Gun Dog Forum

Looking at a 2000 F250 XLT SuperDuty 4x4,Triton V8, off road, crew cab, with 75,000 miles. If we are gonna continue this 4-H livestock project (and i hope we do) then we are gonna need a truck to haul animals and the 6 of us around in. anybody drive one of these now or in the past??

As far as used goes, I would stick to a Toyota if there is a similar model, unless this truck is a certified used vehicles.

What motor?


It'll haul a darnsight lot more than a Toyota will regardless of engine. :roll:

+1 Toyota

mcbosco wrote:As far as used goes, I would stick to a Toyota if there is a similar model, unless this truck is a certified used vehicles.

Sounds like a New Jerseian. There are probably 50 trucks on the road to every Toyota you would find. Touota may be the best bu most of the rest are good also. Still see my 2000 Dodge on the road and it had 78000 on it when I traded it in 2004. Check it out, there should be a lot of mile left in it.

Ezzy

I am assuming it has the diesel engine, but which one? Fords that had the 7.3L powerstroke had tons of people that swore by them. When Ford went to the 6.0L they experienced lots of injector problems and head issues.
The miles are not an issue if it is a diesel engine. If you are buying it from an individual, see if they will tell you about the service history.
Toyota is not a consideration if you are going to be pulling a trailer, which I assume you will be after the mention of 4-H.

Good luck with your projects!

ezzy333 wrote:

mcbosco wrote:As far as used goes, I would stick to a Toyota if there is a similar model, unless this truck is a certified used vehicles.

Sounds like a New Jerseian. There are probably 50 trucks on the road to every Toyota you would find. Touota may be the best bu most of the rest are good also. Still see my 2000 Dodge on the road and it had 78000 on it when I traded it in 2004. Check it out, there should be a lot of mile left in it.

Ezzy

Why did you trade it? The reason I mentioned Toyota is, despite the quality and longevity, resale on Toyota trucks is actually not great, so the value might be better.

I just sold a '99 F250 superduty, 4X4 offroad reg cab with 7.3 diesel and 125,000 miles for $11,000.00 to the first looker. I replaced it with a '99 F250 SD 4x4 offroad X-cab with 7.3 diesel and 61,000 miles for $13,000. Both of these were Lariats with leather and all the bells and whistles but I don't think that changes the value much.

The 2000, if it's a diesel, will have the 7.3 and in my opinion is probably a better truck than anything made since 2003. That diesel, with a $400 chip will get 17-22 MPG highway depending on you driving style, it will tow any load you need to haul, will be comfortable, and hold it's resale value. If you can buy that truck for under $15,000 you are getting a good deal, assuming it is in good to excellent condition for a 75,000 mile truck.

I have been driving basically the same truck since 2001 and I have no qualms in saying that for my money, there is no better truck to be had regardless of price, brand, year, etc.

I can't help you if it's a gasoline version.

I would forget Ford all together and buy a Dodge...

As long as it has the 7.3, you're golden. The 6.0 was the beginning of the end for the International-sourced Powerstroke.

I have a gas engine 5.4 2000 F250 4X4 with 144,000 miles the drive train will outlast the rest of the truck.The truest part of Toyota is Toy IMO.
I sold a 1990 F 150 with over 250,000 miles on it about 9 yrs ago & it's still on the rd.
I'm a Ford man if you didn't guess.

If you're towing over 5000lb, the diesel is the only way to go. You can hear a gas engine sucking the tank dry once you put it under load. With my Cummins, with every 1000 lbs the advantage over a gas engine goes up. My buddy tows his 33' double slide out with his 5.4 Ford and gets 7-8 mpg....when I tow it, we get 12-14. When you start racking up the miles, the $$ difference is huge...never mind the driveability.

ultracarry wrote:I would forget Ford all together and buy a Dodge...

I wouldn't buy a 24v Dodge. 12v or CR... But I hate the seats in the CR trucks...

Those are VERY solid trucks, built like tanks. The gas engines like the fuel towing, but hold up well.

