Need your opinion on a good used truck, half ton or bigger

Hey guys. Were looking for a good used truck, either half ton to a 1 ton.

The story is; is that we bought a '05 F350 Diesel with the 6.0 liter last year.

Problem is; is that that 6.0 is catastrophic lemon. It was an amazing truck asides from that, but the engine just killed over at 205k km's. You can still see the ad we have in the marketplace for it. It ended up selling on Kijiji in literally minutes of that ad going live.

Now we need something else, most likely not a diesel at this point, since we've had horrendous luck with both Dodge & Ford at this point.
After blowing $10k+ trying to keep that F350 on the road, Not entirely sure whats a good bet. So we have $20k into that, that we just sold yesterday as-is for $3500. :nut:

Anybody know whats a good choice at all? we need this for our farm in southern Sask. Basically anything Consumer reports recommends is likely a bad bet as they're the most biased publication known to man.

We also need an actual truck, so Ridgelines are out of the question. Much the same with Dodge as I have had really bad experiences with them in general (countless electrical problems & design issues).
Ideally we'd love to get a newer (current gen) Tundra, but dont have the $$$ as of *right* now.
Anyway, let me know what you guys suggest. Thanks a ton for reading this and offering any suggestions you can.

You're going to be using it as a farm truck I imagine?

My inlaws have been using dodges on their farm forever. Currently the main farm rig is a 06 megacab I believe and it's had virtually no problems. And they haul some serious weight with it running cattle around and stuff like that.

Them being dodge people helped push me in the direction of my current 2010 Dodge Ram 1500 with the Hemi and I'm loving it so far, but I probably won't be putting a whole lot of stress on it anyways, just hauling crap from home renos etc.

^ Farm use, but not shit beat like most farm trucks are. We take incredibly good care of everything, but it will be used to tow around our fuel trailer & other trailers at times. That'll be the bulk of its use but also to pick up stuff.
The farm is 650km's from here, so its a very stupid idea to ask for "good fuel economy" but thats also a HUGE plus.

Its not like were dead against Dodge, but thats kind of the last pic currently. (I used to look after a fleet of Dodge trucks, and the electrical issues each and every one had left a very bad taste in my mouth, among other issues).

If dodge is the last choice, and I imagine fords out of the question I'd be looking at the Chevy, I've had one and my dad has a newer one (07) and I just love how the Duramax pulls. Mine was an 01 and was chipped and all that jazz and it was just retarded fast. My dad's 07 is bone stock and still pulls hard and is a super comfortable ride.

Your parents farm is around Assiniboia, right? Did that F350 have a big Agri-trend sticker on the side of it? I'm sure I saw a 6.0 on Kijiji the other day with motor trouble for $5000, but I can't find it now. It would be kind of funny if that's the truck. Even if it needed a complete new motor, $5000 didn't look like a bad deal and $3500 is even better. (Edit 1: of course $3500 is a better deal than $5000. Fuck I'm stupid.) (Edit 2: I just saw the marketplace thread, and no, I don't think it was the same truck. Stupid twice now. Way to be helpful, SKR.)

Standard Motors in Swift Current has an 08 GMC crew cab Duramax, with 140,000km for $32,000. Unless it drives like a total piece of shit that's not completely terrible. I think Knight Dodge took a black GMC Duramax on trade last week too but I don't know anything about it. I just saw it as I was L-ing out L at a new Ram they had on the lot, with the price knocked down $12,000 and caution tape and a big "do not drive" note on the steering wheel. That doesn't really inspire confidence in the rest of the new trucks on the lot.

We just picked up an 04 1ton duramax dually with 193,000k on it for a shop truck in december. 15,000$ and its been a wicked truck. Duramax and allison transmission are an awesome setup, but dont get less than 04.5, thats when they put good injectors in, the ones before that were garbage and always failed.

If you keep an eye out, you can get deals like that.

