Shopping for tow rig

[Marlin]

Well, a few of you know that I am picking up a 93 trooper RS for the wife. It is currently having sliders built, diff drop, front locker install, all maintenance done and a new tranny. I made the mistake of letting her drive the VX last time I was at Uwharrie and now she wants her own

Problem is, I bought her a 2010 F150 for valentines day this year. The f150 can tow close to 10K lbs, but I don't think it will handle a goose neck dual car hauler with the VX and the RS on it. I will be selling my car hauler, which I will sorely miss. Electric jack, solar power, locking tongue box big enough to hold 4 35" tires, American Racing classic rims...it will be a sad day, I did a lot of work on that trailer. But I will be upgrading to a gooseneck 30 foot deck. That means I have to find an F250 or F350 diesel to tow it with. I know the Ford 6.0 diesel has its problems, so I am staying away from the 03-04 models. I will have to replace the EGR cooler with an upgraded tube style cooler. That should greatly minimize my problems. I have never owned a diesel, but a lot of the guys at work are big diesel gear heads. Stay tuned for pics of the new setup. I am a bit nervous about towing a setup like this. The truck is somewhere around 22-24', and the trailer should be another 30-35'. That means I will be rolling over 50 feet, could be closer to 60 feet!!!! I figure the two trucks and the trailer should be somewhere around 10-12k lbs. Should be interesting. Moab, here we come!!!! Might just bring the VX to Moab, depends how the whole thing feels on the road.
I am gonna miss the F150 6 speed tranny, and the Sync, but 55K for a 2010 F350 is just too much money for me. I can get an 05 Lariat with 40-60k miles on either a DRW 350 or 250 for around $24K. That is in our price range.

[rowhard]

Chris, thought you were up for a deployment to Japan?? Is that still on??

[Marlin]

Chris, thought you were up for a deployment to Japan?? Is that still on??

I am going to fight that one, I already did an overseas tour and even volunteered to stay an extra year since they were short handed. This next tour will be my last sea duty, so I will probably end up in Norfolk. Booo!!!!, but at least its better than San Diego.

[tjh]

Ford 7.3 liter diesel .

[Marlin]

Ford 7.3 liter diesel .

I know I know, but they are virtually impossible to find around here. At least not in a super crew with less than 150K miles.

I ended up getting a truck today, I got an 06 Lariat 250 supercrew with 86k miles. Still has 14K miles and 25 months left on factory drivetrain warranty. One owner, I dont think it has ever towed anything, it had a monster stereo in it. In great condition. I think I got a good deal. I got 28 mpg at 75mph!!!! 19 running around town, they let me have it all day. Curious to see what I get while towing. I expect somewhere around 10-11mpg. I will post up some pics later today.

[kodiak]

Congrats! That's a nice Truck.

[Marlin]

Congrats! That's a nice Truck.

Nice to see you back again, you disappeared for quite a while. Hopefully I will see you again next spring at Moab!!!

[Luna X]

wow......... does every ROTM winner get a new tow-rig?!?! j/k

[kodiak]

Nice to see you back again, you disappeared for quite a while. Hopefully I will see you again next spring at Moab!!!

I wouldn't miss it for the world brother.

[vt_maverick]

Nice steering wheel - take a look on eBay, I think you can get a shag carpet dash cover to match. Then all you need are a few ho's and you'd be a redneck pimp.

[Marlin]

Nice steering wheel - take a look on eBay, I think you can get a shag carpet dash cover to match. Then all you need are a few ho's and you'd be a redneck pimp.

I be jammin to some Kid Rock....we love that style of steering wheel wrap. It stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter. That is the gray one we had in the F150

[RamAirZ]

Ya I had a girl that worked with me in California that was like that Riff. She knew I worked on cars so she comes up to me to ask "Would you know why my service engine soon light is on?" Well knowing she has a newer Toyota like my wife I asked if she had changed the oil since she's had it and reset that light (the service light comes on every 5K miles). She responds "you have to change the oil?" :

[Riff Raff]

Ya I had a girl that worked with me in California that was like that Riff. She knew I worked on cars so she comes up to me to ask "Would you know why my service engine soon light is on?" Well knowing she has a newer Toyota like my wife I asked if she had changed the oil since she's had it and reset that light (the service light comes on every 5K miles). She responds "you have to change the oil?" :

LOL, now that's funny as well. Just think about all of the various cases out there that we've never even heard about.

Back on MARLIN's story for a moment-- the pour spout on a Diesel pump is intentionally bigger so it can't fit into a normal car's Unleaded filler neck pipe (thereby preventing Diesel going into an Unleaded car). However, the smaller Unleaded pour spout will easily fit inside the bigger filler neck pipe of a Diesel vehicle (as was the case with MARLIN's wifey). I guess mankind can only help prevent gender mistakes to a certain degree.

Maybe the fuel industry should change the pour spout and filler neck pipe for Diesel to an "Hour Glass" (inverted diamond shape like on a Black Widow spider). Basically, some other distinct shape that a common round pipe won't match up fitting. Then the round Unleaded pour spout won't fit into the Hour Glass shaped filler neck of a Diesel vehicle; and vice versa, the Hour Glass shaped Diesel pour spout still won't fit into a round shaped filler neck of a Unleaded vehicle (as is currently the case). Brilliant!!!

[Marlin]

LOL, now that's funny as well. Just think about all of the various cases out there that we've never even heard about.

Back on MARLIN's story for a moment-- the pour spout on a Diesel pump is intentionally bigger so it can't fit into a normal car's Unleaded filler neck pipe (thereby preventing Diesel going into an Unleaded car). However, the smaller Unleaded pour spout will easily fit inside the bigger filler neck pipe of a Diesel vehicle (as was the case with MARLIN's wifey). I guess mankind can only help prevent gender mistakes to a certain degree.

Maybe the fuel industry should change the pour spout and filler neck pipe for Diesel to an "Hour Glass" (inverted diamond shape like on a Black Widow spider). Basically, some other distinct shape that a common round pipe won't match up fitting. Then the round Unleaded pour spout won't fit into the Hour Glass shaped filler neck of a Diesel vehicle; and vice versa, the Hour Glass shaped Diesel pour spout still won't fit into a round shaped filler neck of a Unleaded vehicle (as is currently the case). Brilliant!!!

As for your idea, I doubt it would work. Diesel engines run for a LONG LONG time, so you would have to wait 10-20 yrs before you could swap out all the pump nozzles. How about all you regular gas users swap your filler pipes to the hourglass shape.

*sigh*, so I thought. The new VW diesels are using the standard gas size nozzle. Most of the stations around here are in the process of swapping all the nozzles out. I doubt she ever makes this mistake again. I took a good chunk of her paycheck to pay for the repairs, no way am I paying for that.
As for your idea, I doubt it would work. Diesel engines run for a LONG LONG time, so you would have to wait 10-20 yrs before you could swap out all the pump nozzles. How about all you regular gas users swap your filler pipes to the hourglass shape.

[Marlin]

I forgot to mention, I was actually at the start of a golf tournament when she called me. I was yelling about not letting women ever drive. A lot of the guys at work have diesels, they promptly texted their wives to tell them, so they wouldn't feel so bad about their past mistakes, and to further prove to their significant others that women should not be allowed to drive trucks. LOL.
On a side note, I hate golf with all my heart and soul. Our team shot 4 over, Captain's Choice. Golf is the biggest waste of time, it teaches you no useful skills in any way shape or form. At least rock crawling will help us in the zombie revolution. I have this argument weekly at work with the other guys in the office.