My neighbor is looking for a decent used towrig to pull a 40' fith wheel toy box. He wants: - Diesel - Ext or crew cab - 2WD - Manual tranny for durability. - Aiming at mid-late 90 to keep cost down a bit. This will only be use to haul the camper. Not a DD. So, I was thinking: - Ford: 96-97, 99 - Chevy: NONE as 6.5 isn't strong enough. - Dodge: I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THEM. Anyone have any recommendations on years/vehicles and things that he needs to looks for when checking them out? Thanks. BTW, he is in Colorado Springs if you know of anything in the Central Colorado area. waytogo
The 6.5 can made to equal the power and torque of the ford easily enough. And it's been proven to be just as dependable. I have to give the overall to the Dodge for those years though. Upgrades are fairly inexpensive for it and it will out power the others with upgrades. Weak point is going to be the tranny, same with the ford. The GM tranny is only a little better. You really need to think about something newer though. A 40' toy box will get up in weight and fast. The newer trucks are much more capable out of the box.
Dodge pretty much all the way. I disagree on the above statement that the Dodge tranny is weaker than the GM. The Dodge probably has the best manual out of all three, and as for years. The NV4500 will be just fine, and since he wants a 2wd fixing the 5th gear (if he even has problems) will be a sinch with no tcase. The '98 12V is the best year of the P pump trucks, most power and the late model interior. There isn't a whole lot to look out for, just make sure the truck is in good shape. The Ford isn't bad but I just think the 12v Dodge is better in the mid 90's era. The 6.5 GM is pretty much out of question compared to the Ram and Ford. Mostly with power.
i love my gm stuff. but if i was in the market for a tow rig only my best choice would be a dodge. in my opinon you cant beet the tourqe of a stright 6 motor. my friend has had 3 cummins dodges and loved every one. the newer he got the more he loved them. now he has a 04 1/2 crew cab 3500 6 speed 4x4. the truck is just balls to the wall power. he has a gooseneck tri axle . he went from upstate ny to virgina . then loaded up and scaled out the trailer at about 26-28k lbs. when he left to go home. on the trip back he was shifting like normal in trafic. but the only time he needed to down shift for more power was (3) times. this was what sold him forever on the newer 24v cummins. plus the fact it is so quiet in the cab. the only real thing he hears is the turbo spolling. good luck on the truck choice. waytogo
From my experiences in trying to find a specific type of used truck, finding a manual trans in a Chevy is gonna be a bit harder than in a Ford or Dodge. Dodge: Once the "fifth gear nut fix" has been performed on the NV4500 its a pretty much bulletproof trans. The motor is obviously good, simple and reliable, assuming a 12v. Pulling that much weight, Im hoping its a dually, so the D80 will take that abuse with no problems. Obviously a crew cab wont happen in the Dodge, so X-cab is his only choice. Ford: The ZF5 (up to 97) ZF6 (99+) transmissions are very reliable, the weak point in the 5's was the stupid Dual mass flywheel setup. Once this has been changed out it is a very stout unit that has no real weak points or common problems. The ZF6s went back to a single mass setup. There are no real differences in the motors from the OBS trucks to the 99 SDs so its just a matter of finding the right price on the truck that meets the right specs. Crewcab or X-cab are readily available in the DRW trucks. The SDs had a D80 rear as well. You wont be able to beat the Dodge in terms of engine reliability, and once the NVs weak point is addressed, the rest of the drivetrain will be virtually bulletproof as well. It all boils down to how much he is looking to spend.
I have a 6.5 and I agree a 40' toyhauler loaded up will be pushing it as far as weight is concerned. I think that with that big of a trailer a duelly is mandatory as well. The dodge would be my choice...if you can find a truck that is not falling apart around the engine at that age. I think that a newer truck would be better though. more power and reliability. I would think that if he could afford that big of a trailer than a newer truck should be affordable too.
i guess you can tell what most people like just by looking around... how many 6.5 chevys and diesel fords do you see compared to how many gen 2 dodges with cummins motors? i own a dodge and i love mine. despite the bad reputation that dodge has because of their cheap interiors and whatnot i would rather have a reliable motor in a dodge then a nice truck w/ a bad motor.
Lots of good views here. Alot have said he needs to go newer. His plan is to buy something now for cash (8-12K) and then buy a Top Kick(?) in about 2 years. That's why he wants to go a little older.
My Bad! OOPS, I was thinking the Auto for the trans. :doah: I still stand behind everything else though. Everything here of course is just personal opinions and you know what they say about those........
Not me, I say a mid to late 90's Dodge is the way to go. Really, the 12v Cummins is for the most part just a little more reliable than the 24v, which can be basically just as reliable but it costs a some money. The only thing is that the 12v isn't as convienient to make big power compared to the 24v. Basically all the 2nd gen trucks are the same for the most part, not a lot of changes where made through the years, just mainly engine and trans differences. Obviously the interiors changed along with mirrors but outside that there wasn't much else. The Sport package was added in there sometime too. The 12v 2nd gen Ram is a solid truck and is damn reliable....not much less, if any, than the later 24v 2nd gen trucks. Plainly because there isn't a whole lot too them. The interiors didn't get heated leather yet, no power mirrors, etc... compared to the 24v trucks. I'd have a 12v truck if I only towed with it. I wanted a 24v because of all the interior "bells and whistles", sport front end, and an electronic motor. All because it's my only on road vehicle.
I concur. We have a '98 C30 with a 454 and NV4500, my dad wouldn't have purchased it if it was an auto truck. Infact, when we took it to our local GM dealer the head guy was looking for an out of state emmissions sticker since he was wondering if the manual was an out of state option, since he had never seen one at the dealer before.
