Pick My Next Truck

[Asbjorn]

So I went and got this the other day for my wife. Still on the hunt for my truck, but the 5.7 Toyota pulled this load pretty decently up and over Soldier Summit back to CO. Affirms that a Tundra would likely work.

However, I’m considering a 2011 F-350 with the 6.2 gasser with 167k on it. As I recall seeing, @jeeper and @Hickey have some experience with them. What would you say about this option?

 

[85CUCVKRAWLER]

IIRC the 6.2 isnt great but the newer 6.7 is a much better motor.

 

[Asbjorn]

IIRC the 6.2 isnt great but the newer 6.7 is a much better motor.

Thanks. I know the newer 6.7’s are pretty nice, but I’m just looking for a cheap ish all-around practical truck. If I were to get another diesel, it’d be a pre-emissions model. All of the newfangled diesels with their electronics and other gizmos aren’t really my thing.

 

[Gravy]

I quite like my 2012 6.2 F250. Quad cab long bed.
I've got similar miles and owned it since 60k.
It's got a big fuel tank, the 6 speed holds a gear great and it's been supremely reliable. I tow a smallish trailer every week and a flatbed on occasion. I really like the power.
It's an XL and secretly it's the best trim model: elocker rear, center console folds up to bench seating, floor shift tcase, manual hubs and the vinyl floors are the best thing ever.


Other than routine maintenance, I've done:
Steering box (cheaper to replace than rebuild for a small leak).
A header crack leak (again cheap part and easier to swap than weld).
Rotors lasted from when I bought it to 160k miles! Pads twice.
Rad hoses and belts (as maintenance at 100kish)
Literally nothing else has needed work (even the unit bearings are original and still great).

I'm getting ready to do a trans, tcase, diff fluids, ujoints, plugs at 175k.

 

[johngottfredson]

I’ve now sold my buggy and Dodge 3500 dually and will be looking for a practical all-around pickup.

I’m considering a 2011 F-350 with the 6.2 gasser

I would never classify an f-350 as a practical all-around pickup. If heavy duty work is your primary use, that’s the route, or if you have a different daily driver and only use the truck when it’s truck stuff time, that’s different, and the 6.2 gasser should be awesome. But every time I’ve gotten a f350 when all I needed was a “practical all-around pickup” I regretted it and ended up back in a half-ton.

 

[Asbjorn]

I quite like my 2012 6.2 F250. Quad cab long bed.
I've got similar miles and owned it since 60k.
It's got a big fuel tank, the 6 speed holds a gear great and it's been supremely reliable. I tow a smallish trailer every week and a flatbed on occasion. I really like the power.
It's an XL and secretly it's the best trim model: elocker rear, center console folds up to bench seating, floor shift tcase, manual hubs and the vinyl floors are the best thing ever.


Other than routine maintenance, I've done:
Steering box (cheaper to replace than rebuild for a small leak).
A header crack leak (again cheap part and easier to swap than weld).
Rotors lasted from when I bought it to 160k miles! Pads twice.
Rad hoses and belts (as maintenance at 100kish)
Literally nothing else has needed work (even the unit bearings are original and still great).

I'm getting ready to do a trans, tcase, diff fluids, ujoints, plugs at 175k.

Thanks for this feedback. My other online reading has suggested that they are pretty reliable trucks. I’ve seen mention of water pumps being problematic (easy to fox) and oil burning beginning around 150k. Having previously owned an 8.1 Chevy, I’m not concerned about feeding an engine some oil periodically.

 

[Asbjorn]

I would never classify an f-350 as a practical all-around pickup. If heavy duty work is your primary use, that’s the route, or if you have a different daily driver and only use the truck when it’s truck stuff time, that’s different, and the 6.2 gasser should be awesome. But every time I’ve gotten a f350 when all I needed was a “practical all-around pickup” I regretted it and ended up back in a half-ton.

I suppose my vision of a practical all-around pickup may vary. Relative to my previous dually diesel, an F-350 is “more practical”. I fear I may have the opposite experience - I’ll buy a half ton and be disappointed and end up needing a bigger truck. I’m kind of erring on having more truck than I need in case I end up needing it, rather than having not enough truck and doing something I shouldn’t in a smaller one.

My 4-days a week, 60-mile round trip commute will be in a Civic. If we’re running around doing family stuff or traveling, the Sequoia will be the primary.

 

[Hickey]

My 6.2 was nearly identical to the one Gravy has. For most pulling jobs, it did just fine. Buying a large 5th wheel was just a little too much for it, so I had to upgrade. It won’t have a problem pulling the 4Runner on a car hauler, and it will pull much more on the one occasion per year that you require it… it will just pull it slower.

The 6.2 is an OHC motor, so it’s slightly more complex than a pushrod motor. The new 10 speed transmission would help that motor a ton, but it was only in that configuration for a couple years and was available as special order only.

The 6.2 was replaced in 2023 with a smaller version of the 7.3 Godzilla pushrod motor at 6.8 liters. It’s just a smaller bore with everything else the same.

 

[jeeper]

I also really like my 6.2. But she is thirsty, and is not anything close to a newer diesel power wise.

But it is cheap to buy, reliable, does the job good enough, plenty comfortable, etc.

