# Man, I Need a Real Truck!!



## Ralphie Boy (Feb 22, 2012)

I went back to the â€œwellâ€ today for more free wood. I just had to show you the load my little beast toted home.(â€™03 Subaru Baja) Filled the bed and the back seat this time. I think I had about 3â€ of ground clearance after I got her loaded. Now I know for you pros with the 1 ton dually, pulling a goose neck with a dozen or more 12 footers, this ainâ€™t nothing more than sawdust, but it sure made people point! :lol: 

Some Honey Locust and someâ€¦. Well Iâ€™m not sure what it is. Itâ€™s heavy, but then itâ€™s green, dense and splits easy. Red Oakâ€¦Maple??? I dunnoâ€¦ you tell me


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## holland_patrick (Feb 22, 2012)

Nice baja... in the great yellow color to boot.. how may miles on her???

I've got 150k on mine


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## Ralphie Boy (Feb 22, 2012)

Here's a couple of other shots of the stuff that I'm not sure what it is.:roll:


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## Ralphie Boy (Feb 22, 2012)

holland_patrick said:
			
		

> Nice baja... in the great yellow color to boot.. how may miles on her???
> 
> I've got 150k on mine



107K and runs like a top.


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## Thistle (Feb 22, 2012)

That Honey Locust is worth its weight in gold.You did alright.  :coolsmirk:


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## bogydave (Feb 22, 2012)

Sold a baja 4 years ago, nice rig. Out grew it & now miss the good gas milage.
I said many times "Don't mind the mule, load the wagon" but you took it to the next level. LOL 
A truck maybe, a trailer might be a cheaper way to go then if you get a truck, you still have the trailer to haul even more.
Good thing it was a daylight drive, your light point to the moon .
Been there done that with my PU. My lights hit the top of the trees, take corners slow & don't do it in the winter, front tires don't have much traction for turning & bumps bottomed out my read suspension. I got a trailer after that trip 

Very nice looking wood, Pretty sure it's Red Oak!  Most say 2 year to season to be dry enough to burn well. High BTU wood!
(bottom  pic on the left, looks like cherry)
Nice score, 
Great pictures. Nice rooster.


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## Jeff S (Feb 22, 2012)

Sure looks like Red Oak.


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## KodiakII (Feb 22, 2012)

Keep it up you are going to kill it, yourself, or somebody (read innocent bystander)  else.  Ease off or get a real truck, overloading isn't funny, cool or necessary!  Call me whatever you want, but I hold a CDL and would be yanked off the road pdq if I drove a company vehicle across the scales like that.


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## seeyal8r (Feb 22, 2012)

A few trips like that and something is going to give. Bearings, axles, tires, wheels, springs, shocks, and even brakes weren't made for that load no matter how slow you drive and how smooth the road is.

I would have taken a pic of you and posted it on BDL.


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## stejus (Feb 22, 2012)

OMG!  I agree with an overload here.  I broke a leaf spring on an F150 by overloading it.  It didnt look as low as your ride there.  You may want to take a peek under the bed and see if all looks ok.   Oh, the wood is a great score too!


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## Backwoods Savage (Feb 23, 2012)

Ralph said:
			
		

> Here's a couple of other shots of the stuff that I'm not sure what it is.:roll:



That be some nice red oak there.


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## WoodpileOCD (Feb 23, 2012)

I concur on the red oak.  Don't know many woods but I've cut and split a LOT of red oak.   When you get a nice straight piece and it splits down the middle, it's like one of natures angels singing to you.   I love red oak.  If it just didn't take so damn long to season.   Come to think of it, it DIDN"T take that long to season til I came here and started hanging with some people that think they know something about seasoning wood.  I mean really, what's 50 or so years of experience anyway?


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## osagebow (Feb 23, 2012)

Nice haul - don't break that baja - they're hard to find! Looked into one of those awhile back. Shoulda grabbed it when I had the chance.


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## LLigetfa (Feb 23, 2012)

You could have put a few rounds in the front seat to balance it out.


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## toonces (Feb 23, 2012)

oh boy, a slippery slope you're headin' down. next thing you know, a trailer in tow... nice score!


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## Oregon Bigfoot (Feb 23, 2012)

Reminds me of the time I got my first loads of firewood in my own rig.  We just moved to Eastern Washington when I was about 16.  There was some cut up firewood on the property (we had 10 acres) and loaded up my 1970 Toyota Corolla trunk and back seat with the wood in about 3 trips to the house.  My dad wanted me to wheel barrow it up to the house, and I took the quicker way, in my junker car.  That sucker was loaded and dragging it's knuckles that's for sure.  :cheese: 

My car got stolen about 6 months later by some scum bag.  >:-(


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## TradEddie (Feb 23, 2012)

I love all pictures of Subaru abuse, I wish I'd taken some of me dragging tree trunks out of the woods with my Outback.

