In case you didn't already know I rolled my truck last Saturday Dec 2nd.
https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...ad.php?t=32850

So Now I am not sure what I want to do.

Honestly I never really liked having a trail truck/tow rig being the same vehicle but that's what I had and I was making the best out of it. There were still many times I was making a dump or home depot run and the little ranger bed was just not enough and I sometimes ended up selling my soul to borrow my parents F150. Plus I love Earls setup with the nice F250 and trailer combo so he can trailer the trail truck to Wharton or wherever.

For those reasons above I am thinking maybe I should take this opportunity to get a bigger truck.

Now I was offered a 94 F250 2wd diesel from my brothers work. It is an old company work truck and it has like 200,000 miles on it but I don't think that's a lot for an old 7.3 diesel. They have all the records of everything ever done to it. I think the tranny has been rebuilt within the last little while. They were going to give it to me for nothing to next to nothing. But I don't know I am not counting on it because somebody is dragging there feet. They wanna get rid of it but they haven't done anything yet. Plus I don't wanna sit around waiting and hoping that they get rid of this thing and then nothing happen.

I have found a bunch of F250's not that old with not that many miles for about $20,000 like this one which the only bad thing i see is its a V10 which I know will drink some gas.
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...l=&cardist=952

Here's one its a V8
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...e=&cardist=942

So I am kind of thinking about that. If I put down the money I cleared just on the insurance not counting the parts I sell off the ranger it really would be affordable.

The only down side to buying a big truck is I wont have the left over money to have a trail truck. Unless I make a lot of money of the parts off the ranger.

(You guys might hate me for this one but its true) Really the IFS CV axle ranger is not the best off-road plateform. Sure lifted with decent tires it does good off-road but I think I want something more extreme like at least a D44 solid front axle and its a lot of work to put one under a IFS CV ranger. Compared to the old TTB trucks with complet bolt-in SAS on the market and all. I don't know I just think I need an older trail truck. I mean I was always afraid of sinking my truck and getting water in the cab. I need something I can sink and not worry about. So maybe down the road I can find something older and fix up.

Sorry for the long post but what do you guys think I am nuts or do you think I have a good plan ?

 

i beleave a 98+ or is it 99+ super duty with the turbo powerstroke is what i would do man the older 7.3L are good but with no turbo's there mpg sucks and the power isnt the same...

 

i would go bigger.

there is a nice 80s ranger forsale near you i think. be a nice trail rig

 

the 7.3 powerstroke with the turbo came out in 94, but 94 was a crossover year early 94s have the old NA diesel but the 94.5 had the turbo powerstroke. I am not sure which one my brother company truck is.

 

Got link ?

 

well idk how far away for sure

https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...ad.php?t=33006

 

also, dont get the v10....yes they have plenty of power, but if you will be stoping at every gas station you see.......they get about 10mpg on the highway...

 

yea that is a nice looking older truck...if i had the money i would have it...

 

94 7.3 with Turbo........NEVER buy anything in it forst year of production. They are prone to problems. A fried of mine bought a F350 with the New 6.0 Powerstroke....What a headache!!! NOTHING but Problems!!!

 

It was an option back in 93. Just find a nicely priced tow rig, and then find a trail rig(which shouldn't be hard) after you sell the parts and recuperate your money. Just My 2cents

 

yeah I am leaning away from them unless one comes arcoss as a super deal.

I was looking at two trucks that were the same same mileage and same everything except one was a 5.4L and one was a V10. The V10 was like $3000 cheaper. I was doing the math and assuming the V10 gets 10MPG and the 5.4L get 15 MPG. Even though its cheap to start with the V10 would cost more after only 30,000 miles.

 

Yeah if my bros work would make up their mind and unload the 94 assuming its a powerstroke I would take that for sure. I would take my insurance money and buy me a nice little trail truck. Thats what i would really want to do. But if I end up buying a used 99ish F250 and spend like $20K on it there wont be any money left over for a tail rig.

 

I think you should find a first year super duty powerstoke as your tow rig.

I'm 100% behind you on getting an older Ranger as a trail truck, take mine as an example: its beat up, so i don't have to worry about bumping trees and/or scratches, its got rust holes in the floor big enough to let the water that comes in out just as fast as it came in, its just nice not having to worry about it, the best thing about it is they are easy to work on. So definatly go with an 80's early 90's Ranger, keep in mind 1st gen's rule

 

If I needed a separate vehicle to tow, I would look into an older F250 and something old to build into a trail rig. I can't justify spending $20,000 - 30,000 on a used truck. If I were in your shoes, I would be thinking about my medical payments, house payments, insurance payments, etc... adding on another $5,000 - 15,000 (after insurance settlement) + the cost of a trailer on there would really hurt.