(Diesel trucks are my "thing")

If he is looking at a 3/4 ton, Toyota doesn't have anything comparable. I've driven and towed with the new ones, still can't hang with a 15 year old 3/4 ton as a working truck.

FWIW........I am in the truck business.........didn't throw in my personal preference........but gave solid advice on the Ford. If it is 7.3L, you will be happy towing. Don't buy a Dodge. Don't consider a Toyota.

kbshorthairs wrote:FWIW........I am in the truck business.........didn't throw in my personal preference........but gave solid advice on the Ford. If it is 7.3L, you will be happy towing. Don't buy a Dodge. Don't consider a Toyota.

You are "in the truck business" but don't know what diesel Ford was using in 2000?

The 6.0 came out in the middle of the 2003 model year...

I'm just saying...

it says V8 triton on it, if that tells you anything about the engine. really kind of a strange thing, we started talking about looking for a truck just this past weekend, and then i see this one sitting about a mile from the clinic this morning with a for sale sign on it. only problem is he is asking about 4,000 more than what Kelley blue book says it is worth. looks clean, no blemishes, but havnt driven it yet. we'll see.

Thats a gas truck, V8 (they had a V10 Triton as well), way too much money, and at that age a problem looking to find a new owner...
IMHO

i've driven many fords on the farm and my preference is the 7.3 diesel, i don't have much experience with the v8 triton but have driven a crew cab v10 triton that i thought felt like the most useless truck we ever used so if your getting it for pulling definately look for one with a 7.3 diesel motor

Unless you are planning on towing in serious mountains or BIG loads you have lots of choices. A half ton is a marginal tow vehicle, but if you only tow once in a while and the loads are not huge, you =might find it an alternative. One horse or cow, towed 100-200 miles to a show every so often is no big deal. A four horse living quarters trailer fully loaded every weekend is another story.

We have a 2005 Dodge and we are very pleased with it. One thing to consider is comfort... and the Dodge seats are (for me) much more comfortable. I have serious back problems and after 800 miles in the Dodge I'm semi functional.. 800 miles in a Ford and I can;t move. We had good experiences with Fords, but i like the Dodge much better.

One think I would say for certain: Set up for gooseneck towing and get a B&W Turnover ball system installed. They are the BEST! Handsdown!!!

dog dr wrote:Looking at a 2000 F250 XLT SuperDuty 4x4,Triton V8, off road, crew cab, with 75,000 miles. If we are gonna continue this 4-H livestock project (and i hope we do) then we are gonna need a truck to haul animals and the 6 of us around in. anybody drive one of these now or in the past??

gasoline engines tend to not run very long, if ur lucky 180,000 miles is ur best bet. Now a diesel will run over 200,000 or more.

dog dr wrote:Looking at a 2000 F250 XLT SuperDuty 4x4,Triton V8, off road, crew cab, with 75,000 miles. If we are gonna continue this 4-H livestock project (and i hope we do) then we are gonna need a truck to haul animals and the 6 of us around in. anybody drive one of these now or in the past??

Oh, and a 2500 or 3/4 ton isn't that great for hauling realy heavy stuff, obviously its better than a half ton but a 1ton or 3500 with a diesel would be best for that.

Doc,

How much do you have to tow? A Certified USED Nissan Titan has a 2100 lb pay load. A 2008 Titan Crew Cab Loaded with 25k miles and a 7 year/100k warranty (fresh 100k) goes for less than 25K. 1.99% financing for 4 years.

displaced_texan wrote: You are "in the truck business" but don't know what diesel Ford was using in 2000?

The 6.0 came out in the middle of the 2003 model year...

I'm just saying...

In the fall/winter of 2002, you could order a 2003 with either the 7.3 or the 6.0...just sayin'

IMO....stay away from the 6.0 and the early 6.4 Ford diesels. I know lots of owners who have had problems. I'd do some homework on the Duramax too. I have a 2006 Cummins and haven't seen many of the usual Dodge problems...trans has held together but rebuilt the front end at 90K. With a mild chip, exhaust and intake, tows WAY better than the Ford diesels my friends have...exception is the 7.3...thats a heck of an engine and I know several farm trucks that have been beat for years that are still going strong. STAY AWAY from trucks that guys have tweaked to the max...the Bully Dog freaks ... 800 hp and such. You'll just be paying for the abuse of power for years too come.

