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Fuel mileage from heavy duty trucks

I wish I could get one in a Manual... so much better for plowing. Which is main job of truck when not towing.

Push in clutch as you hit the bank.

But noone makes a good manual diesel any more. Or I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

Sirhr
My solution for snow-plowing.......was to move from Erie.....

...... to Arizona. ;)


December 27, 2017 until the total snowfall read a whopping 65.1 inches.


But, I bought a bobcat articulated loader with a Kubota diesel at auction for $5000, it's good for a lot more than just snow.

(sorry for the blurry pic, this was the best I can do from bed, it's a bitter 55* out now)
CIMG1127.JPG

Hydrostatic trans is the way to go.

My favorite attachment after the grapple bucket has to be the pallet forks, you saw the pic of the pallet of Bombay Sapphire in the BRC coffee thread, forks are waaay better than manual labor....especially if you drink that much?
 
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My solution for snow-plowing.......was to move from Erie.....

...... to Arizona. ;)


December 27, 2017 until the total snowfall read a whopping 65.1 inches.


But, I bought a bobcat articulated loader with a Kubota diesel at auction for $5000, it's good for a lot more than just snow.

Hydrostatic trans is the way to go.

My favorite attachment after the grapple bucket has to be the pallet forks, you saw the pic of the pallet of Bombay Sapphire in the BRC coffee thread, forks are waaay better than manual labor....especially if you drink that much?

I have bucket forks on my Deere 1050... they are awesome!

Arizona... yeah... it's a dry heat.

Cheers!

Sirhr
 
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I've been debating this since before Ford (I still have my '97 non-intercooled F250 w/80,000 miles) dumped the International 7.3 and started selling the "6 uh 0". ;)

O-ring heads and unobtainum bolts and what-not....

I absolutely want to build a rat rod with a 5.9 Cummins, but toys are one thing and building something to reliably "do work" is a different process IMHO.



Yes work and play are two different things. Many of the hot shot guys back when I was around it still ran a decent amount of power 450-550, reliably, with both 12 and 24 valves, a few in the 600 range. But that was the thing, once they started turning them up they had to have a better transmission those Re47 and 48 (basically a 727) just wouldn’t take it. The factory dodge converter’s were weak too. Which is why most of those guys were there. Back then the Cummins was king!

7.3 is a good engine, not a power monster but they will last if properly maintained, but if you try to make power they start putting windows in the block. Those ford 6.0’s would lift the heads if you tried to turn them up, never liked them. Ford knocked it out of the park with 6.7.

Another thing Joe was doing was building a Ford chassis, Allison trans and matted to a 24 valve Cummins. Because the Fords road the best the Dodges had the best engine in the Chevy‘s had the best transmission, I don’t remember what happened to that truck, that was more projects going on when Joe passed.

Whats really suprises me is the modern trucks make the nearly the same power as the modified trucks did 15 years ago and they’re quiet and clean.
 
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Best friend has an F250, I think 2003 (last year of the 7.3) he previously had 2 different later models with the 6.0s. This one came set up with the full Banks upgrades, superchip tuner and airbags. I was with him when he picked it up and we drove 250 miles running 85mph and were getting 35mpg! When we got home and he was driving normal Hwy speeds he got as high 50mpg (this was not loaded) he could tune it for tow mode and pull a 23,000# 5th wheel with the air bags inflated you couldn't even feel it running 70-80mph. He got robbed and they stole his tuner, after he replaced it he could not replicate the performance. He pondered selling it a few times, I adamantly talked him out of it. So last year after installing a new glow-plug solenoid it caught fire. He was so disgusted (just did full suspension and new paint) he went shopping for a new truck, $80K O_O
He took the $8K insurance money and added another $5K and had the engine & tranny performance built, rewired and a new mondern tuner (IDK which, but he says top performance setting is labeled "ludicrous") He can roll coal and smoke 4 tires as long as he wants, no new truck around here can touch him. So long story short; new ain't always better. I'm no longer self employed, therefore can't justify a truck like that. Mine is a 2016 2.5 Frontier that my ole lady daily drives. When I was a contractor, my mindset was the business paid for my trucks/maintenance, so my prices included that in the overhead.
50 mpg? Lets be honest that complete and utter BS!
 
