How do you decide it time to put a truck down.

[snowjeep]

I have a 1995 F250 with a 183,000. I bought it last year before winter for $3000 with a western 7.5 pro plow. I took it to my 4WD guy and he welded gussets on the front axle where they are prone to break. All in all put about $750 in parts and labor before plow season. The truck made it through winter and summer without a hitch. I put a couple hundred in plow parts into it put nothing major. Now I just put $1400 to get ready for this winter and pass inspection. It was so much cause I had to replace 3 sensors. Its ready for winter again but could use a gas tank for convience. And the oil pan has been jb welded but dont know how long it will last. I really cant afford a truck payment but cant afford $1400 in 2 weeks either but always come up with the money. Must have the 2 trucks for plowing and will need a 2nd crew this spring. What do you guys do? Sorry so long.

[KrayzKajun]

if you need two trucks for plowing and need a 2nd crew in spring then business must be good.

so why cant you afford a better truck???

[unkownfl]

1400 divided by 12 months is less then 120 per month. A new comparable vehicle is like 700 per month.

[DKJLawnCare]

So why don't you just buy a used truck in good condition for say $8,000 - $10,000. The payment should be $275 or less

[snowjeep]

I was thinking the 8-10k truck. Maybe that will be the goal for spring. I response to having money with 2nd crew, big house the wife wanted but she does not work. Thats another story. But adding employees is more exspensive than I thought. So back to the question when do I put her to rest.

[Scagguy]

Originally Posted by snowjeep

I was thinking the 8-10k truck. Maybe that will be the goal for spring. I response to having money with 2nd crew, big house the wife wanted but she does not work. Thats another story. But adding employees is more exspensive than I thought. So back to the question when do I put her to rest.

You put it out to pasture when you can do one of the following. 1. Pay cash for a replacement truck or 2. be able to afford a monthly payment that won't strap you for cash. Those are the only real options that I see.

[Turf Dawg]

I wish I could tell you------------but my 99 f350 7.3 has 268k and the engine is still going strong. I am going to have to put brakes on it and the left rear wheel seal is leaking. I just put on another water pump a couple of months ago, but the first one I bought had a life time warranty, so that just cost me a couple of hours and I went ahead and bought a new thermostat. Like you, I would like a newer one, but I just hate to buy one when the one I have runs and drives well.

[rvpkanapsky]

Well it would be cheaper to fix the truck rather than buy a new one

[Richard Martin]

Can you post a pic of the truck? You haven't spoken of the general condition of the rest of the truck. Are the seats ripped up, the body all rusted out, the exhaust falling off? What about the tranny? How does the fluid smell? Does it shift good? Stuff like that. Here's a pic of my '95 5.0 F-150. It's in really good shape and I'm probably going to keep it around a while longer. It's currently at 132,000 miles.

[Hanau]

I bought a 1990 F-250 4x4 with a 460 and a 5 speed. Spent $3k getting the whole driveline rebuilt. Engine, transmission, transfercase, both axles, clutch, u-joints, brakes on all 4 corners, steering linkage, and a bunch of miscellaneous stuff.

Best money I've spent this year. Honestly. Including purchase price, tires, and 26K commercial tags I have maybe $5K in this truck and it is as tight and reliable as a brand new rig.

In the spring I'll have it repainted white and have some minor dings pulled out for another $2.5K or so.

Then it'll be ready for another 20 years and 200K. Great plow truck.

If you have cash keep rebuilding old trucks to plow with. I am kicking myself in the ass for all the years I spent destroying new trucks by plowing with them. It's going to be much, much, much cheaper to keep 3 old F-250's as dedicated plow only trucks as opposed to driving new trucks into the ground.

They're so much cheaper to repair than new trucks it's not even funny. Wish I had thought of this years ago.