advice for a friend

[john112deere]

My friend's 2006 Caddy DeVille was crunched real hard by a drunk driver last night; he thinks it's probably totalled and looking at the pictures, I'm inclined to agree (both rear wheels torn off, the doors won't close because the frame's twisted, etc.).

IF (big if) it's totalled, he's thinking he may buy a truck (or another of the same, he really liked the car). He just inherited a ~3700 lb (plus attachments) tractor, and it would be handy if he could pull that, plus he's into classic cars (he's got a Model A and a '20 Dodge).

He was thinking maybe an F-250, single-cab, longbed. (He definitely wants the long bed, but lives in the city so he'd like to keep the size managable.)

I said he'd probably find the 5.4 would probably pull the tractor, but might be a little slower than he'd like on hills when loaded heavy, and I figured the V-10/diesel would be about a toss-up- diesel truck would cost more to buy and be louder on the highway, but the V-10 sucks more fuel, especially when hauling.

Anyone got any advice for him on engines, transmission (I think he'd take either manual or auto, but auto is MUCH easier to find), years or otherwise?

Budget would be maybe ~$25-30k...

 

[surewhynot]

At work we have several f250 longbed standard cab 2wd's that have the 5.4 and auto. I believe the rear end ratio is 4.11 but I'm not 100% sure. We regularly pull glass trailers that weigh around 10,000 lbs loaded and they seem to have enough power. The biggest hill down here is the new speed bump in the checkers parking lot though lol.

 

[john112deere]

Yeah, I know the 5.4 would pull the thing, and given that I drive a 4-banger Ranger, I'd bet I'd be happy enough with it.

But, in central MA, where he lives, there are bigger hills than in Florida, and there's enough traffic that being slow can really make people mad at you. Maybe I'm wrong, though, and I don't know how often he really intends to pull this tractor. Certainly not on a daily basis, though.

Anyway, I rode with my buddy in an F-250 with the 5.4 and 4.10 gears (4x4) pulling an empty, enclosed snowmobile trailer the other weekend, and although it would pull it 95 on the flats, it didn't really want to haul up the big hills so well, and sucked a LOT of gas doing it (though, I suppose, anytime you haul an enclosed trailer 95 mph over a mountain, you can't expect to get good mileage).

*EDIT: in New England, 4x4 is almost a must (though I don't actually have it on my truck, so clearly not 100% necessary) so that adds a little weight. Probably not enough to really matter, but what do I know.

 

[Fellro]

Gear ratio is key with a bigger trailer. That tractor isn't a whole lot heavier than the average full size car, so it shouldn't be a big deal. If he was talking about a bigger tractor, I might have a different answer, but I think the diesel or V10 will be over kill if he doesn't do it all that much.

 

[polarbear]

As a reference point only, I've got a '05 F250 Supercab V10 4X4 Lariat on the lot with 28K miles. V10, full load, clean- and can sell it for a tad under $25K. Your budget should buy a new regular cab- with change. Just beware the resale- it sux for a gasser. I'd also avoid the 5.4- rotten gas mileage, not very powerful... kind of the worst of both worlds. Lot of fleets buy them only because they're cheaper- otherwise, there's better alternatives.

As a second reference point, our Dodge store has new 2500 Laramie SLT Quad Cab Cummins 4X4's in the paper for $33,864. That's a power everything, alloys, 6.7 Cummins and a 6 spd manual. Holy hell- used ones are bringing more than that! I know, it's a Dodge.... but the $$$'s are something to look at.

Me? I'd get another Caddy and call it good.

 

[john112deere]

He wants another Caddy- he really liked that car a lot.

But, at the same time, the last month or so there have been a lot of times when a truck would have come in real handy, so that's why he's thinking that way.

It sucks to have to call in favors from friends, but it's stupidly expensive to get non-running cars moved by tow companies. (Or, of course you can do this: http://umaine.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=32743949&l=b5c31&id=5816843 We pulled that behind a Jeep with a tow strap, down a busy street well after dark; I drove the Jeep and he steer and ran the brakes on that; his mother followed behind us in the Caddy with hazards on.)

 

[Dave W]

I have to chime in here and will probably get roasted again for my comments - but I'm beginning to enjoy the challange.

I just traded an '01 4x4 with a 5.4 that I used to pull my 7000+ pound travel trailer. It had 3.73 gears and the 2 valve engine - both were big detriments for hauling that camper. It did an OK job, but was no screamer in the NY Adirondack Mountains. Gas mileage, open road, with the camper was 9 to 11, without, 13 to 16.5. If anyone says they did better, well, that, on a 6500 pound truck is cow plop for no better term. I did have a Gibson exhaust, which was worth about a mile per gallon.

