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RV-Dreams.com Home -> RV-Dreams Community Forum -> Tow Vehicles -> Looking at a used truck tomorrow - thoughts please?!
Post Info TOPIC: Looking at a used truck tomorrow - thoughts please?!
jrzygrl64


RV-Dreams Family Member

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Looking at a used truck tomorrow - thoughts please?!
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Hello all!

Bill and I are going to look at a 2011 Ford F350 Diesel Dually tomorrow and I am hoping you all can offer some insights, you know, share your wisdom!

First, we are planning to get a Cedar Creek 38F sometime early next year.  We are pretty much set on this unit. We will probably be ordering it new unless we can find a dealer within a reasonable distance that has it on their lot with all the bells and whistles we want.  GVRW is 16550lbs.  Bill has researched and this truck should be able to tow it easily.  

So, the truck we are looking at is an extended cab and we originally thought we would want a crew cab.  Have any of you had one of these and wished you had the other?  According to a website I found that compares the trucks the biggest difference is there is 9 1/2 inches less legroom in the extended cab vs the crew cab.  I am not sure it would be worth extra money for 9 1/2 inches of legroom in the back, where we don't sit anyways.  We do have a dog and we plan to bring the cats in their "beds" in the truck, but I am thinking there should be plenty of room.  I plan to bring a cat bed and see how well it fits.  Another difference is wheel base, the extended cab is about 15 inches less wheel base vs the crew cab, does that make a big difference that we should consider?  It does have an 8 foot bed.

The only reasons we are even looking at this one is it already has a 5th wheel tow hitch installed, it only has 22000 miles on it, the current owners are the original owners, they have all records on it and they are non-smokers. Also, when it wasn't being used, it was garage kept! It doesn't hurt that I love the color (Golden Bronze).  They are selling it together with a 5er that we aren't interested in (2010 Keystone Mountaineer Toy Hauler) and he is asking $67500 for the pair.  After some emails back and forth, he is willing to sell the truck alone and is asking $36500 just for the truck.  

Here is the actual ad from Craigslist:

2011 Ford F350 Super Duty, 6.7l diesel, dual rear wheel, 4WD truck

  • Ford's excellent 6.7L V8 diesel engine with only 22,000 miles on it!
  • XLT package, extended cab, 8' bed, dual rear wheel, 4WD
  • Exterior Color is Golden Bronze, Interior is Adobe Cloth 
  • 623A Preferred Equipment Package (XLT Trim, Trailer Tow Package, AM/FM CD Clock)
  • 137" wheelbase
  • 6 speed automatic transmission
  • 3.73 axle
  • 5th Wheel Prep Package (Ford option code 53W)
  • Factory Tough Bed spray-in bedliner (Ford option code 85S)
  • Factory installed engine block heater (Ford option code 41H)
  • Access Roll-Up Tonneau Cover
  • Balance of factory warranty (3 year / 36,000 basic, 5 year / 60,000 drivetrain, 5 year / unlimited miles rust)
  • Pacific Dualies high quality dually wheel simulators

Also included, Reese Elite Series RE 18K fifth wheel hitch!

Needless to say, I am very excited to take this next step and at least look at a truck!  Thankfully, Bill is much more level-headed and practical about these things!  If he doesn't think it is the right truck for ANY reason, or if he can't get it for what he believes is a good price, he will have no problem walking away.

So, any thoughts any of you have that might help me (us) out would be appreciated very much, as usual!

Thanks,

Kelly



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Bill & Kelly - with Callie along the ride.  

2011 Ford F350 Diesel Dually 4x4 

2014 Heartland Landmark, Grand Canyon 

"All those who wander are not lost" Tolkien

 BLOG:  http://bkamericanodyssey.com/
The Bear II


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Short of having a mechanic look at it and confirm it's in good shape, it sounds like a truck I would be looking at if I was in the market. I haven't done research but I feel like the price is high. It's 3 years old & diesel fuel isn't coming down in price like gas is, so use that as a negotiating point.

I have always had crewcabs and use an extended cab at work. We choose crewcabs so we would have room for others as needed. I can only think of a couple of times when the crewcab was used to haul around people. The extended cab is great for those times you need to have a backseat for passengers, short trips no problems. It's perfect for dogs.

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"May the FOREST be with you"
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el Rojo and Pam


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Everyone I have talked to loves the 6.7. I have the 6.4 and it does a very good job but the 6.7 I'm told gets a lot better mileage. We have 3 dogs and crate one in the back seat so the crew cab works better for us.

Red

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Full timing since 2/27/14.

Silverado HD 3500 4X4 Dually.

Momentum 380 by Grand Design.
Lonney Wade


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I was looking at the 2011 Ford Diesel truck when they first came out, I was a ford man all the way, all I could think about was this truck, when the dealer got one in I test drove it and love it, I did find out it has 2 fuel tanks and 2 different fuels, the second fuel tank is DEF or Diesel Exhaust Fluid, it has a 7 gallon tank, if it runs low on fuel or DEF the motor will limp with no power and very low rpms and this fuel (can) freeze, it does have a heater on it.