Where's your sense of adventure.....


Shit, I was a turbo rotary guy. Nothing pollutes more than a turbo rotary . Used to put premix 1 ounce per gallon of two-stroke oil in my gas lubricate the seals. Got out of that car smelling like I’d been running a chainsaw.

Also, I have rolled coal on plenty of people in the grey twin turbo dodge, it ran 60psi on a compound set up. Used it to run errands.

As I get older I do appreciate clean air. One problem with that rolling Cole thing is too many people started doing it and the prius owners complained. EPA is going really hard at the diesel industry. Hit a bunch of people with big fines for fooling with emissions equipment.

I understand both sides of the argument I appreciate clean air at the same time I recognize why people want to modify them, i’ve seen what the EGR does the intakes and valves. Have a buddy who lives in Oklahoma who is a hotshot trucker, last time he came back home his truck had been in the shop for 2 1/2 months trying to work out some DEF related problems. Not a happy!!!
 
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After I left, the partner than bought A portion lof the business had his sin get heavy into it. Thats his truck above.



Stuckys truck. Above.



Old guy in the black hat, glasses, grey shirt... thats Ernie. He was the dodge builder there. Fucking love Ernie, he was there from the beginning.
 
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The 8.1 L will make more torque at 1800 RPM, than a small blok anything ever will.
Duramax torque peak is 1600 rpm. 900 ft lbs.


I daily drive a Duramax l5p. It's awesome. I don't pay for fuel or maintenance.
Good sized service body. Running 10-12k truck weight, add 10-14k trailer weight if I'm towing a mini ex.

Towing, it gets 8mpg. Daily driving it gets 14mpg.


My personal truck is a 6.0 gasser, crew cab long box. Same body style. It gets 14mpg daily, 6-8mpg towing.


I have to fix my truck and put fuel in. It's not even close to the same.

You will never know diesel maintenance until you own one. It's not going to pencil out, but you can try.

Wanting one because you want one is something different entirely.
 


After I left, the partner than bought A portion lof the business had his sin get heavy into it. Thats his truck above.



Stuckys truck. Above.



Old guy in the black hat, glasses, grey shirt... thats Ernie. He was the dodge builder there. Fucking love Ernie, he was there from the beginning.

That is some unreal badassery!

I know everyone says "rubbin' is racin'", but the shit talking is the best part.
 
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Whats really suprises me is the modern trucks make the nearly the same power as the modified trucks did 15 years ago and they’re quiet and clean.
I remember in early to mid 2000s going to diesel truck shows where they would have a mobile Dyno. At that time it was impressive just to break 500hp. Now they come out of the box like that.
Crazy
 
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I remember in early to mid 2000s going to diesel truck shows where they would have a mobile Dyno. At that time it was impressive just to break 500hp. Now they come out of the box like that.
Crazy
Issues with the mobile dynos back in the 2000’s is they max out around 1600ftlbs of torque. Once people started making big power those dynos were useless.
 
50 mpg? Lets be honest that complete and utter BS!
I personally did not see that, but I was driving I-10 75-85mph computer said we were getting 35mpg. If you own a diesel you're an idiot if you don't install a tuner.
 
I personally did not see that, but I was driving I-10 75-85mph computer said we were getting 35mpg. If you own a diesel you're an idiot if you don't install a tuner.
I’m sorry but there isn’t a 3/4 or 1 ton out there that gets 35mpg. Anyone that claims numbers within 10mpg of that are damned liars. Hand calc that mileage and see how off those old lie-o-meters are.

One in my 06 was typically 6mpg higher than hand calc
 
07 Dodge Ram 2500 Mega cab, Cummins 6.7 with the 68 RFE, tuned ECM from Anarchy mild tow mode (economy tune isn't as good). In town unloaded with a lead foot I average 16mpg on the lie-o-meter, about 22mpg on highway and if I am really good I can run up to 24mpg.
Loaded with a big tow behind 33' toy hauler which came on the scales in Platte city with the truck at 19,750 lbs on my move from Alaska down to the lower 48 I was averaging 13mpg at normal highway speeds and about 11mpg when I was pushing it at about 85mpg before I blew a hub out on the trailer in Saskatchewan (rebuilt the hub in a field and repacked all the other hubs, I always carry spares).

