I am running a 2001 Dodge 2500, cummins, 317K and counting. Hope it makes it until I retire.
Unless you run super light weight (and what crew does that?) you are better off with a 2500 or even a 3500 SRW, they just last better. Even then, buy a ATV or UTV and use it when you can, the truck lasts a lot longer and the off road vehicles are made for off road.
Starting back in the early 80's most places I have worked learned the HD truck is better and started moving the crew rigs that way.
These days, I have no idea what I get new, while my Cummins has been good, not sure about any of the newer diesel engines, a lot more maintenance and a lot more to go wrong. I think a well maintained used one is just as good, maybe better as far as repairs. I always say a well mainted paid for vehicle (assuming you aren't in rust belt) is the cheapest vehicle.
SHG
Im pretty late to find this post, so apologies if I??m rehashing.
My personal truck is a 2015 Tundra with 5.7. Ive pulled a 10,000 # camper with it, and that was too much.?ÿ
I??ve also pulled a 7,500# camper with it and it pulled that with no trouble up and down the Shenandoah Valley.?ÿ
The cab is huge, and for a solo operation, or operator and one helper, I wouldn??t hesitate to survey out of it. I think the bed is 6.5??
It has a tow mode that??s truly a beast, but gas mileage goes to 10 mpg when you use it.
@drew-r?ÿ
Looking to save some money, I did my first and last oil change on my 6.7 powerstroke last weekend, had a similar problem with a motorcraft filter. The gasket slipped out of the groove on the filter when I spun it up. What a mess when I started it! Not to mention the mess just changing the oil. Had to throw my shirt in the trash when I was done. I'll gladly pay a shop to do it from now on.
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@rick-taylor I will never buy a truck I can't easily change the oil myself. I change the oil after work (previously in the driveway when I didn't have a real garage). The truck only has to go into the shop when I need repairs done that I can't safely attempt myself and know that I will be able to go to work the next day without taking my historic car.
Even my newer lawnmower (2007) annoys me because the oil change is a bit of a pain.?ÿ
You're definitely not wrong. It's a bit scary to think of the guys using a ford transit (the small one that is basically a ford focus with a cargo van body) for what we do.?ÿ
My half ton is holding up fine but I'm sure it wouldn't stop as quickly as a vehicle that's not overloaded. Our Toyota Tacoma feels very overloaded and the brakes are definitely not up to the task.?ÿ
If you're willing to risk it...send your crews out in whatever. There was a local surveyor that had a ford Windstar minivan his crew drove. His wife drove a newer version of the same van (hers probably didn't have the big rust holes in the side of the sliding door). When her tires were worn out he had them put on the crews van.?ÿ
One day I saw their van parked on the side of the road by my house with a wheel missing. Probably major lack of maintenance etc. Sometimes it's not good to leave the vehicular decisions up to the office staff.?ÿ
If your current truck will last another year or two I would recommend holding on to it.?ÿ The prices of used vehicles are through the roof right now, especially trucks.?ÿ The COVID related disruption in the supply chain is driving that because they can't get the electronic chips to keep up with the demand for new trucks.
Just as COVID hit the US, I was forced to buy a new truck in January of 2020.?ÿ I bought a 2017 Dodge Ram 4 X 4 Quad Cab with 18K miles on it for $30K, good find, reasonable price.?ÿ A few weeks later I went to use the onboard GPS system and it wasn't functioning.?ÿ Of course, the truck was still under factory warrantee and the fix was free but took three months. Something was wrong with the programming and there was a computer flash upgrade available that had a 50/50 chance of either fixing the problem or completely disabling the whole radio system.?ÿ The dealer told me that it is best to just replace the whole stereo/GPS system, but, the catch was that they couldn't get the replacement because it was back ordered out of China.
I rolled the dice and went with the flash update and it worked.?ÿ The problem I had was that I had to wait for two months for a loaner car to become available because they had brand new cars in for repair filling up their bays and the dealer was waiting months for the parts to fix them.
While I agree about not rolling in in a piece of shit...but if you roll in with a $70,000 new truck..it looks like you're making too much money and should be charging less. The equipment already costs a fortune..so why spend another fortune on a modern truck that is likely to last half as long as the last one did??ÿ
When her tires were worn out he had them put on the crews van.?ÿ
I'm all for economy (call me stingy) but that is just stupidity. If they aren't good enough for one vehicle they aren't good enough for another.
@lukenz?ÿ
Did you check how far over the payload you were and decide if it was worth the liability risk? Or do you have the crews check exactly what they'll need in the truck for the day (as far as steel goes) and only load enough for one day?
Mobile One, all the way!
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Utes like that carry 750kg and even guys who like to take the kitchen sink have enough space. Personally (solo) I work out of a https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daihatsu_Terios#Second_generation_(J200/F700;_2006) , the 2nd gen one, which is just enough to take one helper + gear.
?ÿ"I'll be disappointed if it doesn't get 40 miles per gallon".
I presume that was imperial gallons, which would be something like 32?ÿ miles per US Gallon.?ÿ Still quite a lot for the average survey rig.
I once had a Toyota Tacoma for a survey rig, which might have got 30 mpg highway if it wasn't loaded with gear and the driver kept it under 55 mph. And had a stiff tailwind. As it was it got about 16mpg around town, loaded as these commonly are.?ÿ
When you have to work out of a smaller rig you really appreciate Leica's ability to shoehorn a lot of stuff into small, well designed packages.?ÿ?ÿ