My 'new' truck is an '06, F350 4x4, V10 with 4.10 gears, same camper. With trailer, 9 to 10, without, 13.5 to 14, with 10 to 11.5 stop and go driving. Not great, but this truck is over 7000 pounds, a flatter front end and bigger rubber. It pulls the camper like it isn't even there and a couple of hills that would drag the 5.4 and trailer down to 35-40mph, I go up at the speed limit and accelerating.

My dream truck would be identical to the truck I have but with the diesel. But, since a lot of my driving is local, in town, a diesel didn't make financial sense:
1 - Initial purchase price, new or 1-3 years old is $4-6,000 more
2 - Maintenance expense, 15 quarts of Mobil 1 oil($60+) and filter ($20-25) plus a fuel filter change ($55) and a fuel/water coalescer filter ($60) every 5000 miles
3 - Maintenance factors - pre '05 PSD 6.0 were very troublesome. The new 6.4 twin turbo - has been better but to do any significant service, the cab has to be jacked up off the frame.
4 - In Orono, Maine, the truck would need to be plugged into a wall socket to be able to start most of the winter.
5 - Fuel costs. In Vermont, for instance, diesel is .20/.30 MORE then gasoline, here in NY, about the same price. Fuel mileage on the 6.4 has been disappointing, to say the least an is on a par with the V10 (and the naysayers will flame me on that one!! )

A positive - a 200,000 mile warrantee - which is great, but most work requires that you leave the truck for days (or in some cases, weeks) for parts.

But, if someone really wants that diesel rattle, wants to put up with the dollar negatives - I say go for it - but with a lot of thought.

 

[john112deere]

I don't disagree. I've driven diesels, and I love them. But for his purposes, I think the cons outweigh the pros. (And the only Ford diesel of recent memory I'd buy is the 7.3)

Also, having seen the pictures of this tractor, I don't buy the 3700 lb number. It's a big, heavy looking thing, my guess is that the tractor weighs closer to 5k.

Still no final word on the Caddy being totalled, but based on one thing they told him, I'm afraid he might get porked- they'll dump a TON of money into fixing the car, and he'll wind up with a car that doesn't drive quite right and isn't worth crap because it's got a rebuilt title.

 

[Fellro]

If the tractor is larger like that, it may be more like 7000 pounds. A simple 966 IH weighs in at least 7000, if not more, there's a lot of iron there. If that's the case, a V-10 is a better choice, and if the efficiency numbers are like stated, not much loss for the power gain.

BTW. in order to weigh down at 3500, it would have to be a little tractor like say an 8N or 9N Ford or the equivalent. Even a Massey Harris 44 is over 5000 pounds.

 

[Dave W]

I don't disagree. I've driven diesels, and I love them. But for his purposes, I think the cons outweigh the pros. (And the only Ford diesel of recent memory I'd buy is the 7.3)

Also, having seen the pictures of this tractor, I don't buy the 3700 lb number. It's a big, heavy looking thing, my guess is that the tractor weighs closer to 5k.

Still no final word on the Caddy being totalled, but based on one thing they told him, I'm afraid he might get porked- they'll dump a TON of money into fixing the car, and he'll wind up with a car that doesn't drive quite right and isn't worth crap because it's got a rebuilt title.

If Ford still built a new truck with the 7.3 or even the old 6.9, I would have bought that in a heartbeat instead of the V10. The EPA has mandated that they have better emissions and the 6.0/6.4 was the result. It's a frickin' work truck, not a Swiss watch

Heck, my baby 17Hp Iseki/Bolens yard diesel with mower deck and snowblower weighs just at a ton.

If the Caddy gets fixed, then it would be instant trade-in time for me.

Dave W

 

[Fellro]

Actually, you can blame Congress and Pres for the EPA mandate, it has to go through there first, so our elected officials are the ones to blame for the too strict standards, we surpassed Europe's standards with these...

 

[john112deere]

That's what he's thinking on the Caddy. Me, I'd run it into the ground if it drives OK, since it's got no value left anyway.

As to the tractor, it's a funny old beast. It's from the early '50s, 4x4, with a 50-horse Chrysler industrial engine and bulldozer-style controls, even though it's got 4 wheels. He's got paperwork, which I'm sure is where he got the number from, but it just LOOKS a lot heavier than that to me, at least in the pictures. Hard to judge It's also got a very early proto-type backhoe on it (which I think might weigh in at 1000 or so pounds) and a small bucket loader on the front.

 

[polarbear]

john112deere That's what he's thinking on the Caddy. Me, I'd run it into the ground if it drives OK, since it's got no value left anyway.

I'd agree with that- he's gonna get clubbed like a baby seal if/when he trades it in, so might as well run with it and call it good.