Might have to move up to older Duramax. Advice?

You might make out okay with a regular cab Tundra, geared with 5.29's, a brake upgrade, aftermarket leaf packs to keep it level when loaded, BDS traction bars to control axle wrap when frequently jockeying around the trailer and an aluminum dump trailer. Another alternative idea to consider is a trailer toad trailer dolley to pull a load but keep the weight off the truck. Keep exploring and researching, you might be able to make compromises and get the ball rolling easier than you think.

 

Eh, I have a dblc grade with airbags, brake controller, rated at 10,400. I’ve towed lots of dump trailers with it. It’s not the tool for the job.

Granted this is a big heavy trailer, but this wasn’t even that fun, empty, through town.

 

I understand, and usually when all things are considered carefully there isn't a one size fits all. I'm certainly a fan of HD trailers too, especially when they are going to be used frequently.That said, don't forget to compare turning radius differences as you compare truck options because when you start moving trailers around regularly in confined spaces it does make a difference. Again, good luck!

 

Well, I might take a step back for a bit. I’m not liking what I’ve been seeing and I’m nervous I’m going to make a poor decision and end up in a piece of junk. Gonna do some more thinking, and keep my eyes and ears open.

Plan on buying my new dump trailer this week, I know my tundra will be able to get me by for awhile if needed and be dependable. 10k trailer, under 3k dry weight. That was my original plan all along so currently feeling good about it.

 

There is a group buy going on here with other members for a substantial discount on Alcon Brake Upgrade and if you did that with 5.29 Differential gears and a Roadmaster Active Suspension HD kit you might be GTG for a long time. Very nice to see that substantial discount right now, and it doesn't happen very often that I know of. Good luck!

 

I am curious about a WD hitch.. not sure how practical that is with a dump though. I just saw a similar thread here asking same thing.

 

Might want to think about an electric fan for your tranny cooler since you will probably be doing a bunch of low speed maneuvering around and slow traffic hauling.

 

A high mileage 3/4 or 1 ton diesel is a ticking time bomb. They’re pieces of equipment and they’re expensive to fix.

Before my current tundra, I had an 07 2500 duramax. Had the “holy grail” LBZ duramax/Allison combo. Bought it for $15k with 225000 miles on it thinking it would go for another 100k, at least. Crankshaft broke at about 235000 and I sold it as for $5k to someone who wanted a project.

if this really is going to be a work/company truck just bite the bullet and buy new. Work the piss out of it and make it worthwhile. Make sure to work the cost of operating the truck into your pricing. Dump it before you hit 100k and let the next guy deal with it. This is what everyone else is doing. Don’t be the guy who buys used and gets hosed. You can’t afford to buy it twice and have your operation suffer.

my 2 cents as someone who now has 3 company vehicles in the construction industry.

 

Not to familiar with that.. I’ll look into it

 

Just a 12 volt fan that you can switch on from the driver's seat during times of reduced airflow

 

Might have prevented it, might not have. I had zero indication anything in the rotating assembly was out of balance until it happened. Any generation of any engine is going to have its problems. Shit wears out.

I think this further illustrates my point though. Unless you’re a maintenance hawk (or just plain love to wrench on your truck as much as you drive it), don’t bet your livelihood on a used truck with esoteric, nuanced maintenance secrets. If he’s really using this for work he’d be much better off spending his time on business development, learning accounting, or hiring the right people vs messing around with a used truck trying to save a $40k. If you need a tool, you need it. Get it and don’t fuck around because it’ll just cost more later.

 

As far as the 6.4 Hemi you'll definitely want to do a little research on the lifter/cam lobe issues. I owned a Ram 2500 HD 5.7 Hemi (for all intents and purposes it's the same as the 6.4 just bored out larger) and it was actually a pretty good truck for me. One thing to keep in mind is the Hemi's run Hot....and when towing heavy, hard, or over a pass you will get crazy close to overheating. I replaced everything I could with the cooling system but this was still an issue I had constantly be checking. As far as transmission, 4x4, electrical or anything else mine was spot on with no issues. At 239,000 miles I had a cam lobe wear down enough it started mis-firing on one of the cylinders. I was quoted $3500-4500 to fix, a couple of mechanics didn't want to do the work preferring to install a used motor instead. I ended up selling it out right to a shade tree mechanic and bought a tundra. The only thing I would try and do is find one that has decent records for oil changes, I think that's why mine made it to 239k because I changed the oil every 3-4 thousand miles. Also, mine had the 3.73 gears which made it rev high and had trouble holding speed (5.7 didn't help much either). But from what I've read the 6.4 with 4.3 gears is a great combo for towing.

 

Being a HD 1/2 based on the 200 Series Land Cruiser, the Tundra can take it. While it certainly won’t accelerate like a current generation 3/4 or 1 ton, it will get the job done dependably.. use a little common sense and it will get you through. Look back at the Motortrend 2008 Truck of the Year testing results… my recollection is that the Tundra embarrassed some 3/4 ton trucks in several acceleration and braking tests…. not only unloaded, but with a decent trailer in tow.

The 2013 has the large ATF cooler mounted in front of the radiator, so it does’t require an electric fan like the 2007 - 2010 trucks might.

 

The “it’s really a 3/4 ton” idea has some merit when you consider the 3/4 tons when the 2nd gen came out.

2500s today have nearly 4K of payload capacity.

 

Well, it looks good behind the tundra. Nice 2.5 hour ride back.

 

What size of dump trailer is this? I've been thinking about pulling the trigger on a 7x14 maybe a 6x12 dump trailer, but am a bit concerned how my tundra will handle it with 3 yards of gravel or topsoil. Have you loaded your up yet?

 

On a side note, I have been creeping on lots of different HD forums of all makes in my spare time. It’s funny, in a nutshell each section about towing every person is worried about payload and everyone says everyone is unsafe and needs a bigger truck. General consensus- you need a f550 to tow anything. Just an observation I found amusing.

 

Update. Tundra has been getting me by just fine. For more extreme tasks I got other ways to get things done. I am meticolous about closest pits and roads to take when I do think it’s on the heavy side back there, but that’s me being extra cautious.

 

I try to be very conservative. Wasn’t tons of room for that Mt100 back there but that pulled great.

I was at a supply place last week, saw an f350 with a dump get loaded with 5 tons of wet recycle, tires went flat and he was shining the birds with his lights.

 

When you have enough customers, you could buy a new truck and use it as a write off. you could use section 179 to write off the new truck. But ask your tax consultant and see if it could apply for you. And you could still keep the tundra.

 

Key sentence- when I have enough customers. I’m just getting rolling and am just trying to do stuff right and keep my head above water.

 

Same here, just using what I got right now to get the ball rolling…

 

I know this is unsolicited but wait until you're in the type of cash flow situation where a monthly payment for a new truck is more of a sunk cost and not noticeable. That's when your "write-off" will really maximize its benefit to you.

 

The tundra has done everything I have asked this season without skipping a beat. But I’ve been thinking again. Nothing serious. But I know will have to go bigger here soon.

I know it’s a ford, and I may be crazy. But anyone have any experience with the ford 6.2? With 4:30 gears of course.