Talk me off the ledge (one way or another)

So here's the deali-o. I have a 1982 Ford F350 with 460, four speed, dually with a service box on it, set up with a crane, air compressor and welder. But it's a nine foot box which is kinda small.

Right now, I have the possibility of buying a 2000 Dodge w/ Cummins, 3500, six speed, bare service box and 11 foot box.

The 460 was built unknown miles ago but has 45 PSI oil pressure, hot at idle. It runs just fine, but not perfect. I rebuilt the front end and it has a new driveline and lots of new small parts. The truck looks OK and is two wheel drive. 6-7 MPG.

The Dodge is four wheel drive, engine was rebuilt about 30,000 miles with oversize pistons and it has an "updated" head. Local machinist said the original head had induction hardened, native iron valves seats but they were updated to seat inserts. I didn't know this engine had been rebuilt when I talked to him and since then, I found out that HE had rebuilt this head and said it was an "updated" one. I haven't asked him about this yet to find out for sure if this means it has inserts.

The Dodge is in good shape at 348,000 Central Oregon miles on it, no rust. Really. It needs main seals and new clutches in the limited slip rear end - maybe even bearings. Transmission is newer as is the clutch. It has a few, minor things like the dome lights don't work and it has an AC leak plus a few other minor things.

I would have to properly build and support the box for the crane and swap over the rear bumper that has the stabilizers built into it. So there is some fabrication that needs done, but that's not a huge thing for me. I know how to properly support the crane box and it's just steel, so that doesn't scare me.

So what's holding me back? The financials I can handle. The selling I can handle. The guy selling it is the guy who I rent shop space from and work on his equipment. He keeps telling me not to buy it - not because it's a POS, but because he doesn't want to sell it so close knowing things can wrong and I could come back to him. But that won't happen.

The bigger box is so enticing, even though tonight I found out the boxes on the Dodge are two inches shallower, but the stuff I have in the Ford will still fit.

I have been over this in my head and I keep going in circles and can't get out of them. So what can I ask myself to help me decide? I certainly like the 15+MPG. At just 5000 miles a year, that's like $2000 savings in fuel. And I'm a diesel mechanic showing up driving a gas rig. But there is some financial safety in the Ford.

So, what questions do I need to ask myself if the Dodge is the right thing to do? Like I said, I keep asking myself the same, questions round and round and I need a different perspective.

I think I need to check the block to see if it's a "53" block, but my understanding is those were only a problem when building power.

Ok, I'm hitting send before I talk myself around in circles again . Thanks for any thoughts or ideas.

Hmmm, I see what you mean. A friend of mine drove truck, 18 wheels, and something in the engine let loose, he rebuilt it, though it had 1.5 or so million miles on it at the time. I asked him why he didn’t just get a new one.

Besides the obvious financial considerations he said, “my truck is my tool, when my tools break I fix them”. Having the right tool is a huge help in any business, if the dodge is a better tool than the ford then you probably should have it ,if the ford is fine, stay with what you already have.

I have no idea in your case which would be the better tool, I know that for me my Golf is a tool, so last year when my belt lost 8 inches of teeth I fixed it because a better tool doesn’t exist on the car market today.

And of course if you decide to buy the dodge you can always expand your service and hire someone to drive the other vehicle. Sometimes that’s a good idea and often way more trouble than it’s worth. I hate making monthly payroll tax payments for someone (s) else but sometimes it’s not possible to do otherwise.

Good luck.

The Dodge has a great drivetrain... too bad it's wrapped in a Dodge.

But in all seriousness, ask yourself do you need it or do you just want it. Do you need 4WD? Do you know that entails a bunch more fragile bits and upkeep? The 4WD Dodge live front axle will need more TLC that your Ford's simple sturdy Twin I-beam ever will, and the Ford is WAY easier to service.

The Dodge's A/C leak is almost certainly the evap core... those ALL leak eventually, and it is a dash puller. And the dash bits are fragile plastic, especially after being beat around in a 1-ton truck for that long.

How much do you drive, and will the fuel cost change alone warrant the effort?

That's a tough one for sure. Having no real allegiance to any of the Local 3 in terms of truck flag waving and brand loyalty, they all have their pros and cons. The Dodge Ram's biggest pro is that Cummins engine option (and if it is a gear rower than all the more going for it, since the ChryCo slushboxes are garbage). Its biggest con: it's a Dodge. Crappy interior, crappy body fit and trim bits, substandard brakes, steering, and suspension (as related to Ford and GM trucks), and probably some other things. There is a reason why there are specialty shops out there that transplant those engines into Ford and GM trucks, instead of just leaving them in the Dodge.

