Towing for Landscaping Startup

Congrats on the business. In my own experiences, the last thing you want to do is work more on the tow rig than the lawn equipment, and I think you will regret buying an old diesel.

First, lets start with what you need. Do you want an enclosed or need an enclosed? How will your equipment be secured when not in use? Lets just say you need/want the enclosed. A typical 7x18 enclosed trailer is 2275 lbs without spare tire. Throw in some mounts for equipment...etc, call it 2450 lbs. I'm going to offer up some advice that I should have listened to 20 years ago...never buy 3200lb axles on a trailer. Step up to the 5200's at least. The up-charge is usually pretty minimal. To upgrade my last flatbed from 5200 to 7200 lb axles was 160.00 when specking out. I would have been a fool not to upgrade, and I will never have axles under 7200's again. The stability, capability and braking power is awesome to say the least.

Let's get into the diesels. So let me point out, I'm a diesel nut, and I own a 16 GMC Sierra 3500 Duramax. I wouldn't use my truck for what you plan on doing.

This load behind my truck is a smidge over 8000 lbs.



I will also explain why the two links you posted are really shit buys.


-I call bullshit on a salvage title for front bumper work. There has been significant damage at one point. The frames on the 2nd gen Dodges suck (I'll cover that in a sec)
- 245K miles is a lot, on any vehicle. However, on a Dodge....When was the VP-44 changed out (1800 if you do it yourself and don't screw up)? Does it have a FASS Lift pump? If not, you will be replacing VP-44's like pizza at a college birthday party. (600.00). Front end? Does it have the frame steering stabilizer so the truck doesn't steer like a ship?
- Check the front drive shaft u-joints. When these go bad, it often cracks the transfer case housing. Ask me how I know.
- The 47RE transmission is a total pile of shit. Unless someone has sunk 3800.00 into the transmission, you couldn't give me one. Now don't run out and just buy the NV5600 six speed either. These are not made anymore and parts are hard to find (also ask me how I know). The NV4500 is pretty decent as long as you do the 5th gear retaining nut mod. DO NOT WELD IT.
- Dash will most likely cave in. I purchased my 2002 HO dodge 2500 from the south and it just fell apart. 365.00 and a lot of cussing.
- Injectors? When were they changed out. Great thing is these are relatively cheap. Buy from a reputable place or just new ones from Bosch. 300.00 Average lifespan on these mechanical injectors is 150-175K miles. By now they are getting pretty weak.
- I have seen factory turbo's go 460K miles on hot shot rigs. When you do a turbo on one of these 2nd gens, 62/68/12cm housing and if you have 40 hp sticks (injectors), spools well. If you have 100 hp sticks, go with the 13cm turbine housing. Also upgrade the exhaust manifold to a two piece. The factory ones crack.
- Now look at the front of the motor. On the 1st and 2nd gen cummins motors, check the timing gear case/cover. If it's leaking, run. To properly fix this leak that pukes oil everywhere (your customers will love that) will be around 1600.00. First you have to pull the radiator, front bumper, radiator support and bumper. Then you get the privilege to pull the camshaft out to get the timing gear case off, reseal, install camshaft, tappets, push tubes, reset valve lash, reinstall front end and radiator, and be on your way. This would also be a good time to swap out for a custom ground camshaft. Really wakes up the ol' 5.9L cummins. That's an additional charge.
- With a 2001, you don't have to worry about a 53 block (GTS). Hey, there's a positive.
-Front wheel bearings go on these trucks at 200K and up. The lowest mileage 2nd gen I had ever seen was 140K miles, but he stuck his truck in a ditch pretty hard. If you ever have the distinct pleasure of swapping one of these out on your own...just bring a bottle of whiskey, a torch, 1" thick plate with 8x6.5 lug pattern drilled out to fit the hub, 1.5" all thread and nut welded in the center to use as a puller. It's a blast. Better get used to this anyway, since swapping out ball joints every 60-80K miles is common. Use plenty of anti-seize and it makes the next job a lot easier.

There's plenty of other little things that make these trucks total pieces of shit. We will just put it this way. When I sold my Tundra and planned on going back to a diesel, my wife said "If you bring a Dodge home again, I'm bringing divorce papers home." After owning a 2002 and 2005 Dodge trucks, she got tired of spending thousands and myself always working on them. I became a diesel tech due to owning dodges.

My experiences: Ownership, moderated a large dodge diesel site, worked part time at a cummins only diesel repair facility in Denver (so I could pay off all my repairs to my trucks)

I don't have the time or energy to explain why a 7.3L PSD is not as great as people think. We had a few laughs on this topic on Tundras.com. Here is the link...keep in mind there is a Ford diesel tech posting in there.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/2000-ford-7-3-vs-2010-tundra.49572/#post-1293596

If you ask me, a Chevy 2500, 6.0L, long bed work truck just can't be beat. These trucks are so simple and easy to work on and do maintenance.

Perfect trucks:

https://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/d/charlotte-2006-chevy-silverado-2500/6916321068.html

https://athensga.craigslist.org/cto/d/westminster-2004-gmc-2500-low-miles/6933706714.html

https://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/d/xl/6932253735.html

https://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/d/pineville-2011-f250/6924328140.html

https://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/d/sherrills-ford-2006-ford-f350-xl-4x4/6920670431.html

 

I would even look at a F-350 or 3500.

The 6.0L in the GM's have been in service for a very long time. Getting parts, tuning is easy and relatively cheap, etc.

If you can find a 8.1L with 3.73 gears, those are work horses that can get respectable fuel mileage and have the Allison 1000 transmission. This combo is well known for going over 300K miles of hard work without any issues. My brother has one that is EFILive tuned in his GM 2500 and it's a beast. He also has one in his snow basher that spins 43" tires on pavement like butter (all four).

So pretty much, simple trucks for simple jobs.