Help me decide, 3 trucks I need to pick 1 from.

[ericm979]

The last few used vehicles I bought were common enough that I could look for units with good service records. With Carfax and similar that mostly means dealer serviced as it's mostly dealers that report services. If it's relatively low miles then to me a good service record is more important than 10 or 20% difference in miles.

If Cummins (or anyone) could get a similar amount of power per liter out of a gas turbo truck engine that modern four cylinder car engines get, it would be interesting. For example my VW makes 300hp out of 2 liters from the factory. There are other cars that do about the same. A 6.7 making that same hp/liter would be about 1000 hp.

 

[paulsharvey]

Background:I'm retired. I've been going through the process of trying to determine what truck to add to my fleet. The truck will be used in Virginia and Mississippi. It's prime purpose will be to gather dust and suck up parking space. Occasionally, maybe 5 times a year I'll drive it from Va. to Ms. towing a 10K trailer down I81, I40, I75 and getting to northeast Ms. and then after a month or three, drive back. It will carry 2 passengers, me and my wife.
I've been making this trip with about this frequency since 2011 mostly with a 2002 Ford F350 7.3, CC, dually and it's crazy I know.
But the dually is getting "long in the tooth" and I'm concerned about it breaking down.
I missed out on the deals last January and the Tariff threat kicked in and prices jacked up. But now they have come back down slightly.
Also I looked at 5L F150's and they cost almost as much.

So I've narrowed my choices down to 3 vehicles.
2023 Ram Bighorn with /edit- 6.7L
diesel < 300 miles ~53K
Warranty mostly used up sitting on the lot
2024 Ford F250 XL w/ 6.7 0 miles full warranty ~56K
2025 Ford F250 XL w/ 6.7 0 miles full warranty ~60K

To me the 2024 is the sweet spot.
/edit - what would you pick?

Far be it for me to not spend you money... But, even if you put $10k into repairs, refurb, and updates on the 7.3L you already have; your $60k ahead.

 

[Hay Dude]

The last few used vehicles I bought were common enough that I could look for units with good service records. With Carfax and similar that mostly means dealer serviced as it's mostly dealers that report services. If it's relatively low miles then to me a good service record is more important than 10 or 20% difference in miles.

If Cummins (or anyone) could get a similar amount of power per liter out of a gas turbo truck engine that modern four cylinder car engines get, it would be interesting. For example my VW makes 300hp out of 2 liters from the factory. There are other cars that do about the same. A 6.7 making that same hp/liter would be about 1000 hp.

BUT, those high output gas engines making that much HP/litre won’t have the durability of a larger displacement diesel engine making less HP/litre.
A 300HP gas turbo engine won’t last as long as a 6.7L Cummins. It also won’t pull a trailer nearly as well. It doesn’t have the rotating mass or cooling capability.

 

[Hay Dude]

Far be it for me to not spend you money... But, even if you put $10k into repairs, refurb, and updates on the 7.3L you already have; your $60k ahead.

Yep.
And as soon as the OP said its primary purpose would be to “gather dust, suck up parking space” I knew a DPF/DEF diesel would not be a good choice.
Better choice on a modern truck would be gas. A gas 3/4 ton can pull plenty of weight, cost less and not be harmed by sitting around gathering dust.

 

[paulsharvey]

In all honesty, take your 7.3L, and splurge a bit; get it repainted, new wheels, heck, new seats; professional install back up camera, replace the radio with something with all the Bluetooth stuff; whatever you want. Unless there is critical frame issues; you can do a Lot of modernizing and "quality of life" upgrades.

No where have a seen anything that suggests the 7.3L isn't up to your task, and it sounds like more like you just want something new. Make the old truck new again.

 

[paulsharvey]

I guess my point; what is the specific concern with the 02? Is it comfort, moderness, is it mechanically got issues?

Suspension, there are a ton of air bag, and upgraded kits

Modern, whole drop in Infotainment centers are $500; add $250 for install.

 

[deserteagle71]

Diesel trucks with DEF/DPF that sit long periods or used for short trips without pulling a trailer, tend to get soot build-up in the DPF.

I think you are on the right track with the gas engine, but remember the Cummins 6.7L gasser is on its’ way. If they put it in the 2500-5500 trucks, it’ll revolutionize gas engines. It will consume less gas, run at lower RPM while providing similar torque to the gas guzzling V-8’s.

The 6.7 gas engine may be a winner and it may be a dud. 5 years after it hits the market and people are using/abusing it, we'll know just how good it is. I don't want to be a beta tester on something I pay $100,000 for...that's what trucks will cost by the time this hits the market.

 

[deserteagle71]

In all honesty, take your 7.3L, and splurge a bit; get it repainted, new wheels, heck, new seats; professional install back up camera, replace the radio with something with all the Bluetooth stuff; whatever you want. Unless there is critical frame issues; you can do a Lot of modernizing and "quality of life" upgrades.

No where have a seen anything that suggests the 7.3L isn't up to your task, and it sounds like more like you just want something new. Make the old truck new again.

^This! With the money you are contemplating spending on a new truck, you could refurbish your old truck including refreshing the engine and various components as needed - and have something just, if not more, dependable as the new ones. New vehicles are run by computer and electronics and from my reading that's by far the stuff that goes bad on them. The mechanical parts are pretty dependable. "In-car electronics" is what most people report problems with. Here's a screen shot I did of an unhappy new vehicle owner's comments:

 

[tulenutn2o]

Keep that 7.3 and splurge on the old girl. It will be money well spent. New prices are stupid and longevity, dependability are not there on a new truck.

 

[ruffdog]

I too would fix up the old girl or get a gasser. The modern diesels with all the epa stuff don't like to sit around.