That said, if it was a really clean, straight truck, and wasn't a completely beat up pile, I could stomach putting up with what it takes to keep it in reasonably good order.

And just so you know, I've owned a big block gasoline Ford pickup before. I feel your pain at the pumps.

Jarhead, I'd sell the Ford, and the Dodge is certainly a better tool in that it can carry more tools and supplies and bits and pieces. But I have to think back to what I have done in the field and see if I could have done better with a bigger tool.

Oilhammer, it's weird when I hear you talk about what a POS the Dodge interior is because my '96 is in great shape other than the headliner and this truck is in great shape inside as well. You guys must be hard on your trucks LOL! Exterior has a couple of bangs, but they aren't a problem to me. One box needs some metal massaging done, so I'd do that then repaint that corner and the hood.

Steering, brakes, suspension, fit and finish ... Well, I have enough redneck in me that it doesn't bother me.

Thanks for your input, guys. I respect both of your opinions. I look forward to hearing from others as well.

oilhammer said:

The Dodge has a great drivetrain... too bad it's wrapped in a Dodge.

Click to expand...

High school amigo of mine runs a crop dusting service for a long time............

He says almost exactly - not quite as humorously - as OH.


ez

Dodge. The only reason I could come with to stay with the Ford is that it has wing windows.

I spent a lot of time today thinking about what I would gain with the bigger box, what I could do or do better with the additional storage. Basically, I saw it as a better tool.

Also when it's all set up, if I have to bail, it's now worth $10,000-$12,000 easily. It wouldn't be worth that in the rust belt, but it is here.

So now I have to start planning as well as everyone's favorite word - buying. Lots of steel to mount the crane and a bit more to properly mount the bumper with stabilizers. I also need to find a good deal on bolt drawers for all of nuts, bolts, hydraulic fittings and other accumulated carp. Two drawer sets of four drawers each will fill one box. I think I will reinforce the bottom of that box as well which will be easy since I'll have 2X4X1/2 inch channel running across from the crane box and sitting on the frame. Just put in some 1/4 inch on the bottom and drop some more down from the channel with a V in the back. I would need to figure out how to latch the drawers though.

I fink you goofed in your fuel calcs or you have a typo. I can see saving $200 in 5000 miles. You wouldn't spend $2000 in fuel in either truck on 5k miles.

Maybe you meant 50,000 miles?

Last, you can also calculate the cost per mile to drive. Take the current price of fuel and divide it by your vehicle’s miles per gallon (e.g., $2.34 per gallon ÷ 30.3 miles per gallon = $0.77 or 8 cents per mile).
That's from the interwebbies.
So $3.50 per gallon / 5.5 MPG = $.63 per mile
$.63 * 5000 miles per year = $3150 per year
And $3.50/15=$.23. $.23*5000=$1150 per year.
Shocking, I know.

Oops. I was figgering the gasser got 10 mpg or so. Missed where he said 6-7. Also though gas was more like $3 up there.

I'd give a left nut for 10 MPGs.

Not mine, but someone's.

All you need for 10 mpg in that pig is some splitfire plugs, a can of slick 50, and a few of those miracle fuel line magnets .
I say get the Dodge, you only live once. Think of the street cred that 6bt will add.

The idea of calculating the cost per mile to drive is not bad

If you gave me a dodge I'd sell it for cash... to each his own I guess.

Got a little body work done on the box. R/R box had been whacked a bit and the lower rim was pushed in. I thought I would need to cut it out, straighten it out and weld it back in, but I just pushed it out and with a bit of hammer work, got it back in place so it'll need just a skim of Bondo on it.

Pressure washed the bed and boxes with Purple Power and started cleaning the cab with Zep. So many years of dirt and dust. I pulled stuff apart and even used a drill mounted headlight polishing pad on the instrument bezel.

Not sure if I'll do seat covers or have them recovered, but I'll deal with that another time.

I also have a shopping list for steel to support the crane, but I'm not sure if I'll put a skin over the tops of the boxes. Maybe diamond plate. I did a bunch of work on a guys TDI and he is Handy with a paint gun so I'll have him paint the box when it's ready.

In the category of one thing leads to another, when I was cleaning the headlight switch, I turned the dimmer switch to the dome light on position and didn't realize it so yesterday the battery was dead. I go to open the hood and the secondary release hangs up on the plastic on the bumper. I HATE that so after I got it in the shop, I heated the plastic with my hair... heat gun and put a ratchet straps on it to hold it down to cool and noticed the plastic that the release slides in was loose, so I positioned that, clamped it, drilled a hole and put a screw in it. And while I was doing that, I was at an angle where I could see that a nut was missing on the turbo, so I took care of that and stopped looking for anything else.