>After reading all the interesting posts on the variety
of endurance trucks (i.e....make, model, year, engine size, 4x4, dually, 1/2
ton, 3/4 ton, 1 ton and few oddities that were thrown in ), I was wondering
how the cost of the truck was factored in when making your purchase? Did
ya'll start off with a set budget, which you were willing to spend or did you
just know exactly what truck you wanted buy and purchased it regardless of
the price tag?
A little of both. I
have my set "needs" in a truck--but the price tag precludes me from buying a new
one. We really got a dandy "new-to-us" used Powerstroke this year--for
less than half what a new one would cost, and with only 72,000 miles. So I
likely have 4/5 or more of the truck's life ahead for half the cost of
new. Can't beat that. But for us, because of where we live and
the variety of things we do, it has to be a dual-range 4wd, can't be a dually,
has to be a manual tranny, and has to have an extended cab so that our
large dog has somewhere to ride. (He's a confirmed roader and goes
nearly every time the truck goes further than just to town and back.
I gave him heck about how much his extra two feet of truck cost us on the ferry
to Helldiver...) It also has to have the power and the ability to pull
LARGE loads, as we sometimes pull as many as 7-8 horses or a load of
cattle in our big stock trailer (actually had 10 horses in it
once), or up to 7 tons of hay on our flatbed. (Our old steel LQ
3-horse that we take to rides is actually the lightest thing it ever
pulls.) I can forego some of the frills (I actually prefer the Ford XL to
the XLT because the mud comes off the non-carpeted flooring so much easier, and
I can still operate a window crank and a door lock by hand if it means saving
some money). When I'm truck shopping, I practically memorize Kelley Blue
Book for the years and models that I'm considering, and go beat the salesmen
about the ears with it... <g> In our "used truck" price range,
really only the Ford Powerstroke and the Dodge Cummins are in the running when
it comes to filling our needs. But fill our needs it must--else there's no
point in buying it...