Well I would say for what you are going to use it for and my guess would be to local fairs around your beautiful countryside down there, and a few animals not a herd of them. If it says Triton V8 in a 250 then it's a 5.4 liter. If it has lock out hubs I would check them and drive it with them locked in and out. Gas Mileage, FUHGETTABOUTIT, not the best on gas in that set up, I would say 8-10 mpg pulling a trailer, depending on how big and what your hauling, not towing 12-15 at best without any mods done to it. Ball joints both upper and lower were a problem, as were some other steering bushings. Ford did a horrible job with the front end bushings in those years......on my 5th ford f-150 over the last 20 some years.......I like Fords......

Oh heck Doc splurge and go get the new F-150 crew cab with the Eco Boost engine.....

Ahumphers91a wrote: Oh, and a 2500 or 3/4 ton isn't that great for hauling realy heavy stuff, obviously its better than a half ton but a 1ton or 3500 with a diesel would be best for that.

Really? I regularly tow a 12,000 lb bumper pull TT with a 1000 lb dog box in the bed. A 2500 (mines a GMC) will tow 15,500 lbs + off the gooseneck/5th wheel, think the newer ones are up to nearly 20,000 off a gooseneck.

Yes a dually will tow more but to say a 3/4 ton isn't that great for hauling heavy stuff isn't quite accurate. A SRW 3500 is only rated for 600 more lbs GVWR.

I also get 20+ mpg in the 2500, not gonna touch that with a dually. Heck i doubt the Toyota trucks get that per gallon.

Wyndancer wrote:

displaced_texan wrote: You are "in the truck business" but don't know what diesel Ford was using in 2000?

The 6.0 came out in the middle of the 2003 model year...

I'm just saying...

In the fall/winter of 2002, you could order a 2003 with either the 7.3 or the 6.0...just sayin'

I know...

My 2000 F 250 4x4 5.4 use to get about 12-13 mile to gallon around town.We drove it to S Dakota a couple mos after I bought it & got 16 to 18 mile per gal on the highway.
I put new plugs in it at about 107,000 miles every one kept saying you will get better mileage casue it's past due for a change.
So new plugs & now it gets 11 mile to gallon I don't care how you drive it or if pulling anything or not.
I bought it in 2002 with about 36,000 miles on it now has 144,000 going to try new plugs again & see what happens.

Some of the 5.4's had injector issues, dont quote me but might bear some research....

Ahumphers91a wrote:gasoline engines tend to not run very long, if ur lucky 180,000 miles is ur best bet. Now a diesel will run over 200,000 or more.

I have a 1998 Ford Explorer 4wd Eddie Bauer Edition with 180,000 miles on it now and still gets 18mpg running around town and 20 mpg on the highway and still runs like the day I bought it with 40,000 miles on it. I was going to replace the engine last year but a gentleman I spoke with that had been building, repairing, and replacing engines for 25 years for NAPA told me that the SOHC V6 I have in my truck will run out to 300,000 miles if it is not using oil which it is not so I guess I will run it till it blows up and either buy a different truck or replace the engine. I am kinda partial to her right now though.

Ive got a 1500 chevy (5.3) with 210,000 runs like the day i bought it , literally !

Just sold two jeeps , one was a pickup. one had 405,000 the other had 327,000.

A buddy of mine put 400kish on a 2000 5.4 without any real issues, and it still ran great. That's the only one I've been around. Most of the people I run with are driving diesels, and most of those are modified. (Far beyond the typical intake/exhaust/chip...)

Truck was gutless as all get out from day one, but ran fine.

KBB is high anymore, see what they are going for on Ebay/Craigslist. You should be able to get a Powerstroke in that price range.

