Teach me about 1 ton diesel trucks

[Hendog]

I'm looking to buy a 2000-2001 1 ton diesel truck. I've never owned one. I want to thow a camper on the back or pull a RV trailer with it. It has to be turbo for the diesel to be of any use. The first thing that comes to mind is the F350 series, but then there's the chevy with the Duramax that some swear by. Dodge has it's 3500 series I believe. Are they all pretty much the same?

Are there any bad ones to steer clear from right off the top? What issues might I run into with a truck that old, with maybe 150-200k Km (90-120K miles). I'm looking for some objective information. Thanks for the help.

[turbo6bar]

If you get the Dodge of that vintage, get the 6 spd or buy another brand. The automatic is not quite up to the Cummins engine. Course here I am with an 01 2500 with 132k miles on the original 47RE automatic transmission still going strong. The truck is lightly loaded most times, but does get to tug its fair share of 10-15k lbs loads.

search this forum for some recent threads. Dodge rides more like a truck (stiffly sprung). Chevy and Ford have nicer interiors and ride quality, but the Cummins inline six is the top of the food chain. IMO, without the Cummins, the Dodge is a loser.

[trekkor]

I wouldn't trade my 2001 F-350 for anything!

It likely saved my life last August, too, when I got in that wreck.
( wrecked my truck today )
I've already got about 105k miles. Awesome truck! Does it all.
Really good truck for long trips. Comfortable and quiet.




KT

[porsche4life]

Get a stick shift dodge and dont worry about a thing. My dads 99 is approaching 200k and still tickin strong. Easily a 300-500k truck. More power than you can imagine or need.

[vash]

a 3/4 ton is not enough? unless you pull major loads, i think it is. how big of a trailer is in your plans.

i like them all.

[Evans, Marv]

I like my F350. It has the last of the 7.3L diesels in it. I've never owned another diesel truck, so I can't comment on them. I was going to say "good luck" on finding a truck with only 90K to 120K miles on an 8 year old truck. But then Trekker comes along with only 105K miles, so I guess they're out there. Mine is an '03 and has 110K miles on it. With whatever brand you buy, it's important to try to get one that you know has been maintained well. They are expensive to fix. I'm thinking I will keep mine forever.

[speeder]

There are plenty with under 100k miles on them. They sold a lot of them, for every one w/ 200k on it there's one w/ 60k.

[Evans, Marv]

Well, I use mine a lot. I can't imagine someone buying a truck like that to just let it set around or drive to the store.
Denis, didn't you sell yours after rebuilding it?

[look 171]

I have an older Dodge 1 ton. Mid 90s. old school diesel engine. I don't tow too much with it and its ususlly not loaded up too much. 10-20 sheet of plywood. I get most of my materials deliver. I love it and has no problem with it. It only has 80,000 miles. It sits most of the time now.

[VINMAN]

I love my '01 Ram. I wouldnt trade it for anything. Only Issue I had with it was the tranny, which is a common problem with the second gen Rams. another common issue is the Injector pump. But with a good fuel additive such as Power Service or Lucas. That can be avoided.

[billyboy]

Ford makes the best truck, but the Cummins engines in the older dodges are better than the International engines in the Ford. I have a 1995 Ford F -350 dually, crew cab, with 170K. Many loads of 3000 lbs or more. I have had no serious trouble with anything other than the ZF transmission which is a piece of shYt .Syncros have failed twice. With the diesel and the 5 speed, my brakes last forever. I did have to put a new clutch and solid flywheel to replace the original dual mass flywheel. It is a WORK truck but we used to run around on vacations with a huge camper on it. I have a towing rear end too. Pulled a 25 foot stock trailer with 6 horses all over the place.

[legion]

Of that year truck, I'd go with the Ford.

Of the current generation, I'd go with the Chevy/GMC.

[Hendog]

Originally Posted by trekkor

I wouldn't trade my 2001 F-350 for anything!

It likely saved my life last August, too, when I got in that wreck.
( wrecked my truck today )
I've already got about 105k miles. Awesome truck! Does it all.
Really good truck for long trips. Comfortable and quiet.

KT

Yep, I remember that incident at the time. I lurk much more than I post. I don't think I'll need a dually however.

Originally Posted by vash

a 3/4 ton is not enough? unless you pull major loads, i think it is. how big of a trailer is in your plans.

i like them all.

A 3/4 ton may just well do the job. I plan on either buying a camper or renting one to see how I like them. If the camper isn't the deal then it'll be a 5th wheel or trailer. Other than that, it will be used to haul the dogs around and get my wife to work and back and general household duties.

turbo6bar says the Cummins inline 6 is the top of the food chain. How well do the turbochargers last on any of the brands? Am I looking at a new turbo after 120K miles or do they last longer than that?