When I got the price for the truck at 61 K or $900.00 a month, I had to backed off. 
These motors are made in Mexico, Chihuahua Engine Plant.
I also found these videos on YouTube, you can take the good with the bad, just saying,

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcBv6X5Rmas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-Ok-FK-Yy0

Lonney



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Lonney & Angel and our fur kid a Sheltie (Wyatt)
2010 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD 4x4 Duramax    

2010 Keystone Everest 345S 37' 5th wheel
50 gal. Aux Fuel Tank

Rear 5000 pound Air Ride

25K Air Safe Hitch
Powerupdiesel tuner or EZTurner

  

 
Terry and Jo


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If you would ever have the need to have a rear seat passenger, the crew cab would be a blessing for them.  We've had both club cabs and crew cabs in the F150 range.  I'll never have another club cab, but we have a tendency to offer our vehicle, especially if the other folks have a small car, if there is a need to have 3 or 4 people going somewhere.  The longer wheelbase will create some issues in turning radius, but unless you went to an F450, that would be a problem with any brand.  The F450 has an excellent turning radius.  Our 2008 F450 is a full three feet longer than our old F250 club cab, but it turns in the same radius as the F250.

Terry



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Terry and Jo

2010 Mobile Suites 38TKSB3
2008 Ford F450
2019 Ford Expedition Max as Tag-along or Scout

Our photos on Smugmug
jrzygrl64


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Thanks for all the helpful insights!

We went to look at the truck and it is a very nice truck.  Bill checked it out pretty thoroughly and drove it a bit, around town and also on a faster road (not quite a highway, but he was able to go about 50).  He is still not fully into the extended vs crew cab and he also would really prefer a few of the Lariat package bells and whistles.  We are not in a hurry, so he would prefer to keep looking.  I really liked it a lot, the back bench seat is split and with half lifted up, the cats beds would fit nicely and the dog could easily sit on the part that is still down, but since he will be doing most of the driving I have to defer to his better judgement.  I was glad to go see it and it puts us closer to knowing better exactly what we want, which helps me to keep the search more narrow, maybe next time it will be "the one"!   (as long as it is the same beautiful Golden Bronze exterior - LOL!)

 



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Bill & Kelly - with Callie along the ride.  

2011 Ford F350 Diesel Dually 4x4 

2014 Heartland Landmark, Grand Canyon 

"All those who wander are not lost" Tolkien

 BLOG:  http://bkamericanodyssey.com/
Bob and Lindy


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Hello Bill & Kelly, I spotted an f450 Lariat crew cab at truck paper.com a year newer & more miles but it is a f450. It is in St Louis, MO at a dealer. I just purchased a new f450 to prepare for full timing next summer. We have only used it a few times with our trailer but am extremely happy with the power, driveability & handling. We upgraded from a f350 srw after 11 years & we feel much safer with the dually. Here is a link.

www.truckpaper.com/list/list.aspx

Good luck in your search.

Bob


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Bob and Lindy

2015 Mobile Suites 39RESB3 - 2013 F450 King Ranch

3FP1L_F8QhUeEhkBDTYUfvd-E21D2qEkGoemic2E34g=w367-h207-p-no  

Class of 2014. Full timing started May 30, 2014, living the dream...

    2m7IRKtbCz3Jw5PJcpeJzMXWlSlTg7zl9UWJDDPcIg=w138-h70-p-no   nKEbXuitzEoxCoNgdZSDSL1sxq9Gi_MuXKHEUlZZPA=w138-h102-p-no

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DeeJee


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Hi Kelly,
We went truck shopping today, my first time, John's been shopping for a few weeks out of state. We (John) is preferring the 08 F350 2WD for several reasons, there are many with low miles and NADA price is 32-34K all have looked like new. It drove very smooth at 70 plus on the interstate getting 9.5 mpg. We did drive a F450 4WD today that was very rough compared to the other.

Of course I'm concerned about the color:) The stone gray(dark brown) matches the CC 38fl side decals very nicely!! Plus they don't make that color anymore. We came home and found the same truck we drove today in the color we want online. He got the sales guy down to 32K:) John will contact the credit union tomorrow and arrange a trip to go see it.

We did find one FSBO in FL in the tan. We're waiting for an email reply. The listing suggested that it had a 5th wheel hitch which we would consider because it's about 8K cheaper but only has a super cab.

Happy shopping!!


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John & Dana Ellison

Knoxville, TN, (Fort Mill, SC 10/13-1/15)

Full Timing Since October 2013

2014 Cedar Creek 38FL (Biscotti) 

'08 Super Duty F-350 2WD DRW Lariat Crew Cab Long Bed, 

18K Draw-Tite Hitch

 
jrzygrl64


RV-Dreams Family Member

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After much thought and back and forth, we decided to make an offer on the truck.  We are going tomorrow to give the sellers a deposit!  When it is all said and done, I will post some pics!  It's going to take a bit of time, as the sellers still have a loan on the truck and we will need to wait for the title.

We are so excited to take this first step towards our new lifestyle! 

 



__________________

Bill & Kelly - with Callie along the ride.  

2011 Ford F350 Diesel Dually 4x4 

2014 Heartland Landmark, Grand Canyon 

"All those who wander are not lost" Tolkien

 BLOG:  http://bkamericanodyssey.com/
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