jcmseven
Veteran Member
Fellow Posters:
With the wildly successful "WHY DIESEL" post, I thought I would try my luck at another post. This one hits a bit closer to home. I recently took a new (and much higher paying, thankfully) job at a hospital in my area. As most of you know by now, I bought (before taking this job) a new King Ranch F250 diesel. It has been a really nice truck so far, and I really like it. One major issue has arisen. It does not fit into the parking garage at my work, it is too tall to go under the awning and is unable to make the sharp turns without backing up (there are eight). This sounds like a small problem, but it is not. The professional deck at my work is one of the few good parking areas not a mile or more from my work, and with me starting most days at 0530, time is of the essence. I drive 35 miles one way to work. I formerly did a fair amount of towing but now mainly tow only my JD 3720 to my parents about one monthly to do work for them. My total maximum load is just over 8K most times. Thusly, I have thought of trading or selling my beloved KR 250, mainly due to lack of use. My father has loaned me his old 2000 F150, which has 202,000 miles on it. It still runs well, but likely is not a good long term solution and is two wheel drive and I do generally need four wheel drive during winter where I live (at least some). I can afford my current truck, but really feel I am wasting money if I have paid on (and still pay some) on a truck I only drive when I am off and on weekends. When I drive, I generally drive a lot, but the truck also sits quite a lot in my garage. My question to the panel is, should I consider a different truck and (no branding here) what?? The trucks I am interested in would be: 1. The GM supercab 2500 with the Duramax (my friend has one and it DOES fit in the deck--tightly); the Toyota Tundra and the Ford F150. Some items to consider outside the trucks themselves are: I like diesels, but do not necessarily have a need for one now, but do drive a fair amount I priced a Chevy Duramax LTZ the other day at $42K, but it did not have a couple of the items I wanted. One spec'd to my liking would be about $43,500 or so it appears. The Toyota and Ford are about the same in price, in the mid $30,000 range for purchase price with the options I would like. The Ford actually seems more expensive, but I have an excellent salesman who really cuts good deals on those products. I do not want to buy a cheap second car, I want whatever I choose to be my sole vehicle and to drive it daily. I also want something that I can pile my wife and two year old twins into and go. Mileage is not that important. I should note that I am in no way dissatisfied with my current rig and could keep it as long as needed until I decide. Certainly, my final option would be to keep things as they are and drive my father's old truck until it dies, but the wife is getting testy about our "used car lot" with all the vehicles, etc. The thoughts of the group are appreciated.
John M
With the wildly successful "WHY DIESEL" post, I thought I would try my luck at another post. This one hits a bit closer to home. I recently took a new (and much higher paying, thankfully) job at a hospital in my area. As most of you know by now, I bought (before taking this job) a new King Ranch F250 diesel. It has been a really nice truck so far, and I really like it. One major issue has arisen. It does not fit into the parking garage at my work, it is too tall to go under the awning and is unable to make the sharp turns without backing up (there are eight). This sounds like a small problem, but it is not. The professional deck at my work is one of the few good parking areas not a mile or more from my work, and with me starting most days at 0530, time is of the essence. I drive 35 miles one way to work. I formerly did a fair amount of towing but now mainly tow only my JD 3720 to my parents about one monthly to do work for them. My total maximum load is just over 8K most times. Thusly, I have thought of trading or selling my beloved KR 250, mainly due to lack of use. My father has loaned me his old 2000 F150, which has 202,000 miles on it. It still runs well, but likely is not a good long term solution and is two wheel drive and I do generally need four wheel drive during winter where I live (at least some). I can afford my current truck, but really feel I am wasting money if I have paid on (and still pay some) on a truck I only drive when I am off and on weekends. When I drive, I generally drive a lot, but the truck also sits quite a lot in my garage. My question to the panel is, should I consider a different truck and (no branding here) what?? The trucks I am interested in would be: 1. The GM supercab 2500 with the Duramax (my friend has one and it DOES fit in the deck--tightly); the Toyota Tundra and the Ford F150. Some items to consider outside the trucks themselves are: I like diesels, but do not necessarily have a need for one now, but do drive a fair amount I priced a Chevy Duramax LTZ the other day at $42K, but it did not have a couple of the items I wanted. One spec'd to my liking would be about $43,500 or so it appears. The Toyota and Ford are about the same in price, in the mid $30,000 range for purchase price with the options I would like. The Ford actually seems more expensive, but I have an excellent salesman who really cuts good deals on those products. I do not want to buy a cheap second car, I want whatever I choose to be my sole vehicle and to drive it daily. I also want something that I can pile my wife and two year old twins into and go. Mileage is not that important. I should note that I am in no way dissatisfied with my current rig and could keep it as long as needed until I decide. Certainly, my final option would be to keep things as they are and drive my father's old truck until it dies, but the wife is getting testy about our "used car lot" with all the vehicles, etc. The thoughts of the group are appreciated.
John M