Regarding the Allison trans that GM uses. Like the 68rfe the Allison is a good transmission until you start hot rodding the engine. There are plenty of transmission failures of both types and they are more common when you start putting some extra juice behind it. If you are going to "hop" the engine up I would suggest also getting the TCM or in the newer models the ECM and TCM are one unit getting them tuned and a better torque converter.

Good luck in your journey.
 
So I recently ventured on my own starting a little one man plumbing company. I am driving around my old truck I have had for years enjoying the fact that it is a good old truck and it has been paid off for years.


It is an old Chevy 2500hd with the 8.1 liter gas. Before the ladder racks and ladders it would usually run between 10-12 mpg depending on speed and right foot. Now I have a topper with ladder racks and ladders as well as a couple 6inch tubes I use to store materials. Since adding these things I am usually around 8mpg. I am getting close for new tires and I know the tires on it are not helping either.

With the new Biden fuel prices, gassing up every few days is really eating into my profits.

I do a fair amount of towing so I am looking at another 2500 minimum. The one ton trucks with a van body or service body keep catching my eye do to the massive amount of storage they provide.

Would a one ton Diesel dually with one of these service or van bodys improve my fuel mileage at all? I realized the diesel engine is more money up front as well as higher maintenance. So that is surely a factor. But curious if a diesel truck would overcome the poor aerodynamics and weight of a work truck vs something like the big gasser I am currently driving.

Replacing this truck is not urgent but it will not last forever so I am trying to take my time and shop around and find what setup will be best for my uses.
I have an F-350 DRW 4x4 with a 6.7. Service body with ladder racks. Weighs in at 11,500lbs on a daily basis. 4.10 gears and I have a slightly heavy foot. I average 11-13mpg in it. It’ll tow, it’ll gap people off the line, it’ll get out of its own way when you punch it at 50mph… all good things to have for a big truck. A few downsides to the diesel? Cost: upfront, maintenance, repairs. At 62k miles the truck had the entire fuel system replaced for $10k. HPFP Imploded and sent shit up to the injectors. At 81k I had an oil feed line under the intake/valve cover break and starve a few lifters of oil. Ended up needing a long block for almost $12k. Currently has 95k on it. So I’ve spent $22,000 on repairs, on top of the extra $10k I spent to get the diesel in the first place, and the regular maintenance costs.

Bottom line is it’s a pain in the ass and the wallet a lot of times. I wouldn’t buy a diesel again unless I was towing 50% of the time or greater, or if it’s a dump truck and will haul heavy every time I drive it, then the extra power comes in handy.
 
I have an F-350 DRW 4x4 with a 6.7. Service body with ladder racks. Weighs in at 11,500lbs on a daily basis. 4.10 gears and I have a slightly heavy foot. I average 11-13mpg in it. It’ll tow, it’ll gap people off the line, it’ll get out of its own way when you punch it at 50mph… all good things to have for a big truck. A few downsides to the diesel? Cost: upfront, maintenance, repairs. At 62k miles the truck had the entire fuel system replaced for $10k. HPFP Imploded and sent shit up to the injectors. At 81k I had an oil feed line under the intake/valve cover break and starve a few lifters of oil. Ended up needing a long block for almost $12k. Currently has 95k on it. So I’ve spent $22,000 on repairs, on top of the extra $10k I spent to get the diesel in the first place, and the regular maintenance costs.

Bottom line is it’s a pain in the ass and the wallet a lot of times. I wouldn’t buy a diesel again unless I was towing 50% of the time or greater, or if it’s a dump truck and will haul heavy every time I drive it, then the extra power comes in handy.
Sounds like you should have bought a Dodge:);). Only issue I have had was bad fuel once. I purged the fuel system and was good. Oil changes are a bit more spendy but I change roughly every 7k miles at about 12 quarts of rotella. Change filters on occasion, some fuel additive and go.
 
