#5 October 19, 2000 10:36 PM Subject: Questions on a new truck

I have a metal fab business that now requires weekly trips from here in Fraser, CO to Denver and back (over Berthoud Pass). I am often pulling a load somewhere around 8-10k lbs. Right now I have a 98 Dodge 3/4 ton V10 quad cab and an 18' bumper pull flatbed. After a summer of hauling these loads, I am ready to look for a different truck and trailer. I have had more than one trip down grade where I felt pretty uncomfortable. It just seems like I am using the brakes on the truck pretty heavily, and also the bumper pull trailer is kind of hairy when you have to react quickly to, for example, some idiot not paying attention.

Also, I am really tired of the 7 or 8 mpg that I get with this rig.
Anyway, here is what I am thinking: I would like to go to a diesel and possibly look at an exhaust brake. I realize that brakes are relatively cheap and you probably don't ever recover the cost of the exhaust brake, but I just hate smelling those truck brakes on the way down and wondering if they are going to hold up.

I also realize that I need to switch to a gooseneck trailer.
My question is this: what would be the best choice in a truck. My family would like a full crew cab, and I do use the 8' bed pretty often. Should I go with manual or automatic? With a gooseneck trailer, do I really need a 1 ton, or would a 3/4 ton work ok. The cost isn't so much different, but wouldn't the ride in the empty 1 ton be stiffer? Do you really think that a dually would be that important? I am worried that it would be a pain in the rear up here in Fraser. We drive on snow 6 months out of the year. How about limited slip?

OR, should I just forget about using a pickup truck entirely? I have priced used medium duty trucks (Ford and International) and they seem like a steal: 1996 or 1997 with less than 100k, 25k lb GVW, 16-20' stake beds. There are tons of them in Denver in the low $20k's. My diesel mechanic buddies say these trucks should be good for at least another 200k miles with very little maintenance. Maybe this is a better way to go??? Maybe I am just trying to get too much out of a pickup? When you put the numbers to it, the cost of a pickup and gooseneck trailer seem high compared to this alternative...
What do you think, Mr. Truck?
Thanks for your time. D. Z. Fraser Colorado

Hi D.,

I have pulled a 32' gooseneck for years behind a 3/4 ton and later a 1 ton dually on the plains. You have a totally different situation in the mountains. I have pulled a 36' gooseneck stock trailer in the mountains and remember it quite well. At night it seemed as if the deer were just waiting on the edge of the road to race me across the interstate! I went to a dually just for the braking advantage. My trailers were triple axles with electric brakes and I usually pulled on dirt roads that ate up the brakes and the magnets that activated them. With duals on the truck I could count on stopping where as I couldn't depend on the trailer brakes. On a dually verses a cab and chassis, the inside tires line up with the front tires so I could pull the outside duals of in case of deep snow. Generally duals are a pain if you don't need them. But as you describe 6 months of snow in Fraser, it would be nice to pull the duals off if you didn't pull a trailer down the mountain each week.

Later in my trailer adventures I did go to a 2-ton truck like your describing that I pulled my trailer daily with. Especially in the mountains when you are hauling each week, I would want all the gears I could find. Most of the 2-ton trucks will have 6 to 10 gears and look at the size of the brake drums on those puppies. Along with a larger clutch. They are made to be loaded all the time. My 2-ton gave me the least amount of trouble hauling loads and pulling trailers. I bought a 2 ton freight truck with a van box that we cut off and made a 20' flat bed out of. Then with that long of a box I was able to put the gooseneck ball closer to the end so I had a cargo area and could pull a trailer. Nothing beats a gooseneck or 5th wheel trailer for pulling; they track better and back up better. It's also nice to have a heavy truck pulling the trailer. It gives you more control when you brake going down hill.

If you decide you need a truck to use as your main vehicle and you want a crew cab, and since you are in the mountains, I would recommend a 6-speed manual transmission. The newer automatics on the Ford, Chevy and GMC have the same load rating whether it's manual or auto. Dodge has a lower load rating and horsepower rating on their automatics. But again in the mountains the more gears the better and you can leave it each gear longer when you are down shifting a manual transmission. The rest of the time diesels are a pain to shift all day if you are using it as a car. If you are only going to pull 10,000 #'s, a 3/4 ton will do. If you are in the future planning on hauling larger loads, then the 1-ton or larger would be better. Generally the factory dually or cab and chassis have larger brakes and the newer one's on the Ford, Chevy and GMC will be 4 wheel disc brakes which are great at getting rid of the extra heat generated braking down hill.

As for limited slip axles, I like them. I would think in Fraser with 6 months of snow they would come in handy especially when your truck is empty. I have friends who pull a lot in mud and snow in Eastern Colorado who won't buy a limited slip axle because they are spinning their tires a lot and wear out the clutch in the differential on the limited slip axle. On fuel mileage, the diesel can at times double the mileage of a gas engine and live dramatically longer. But they cost around $4000 more new. I had a gas engine in my 2-ton truck. That was 10 years ago. Now you will find mostly diesels in the 2-ton trucks your describing. On the 1-tons as far as ride, the dualies will bounce a little more when they are empty. But I am amazed at how well they ride now. 15 years ago an empty dually was like driving a basket ball! Good luck, I can help with more details and the actual buying of a 3/4 ton or 1 ton or 1 1/2 ton in Colorado.
MrTruck