggest you keep looking and consider a Dodge Ram 3500. The Cummings is a better diesel than the Ford’s. My Father has a '94 3500 with the cummings and pulls his 47 foot boat with no problem. My brother has the 2500, did a little work, and is getting over 500 RHP. Both have over 200k miles on them and have had no problems at all. They easily put my 04 2500 Hemi to shame.
If you do buy it, go look at it first. Just my 2 cents.
I would ask for a discount equivelent to the cost to repair the stuff you need to repair. I wouldn’t want the guy’s brother-in-law doign the repairs for a case of beer if he is not a qualified mechanic. I’d rather have my guy doing the work.
So we decided to purchase the truck (I questioned above).
Flew to Sacramento (from Eastern Washington) on Saturday morning. Arrived at 12:20pm. On the road with the truck by 4pm. 730 miles - 36 hours total (flight time/drive time/sleep time). It was a FAST trip but we are most pleased with our decision to purchase this truck.
Here is our new truck. Now we just need to come up with a name for it (although it will probably become “the rig”).