I have an F-350 DRW 4x4 with a 6.7. Service body with ladder racks. Weighs in at 11,500lbs on a daily basis. 4.10 gears and I have a slightly heavy foot. I average 11-13mpg in it. It’ll tow, it’ll gap people off the line, it’ll get out of its own way when you punch it at 50mph… all good things to have for a big truck. A few downsides to the diesel? Cost: upfront, maintenance, repairs. At 62k miles the truck had the entire fuel system replaced for $10k. HPFP Imploded and sent shit up to the injectors. At 81k I had an oil feed line under the intake/valve cover break and starve a few lifters of oil. Ended up needing a long block for almost $12k. Currently has 95k on it. So I’ve spent $22,000 on repairs, on top of the extra $10k I spent to get the diesel in the first place, and the regular maintenance costs.

Bottom line is it’s a pain in the ass and the wallet a lot of times. I wouldn’t buy a diesel again unless I was towing 50% of the time or greater, or if it’s a dump truck and will haul heavy every time I drive it, then the extra power comes in handy.
That’s just a Ford thing 🤡
 
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My 1991.5 3/4 ton Dodge 12 valve Cummins gets 21 MPG on the highway. Used to get about 25 until I added go fast parts up to about 500 HP. But the -4 MPG was worth it. 😎

Drops down to around 12 MPG weighing 14k with gooseneck and tractor or hay.
 
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I have an F-350 DRW 4x4 with a 6.7. Service body with ladder racks. Weighs in at 11,500lbs on a daily basis. 4.10 gears and I have a slightly heavy foot. I average 11-13mpg in it. It’ll tow, it’ll gap people off the line, it’ll get out of its own way when you punch it at 50mph… all good things to have for a big truck. A few downsides to the diesel? Cost: upfront, maintenance, repairs. At 62k miles the truck had the entire fuel system replaced for $10k. HPFP Imploded and sent shit up to the injectors. At 81k I had an oil feed line under the intake/valve cover break and starve a few lifters of oil. Ended up needing a long block for almost $12k. Currently has 95k on it. So I’ve spent $22,000 on repairs, on top of the extra $10k I spent to get the diesel in the first place, and the regular maintenance costs.

Bottom line is it’s a pain in the ass and the wallet a lot of times. I wouldn’t buy a diesel again unless I was towing 50% of the time or greater, or if it’s a dump truck and will haul heavy every time I drive it, then the extra power comes in handy.
For the fuel pump explosions on the Ford 6.7 I would suggest putting in the fuel bypass kit. No you should have to worry about this but it will save you 10k the next time it happens.
 
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For the fuel pump explosions on the Ford 6.7 I would suggest putting in the fuel bypass kit. No you should have to worry about this but it will save you 10k the next time it happens.
That also applied to the older dirty max's (corrected).
 
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You must mean a 6.7 Ford 😂
Dude those 6.7 power strokes are no fucking joke fast and will shit and get with a load faster than any truck I’ve seen.

In my 18 cab and chassis, albeit it’s the detuned motor and already slow, but anyway, I have my gooseneck hooked up with like 4k on it. So I’m at 8k trailer weight and 12kish on the truck so call it 20k total. Following behind my uncles 2013-2015 or so Ford F-350 single wheel, bone stock, and he’s got 21k on the trailer, plus a 7k trailer and a 8k truck for a total of like 36k. With my foot to the floor, he is outrunning me like he doesn’t have a pound of weight behind him. It was at that moment, and only that moment have I ever been impressed by a Ford.

That truck also can now hardly drive down the road because it death wobbles so bad but I digress.
 
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The one I was on stopped at 2000. Final pull was 1150 hp and 2000+ lbft.
Heard

Hp is calculated by Hp=torque x Rpm/5252. So if its off the scale in Tq, I would question the accuracy as its making the calculation based off 2000ftlbs figure. Or thats how I understood it to work. Your truck was obviously a power house.
Dude those 6.7 power strokes are no fucking joke fast and will shit and get with a load faster than any truck I’ve seen.

In my 18 cab and chassis, albeit it’s the detuned motor and already slow, but anyway, I have my gooseneck hooked up with like 4k on it. So I’m at 8k trailer weight and 12kish on the truck so call it 20k total. Following behind my uncles 2013-2015 or so Ford F-350 single wheel, bone stock, and he’s got 21k on the trailer, plus a 7k trailer and a 8k truck for a total of like 36k. With my foot to the floor, he is outrunning me like he doesn’t have a pound of weight behind him. It was at that moment, and only that moment have I ever been impressed by a Ford.