If you're going to be trailering your rig around, now you can explore the idea of getting a jeep with springs all around, like you used to talk about.

 

Winks what are talking about ?

I have no medical bils. Sure my insurance will go up but how bad will it be. Thats the only thing that will change. My house payments wont change. i wont be making the truck payment any more so that leaves me with extra cash flow every month now. I am clearing like $5,000 after the insurance settlement. So basically what I was thinking take a $20-25,000 vehical putting the $5,000 down on it that I am clearing from the insurance and the payment should be close to what I was paying on the ranger. I know 3 people near me that have a car trailer I could borrow or I could buy one for about $1000. then if I could find a decent trail rig like a jeep or ranger for a couple thousand I could buy that with the money I make off the parts off the ranger.

 

Go with a larger truck and a trail truck. Gives you alot of flexibility. And to be honest, you could tow a small trail rig, buggy, or even a jeep behind something like an F150. I bet you could find a good deal on one of those puppies.

My trail rig is even going to be able to be pulled behind my Ranger, though I will probably have to flat-tow it unless I can find a cheap, lightweight trailer. I agree wheeling your daily driver can be problematic and inconvenient often.

 

I figured with your ankle you'd have a few medical bills... its good that you don't have any.

The rest of it, I was just trying to say you're going to be adding a bit of debt to whatever you've got now. If you're making the money and can deal with it, great. If not, you're screwing yourself for later.

 

i would get a new f-150 or explorer v8 for a tow rig/daily driver and get a old ranger/jeep for a trail rig

 

I like to think of it as trading debt. Since I don't have the ranger payment and I am clearing money out of it I can afford like a $20-25,000 tow vehical. But I really can't afford much of trail truck beyond that, for now.

 

I thought about that but to keep things affordable I would need like a stripped down model and that just isn't any fun. I would rather have more creature comforts and and it be used with like 30-40K miles on it then it be brand new and stripped down.

 

i hear ya... i looked at a new silverado a few weeks ago and the one i want is almost 40k

 

yea man im with them..if i had the choice if something liek this happened to me id be buying a 250 or even a used 350 single cab with a 7.3 turbo.. we had a 94 turbo and man that thing had 300 000kms on it and its still a tank never ONCE did it let us down it was an amazing truck! and it was only 2 wheel drive too! green on green to be exact with the colours..take the 5000$ drop it on a newer truck because you already know you can afford it if the payments would be almost the same so why not do it? and then slowly save up and or use some of the money from the parts for a trail rig..youll get em both jsut takes time id say..but im all for you gettin a diesel! all the power too ya!

 

I went on ford site and clicked
F150 XLT
EXT cab
4x4

and thats it and it was over $32K no thanks, I will take something used.

The Explorer was almost as bad
I clicked
Explorer XLT
4.6L
4x4
and it was over $30K

I could afford either one but I wouldn't have much if anything left over.

 

yea i know what you mean add like 10 grand to the price thats normal for up here lol..

i also looked into a new Sierra..GORGEOUS trucks parents have an 03 with the 6.0L and wow i love it..but for an ext cab with the 6.0L 4x4 base model they want of 49K i almost **** my pants..i was like haha keep your truck thats rediculous..the new F-150s are POS gfs parents have one bouse it with 2 KM on it brand fricken new and by the time he hit 20 000Km last summer the engine malfuntioned and blew up..apparently the heads melted themselves and ever since then nothing but small problems here and there and the our gran parents have one with a 5.4 also blew the spark plug right outtta the block last week and fried the drivers side head..i will never buy an f-150 no when i can watch a so called 300hp at the flywheel engine get dino'd at 206 hp at the wheels and when my ranger can kick its a$$ in a race no problem and out haul it! but the explorers i like thouse that 4.6 hauls *** for that thing..good choice find them pretty decent cost whise for a used one and put a lil money into it could be a driver for work and a trail rig..dont like tacos? or nissans? then stick with the ranger :) tried tested and true brute force for a wee truck!

 

Just FYI, the heavy duty trucks have a D44 or D50 which would be the IFS. The D60 is the solid front axle. Also, I don't see why the older diesels get such 'bad mileage'. Although the precup design used in the 7.3 IDI is a bit primitive some may say, it isn't the inefficient as people seem to think. In fact the IDI whether it be 6.9 or 7.3L are very reliable, and get just as good if not better mileage than the 7.3 DI. I personally, would take a 1994.5 or earlier truck - the "Powerstroke" 7.3 DI. That's not to say powerstrokes are bad by any means, just the IDI is economically a better option. Parts are cheaper for the IDI too. To top it off, why not spend less and get an IDI, then you will have much more money left over to soup up the trail rig... Your choice, just offering my opinion.
*As a side note, as with anything, both motors have drawbacks you must consider. Just ask if you want to know, since my post is already pretty lengthy.