TE


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## holland_patrick (Feb 23, 2012)

She'll hold 800-1000 lbs pretty well and thing over 1000 and your hurting her if the springs are the same(04 changed the ride height  not sure how ) king makes a hd spring for our trucks 

By the way she is saging I'd say you have 1300 in there


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## Ralphie Boy (Feb 23, 2012)

[quote author="holland_patrick" date="1330021749"]
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




She'll hold 800-1000 lbs pretty well and thing over 1000 and your hurting her if the springs are the same(04 changed the ride height  not sure how ) king makes a hd spring for our trucks 

By the way she is saging I'd say you have 1300 in there[/quote

Could be, it was a lot of wood. I shant beat on her like that again. Can't afford the damage!


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## Bocefus78 (Feb 23, 2012)

That subaru is a much better wood hauler than some I've seen posted here. Dont overload it though....for the cost of what you break and labor, you could buy a heck of alot of CSS wood and not lift a finger! Nevermind the inherent danger of an overloaded vehicle causing injury to you and others.


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## BurnIt13 (Feb 23, 2012)

You will be surprised what it takes to make a "real truck".  I was in the market a little over a year ago for a new-ish truck under 20k.  Knowing that I was someday going to be hauling wood I decided on a Toyota Tacoma crew cab based on value, mpg, payload, etc.  I quickly found out that it was NOT a real truck.  The rear springs are useless!

Even with four adults and a couple suitcases in the back I would hit the bump stops on anything but the most minor bump.  I found the hard way that I was going to have to dish out $$$ to beef up the rear suspension and found the bed size to be impractical for hauling a lot of wood.  A trailer would have to be my next purchase which would be even more $$$.

In light of the upcoming $20/gallon gas hike I made a decision that I am going to trade the Tacoma in for a 40mpg compact car.  Between gas savings and the slightly lower car payment I will be saving $250 per month.  

I have a line on a late 80's Chevrolet K30 dually dumptruck that has a rotted dump body and needs new front fenders and a rocker panel.  My old man owns an auto repair shop so we will weld up a new dump body and have some fun fixing it up.  Overall it will cost the same as it would by beefing up the Tacoma and buying a used trailer.  Except now I'll be saving $250 per month and getting 40mpg!  And I'll have a mean dumptruck that will tow/haul anything whenever I want!


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## smokinj (Feb 23, 2012)

Buy a 300.00 s-10!


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## Flatbedford (Feb 23, 2012)

seeyal8r said:
			
		

> I would have taken a pic of you and posted it on BDL.



Thanks for the link! About 2 hours into it and only 150 pages to go. good thing I am at work. I'd hate to waste all that time at home.


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## PNWBurner (Feb 23, 2012)

Ya might need a real truck but there's no shame in that saw.  What is that?  A 48 inch bar?  Or maybe the Subie just makes it look bigger


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## ChillyGator (Feb 24, 2012)

All Saw and no Trailer!  :coolsmirk:


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## Flatbedford (Feb 24, 2012)

I fear that you are gonna break Subie. Maybe start looking for a cheap old truck.


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## clemsonfor (Feb 24, 2012)

BurnIt13 said:
			
		

> You will be surprised what it takes to make a "real truck".  I was in the market a little over a year ago for a new-ish truck under 20k.  Knowing that I was someday going to be hauling wood I decided on a Toyota Tacoma crew cab based on value, mpg, payload, etc.  I quickly found out that it was NOT a real truck.  The rear springs are useless!
> 
> Even with four adults and a couple suitcases in the back I would hit the bump stops on anything but the most minor bump.  I found the hard way that I was going to have to dish out $$$ to beef up the rear suspension and found the bed size to be impractical for hauling a lot of wood.  A trailer would have to be my next purchase which would be even more $$$.
> 
> ...



I dont have a TACO but i think something was seriously wrong with that one if 4 adults and some suitcases bottomed out your rear suspention, unless they were 4, 300lb adults in the bed with the suitcases!!

And yes the TACO is not a "real" truck in our terms. Its one hell of an offroad capable truck and gets decent mileage but a hauler, no more so than a ranger or s10.