That truck also can now hardly drive down the road because it death wobbles so bad but I digress.
Caster angle is one of the common culprits of death wobble. Find a competent independent alignment tech and they should be able to sort it out. Caster shims, if needed are relatively cheap. Personally, I would avoid the dealer if possible.
 
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Heard

Hp is calculated by Hp=torque x Rpm/5252. So if its off the scale in Tq, I would question the accuracy as its making the calculation based off 2000ftlbs figure. Or thats how I understood it to work. Your truck was obviously a power house.

Caster angle is one of the common culprits of death wobble. Find a competent independent alignment tech and they should be able to sort it out. Caster shims, if needed are relatively cheap. Personally, I would avoid the dealer if possible.
I found track bar/tracking bar bushings usually a culprit when it comes to death wobbles along with all the other bushings as the death wobbles eats bushings up.
 
Heard

Hp is calculated by Hp=torque x Rpm/5252. So if its off the scale in Tq, I would question the accuracy as its making the calculation based off 2000ftlbs figure. Or thats how I understood it to work. Your truck was obviously a power house.

Caster angle is one of the common culprits of death wobble. Find a competent independent alignment tech and they should be able to sort it out. Caster shims, if needed are relatively cheap. Personally, I would avoid the dealer if possible.
The HP figure is backed up by trap speed in the 1/4 mile using the 1/4 mile calculator. Can't really use ET as I am forced into "soft" launches. A heavy launch results in broken transmission output shafts. 11.2 seconds @ 124 mph. 7900 lbs truck.
 
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I found track bar/tracking bar bushings usually a culprit when it comes to death wobbles along with all the other bushings as the death wobbles eats bushings up.
Definitely shake dow the front end. Tires, brakes suspension.
I found track bar/tracking bar bushings usually a culprit when it comes to death wobbles along with all the other bushings as the death wobbles eats bushings up.
your right about the track bar getting worn. My theory is having too little caster, doesn’t properly load the knuckle to the axle, which allows the issue prematurely wear parts. As you add + caster it loads the rod ends more, too little load, and the tires are more susceptible for vibrations and change in direction. Common for death wobbles to also have low or out of spec caster reading.
 
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I have a 07 Dodge heavy duty 2500, 6.7 Cummins with 6 speed trans and exhaust brake that I bought at an estate sale hooked to a nice 5th wheel camper. 1 money takes all is how they sold it.
The auction was not well attended and I gave stupid low price for the combo.
I drove it stock for about 3 months and was happy with it but the milage kinda sucked as Dodge's answer to emmisions at the time was to inject fuel into the exhaust to keep everything burned clean. I have no idea what those "engineers" were thinking but that was not the answer.
When coming home from the farm after harvest pulling the trailer on a long, 22 mile downhill, the lights went on and I thought the engine was crawling out from under the hood so pulled off to the side of the road after I shut it down. No power assist to anything, shut off. Pissed off.
I let it cool off for a while then lit it back up and all was well. I got home and parked the trailer and took it directly to a good friends shop and after about $2000 I got it back with a tuner box and everything deleted. Engine clean. None of that EGR etc. crap.
Fuckin thing runs like a streak, more power than I need. Top end is 92 MPH. Unloaded, on cruise control at 75-80 MPH on Interstate it gets 18-24 MPG, varies with the wind. It pulls anything I want to pull, IE plenty of power and MPG does drop but you still have plenty of power left.
The only thing I don't like about the truck is changing the fuel filter!!! Again, those fuckin "engineers" were really thinking on that aspect.

If any of you know of some kind of Kit that moves that fuel filter to a point I can get at it and change it easily I would love to hear about that.

The truck will not "Roll Coal" , and I have tried where it was sorely needed. Engine chip takes over and the only time I ever saw a bit of smoke was when the intake air filter indicator was at about 60% and that was only once. FM
 
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Yes work and play are two different things. Many of the hot shot guys back when I was around it still ran a decent amount of power 450-550, reliably, with both 12 and 24 valves, a few in the 600 range. But that was the thing, once they started turning them up they had to have a better transmission those Re47 and 48 (basically a 727) just wouldn’t take it. The factory dodge converter’s were weak too. Which is why most of those guys were there. Back then the Cummins was king!