We've tried all makes of trucks for farm use through the years, in the end the GM's offer the best overall package (yes we had a Tundra= not really impressed) The HD GM with the Duramax is hard to beat. Dont be afraid of the pre 04 Engine, just have a injector test done for $100 at Diesel Performance. Most of those engines have had the facory injectors replaced by now (gm had a 6yr 260k warranty on them) Updated injectors were durable. In the pre 04 trucks ask the owner if he ran fuel additive, as the lines will rust and cause injector failures if frequent filter changes were not done, the additives help those steel lines live. As with any diesel be very carefull of blown head gaskets, if the overflow tank on a GM looks black inside, chances are it has a blown hg. Blame all those high performance chips for that.

We have also had awesome luck with the 5.3 and 6.0l vortec engines, they are bulletproof. Between myself and immediate family we've had 8 late model 99+ GM's and not one of us has ever had any major problems.

To top it off, I have a 6.0l Ford that has been good to me. It requires more attention than other diesels for sure, but it never had any warranty repairs or major problems yet. Just cant bear to sell it as nobody wants 6.0 Fords so its worth next to nothing, so i'll drive it till it dies!

My friend has had really good luck with his 2010 Ford F250 with the V10 gas engine, great for pulling, lots of power, fairly reliable etc. he has put 80,000km on it with no issues

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Originally posted by boarderfatty
My friend has had really good luck with his 2010 Ford F250 with the V10 gas engine, great for pulling, lots of power, fairly reliable etc. he has put 80,000km on it with no issues

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I've heard good things about the Ford V10, they seem to be very durable engines. The 5.4 though is kinda a turd imo with all the cam phaser and sparkplug issues.

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Originally posted by corsvette
Dont be afraid of the pre 04 Engine, just have a injector test done for $100 at Diesel Performance. Most of those engines have had the facory injectors replaced by now (gm had a 6yr 260k warranty on them) Updated injectors were durable. In the pre 04 trucks ask the owner if he ran fuel additive, as the lines will rust and cause injector failures if frequent filter changes were not done, the additives help those steel lines live. As with any diesel be very carefull of blown head gaskets, if the overflow tank on a GM looks black inside, chances are it has a blown hg. Blame all those high performance chips for that.

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The injectors they replace them with are identical to the crap injectors, believe me, my truck had one set go and when I sold it the second set were on their way out. Additives helped but it's seemed like they would fail almost at random with virtually no warning.

Some people online with the LB7 had went through 6+ full sets of injectors.

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Originally posted by Unknown303


The injectors they replace them with are identical to the crap injectors, believe me, my truck had one set go and when I sold it the second set were on their way out. Additives helped but it's seemed like they would fail almost at random with virtually no warning.

Some people online with the LB7 had went through 6+ full sets of injectors.

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I had a 2003 and Keith GM "said" they were a updated unit, no doubt they could have been feeding me bull. They put a 100k warranty on the injectors and they did fail about 8 months later, but that was due to the rusted out injector lines. I forgot about one major ugly with the whole injector situation on the LB7 and thats labour to replace them, i think its a 12 hr job and a real PITA. The 04+ trucks its like a 4 hr job or less. If you had to do a full set of injectors AND lines on a LB7 it would cost $6500+ :eek:

So after thinking about what Unknown303 said i agree, avoid the pre 04 Dmax unless the owner can provide proof of maintenence and injector replacements. Its just too much of a gamble otherwise. Mind you my Dad has a 02 reg cab he uses just to tow stock trailer and its never had injector issues, has 210k and it gets rode pretty hard and only regular maintenence, no additives or special treatment at all. So there are some good one out there i guess. Maybe its the dyed diesel he uses;)

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Originally posted by corsvette


I had a 2003 and Keith GM "said" they were a updated unit, no doubt they could have been feeding me bull. They put a 100k warranty on the injectors and they did fail about 8 months later, but that was due to the rusted out injector lines. I forgot about one major ugly with the whole injector situation on the LB7 and thats labour to replace them, i think its a 12 hr job and a real PITA. The 04+ trucks its like a 4 hr job or less. If you had to do a full set of injectors AND lines on a LB7 it would cost $6500+ :eek:

So after thinking about what Unknown303 said i agree, avoid the pre 04 Dmax unless the owner can provide proof of maintenence and injector replacements. Its just too much of a gamble otherwise. Mind you my Dad has a 02 reg cab he uses just to tow stock trailer and its never had injector issues, has 210k and it gets rode pretty hard and only regular maintenence, no additives or special treatment at all. So there are some good one out there i guess. Maybe its the dyed diesel he uses;)

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Yeah I've heard a lot about these "updated" injectors but from everything I've seen and heard they are identical with no changes to the design. There was some major major design flaw and Bosch decided to replace them as required rather than engineering a fix since the new Dmax came out and used a different injector design. And your right about the labor too. Pre 2004 required the valve covers to be removed which took a long time, the new ones are much more accessible.

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Originally posted by SKR
Your parents farm is around Assiniboia, right?

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Wow you're good. Im always amazed at how many people know about small towns in and around there. We're about 30-40min west of Assiniboia on highway 13.

Thanks guys. I'll start taking a look at 2005 and newer Chevy Duramax's then as well.

Like i say, thanks a lot for the responses, much appreciated.

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Originally posted by Graham_A_M

Wow you're good. Im always amazed at how many people know about small towns in and around there. We're about 30-40min west of Assiniboia on highway 13.

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Well to be fair you said it not that long ago in another thread where you posted up a bunch of pictures of old vehicles. And I remembered it because I need a 60-66 GMC, when I free up some money and some space to start that project.

+1 for Duramax:thumbsup:

I have had one, and my dad has had many, and his run/idle all day long on site, and has never had issues. The only Duramax that was known by GM to have issues was the 02' - LB7 which they had an extended warranty on this to cover long term issues. If you are looking 05+ then you should have no worries, I know lots of people with 400k + on those engines/trannies with just minor maint.

You could still get a 07 model year with the classic body style, before they switched half way through to the new style, and added the exhaust filters. Those had the LLY/LBZ engine (same as H1), and are to some the most sought after.

Either way you go, I think you should be safe with a Duramax, very solid trucks with tons of power. And the Allison is a great transmission.

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Originally posted by corsvette


I've heard good things about the Ford V10, they seem to be very durable engines. The 5.4 though is kinda a turd imo with all the cam phaser and sparkplug issues.

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Its good engine as far as reliability is concerned, but that 2valve per cylinder design made for some vicious fuel economy. Asides from that it's a great choice, as they were just bulletproof. Ideally even an f150 with the ecoboost would've a good bet, but those are out of our $30k budget. :(

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Originally posted by Graham_A_M
We also need an actual truck, so Ridgelines are out of the question.

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This made me :rofl:

My company "truck" is a ridgeline. What a pos! It's great as a utilitarian city vehicle but you can't tow anything of any significance and the weight limit for in box hauling is low (mind you I don't haul anything...I don't even know why I have a truck since I'm only on-site to view progress and talk with my supervisors but whatever, they buy). It got stuck, with brand new tires, when I was in Fernie in some soft soggy snow (tires weren't dedicated winter tires but my god, this shouldn't have happened). The 4-wheel "lock" is a joke. I went through a field last week doing under 20 and now I have a stress crack in my windshield!

Calling a ridgeline a truck is like calling a civic a real sports car. :rofl:

Older chevs are still likely your best bet, my buddy changed out some of his plumbing fleet to new dodges (managers) but the crew trucks are still Chev W/T's and they have typically been quite reliable all things considered. They won't buy new chevs anymore though as stated above.....as the fleet ages, they'll likely be going Dodge as they've had great success so far.

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Originally posted by Graham_A_M

Wow you're good. Im always amazed at how many people know about small towns in and around there. We're about 30-40min west of Assiniboia on highway 13.

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I knew your farm was around there, just because of your barnyard car/truck thread, lol (One of the trucks on your photobucket has an old Assiniboia Towing or something on it)

I have an 05 duramax with 250k.

Never had any major work done. I love it!