I would to get a car and an old wood hauler or either get a trailer for the BAJA.  I have an 80 k10 that was used as a wood hauler but as a short bed and older spings it cant hold tons and tons of green wood. The high fuel cost and that it only gets 10mpg have me using my 90 ranger and a 4x8 trailer. I can haul as much or more than i could ever get in the k10 and still get 16-18mpg in the ranger.  My springs in the ranger are weak and old too i can only hold half or 2/3 the weight for the same sag as a truck thats about 8 yrs newer than mine.


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## brian89gp (Feb 24, 2012)

Definately get a cheap truck, you are only going to tear up your nice Baja by doing that. 

I got a 93 GMC 1 ton diesel SRW.  Bought it for $2000 and spent $1000 more getting it road worthy.  17mpg no matter what I do, and it hauls 4000lbs in the bed without a problem.


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## JrCRXHF (Feb 24, 2012)

I told the wife how cool it would be to have a 2500 diesel. she came home with this. 

It hauls wood really well but it is a pain in the butt putting it in the back of a lifted truck.


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## jrendfrey (Feb 24, 2012)

dont be scared load her up when i get loads of wood with my s10 the mud flaps are dragging ground nothing happened yet 5 yrs strong


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## lcb5981 (Feb 25, 2012)

Here's my wood hauler. 1985 F250 ex cab longbed 6.9 diesel. Best truck I ever had, Does everything I've asked of it.






With a small load of oak.


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## osagebow (Mar 7, 2012)

+2 on the old s-10's (with the 4.3 vortec engine). I like the other old trucks too, but once overloaded a buddy's  s10 with aircraft tools and moved him from PA to Seattle in December. Have been beatin' on my own '94 4x4 for 10 years, love 'em.


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## eclecticcottage (Mar 7, 2012)

Ralph said:
			
		

> holland_patrick said:
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Damn, I remember that pic fellow scoobytruck member (yellowblaze there)!!

Ralph, that was WAY too much weight for that!!  Please don't do that again!!  The Baja can haul for sure, but it does have it's limits.  And post more pics, I miss my yellow!

Requsite Baja pic, this was our old yellow...


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## billb3 (Mar 7, 2012)

BurnIt13 said:
			
		

> You will be surprised what it takes to make a "real truck".  I was in the market a little over a year ago for a new-ish truck under 20k.  Knowing that I was someday going to be hauling wood I decided on a Toyota Tacoma crew cab based on value, mpg, payload, etc.  I quickly found out that it was NOT a real truck.  The rear springs are useless!
> 
> Even with four adults and a couple suitcases in the back I would hit the bump stops on anything but the most minor bump.  I found the hard way that I was going to have to dish out $$$ to beef up the rear suspension and found the bed size to be impractical for hauling a lot of wood.  A trailer would have to be my next purchase which would be even more $$$.
> 
> ...



If it had the TRD suspension and Bilsteins it wasn't made for hauling wood, it was made for climbing rocks.
Also can climb out of Providence pot holes where other trucks and cars disappear forever.


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## MasterMech (Mar 7, 2012)

I kinda like my one-two truck combo.  My '05 GMC Canyon gets 18-20 MPG depending on season/usage and will bring home 1/3 cord in the bed.  That's usually stacked level with the rails.  It's been known to tow 5000lbs at times without much difficulty as well.  But for when I need to really move stuff, my '89 GMC C3500 7.4L (454 cu in) laughs at a full cord stacked in the bed and tows around 8-9K lb tractors with extreme ease. 6 MPG means it stays parked 90% of the time tho!


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## BurnIt13 (Mar 7, 2012)

billb3 said:
			
		

> BurnIt13 said:
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It turns out that the Tacoma is just not a truck when it comes to payload.  I don't have the TRD package but it turns out Toyota has a TSB out for trucks under warranty.  If your under warranty and complain enough they will give you new springs for the rear end, basically the same spring with a built-in helper.  It just doesn't hold weight....period.  

Just last weekend I had myself, my wife, and our son in the truck.  I'm a little husky at 5'8 and 200lbs, and she weighs way less than me.  Our son is only 5 months and weights in at a mighty 16lbs!  Anyways we had an overnight bag and the diaper bag in the cab, and a used cheapy Walmart gas grill plus three bags of trash in the bed.......and it was squatting  On some good bumps on the highway you could feel it bottoming out.

Unfortunately with the way they make trucks these days, unless you buy a full size 1/2+ ton truck....its not a truck.  The 80's/90's Tacoma's, S-10's, etc are way heavier dutier than todays "mid-size" pickup trucks.


