3/4 ton gas truck suggestions

At first glance I liked the tan truck however, it has 285 tires on stock rims. The rims are not wide enough for the 285 tires so the tread tends to be rounded instead of square. They will wear out faster and if you wreck because of a blowout the insurance company will turn their back on you. I know it sounds like I am reaching but it is what caught my eye. Just be careful not to overload the truck.

I like the interior of the gray truck better. The center console is great to hold odds and ends. If your going to haul with a trailer your fine. If you are going to use the bed then the short beds will fill up fast. Also, the heated seats tend to crap out but isn't too bad to fix. I have had the standard mirrors and the tow mirrors, the tow mirrors work great when pulling. If you are not going to haul a gooseneck you might be able to sell the hitch. If you want to keep it, you can get a insert that has a tie down attached to it instead of a ball to help secure odd loads.

I am having a great time while you look for a truck. I love truck shopping and it isn't my money. This is fantastic!

 

I hate truck shopping -- probably why I've had the same truck for almost 16 years.

 

My '83 K-30- 4x- bullet proof drivetrain, 7.4 gasser,-
$535 purchase. $400 for new valve seals and other stuff. 65mph top speed- (4.56 in the pigs), I'll go 300 miles rnd. trip on occasion for 1.5 cord, including trailer.
That additional 16K would buy a lot of gas.

 

Beats the sticker price on a new one! Always a truck market.

 

Beetle-Kill I would love it if you came and rebuilt a truck for me! I will come out to the divide and you come out to southern maryland. I miss those mountains and snowboarding. I worked at winter park years ago, time of my life!

 

You might be able to drive that truck 35K miles on $16K in gas...

 

Capetownkg, Winter Park is literally my backyard, if you follow my canyon and go over the Divide. I pull lots of wood from Fraser and Tabernash, but coming back over Berthoud with a full load and no trailer brakes can get a bit ...uhmm.. uncomfortable?
Question?- did you ever fart around up in the Vasquez drainage? Love that area.

 

But you'd have to drive like a 100k miles to break even on the purchase price of $16k for a truck that gets ~4-5 MPG better.

(hope my math isn't too far off -- it's my justification for keeping the V10)

 

Awesome! I lived in granby and worked the timberline lift the last year it existed. Been over Berthoud in some hairy conditions thats a heck of a pass. Literally the divide was what I looked at every day.

 

"Hairy" is an understatement my friend, especially back-in-the-day, before it went to 3-lane. I could tell you stories..........

 

Mike From Maine- my beater '83 does 9-10 mpg on average. It helps ( I think), to have the secondaries on the Q-Jet not operational. Loaded or un-loaded, still has the same exceptional gas mileage.

 

MM, if you have any insight on a good replacement carb. / intake manifold set-up for this tank, I'm all ears. This is my first BB, don't want to stress it too much, I've been told they don't like RPM's above 3500.

 

That's not terribly bad considering the 4.56 gears.
Considering you're running 2 barrels all the time now, a holley 650 would probably suffice, going to 700/750 would probably keep the secondaries disengaged unless you really stomp on it.
I have Holley 600cfm on Ole blue(350) they only open up on a couple hill climbs - granny low up the driveway for sure.

The sound of a quadrajet engaging is too awesome to not have hooked up

 

I'm not a big fan of the '03-07 nose so my bias leads me towards the gray 02. The gooseneck hitch on the tan truck always makes me wonder how much the truck was pulling - probably a camper and most of it's life.
I wouldn't pay anywhere near that for either truck though 10-12k at most

 

My problem, up here, is getting more air in the system, not fuel. And then, getting that spent air/fuel out. I shall work on it.

 

See video for real world (not my world for sure)...Tundra does have bigger brakes and stiffer frame. Thank Toyota for the improvements in the US 1/2 ton trucks

Tundra is not a Cummins,,,,no kidding. But it is a truck. You are right---they are reliable. See video.

According to these guys it does. See video.

 

Capetownkg, did you ever find a truck? If so, please show us some pics. I like looking at truck porn!