7.3 is a good engine, not a power monster but they will last if properly maintained, but if you try to make power they start putting windows in the block. Those ford 6.0’s would lift the heads if you tried to turn them up, never liked them. Ford knocked it out of the park with 6.7.

Another thing Joe was doing was building a Ford chassis, Allison trans and matted to a 24 valve Cummins. Because the Fords road the best the Dodges had the best engine in the Chevy‘s had the best transmission, I don’t remember what happened to that truck, that was more projects going on when Joe passed.

Whats really suprises me is the modern trucks make the nearly the same power as the modified trucks did 15 years ago and they’re quiet and clean.
I've owned many of those truck 22mpg is the best 55 mph mileage I've ever hand calculated. Ps that superchips tuner is why he's most likely on he 23rd transmission.
 
I have a 07 Dodge heavy duty 2500, 6.7 Cummins with 6 speed trans and exhaust brake that I bought at an estate sale hooked to a nice 5th wheel camper. 1 money takes all is how they sold it.
The auction was not well attended and I gave stupid low price for the combo.
I drove it stock for about 3 months and was happy with it but the milage kinda sucked as Dodge's answer to emmisions at the time was to inject fuel into the exhaust to keep everything burned clean. I have no idea what those "engineers" were thinking but that was not the answer.
When coming home from the farm after harvest pulling the trailer on a long, 22 mile downhill, the lights went on and I thought the engine was crawling out from under the hood so pulled off to the side of the road after I shut it down. No power assist to anything, shut off. Pissed off.
I let it cool off for a while then lit it back up and all was well. I got home and parked the trailer and took it directly to a good friends shop and after about $2000 I got it back with a tuner box and everything deleted. Engine clean. None of that EGR etc. crap.
Fuckin thing runs like a streak, more power than I need. Top end is 92 MPH. Unloaded, on cruise control at 75-80 MPH on Interstate it gets 18-24 MPG, varies with the wind. It pulls anything I want to pull, IE plenty of power and MPG does drop but you still have plenty of power left.
The only thing I don't like about the truck is changing the fuel filter!!! Again, those fuckin "engineers" were really thinking on that aspect.

If any of you know of some kind of Kit that moves that fuel filter to a point I can get at it and change it easily I would love to hear about that.

The truck will not "Roll Coal" , and I have tried where it was sorely needed. Engine chip takes over and the only time I ever saw a bit of smoke was when the intake air filter indicator was at about 60% and that was only once. FM
Airdog or fass fuel systems. Plus you can figure the filters out and by them by the case.
 
@Scott037 Thank you, I will check our fass and Airdog.
The 2 times I tried to Roll Coal, the first thing I learned was to let it spool down before you let off of the brakes as you will be going forward FAST.
The truck is fun to drive. More steam than I need.
 
my uncles 2013-2015 or so Ford F-350 single wheel, bone stock, and he’s got 21k on the trailer, plus a 7k trailer and a 8k truck for a total of like 36k.

So what you are saying is your uncle drives his truck at a illegal and unsafe weight...

Got it...
 
So what you are saying is your uncle drives his truck at a illegal and unsafe weight...

Got it...
Them farm trucks get a little overloaded every once in a while. Farm tags are good to 40k here. Loads don’t get on the interstate or into town.
 
So what you are saying is your uncle drives his truck at a illegal and unsafe weight...

Got it...
I'd argue wtf is the difference? Could it be considered even more "unsafe" that a 16yr old can get into a 40 foot long 10ton motorhome with nothing more than their standard issue driver's license? I guess if the DOT can collect more money, that makes it safer.
 
I have an F-350 DRW 4x4 with a 6.7. Service body with ladder racks. Weighs in at 11,500lbs on a daily basis. 4.10 gears and I have a slightly heavy foot. I average 11-13mpg in it. It’ll tow, it’ll gap people off the line, it’ll get out of its own way when you punch it at 50mph… all good things to have for a big truck. A few downsides to the diesel? Cost: upfront, maintenance, repairs. At 62k miles the truck had the entire fuel system replaced for $10k. HPFP Imploded and sent shit up to the injectors. At 81k I had an oil feed line under the intake/valve cover break and starve a few lifters of oil. Ended up needing a long block for almost $12k. Currently has 95k on it. So I’ve spent $22,000 on repairs, on top of the extra $10k I spent to get the diesel in the first place, and the regular maintenance costs.