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## MofoG23 (Mar 7, 2012)

Get yourself an old hauler from the 70's (or early 80's) - any from the big 3 will fill your need easily.  Cheap, easy to repair, built like a brick sh*thouse and pretty damn cool to drive IMO. 

My MPG is not that bad actually....fully loaded or unloaded I get up to 12 MPG highway....11 around town.  Very low gears which is why MPG is fairly constant.  Can't complain too much about that as I only put on 2000-2500 miles a year (mostly fully loaded with wood or other stuff).


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## clemsonfor (Mar 7, 2012)

MofoG23 said:
			
		

> Get yourself an old hauler from the 70's (or early 80's) - any from the big 3 will fill your need easily.  Cheap, easy to repair, built like a brick sh*thouse and pretty damn cool to drive IMO.
> 
> My MPG is not that bad actually....fully loaded or unloaded I get up to 12 MPG highway....11 around town.  Very low gears which is why MPG is fairly constant.  Can't complain too much about that as I only put on 2000-2500 miles a year (mostly fully loaded with wood or other stuff).



Love those old trucks. My 80 k10 shortbed has tired springs and will sag quite a bit when i load it with wet oak.  Im wondering should i replace my springs as i think i will get more capacity, or just let it ride?

My 90 ranger i know has tired springs. It about sits level with nothing but a toolbox in the bed and will sag with way less weight than some 5 yr newer trucks


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## Flatbedford (Mar 7, 2012)

I bought my '70 F350for $700 6 years ago. It doesn't take much to keep it running and it will handle about 5000 lbs OK as long as I don't have to stop without time to plan ahead. At about 8 mpg, I don't drive it much, about 700 miles last year. The other nice thing about having a dedicated wood hauler is that I don't have to unload after a day of cutting. I have left wood in it for a month until I had time to split as I unload.


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## clemsonfor (Mar 7, 2012)

That must of been a buddy sale of something?  I dont see how you guys find deals like that. Unless you put a ton of work into that truck it would bring $1500 or $2000 easy around here i think. The think would easily bring $600 at the scrapyard today if you drove it in. The flatbed is worth $500 id say?


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## Flatbedford (Mar 7, 2012)

Not from a buddy. It was on the side of my road with a for sale sign for a couple months. People have very little appreciation of old stuff where I live, even the immigrant landscapers drive much newer trucks around here. I scrapped one just like it, but very rusted and beyond repair for $600 a couple years ago after I took what I needed from it. I have put some work into it, but nothing really huge. Brakes, battery, fluids. hoses. the biggest e1 expense was rebuilding the drive shaft. It has some rust issues now, but still runs like a top. Even after sitting for a month or more. Being as simple as it is, there isn't much that can go wrong with it, and most parts are still readily available and cheap.


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## BurnIt13 (Mar 7, 2012)

clemsonfor said:
			
		

> That must of been a buddy sale of something?  I dont see how you guys find deals like that. *Unless you put a ton of work into that truck it would bring $1500 or $2000 easy around here i think*. The think would easily bring $600 at the scrapyard today if you drove it in. The flatbed is worth $500 id say?



Bingo.  I got my K30 dumptruck for more or less free.  The frame and hydraulics are good but the cab has rotted through and is loose from the frame.  The dump bed is gone too, as are the fenders.  But the hood is okay!  Some people don't know the value of scrap and are happy if you take their junk away without costing them anything.

We then bought a K20 with a home-made dump body (that was made very well) for $700.  The cab, fenders, and dump body are good but the frame is rotten, the tires are dry-rotted so bad that they wont hold air, and the gas/brake lines are shot.  It would cost the guy $800 easy just to make it road worthy.  He was happy to get the $700.

Since my old man owns an auto repair shop its peanuts for us to make a good one out of the two.  With plenty of sweat and beer we'll have a mint K30 dump truck worth $4k that will cost us about $1,500 in parts/vehicles.


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## lukem (Mar 7, 2012)

MasterMech said:
			
		

> But for when I need to really move stuff, my '89 GMC C3500 7.4L (454 cu in) laughs at a full cord stacked in the bed and tows around 8-9K lb tractors with extreme ease. 6 MPG means it stays parked 90% of the time tho!



We had an old 3500 with a 454, granny 4-speed, and what felt like 4.60 gears on a farm is used to help out on.  It would pull out tree stumps in 3rd gear, topped out at about 62MPH, and used more fuel than a jumbo jet at takeoff.  Good memories of that truck.


