Guest Twilight Fenrir Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 Well, every month that passes I find myself wishing I had a truck I could haul vehicles with more and more. While poking around on Craigslist I found, what seams like, a really good deal. There's not much information in the posting, and I haven't talked to the person yet about it. Before I do, I'd like to know if it's suitable for my purposes. Obviously, frame, and mechanical conditions all factor into the answer to my question, which I can determine if I go look at it. If the mechanical, and structural condition are in good shape, would this truck be able to be used to pull a trailer, with a 2 1/2 ton car on it? Preferably a beafy trailer with a winch to real up parts cars.1982 Chevy PickupLove the idea of having a 4wd Diesel It would mostly be just for rough work. And the uglier the better, because if it's pretty, I'm going to be compelled to fix it up.Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Twilight Fenrir Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 Or maybe this old behemoth...I ton dually, Chev 1975I'd prefer the Diesel and 4wd, but Duallys are nice The 350 engine might be a bit small though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rockindubya Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 Old Chevy truck guy here.... the dually probably has a low....(3.73, maybe even 4.11) geared differential... the diesel probably geared a little higher ..(3.40 to maybe 3.73). , because it's a 1/2 ton, but either will pull a tandem trailer with 5000 lbs easily enough, if mechanicals are in good shape. The only concern on a heavy load is brakes... allow extra stopping distance....there is always an idiot ready to pull out in front of you, though. If you get a trailer with brakes, it's not a big deal to put the actuator in either truck.If you do a lot of hauling in traffic, it's a good investment. If you take the back roads, and ain't in any hurry... save your dough.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Twilight Fenrir Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Old Chevy truck guy here.... the dually probably has a low....(3.73, maybe even 4.11) geared differential... the diesel probably geared a little higher ..(3.40 to maybe 3.73). , because it's a 1/2 ton, but either will pull a tandem trailer with 5000 lbs easily enough, if mechanicals are in good shape. The only concern on a heavy load is brakes... allow extra stopping distance....there is always an idiot ready to pull out in front of you, though. If you get a trailer with brakes, it's not a big deal to put the actuator in either truck.If you do a lot of hauling in traffic, it's a good investment. If you take the back roads, and ain't in any hurry... save your dough....Thanks for the response I probably won't be doing alot of hauling period. I'd just like it to be able to when I need to do so. As much as I love my El Camino's, they're rounded truck beds make transporting large objects difficult sometimes. And that's what I'd mostly be using the truck for... Maybe get a snow plow for it so I can decommission my rediculous Willies CJ-5. I'm definitely leaning towards the Diesel then if that will do the trick. With the much better fuel economy, and reliability, as well as FWD for if I get to pull something out of a field. I understand those series had some issues with glow-plugs, and they're not exactly record setting trucks, but I don't need it to be. Just something to get things done with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Braverman Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 The 6.2 diesel makes very little power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durant Mike Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 I'd go for the diesel also! My son has a 2006 Dodge 4wd diesel that I've had the pleasure of driving several times. I've told him to never get rid of it, I'd buy it from him when he's done with it. Several years ago went from Central Florida to Virginia to pick up another truck for a client. Rented a U-haul open trailer in Virginia and hauled the pick up truck back to Florida. Got 24 miles per gallon going up, and 17 pulling the trailer and pickup back. Didn't even know the trailer and truck was behind us. Diesel fuel is a bit more expensive but in my book if your going to tow a trailer this is the way to go. Besides if you take care of diesels usually the engine will last well over 500,000 miles. The body and electronics will wear before the engine does. Just my two cents worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Twilight Fenrir Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 The 6.2 diesel makes very little power.Yeah, I looked into that... Something like 140HP and 275 ft/lbs. I understand it's relatively easy to upgrade them though, and add a turbo to get them comparable to a modern turbo diesel. But, that would be something for in the future when I'm done with everything else I'm working on Otherwise I can certainly wait and see what else comes up. Just a 4wd Diesel for $1800 seems like a pretty good deal to me. I understand the Fords of the era had an International Harvester engine with much higher output.... While I'm quick to turn on Fords, I do love IH.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 If anything breaks on a diesel, it is expenive to fix. Also a 30 year old diesel begs the question as to the maintenance that it has seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Peterson Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 We just bought this. For the money, I don't see how one could go wrong. Uses a lot of gas, but its sole purpose will be for tugging a 2,000-pound trailer with 5,000-pound-plus car. Four-wheel drive is not needed, in fact we prefer not having it. Never in 35-some years of trailering have we wished we had it.http://forums.aaca.org/f196/3-4-ton-suburban-sale-305897.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Congrtats on that buy West. I had seen that ad and meant to have looked into it further. We are considering buying a late 90's/early 2000 suburban to replace my current '96 1500 Silverado with 238,000 miles. Hope it performs well for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlK Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 by all means go with the diesel..... I have a 92 dodge dually turbo-diesel with over 200K miles, I think it is just about broken in, That is all (99.44%) I do with it. On rare occasions I have had to use it for daily transportation, (if the other car is in the shop), and it serves there well for short periods.ALK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PONTIAC1953 Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 i had a 6.2 diesel powered 1987 suburban 1/2 ton two wheel drive, i had no problems going from springfield,mo. to rockford,il. and load a 1954 oldsmobile 98 four door sedan on to a car trailer, and hauled it back to springfield,mo. excellent mileage with the 700R4 transmission. charles coker, 1953 pontiac tech advisor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39BuickEight Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 From a moderator on a Chevy truck forum (ME )....The old 6.2 diesel Chevys get good gas mileage, and that's it. Personally I'd rather have a 350 than one of those old diesels. You can't compare them to any other diesels in the last 20 or so years. For starters, it is not even a turbo diesel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest draginmopars Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 (edited) as stated go with the diesel. We have 2 Cummins Turbo diesels that get 20-24 mpgand am changing our car hauler to diesel also (gas- 10mpg)have finished the cab work, now gotta finish the elec. and fuelwe married the 92 diesel cab to the 73 crew cab rest of story here:eek:http://ramchargercentral.com/diesel-talk/1973-cummins-hauler/no more gas truck for usother than normal maintence, only replaced 1 starter and 1 water pump Edited April 11, 2012 by draginmopars (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 From my limited Knowledge but being the owner of a couple of Diesel trucks and the son of an over the road professional driver a diesel is the best choice but You can't begin to compare the 6.2 Chevy from then with a Cummins. The cummins is a true diesel. The 6.2 wasn't. This all from a guy who has only had powerstrokes. If Ford put a Cummins in their newer truck I would have one. In the 1980's era I would buy a Chevy gas job over a diesel if you are stuck on that type and era of truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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