[speeder]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

Well, I use mine a lot. I can't imagine someone buying a truck like that to just let it set around or drive to the store.
Denis, didn't you sell yours after rebuilding it?

Some of them are driven 50k miles a year on the highway and some are 2nd or 3rd vehicles for people who only use them to haul a camper, etc... When I was a kid in the '70s, one of my best friend's parents had an F-250 or 350 with a big camper on it that just sat in their carport. I never saw it move once in my life, although I'm sure they used it at some time.

They have sold millions and millions of PU trucks in the U.S., not all get worked hard. Especially in the last 10 or 20 years when they have been nothing more than a fashion statement to a lot of people. Search "F-250 diesel" on eBay sometime and then sort by year, newest-> oldest. You will see '08s with 100k miles and '96s w/ under 100k. When people say that you cannot find this or that, it's as though they forget that we're talking about mass-produced, common vehicles that were sold in huge numbers. They are great trucks but they're also a dime a dozen.

Yes, I sold mine in the fall of '07. Good timing, I could now replace it for half of what I got for it. Or get twice the truck for same $$.

[John Rogers]

Here is a shot of the 2000 F350 dually I bought several years ago. It has been flawless and troublefree so far. I got a dually for several reasons, 1st the ride is much nicer with 4 rear wheels, 2nd if a rear tire goes out there is one to help you get stopped safely, 3rd the loading is nowhere near the limit of the truck even with the toy hauler loaded with the race car and finally it just looks neat! The 7.3l engine has tons of power and I added a power booster controller, 4 inch SS exhaust and different intake and "jake brake" so towing is very easy. On Fords you can use the exhaust warmup valve as a brake which is what I did and it helps on long down hills a bunch. I added the air horns to help remind women in their Volvos that I am in their lane as they seem to have a problem seeing the whole rig for some reason?!

As for the brand, they are all good but the earlier Dodges seem to have a huge amount of engine noise but they have quieted down the newer ones.

[williecoyote]

I have a 1999 Ford F250 Super Duty with the 7.3 Diesel. It currently has 278,000 miles on it. I have replaced the water pump twice. They seem to be good for 100- 130k miles. I work this truck pretty hard, but I don't abuse it. I do service it regularly. I bought this truck new in hopes that it would last 10 years. Now, I am curious to see just how long it will last.

My neighbor has a Dodge with the Cummins Diesel. His is noisier than mine. The Cummins has 4 valves per cylinder, which is why it is noisier. It has more parts moving around. Cummins builds an excellent engine.

They both are very good trucks, but I have heard of transmission problems in the Dodge with auto trans.

A Diesel truck with the mileage you are looking at is barely broken in. As long as the transmission checks out, you should get many more miles out of it.

[Evans, Marv]

Hendog,
I guess some of us, me included, plan on keeping our trucks for quite a while. Here are some of the things I've done/do to mine in hopes of making it last longer. 1. Bypass oil filter. 2. Coolant filter. 3. Trans. filter. 4. 6.0L Trans. cooler. 5. Diesel Kleen additive w/ a couple of ounces of 2 stroke ruel injection grade oil added at fill.
There are a bunch of other things, but these are supposed to help a lot with longetivity (especially the bypass filter - or so I've read). You might ask if some of these mods have been done to trucks you look at.

[Hendog]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

Hendog,
I guess some of us, me included, plan on keeping our trucks for quite a while. Here are some of the things I've done/do to mine in hopes of making it last longer. 1. Bypass oil filter. 2. Coolant filter. 3. Trans. filter. 4. 6.0L Trans. cooler. 5. Diesel Kleen additive w/ a couple of ounces of 2 stroke ruel injection grade oil added at fill.
There are a bunch of other things, but these are supposed to help a lot with longetivity (especially the bypass filter - or so I've read). You might ask if some of these mods have been done to trucks you look at.

Marv, if you're still checking this thread: What is a bypass oil filter. Is it an extra filter plumbed into the system in addition to the regular oil filter? Same question on the Coolant and Trans filters: are they add ons? I get the Transmission cooler.

[TimT]

What is a bypass oil filter. Is it an extra filter plumbed into the system in addition to the regular oil filter? Same question on the Coolant and Trans filters: are they add ons?

Yes, yes, and yes.

The bypass oil filter typically is a much finer mesh filter than the oem oil filter. It bypasses some of the oil, and filter the oil extremely well, then return it to the crankcase. You may have to add an extra quart or so of oil to make up for what is in the bypass oil lines and filter.

[HardDrive]

Dad has a 2002 F350. Loves it. Approx 100k on it, most of the time carrying a Lance camper. Numerous trips over the Rockys. He loves the truck.

A selonoid in the transmission went out the past fall leading to rough shifting out of park. Since it involves dropping the transmission, he did a rebuild while it was out. Probably not needed. Otherwise, no major issues. Engine pulls like a train. He claims it runs better than when it was new.