Man...I make it earn its keep too.
cheater[emoji41]
You suck. I'd give up some saws for a truck of that caliber!View attachment 356485
97 Dodge 3500 4x4 Cummins 5spd w/ 8'x9' flatbed. Wish it was a dump, but maybe one day. This was a moderate load for her. Definitely had more on there at times though! The thing with the diesel dodges is that the Cummins is going to outlast the rest of the truck by a factor of like 4:1 so you better have a plan for that motor when the rest of the truck hits the crapper sooner or later. Still, I love the truck and can't complain too much.
I would love to end up with a 4x4 F-550/650 C/C short tail w/GN, pintle and 5th wheel hitches. That would pull ANYTHING, I'd ever want to pull and not get much worse mileage than my -350. They would offer a lot more capability and durability as well. Light duty trucks are handy, but medium duty is where it's at (bang for the buck) when there's work to be done. I miss my old F-700 right now.
Pretty much. I have been hemming and hawing on swapping one of my pickups for an old dump truck (have an offer on an old gasser). I am almost there, what is holding me back is gas mileage and the freeking insurance (let alone parts and maintenance). Ran it by my agent, geez loweez. I can't justify it without becoming a legit business, then that complicates matters ...as..I am not a business and don't know if I want to work three times as much just to be legal about things and say I own a dump truck..... Even as personal use only, it is three times the insurance. They consider anything bigger than one ton to be a much higher risk, so the rates go up fast. Heck, they can get picky about beds if you wind up needing the insurance, if it shipped with a regular bed and now has a flatbed on it, you can get screwed... I didn't shop around a lot, but my agent is independent and that's what she told me.
The good old days with cheap insurance is over, modern cars are so expensive, a minor fender bender is serious loot.
Find another insurance agent. Its considered personal, limit the mileage, shouldn't be all that bad...
If I was to do it, it would be an older military M135 or similar...dump bed, all wheel drive.
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