 

[Hickey]

I also really like my 6.2. But she is thirsty, and is not anything close to a newer diesel power wise.

But it is cheap to buy, reliable, does the job good enough, plenty comfortable, etc.

Yep. It’s still a big heavy truck to move around, and you don’t have a turbo to worry about causing you problems. Best I could get out of mine was 14 mpg empty on a long trip.

 

[Asbjorn]

Yep. It’s still a big heavy truck to move around, and you don’t have a turbo to worry about causing you problems. Best I could get out of mine was 14 mpg empty on a long trip.

My last gasser was a GMC 2500HD with the 8.1 so mileage is of little concern to me. So long as it’s reliable and serves its purpose, I’ll give it the fuel it needs. Sounds like I should take a trip to go look at this one and see how it drives.

 

[RockChucker]

FWIW I have an 06 Duramax 2500. It is the last year of no emissions stuff. Been a great truck. But when (if?) I ever get a newer to me truck, it will very likely be a gasser of some sort. I know @mbryson had pretty good success with sweaty Betty, @Hickey likes his 7.3L gasser and I have a friend with an 07 or 08 Ford with the V10 gasser. I'm tired of the extra stuff/maintenance a diesel needs. Right now diesel is cheaper than gasoline, but that wasn't the case a few months ago. I'm with you in the fact that a 1/2 ton might fit my needs but I'd feel like I would need more capacity.

 

[jeeper]

I'm tired of the extra stuff/maintenance a diesel needs.

This is what I remind myself if I ever question getting the gasser. My oil change is less than $30. I don't end up covered in gross black oil every time I touch the truck.

 

[mbryson]

FWIW I have an 06 Duramax 2500. It is the last year of no emissions stuff. Been a great truck. But when (if?) I ever get a newer to me truck, it will very likely be a gasser of some sort. I know @mbryson had pretty good success with sweaty Betty, @Hickey likes his 7.3L gasser and I have a friend with an 07 or 08 Ford with the V10 gasser. I'm tired of the extra stuff/maintenance a diesel needs. Right now diesel is cheaper than gasoline, but that wasn't the case a few months ago. I'm with you in the fact that a 1/2 ton might fit my needs but I'd feel like I would need more capacity.

I do miss the V10 at times. It was just a simple truck except for the bonus cylinders. The newer big gassers have a ton of appeal to me. 7.3L gas with a 10 speed sounds like a strong truck to me. I'd look at a GMC with the 6.6L also but I won't buy a Chev with that powertrain until they make that truck significantly less ugly.

Having towed a bit with the 3/8 ton JT diesel, I do miss having at least a half ton but the half ton comes with trail compromises that the JT doesn't have (not that the JT doesn't have it's own trail compromises). JT struggles on mountain passes towing (gears would obviously help---we should move any discussion of this to my JT thread as it's not really applicable to this thread other than if you don't have what you're used to, it's annoying) but does fine running the interstate and going into Cache County from Tremonton/Garland rather than Brigham City.

For occasional heavy towing use and basic "truck" functions the gasser Super Duty is tough to beat in my opinion. If you're towing 10k+ often, you may want a deezel and you could figure that out if you did the traditional fuel cost/maint cost analysis. You won't beat the deezel over the hills but you'll get there and the trucks have significantly less failure points than the deezel units. On the defense of the deezel, I don't know of any of the DEF deezels that have significant trouble areas (not a 6.4L or 6.0L Ford type thing anyway?)?

 

[Gravy]

I saw a new dez GMC Denali towing a decent load going 30 or 40mph on the side of the road driving home from Glenwood Springs on Tuesday. I stopped and asked if he needed help: The guy said the truck was in DEF regen limp mode and had like 10-12 miles to the nearest gas station. That had to have sucked... I'd have been angry if my $90+k truck told me I wasn't allowed to drive it. That sounds like a huge problem to me.

 

[mbryson]

I saw a new dez GMC Denali towing a decent load going 30 or 40mph on the side of the road driving home from Glenwood Springs on Tuesday. I stopped and asked if he needed help: The guy said the truck was in DEF regen limp mode and had like 10-12 miles to the nearest gas station. That had to have sucked... I'd have been angry if my $90+k truck told me I wasn't allowed to drive it. That sounds like a huge problem to me.

That would piss me off as well. I can't imagine I won't see that happening on my JT at some point to be honest. I would assume it will happen to any/all DEF trucks at some point?

 

[Unimog]

I get that this might seem irritating, but I'm not sure this is a real issue if you get used to it. My vw counts down when you are 600 miles from being out of DEF. When is the last time you ran out of fuel?

 

[mbryson]

I get that this might seem irritating, but I'm not sure this is a real issue if you get used to it. My vw counts down when you are 600 miles from being out of DEF. When is the last time you ran out of fuel?

I don't see me running out of DEF, just having issues with it?

 

[N-Smooth]

You have to be a real moron to run out of DEF. If that guy wasn’t running out of DEF he’d be running out of fuel. That’s all I’m saying.

 

[Agility Customs]

These trucks use so little DEF that if your running out, your definately on the spectrum. I fill up my DEF every couple months it uses more while towing heavy but Ill still fill it up very very rarely. I also make it a point to not let it get below a 1/4 tank to avoid said situations