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## smokinj (Mar 7, 2012)

Ralph said:
			
		

> I went back to the â€œwellâ€ today for more free wood. I just had to show you the load my little beast toted home.(â€™03 Subaru Baja) Filled the bed and the back seat this time. I think I had about 3â€ of ground clearance after I got her loaded. Now I know for you pros with the 1 ton dually, pulling a goose neck with a dozen or more 12 footers, this ainâ€™t nothing more than sawdust, but it sure made people point! :lol:
> 
> Some Honey Locust and someâ€¦. Well Iâ€™m not sure what it is. Itâ€™s heavy, but then itâ€™s green, dense and splits easy. Red Oakâ€¦Maple??? I dunnoâ€¦ you tell me



4x8 trailer!


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## clemsonfor (Mar 7, 2012)

Yea i love the old stuff. The old american stuff is tough simple and will last. I love my k10 even
 though MPG sucks litteraly. Even up into the 90's the parts are cheap for american stuff 
and in that era they go 300K if maintained.  I want an old 60s or 70s dump or k30-50 size so bad i can taste it sometimes. Why?
Just cause.


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## Flatbedford (Mar 7, 2012)

The old stuff is nice but my 2000 F250 has 100 more hp and 100 more lbft torque, AC, air bags. antilock disc brakes, shoulder belts, etc. and gets 50% better fuel mileage, will cruise at 80 mph, and is much more comfortable than the '70 F350.


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## clemsonfor (Mar 7, 2012)

Flatbedford said:
			
		

> The old stuff is nice but my 2000 F250 has 100 more hp and 100 more lbft torque, AC, air bags. antilock disc brakes, shoulder belts, etc. and gets 50% better fuel mileage, will cruise at 80 mph, and is much more comfortable than the '70 F350.


You are correct, but that truck today even with 170K miles on it will still cost you $13k from what i have seen!  ALso i didnt say that i wanted to drive a 1970 c30 everyday to work. If feul wasnt so high i would love to drive the old chevy k10 every day. Best it gets is 10mpg maybe 11? If i fixed the air on it it would have that as well (i can do AC work, i just dont want the money in parts in it), it also has power windows and locks (well one actuater is bad and im to cheap to fix it so the driver door is manual and the passenger is electric) and a shoulder belt. HP well its better than my 1990 ranger!!


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## RORY12553 (Mar 7, 2012)

clemsonfor said:
			
		

> Flatbedford said:
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I have been looking for a truck and not looking to spend alot on something that i'm going to throw logs into. As stated I have seen a simple F 150 with 125k on it for 10k. A lot for a truck just to pick up wood in.


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## Flatbedford (Mar 8, 2012)

Rory, 
You should be able to get what you need for around $2000. Keep an eye on Craig's List. I see trucks all the time in the Hudson Valley page. You would be better off moving up to a 3/4 or 1 ton truck for wood hauling. Bigger, stronger suspension, axles, drivetrain, brakes, wheels, and tires.
Here's a few...
http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/cto/2857947761.html
http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/cto/2886616847.html
http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/cto/2884187084.html


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## MasterMech (Mar 8, 2012)

lukem said:
			
		

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That truck very well could've had a NV4500 trans and 4.56:1 gears behind that big-block!  Mine has the Turbo 400 and 4:10's so it's a bit better on the highway but it doesn't seem to help the MPG at all.  I'm working on the TBI, just need to get the injectors cleaned out good and hopefully it will do much better.  As a kid, we had a K3500 Ext. Cab that got 13-15MPG on the highway depending on what tires it had on it.  Other than 4x4, the drivetrain was the same so I hope my C3500 Reg Cab will get similar MPG, one day... lol.


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## billb3 (Mar 8, 2012)

BurnIt13 said:
			
		

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They used to be.
Toyota just bought mine (00) back for the frame rust problem.
Gave me 14K.

Don't think I'm using it on a new Tacoma. Really don't want a mid or full size and if I wanted a truck that drove like a car I'd buy a car.

Probably buy a tiny hatch back that sips gas and find a beater truck and register it   just part of the year.
Maybe in a couple years Ford will sell the F100 here or Toyota will downsize the Tacoma.


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## OhioBurner© (Mar 8, 2012)

_clayton_ said:
			
		

> Here's my wood hauler. 1985 F250 ex cab longbed 6.9 diesel. Best truck I ever had, Does everything I've asked of it.
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Love those old 6.9 IDI's. Not going to pull like the modern diesels but they work just fine and much simpler to fix. I know a few still around here with several hundred thousand on em and almost 30 years and still going strong.


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