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i'm shopping for a used diesel to tow a 5th wheel. pref a F350. I am wondering at what mileage point wound you not consider buying one even if the units in good shape
i'm shopping for a used diesel to tow a 5th wheel. pref a F350. I am wondering at what mileage point wound you not consider buying one even if the units in good shape
Every once in a while I'll pick up a used F-350 / F-250 for my business when I come across a good deal. I tend to stay away from the diesel engines, even the 7.3's, because Ford's V10 has proven over the years to me to be a much better buy. While I like the older Powerstrokes, they're kinda tough to find and they're not worth the extra money IMO when you look at the overall cost of the vehicle as well as the maintenance involved. Diesels are nice, but they're a pain to fix and can get pretty costly.
As far as mileage is concerned, I wouldn't buy anything with over 150k miles on either way. You can usually expect to get 300-350k out of a V10 and about the same out of a Powerstroke. If you do with a diesel, STAY AWAY from the early model 6.0 Powerstrokes! Ford had a lot of problems with those engines for the first couple of years. As for the V10's, I was a little leery of them at first, but they're really an awesome engine. Just make sure that you tighten down the plugs every month or so just in case you've got one that spits plugs. Some of em' do, and once it happens it's big bucks to have it fixed.
I think it depends greatly on how much you'll be driving it. If it's just a few miles to your favorite campground and you won't be driving it that much, higher mileage will probably be okay. On the other hand, if you're retiring and plan to visit all the states or use it as a daily driver with a long commute, I'd keep the mileage down low.
I just traded my 2000 F250 PSD. I bought it new, and for the first 10-11 years I had it, I only drove it about 6K miles per year. I hardly had any problems with it. Then I started a new job in which I drove it 30-35K miles per year. It seemed like once I passed that 100K mile mark, little things started going wrong, then bigger things. It had 153K on it when I gave up and traded.
I spent a ton on maintenance the past couple years, and then this fall the clutch, which I'd had replaced a year ago, started grabbing a bit so I took it in. They said it was caused by a leak in the turbo waste gate dripping onto my clutch housing and getting in, so it wasn't covered by Ford's parts warranty. It was going to be right at $3K to fix both, just what the clutch work cost last fall. I said I'd schedule the work later, as the clutch wasn't causing a problem.
Then when October's cold spell hit, I started having problems getting it started in the morning and had to plug it in if the temps were going to be anywhere near the 30s. I figured it was a problem with the glow plug relay and dropped it off at the dealer. Mechanics said the glow plug was fine but there were some weak injectors(?) and it was going to cost $3K to fix it. I had the shocks changed a year or two ago, but the brakes and ball joints were both getting to that point, and I had a few minor glitches (electric window, power door locks) that I'd been putting off getting fixed. I figured an $8-9K outlay to get it working properly. Then it would be something else next year....
I couldn't afford all that maintenance. If I was only driving it 6K miles a year, one year's cost would have been spread out over 5 years and wouldn't have been so bad, but when you drive a lot, those little things that start wearing out will eat you alive.
I traded for a new Prius with the factory extended warranty. Fuel and routine maintenance (oil changes, tires) will cost about 1/3 what I've been paying out, and no more surprise repair expenses!
Unfortunately, we'll probably have to dump the 5th wheel now. My wife refuses to drive a truck to work (or anywhere), I can't afford the high cost-per-mile to drive a truck 3K miles per month, and we don't want 3 vehicles. We'll buy another one within a couple years, hopefully. We've been wanting a larger 5er and a larger truck to pull it with.
As far as mileage is concerned, I wouldn't buy anything with over 150k miles on either way. You can usually expect to get 300-350k out of a V10 and about the same out of a Powerstroke. If you do with a diesel, STAY AWAY from the early model 6.0 Powerstrokes! Ford had a lot of problems with those engines for the first couple of years. As for the V10's, I was a little leery of them at first, but they're really an awesome engine. Just make sure that you tighten down the plugs every month or so just in case you've got one that spits plugs. Some of em' do, and once it happens it's big bucks to have it fixed.
Actually, as far as 6.0's go, you'd have to be seriously unlucky to find one that wasn't taken care of under Ford recalls way back when and is still a troublemaker. My dealer/landlord friend drives 6.0 truck his way more than his 7.3 trucks these days for a reason.
As expensive as 7.3 models are just because of well-intended misinformation like this, plus their power numbers and MPGs out of the box, I'd take one of those over a 7.3 and their high price for the mileage mileage, any day. If you want a diesel to be scared of, I could side with you on the twin turbo PSD trucks and anything with DPF setups. Those will not be budget friendly when they get up in miles.
As for the v10, it would have to be a really good price to take on a truck that won't touch 10 MPGs (at least with a 4x4) and the spark plugs certainly don't need to be torqued down monthly unless you are OCD and just have to torque them down to 28 ft/lbs monthly. If so, fair enough.
If you're going to be using it regularly, you might be just as well to get a Class 7/8 tow unit. Friend of mine bought an old CF Freightliner cabover to pull horse trailers, and he was able to better a pickup in fuel mileage, plus we're talking about vehicles built with an eye towards the 1kk frame before an in-frame with proper PM along the way.
But if you're not using it to an extent where that would be worthwhile, then yeah, the pickup route is the way to go.
As for the ones with the DPF/SCR/etc, I tend to concur that I'd rather not have to deal with them. It's not the end of the world if you do get one... if I had no choice, I think I'd go for one with just the straight DPF, rather than one with the SCR and DEF.. the latter are less prone to clogging the DOC and DPF, but there's also a lot more which can go wrong... I'd rather have to take down the DPF and blow it out with compressed air a few more times over the service life of the vehicle than have to pay for the SCR or DEF doser when the mechanical system goes out of adjustment.
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