Crossy's son

I've always wanted to ask someone who bought one new.

Truely, what was it like to drive a 1st gen when it was new? Were the brakes great and the steering fantastic feeling? Like a nice high brake pedal that would stop the truck with little effort?

Always wondered. Even the one we have with 35,000 miles needs brakes. But man does it drive sweet! Rides like a caddy too.

thrub

I test drove a D250 two years ago with 80,000Km on it that was babied by an older man. Always parked inside and never winter driven. There was not a mark on it, looked like it had just come off the show room floor. I had no idea how nice they could ride. Nothing rattled. The doors closed with just the slightest pull. Steering was tight and brakes were ten times better than either of mine. He was asking $10,000 for it. I wish I would have bought it.
Back to the OP question. My 93 left me on the road only once, when the clutch went. Even then if I had been farther from home I would have just started it in gear and speed shifted home. It might have made it. The way that truck gets driven while feeding my cows even a new one will throw a clutch once and a while. But I'm not sure a new one would be as easy to fix as my old Dodge, mostly because of the help I receive here. My brother hasn't found a site that is any where near as helpful as all of you guy's here for his Fords.

richard

For the most part my 91 has been extremely reliable. it was owned by a construction company before me and was maintained fairly well. i have replaced some wear items but nothing huge. in the past four years i have only put around 15k on it but wouldn't hesitate to jump in it and go anywhere. I have 4 trucks so i don't drive it every day. But if I had to drive it every day i know i could. Best part is that when my friend's trucks die, the old 91 service truck is the one that comes to the rescue and if need be is their loaner. that should say it all

BILTIT

I have only put 10k on mine in 2 years but i have never had any trouble other than the troubles i make for myself.

DJ Turbo.

I came across a guy who had a 89
d350 he bought from a 80 year old guy with only 16,000 on it the truck had been set up as the ultimate rv yanking rig it had the banks ic and turbo and had the 5 speed with lots of goodies and he bought it for 20,000 and sold it to a guy for 25,000 I also know of a truck for sale right now in Edmonton that has 11,000 on it for 10 grand the truck is miiiiiiiiiint dump box though

pulltilbroke

Well Had another reliability test this week. On a whim Me and Mark Nixon decided to blast out to Idaho to pick up a truck. This trip came together in about 20 minutes. After we threw a change of cloths in the truck checked the oil an filled the tank we were off for a 48 hour 2300 mile round trip. Had no issues.

NJTman

That is sooooooo Cool ! Check your mileage during the trip ?

pulltilbroke

1st tank was 14.77(had a heck of a head wind and lots of fuel additive in). Forgot the check the 2nd tank. 3rd tank was 17.6. 4th was 16.8 and the 5th was 18.9

If I would have done this trip in the summer I doubt I would have had a tank under 18. COLD air and treated fuel kills milage.

We didn't actually bring the truck back as it was rustier than expected. But my loaded rig was in the 8500lb range and after Cheyenne on the way back it was probably 9000+

Mike337

IMHO....Most of the things being done are not a surprise for the age and mileage of the trucks. I expect to put in a battery every few years, I know I will need a new belt, tires after 30k miles, not a surprise that a fan or wiper motor wears out after 20 years of use. At 150k if i needed a tranny I wouldn't be shocked, I'm happy to know I wont need one for another 150k. You can only turn brake rotors so much....and on down the line....

Here's my thing, I like the room and the look. I don't like the crap they are doing to the new trucks and the cost. I would rather put a car payment every month in to the restoration of my truck that I like, than pay to drive one I don't that is deteriorating instead of getting better. I have found that if I do it right, with good parts, I can do better than Detroit.

You would have to work real hard to spend $600.00 a month, $7200.00 a year, $36,000.00 over 5 years to keep it running. So, for a few bucks here and there, in my book, I'm ahead.

bill-d-c

2300 miles in 48 hours with NO issues, I'm really impressed. I can't take mine to the mailbox and back without something going wrong with it. Put a new set of tires on it couple days ago so thought I should have the front end aligned. Guy says "what front end, this thing is totally smoked". I said to him, " I'd be shocked if you told me anything different". I bet it was a fun trip.
Bill

maybe368

Bill, forgive me if you said so somewhere in this thread, but is it a 2wd or 4wd? Either way it is not THAT difficult to rebuild either, but my experience is with my 4x4. It is also not THAT expensive, especially when you consider that it will last 200k miles or more with some maintenance. All the info to do it is easily found on this site... Mark

samiam4

Bill,

For such a simple vehicle, I do find these old trucks more fussy than they should be- the cummins as side.

Mine was a bad sign when I purchased had factory shocks at 100,000 plus miles, leaky brakes etc. Should have negotiated at least another grand off the price.
I see vehicle maintenance as taking care of anything before failure. Spin all the pulleys with the fan belt off and check for bad bearings, alternator etc BEFORE it leaves you stranded. Ball joints should be caught due to play long before failure assuming they are greased once a year.

I say this about maintence, because I frequently will ride with someone branging on how "perfect" their vehicle is and hear suspension, bad motor mounts, worn out cv's, brakes etc. So there is a big spectrum on what ppl think is reasonable up to failure of a component.

I have driven mine maybe 15,000 miles in the past 3-4 years and all new brakes, a/c, fan belt, hoses , RH47 trans, radiator, door seal kits, etc. On my 2nd New replacement m/c also..

Michael

sootnsmoke

I had a shop tell me that a few years ago on another truck. They wanted $2,200 to go through it. I didn't believe them as the truck tracked nicely with no play or other issues. So, I went to a Les Schwab and had them put the truck up on the rack and look it over real close with me. Front end wasn't shot. It was only getting close to needing new lower ball joints (2wd truck) and everything else was fine. You could see the play as you lifted up on the tires. I had them replace all 4 ball joints as I was getting ready to get new tires. The "totally smoked" front end cost me $540 and that was having them do all 4, parts and labor. So, you may find differently when you go through it yourself or have another shop look at it with you.

dieselJon

Bill-d-c has 4x4s.

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dB Zac

well, my Truck has never left me on the side of the road and I have never had to fix anything in a NAPA parking lot in the middle of a trip. That being said, once you look past the cummins power plant it is still a consumer truck and one that is 20 years old. so there are going to be issues like axle seals and bearings, warn trim, wiring gremlins, and so on. Does that make it unreliable? I don't think so. As long as my monthly repairs don't cost as much as a truck payment and don't leave me stranded, I am still ahead of the game with the insurance and licencing money I save

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