We have had our 99f350 7.3 superduty for a very long time its bulletproof except for three injectors and a front wheel bearing. Same for our 2000 excursion with the same 7.3 motor. We have a large overhead camper and a two horse trailer that we haul our horses with for quail hunting. We recently sold the excursion to a dealer from lubbock who flew out and drove it back to texas. No problem finding buyers for them. We didn't like the weight the noise or the size for getting way off road. Very easy to get stuck in the sand with the heavy diesel.
A word about the gas motor trucks is they are only worth about half of the same model and year 7.3 diesel. If you don't plan on useing it very often and it has very low miles. It would be okay for a hauler and it would suck a a lot of fuel but how long would it be before you would recover the extra cost for the diesel purchase price. The dodge 12 valve is a better motor than the 7.3 stroker but they have no room compared to the fords. Not to mention auto transmission and front end problems. Death wobble is very common on the dodge also. Had dodge not had the cummins they would have only a tiny share of the full size truck market.
I have a buddy installing a 12 valve cummins into his ford truck right now. I thought about buying another excursion with a gas motor and doing the same cummins swap. I would have to use it a whole lot and keep it forever to make it worth it.

Ahumphers91a wrote:

dog dr wrote:Looking at a 2000 F250 XLT SuperDuty 4x4,Triton V8, off road, crew cab, with 75,000 miles. If we are gonna continue this 4-H livestock project (and i hope we do) then we are gonna need a truck to haul animals and the 6 of us around in. anybody drive one of these now or in the past??

gasoline engines tend to not run very long, if ur lucky 180,000 miles is ur best bet. Now a diesel will run over 200,000 or more.

I consider a vehicle a failure if it has any major problems before 200,000 miles, but then again I have had nothing but Toyotas and 1 ISUZU

I would be leary if the Triton is a 5.4L 3 valve, were a few problems with these, but overall a good runnung engine. It must be maintained properly though, it does not take many oil changes of using anything but 5w-20 to lead to future problems.

Used vehicle prices are high right now. Just spoke with a gentleman who sells Enterprise's old inventory and he said vehicles are wholesaleing about $ 2-3000.00 above what they were a year ago. Just hold out a little longer.

Every one is talking motors and brands. I will too but:
Really what you need to look at is the gearing. Not every truck in a weight class is geared the same. If you are going to be towing and weight you should have gearing from 3:93 up to 4:10 ratios. Especially with gas motors.

My Dodge Cummins suffers from poor gearing, 3:73. Many of the newer vehicles have 3:53 to up the highway fuel mileage, but you really suffer towing and around town. I really like my 04 dodge but wish the gearing was different.
Full Size work vehicles:
Toyotas. Really bad fuel mileage and they have not proved to be a very good quality vehicle
Nissan: "Ditto"
My 03 Chevy 1500 has 347,653 miles, still runs great gets 17 mpg average and 10mpg 16' towing my construction trailer.
I have one guy who has a V10 triton, 02 F350, other than body parts falling off it still goes great, It is worked hard. 10 to 12 mpg. He is loaded all the time. It has over 200,000 mpg.
I have had dodges all my life, Also have a 05 1/2 ton dodge (187,00 miles plus) with the 4.3 with 3:93 gears it halls a trailer better than the Chevy. The dodges do not ride as well as the chevy but better than the ford IMHO.

With any 4X4 truck you need to expect to be changing front end parts, every 50 to 70 thousand miles maybe more depending on hwat you do with the vehicle.

If you will be hauling once every two months just with in an hour or two then the motor does not matter that much.
I know a guy who bought a 1500 Dodge Hemi 4X4 and hauled a steel framed fith wheel camper to Alaska. Where he had troubel was hills and fuel, as you can imagine. The guy that also went had a dodge 3500 4X4 diesel he used half the fuel, and was always pulling away on hills.

dog dr wrote:Looking at a 2000 F250 XLT SuperDuty 4x4,Triton V8, off road, crew cab, with 75,000 miles. If we are gonna continue this 4-H livestock project (and i hope we do) then we are gonna need a truck to haul animals and the 6 of us around in. anybody drive one of these now or in the past??

Back on topic.