Bottom line is it’s a pain in the ass and the wallet a lot of times. I wouldn’t buy a diesel again unless I was towing 50% of the time or greater, or if it’s a dump truck and will haul heavy every time I drive it, then the extra power comes in handy.
Wow, that's a horror story.

$32,000.00 for 95,000 miles (not counting the fuel) = $2.96875 a mile :oops:

on top of the extra $10k I spent to get the diesel in the first place

ETA: I misread your post, what did you pay that the diesel added $10k for the upgrade?




I paid $45k for my Volvo 770, it gets 10mpg.

The previous owner swapped the 12.7 for the current Series 60 14L Detroit Diesel.

It has about 700,000 miles on it, 100,000 or so on the current engine.

Forgetting mpg, what's that work out to in "dollars per mile"? ;)

I have double bunks, the bottom is a dinette table, refrigerator, sink, microwave and a shitter. Diesel fired back-up heat and a massive inverter with 4 batteries.

I can take a shit while making margaritas in a real blender, and legally drinking them on the road, while watching a bigscreen tv and shit posting on the internet....

..........while towing up any grade with 2 or more brand new diesel trucks on a trailer behind me...

.......and it's got permanent plates....

....and still get 10mpg
 
I just swapped out of a 2011 Ram 1500 that had 290k miles on it into a 21 F250 crew cab 4x4 with the gas 7.3. I have about 600-800 pounds of tools in my truck plus a rolling tonneau cover, ladder rack and a 28 foot fiberglass ladder. I have had it a little less than 2 months and with right at 6k miles I'm averaging about 12.5 mpg. I did tow a 16 foot trailer with about 6k pounds on top of it recently for about 300 miles and got right at 13.5 mpg. All of it was interstate speeds. Been happy with the truck so far and seen to get 16 on highway and about 11 around town.
 
I'd argue wtf is the difference? Could it be considered even more "unsafe" that a 16yr old can get into a 40 foot long 10ton motorhome with nothing more than their standard issue driver's license? I guess if the DOT can collect more money, that makes it safer.

Structurally engineered limits are something I dont personally choose to mess with. There is GENERALLY a reason why manufacturers rate their trucks at some number and dont just say "oh fuck it, its got 1000 ft. lbs. of torque, rate it to pull 70k"... I'm not talking DOT, I could care less about that.

21k on a 7k trailer(28k total) is above any single wheel truck limit I have ever seen. A 2022 F350 diesel single wheel truck can run 30k GCWR and put around ~22k on the pin. And his uncles 13-16 F350 truck is not as structurally built as the 2017+ trucks when they switched to a fully boxed frame so his numbers are likely smaller.
 
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Them farm trucks get a little overloaded every once in a while. Farm tags are good to 40k here. Loads don’t get on the interstate or into town.

I still personally wouldnt mess with manufacturer rated limits, farm truck or not. Just my personal opinion.
 
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I just swapped out of a 2011 Ram 1500 that had 290k miles on it into a 21 F250 crew cab 4x4 with the gas 7.3. I have about 600-800 pounds of tools in my truck plus a rolling tonneau cover, ladder rack and a 28 foot fiberglass ladder. I have had it a little less than 2 months and with right at 6k miles I'm averaging about 12.5 mpg. I did tow a 16 foot trailer with about 6k pounds on top of it recently for about 300 miles and got right at 13.5 mpg. All of it was interstate speeds. Been happy with the truck so far and seen to get 16 on highway and about 11 around town.

Ive got a 22 F350 coming with the 7.3 and 4.30 axles... MIGHT be putting a whipple on it...
 
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Couple of thoughts on the topic. I've been involved with some really small mom and pop oilfield companies and some larger internationally owned companies, owned a pile of trucks over the years.

I wouldn't recommend a service bed, if your vehicle is down and in the shop you now have to unass all of your gear into the bed of a truck and how will you secure it. We typically rolled with a large weather guard tool box/ fuel cell mounted to the truck and a large orange job box. Truck takes a dump and you wind up in a rental two moves with a forklift and you are back in action.

