Posted 2009-03-23 11:18 PM (#101988 - in reply to #101742) Subject: RE: Buying a new truck
Member
Posts: 35 Location: Ohio
Just went through the fun of shopping for trucks six months ago. Swore I'd never have another diesel - we owned a 93 non-PS Ford 350 diesel that we had lots of problems with;and still have a 95 Chevy K2500 gas. Both more than adequately pulled our 2H Cherokee GN and Trail-et 2H BP. Our trucks are not daily drivers, we use them to pull trailers, haul hay, get feed, go to Lowe's -- you know the drill. I couldn't see the sense in paying more for the engine and fuel, and never put enough miles on the truck to make the payback on a diesel.
We drove an F250 V10, Dodge diesel and a Chevy gas and diesel. I was ready to tell the dealer get the Chevy gasser but reconsidered and bought the diesel instead. Why? Because when I'm hauling the trailer, I love the fact that in anticipation of a stop ahead I can take my foot off the pedal and the engine starts slowing the truck down. A gas engine just doesn't compare.
Yes, it's a bit of a hassle to find the diesel pumps, especially when on the road and with the new low sulphur diesel which not every fueling station has. But I know the best stations locally where I can pull in easily and I know where to get diesel between home and frequest trail destinations. It just takes a little bit of planning.
It's been 3600 miles and I'm really happy that I bought the diesel truck.
Posted 2009-03-24 5:06 AM (#101994 - in reply to #101926) Subject: RE: Buying a new truck
Regular
Posts: 54 Location: Ohio
Originally written by hounddog on 2009-03-23 8:40 AM
How big of a LQ? I doubt a three horse aluminum weighs 10k with no horses if its a 8 foot LQ.My HART which is a composite trailer which is heavier then aluminum weighs about 8k with generator,hyd/electric jack etc.front twin propane tanks etc.You need to weigh your trailer on some scales.I was told by a HART engineer/manager to take the basic trailer weight and for every foot of LQ to add 300lbs.He said that is what it usually figures out to on any LQ trailer.The reason I say what I have is that I have a friend with a Ford 351 5 speed farm truck(early 90s) and it would NOT pull a empty 4 horse aluminum small dressing room with out seriously straining the truck.In fact he did it ONCE and said not again.Just not enough truck.My Hart with NO LQ shipping weight was in the 5500 lb range is what HART told me.Add 2400 for LQ/fliuds and there you go.7900lbs. My Hart is for sale. http://www.signalfireranch.com/
Hounddog, you're right. I need to weigh my trailer to get an exact weight. It is an 8' wide 8' SW LQ and is a 4 Horse. I can tell you this much. The dealer said it weighed about 9500 pounds before I added the hydraulic jack, AC and a few other options. The GVWR for the trailer is 18,000#. I am pretty confident that the trailer would scale at least 10K as it was rolling this weekend.
Buying a new truck