Dog Dr...how much are they asking? It is low miles, and that's a bonus...probably where the owner figures it's worth the $4k bump from book value. Now remember, it's 12 model years old. Parts support is always gonna be there. But really, is it worth over $10k? I don't know. I have a '01 Ford 7.3 SRW Crew Shortbox..170k miles. Runs like a top, but MN winters are taking its toll on the body....not bad but the rust is there. I figure it maybe a $11k vehicle...and I may be high at that.

Jesse Chapman, a pro in Ohio, has a '05 F250 Super Cab, long box, 4x4 and the 5.4 Triton. Has a 8 hole dog topper and pulls a 3h bumper pull trailer. 7-8 mpg. Goes all over the east coast. And in 2005 drove that rig from Ohio to Seattle. Did the job. Not fast, but did the job.

Sounds to me like the Good Dr. doesn't need the iron you all are talking about. Taking a few farm animals on pancake flat roads for a spin to the fair doesn't require more than a 1/2 ton.

A used Toyota or Nissan with a factory warranty is a very sensible way to go.

Even a Honda Ridgeline can tow 5,000lbs, not much less than an F150.

dog dr wrote:Looking at a 2000 F250 XLT SuperDuty 4x4,Triton V8, off road, crew cab, with 75,000 miles. If we are gonna continue this 4-H livestock project (and i hope we do) then we are gonna need a truck to haul animals and the 6 of us around in. anybody drive one of these now or in the past??

The Triton V8 (5.4) was the smallest motor that Ford put in the Super Duty; the V10 was basically a 5.4 with two more cylinders. The early Triton motors (2 valves/cylinder) had a problem with spitting out sparkplugs. I have had good luck with the Fords that I have been driving since the early 80's, and they have never left me stranded on the side of the road. I have had a few weekends of field trialing disrupted because I was traveling with a friend in his Dodge, and the main reason that I will not buy a Chevy is because of the gas and diesels (350, 6.0, and Duramax) that I drive at work.

If I were you, I would look for something newer. My '02 spit out it's spark plug at 67,000 miles, but I was able to drive it back to town for repair.

Dog dr -

I own a 2001 Dodge 3/4 ton with a 5.9 V-8 . I towed a 2 horse Bumper Pull trailer with it for a fair number of years with it. It did a fine job except when pulling two horses and all their gear up steep inclines. There were hills in VA and TN where I didn't have enough pedal to power all the way to the top of the hill.

It has about 130,000 miles on it and it is stil doing OK...but it is getting tired.

I knew I wanted to upgrade to a 3 horse bumper pull and i knew the dodge wouldn't cut it, so I bought a used Ford 3/4 ton diesel crew cab. It is the 6.0 liter diesel and it had 60K on it. According to the Carfax, it had a transmission job done at about 30,000. I have had no problems with it, so far.

It has plenty of power to pull the 3 horse BP trailer, fully loaded with horses, dogs feed, hay and water. When towing, I got around 10-14MPG. When doing highway driving without the trailer, if I am careful I get around 20MPG.

One thing I was told... diesel trucks after 2006 are required to have emissions stuff on them which KILLS your mileage, so If you can find a 2005 or'06 diesel with low miles on it, you should do well for a good long time.

RayG

mcbosco wrote:Sounds to me like the Good Dr. doesn't need the iron you all are talking about. Taking a few farm animals on pancake flat roads for a spin to the fair doesn't require more than a 1/2 ton.

A used Toyota or Nissan with a factory warranty is a very sensible way to go.

Even a Honda Ridgeline can tow 5,000lbs, not much less than an F150.

I have a F150 it has a 9500# towing rating, a Honda Ridgeline is built off on a car frame. Those two are not in the same class, the Ridgeline might be great for pulling around your lawn mower on a two wheel trailer but then my wifes Camry can do that.

Base F150's have half that..I am just saying no one really knows what the Dr. needs. For all we know he has a few sheep to bring to the shows.

I see Ridgelines towing 26 foot center consoles with twin 150's all the time.

mcbosco wrote:Base F150's have half that..I am just saying no one really knows what the Dr. needs. For all we know he has a few sheep to bring to the shows.