I'd start my truck search by going to various dealerships that are in your AO and talking with the people at the service department, doesn't matter the made, model, trim level or engine....they all eat shit eventually and if the service department is run by fucktards your gonna have a bad time. What your looking for is the dude who has been there like 10+ years.

If your going used I'd find a reputable shop to look the truck over before purchasing it.

Company trucks I've had:
F250 long bed with a 6.0: left head gaskets and turbos in its wake at basically every single opportunity

F350 DRW 6.7 the year they came out: Put 130k on it driving from west Tx to Houston on a weekly bases. Good truck, ran 75-80 basically everywhere and got around 15, 8-10 pulling a 20' with 15k on it. Only had one major fuck up with turbos and it was down a long long time. These truck require the cab to come off to fix whatever it was with the turbos.

F250 6.7 aluminum can mobile- best Ford I've had minus the rear glass popping out one day when I smoked a huge pot hole going about 50. 16-17 running 75-80. Pulling a 18' enclosed with about 5k worth of gear got 12-13. Put 85K on it with nothing but fluid changes.

GMC2500 gas 6.2L- We had these for about 3 months and they just didn't work as an oilfield service truck, mileage was 8-9 pulling trailer and because it was gas we couldn't easily carry 50 extra gallons of fuel in the bed. I cant remember the year model but 2018-19 seems about right.

Mercedes sprinter 3500- I didn't personally drive this beast, but the guys loved them. Only major bitch was they couldn't carry additional fuel in the van because you know vapors and shit.

Trucks I've had:
01 F250 7.3- Made it 270k with one rebuild, drama free, slow, loud, no def. Should have never sold it.

15 Ram 2500 6.7- Deleted it the day it came off the lot 225k trouble free miles and then tossed the trans. Could have rebuilt it but opted for

18 Ram 2500 6.7 Deleted. 180K miles as of this am, gets 19-20 unloaded running 70-75, 15-16 pulling the ranger on the trailer and 11-12 pulling a 32' camper. So far so good, nothing but fluid changes and tires. This one is tuned wayyyy lighter than the 15 was, think it's a 50hp tow tune.


Overall I prefer the dodges for the simple fact that when they go down (they all do) the cabs don't need to come off like the fords and repairs seem to be cheaper as well. I have a great independent service shop close to me that keeps the truck in tip top shape. Hope this helps good luck and congrats on the business.
 
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ETA: I misread your post, what did you pay that the diesel added $10k for the upgrade?

The diesel option from Ford is $10,600 bucks, that’s a 10k premium for a motor and fuel system that shit the bed 2x before it hit 90k miles. The fuel system isn’t/wasn’t covered under the 5 year 100k mile warranty. When it needed the long block I was ~ a month out of warranty I forget exactly. I’d have to double check my paperwork. Ford basically told me to fuck off. After owning ~10 Ford trucks in the past. I’m going to make a switch to either Ram or GM when the time comes.
 
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Structurally engineered limits are something I dont personally choose to mess with. There is GENERALLY a reason why manufacturers rate their trucks at some number and dont just say "oh fuck it, its got 1000 ft. lbs. of torque, rate it to pull 70k"... I'm not talking DOT, I could care less about that.

21k on a 7k trailer(28k total) is above any single wheel truck limit I have ever seen. A 2022 F350 diesel single wheel truck can run 30k GCWR and put around ~22k on the pin. And his uncles 13-16 F350 truck is not as structurally built as the 2017+ trucks when they switched to a fully boxed frame so his numbers are likely smaller.

Thanks man I’ll keep that in mind


Not to worry guys, kimmy stopped sucking the sickly white guy's dick long enough to stick up for the truck driver in Colorado...

......pull the brake lines, f&^k DOT regs and.....

......load that fucker up!!!!

It's a family tradition.......

Did Caitlyn Jenner accidentally kill someone?

https://www.the-sun.com › entertainment › 2651500 › caitlyn-jenner-car-accident-kim-howe-death
Caitlyn - who was then known as Bruce - was driving a Cadillac 4x4 and towing a dune buggy when she slammed into the back of Kim Howe's Lexus, in Malibu, California. Kim had put her brakes on seconds before and her vehicle was shunted into the path of the Humvee 4x4. Animal rights activist Kim, 70, from Calabasas, California, died at the scene.

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