Update:
Well, it turned out to be none of the above! I don't know what it is with Craigslist sellers, but many don't really go out of their way to sell their stuff. I sent e-mails about both trucks above, neither replied. The one ad went down, then came back up, so maybe a deal went sideways. The second seller listed a partial phone number, without area code. I sent a note asking if the area code was what I expected it to be, and asked a couple of questions about the truck (engine/trans) and never heard back....ad is still up.
Anyway, three days ago the truck I bought popped up on CL, and it was only 30 miles away. It's a 1990 Ford F800 with a 6.6L turbo diesel inline 6 (Brazilian engine), 5speed manual trans with a 2 speed rear axle. I first thought it had the 7.8L engine (they look the same) but it wouldn't have changed my decision since it's mostly a site truck.
It was owned by a local landscaping company and they used it primarily to haul mulch, sand and some gravel. They said they never used it as a plow truck, or salt truck, and looking at the frame (technically a double frame), I believe them. They painted the box with an automotive base coat/clear coat, and you'll see from the pictures that it's flaking off in sheets...I'll have to clean that up, but it's only surface rust I have to deal with. It has a 33,000lb GVWR rating, but I qualify to use it under a farm exemption, so I won't need a CDL since I'm just going to be moving fill, mulch, etc that would qualify.
It's got a few things that need to be fixed like a baseball sized hole in the floor, but it's actually got very little rust. They went through the brakes not long ago, and pretty much everything works...lights, wipers, etc. It made the 30mi drive back here with no problems, so I'm not too worried it'll keep running. The engine starts right up, sounds good, and didn't show a hint of white or blue smoke. The tranny has one noisy gear that I'm going to have to look into, but it's drivable the way it is.
To top it all off, it came with a fairly complete F800 parts truck (no box on it) that they're going to haul to me next week. That's one of the reasons I wasn't terribly worried about the tranny...the parts truck has a good one. I think it was a pretty fair deal at $4K.