I see Ridgelines towing 26 foot center consoles with twin 150's all the time.

As stated before the Ridgeline is built on a car frame (unibody) it is the only manufacturer to do this, it is basicly an el camino. Its tow rating is more in-line with my wife's camry than my f150.

mcbosco wrote:Base F150's have half that..I am just saying no one really knows what the Dr. needs. For all we know he has a few sheep to bring to the shows.

I see Ridgelines towing 26 foot center consoles with twin 150's all the time.

I see people towing stuff down the road all the time that they have no business towing with the vehicle they have, but that doesn't make it right. To be safe you want to remain around 80% of the total weight you can tow. Other factors like does the trailer have brakes. I trust my 2500hd to stop a trailer brakes or not, I've had to do it.

There is another factor about being sure you do not tow more weight than your truck is rated for. If you do and you get in a wreck you might not have insurance. Make sure you read that fine print as most policies your insurance is not valid if you are towing more than your vehicle is rated to.

For the OP you need to figure out how much weight you wanna tow, trailer, all cargo for the truck and the trailer, including people etc, and then determine how much truck you are going to need. Lots of hills you will want a diesel. There are a lot more hills on the interstate than you think. You realize it when you start towing as you will downshift in places that you just cruised in normal driving.

I have a 6.0gas with 4.1 rear end and 35" tires. Best I ever do is an occasional 15 on the hwy not towing. When I was towing about 6k Travel Trailer, dog box, 2-3 dogs, 3 people and a bunch of other stuff, I got 10.5-11. I probably could slow down a little more and get better mileage but ohwell.

Yes, it is a unibody vehicle but so what. It is rated for 5,000lbs. A Camry has a 1,000lb tow rating.

The OP's needs seem pretty modest as stated. That is my point.

Had a dodge 1 ton dually ext cab used to haul horses around the country in, we put over 400,000 miles on that one pulled 7 or 8 pregnant mares at one time no problems. Got 22 mpg after I put an injector advance on it raised HP 100 and torque more than 100 ft lbs.

My currrent hauler is a GMC 1995 2500 ext cab 8 lug not the weak 6 lug. I pulled like 10 large round bales weighed about 1500 lbs each put 1 1/2 ton of bagged grain and run it home no problems. I also pull a horse trailor with cows weigh 1500 or more to the locker twice a year no problems

I may go for a new ford with the coyote 5.0 or the larger v8 is very powerfull

Look on google for the ford eco boost torture test and see what they can do now. That v6 pulled a load better than the dodge diesel and the chevy up a grade with a full load.

The ford 7.3 out pulled the dodge stock but the dodge can be upped easily with a bolt on that is like 400.00.

What are you doing in 4h? bottle calfs? Market steers? Might look into a gooseneck type trailor as they pull easy and is easy to back in to a place.

well right now, towing power is not a big priority, but it could be in the future. the biggest issue now is ROOM for all of us and at least a truck bed to haul stuff and critters. Somewhere down the road, though there will be a trailer on the back, but i doubt it will be loaded to the hilt. KBB says this particular truck is worth about $10,500, but this guy is asking $14,500. I havent even driven it yet, or talked to him at all. I have just never driven a Ford, and dont know much about them. i will say this, after shopping around the internet, it is hard to find a crew cab that doesnt have a console between the front seats.

If that is the case I would look for a Certified Nissan Titan. JMO

Better value than a Toyota.

Dog Dr.

If the seat configuration is an issue, very often you can go to a wrecking yard and find a front bench seat that will bolt right in with the console removed...if the option was available from the factory initially. It is a durned sight cheaper than buying the wrong truck...

FWIW,

Joe

Dog Dr.

I wouldn't give $14k for that..go with the KBB value. And go have a look and drive it. It may not have buckets in the front. My '01 Ford Crew has the 40/60 split bench....seats 6 easy.

I think wannbe said it...the 5.4's are known to spit the spark plugs. A friends Expedition sits behind the garage for the same problem.