Looked at a newer truck today.

Found a 01 Ford F-250. 4 door, short bed, 4x4, off road package, V-10, AT, new tire and brakes all the way around it, not a scratch on it, no leaks, black with tan leather interior, with capatains chairs with a center console, power everything, for $7500 obo. Thinking bout picking it up,,, need a good trailer truck, GVW on the front is 6100# and the rear is rated for 8800#. Is it a good deal?

I had a '99 with the V-10 and the only thing I liked about it was the power. It pulled my 25ft gooseneck with 15,000lbs of hay on it no problem. However, couldn't keep ball joints in the front end, transmission couldn't stand up to the power in the motor, and the thing rattled and shook all the time going down the highway. I'd balance the tires, rotate them, no difference. If it is going to be a lot of local use, I'd say it sounds good. If lots of driving, I might think twice. I traded mine in '07. It had just over 100,000 miles, and they allowed $8500 trade in.

Local driving mostly. weekend warrior for pulling 2 tractors on a 25 ft trailer. Tranny fluid wasnt burned in it, and it wasnt recently changed. I wonder why the ball joints dont hold up? I dont get much over 55-65 mph anyways, but got alot of hills thru my travels. It wont be over worked, and taken care of. Dodge truck we have, the balljoints fell out from under it,, cant be worse than that on the ford??

Sounds to me like you already had your mind made up before you posted.....you just want confirmation...somebody to tell you to go ahead and buy it.

OK.....go buy it.

It ought make a good newer truck...horse newer, cow newer, pig newer and chicken newer...whatever kind of newer you got to haul.

SSSluuuurp... She's gonna be thirsty. Not to rain on your parade, but ford V-10s are terrible for fuel economy. I'm a diesel man all the way in a 3/4 ton, especially if you tow. My '07 Silverado Duramax gets 18 on the highwy unloaded and 9-13 with a good sized load. It's funny how many Dodge and Chevy and Ford owners you meet at the diesel pump that say "What you gettin' with yours? Mine gets 23 on the hiway...." They might be, but if your honest with your fuel economy calculations and don't rely on the computer that aftermarket tires, chips, etc screw up, you'll see that 18-20 mpg is pretty damned impressive for a truck that heavy. I'm off my soapbox, price seems good for a clean truck, be prepared to feed her.

If a were you I'd look for one with a diesel. V-10's are really thirsty and the Powerstrokes have more torque for pulling. You can probably find one for around the same price, maybe a little more. The other guys are right, the automatics are junk. They can last as little as 20,000 miles, depending on how much you pull with it. The ball joints aren't the best, either. You have to replace them at around 100,000. We have about 20 of them that I have to work on where I work. I have one of my own with a Powerstroke and 6-speed. I also have a 2-wheel drive Dodge with a Cummins and a 5-speed. It gets between 19-22 mpg local driving, at 55-60 mph. I get less than 18 on the freeway at 65-70. I get less than that pulling a trailer, but I'm not sure how much.

New several guys that had those cab/chassis with service bodies on them and their sentiments matched what everyone else is saying it burns gas like it was going out of style. Maybe the diesel would be better power wise, maybe not, but with gas cheaper now than diesel it might pay in the long run to have the gas burner instead...

You need to look at the date code on that tranny. There were some good ones in 01, I had one. I drove both the V10 and Stroke, both 01s. If I werent going to be hauling, I would have gotten the V10, but after I got me Stroke, I was very disapponited in it the whoile time I owned. Always seemed low on power, even with a chip, but was told by someone else who had the same truck, it was normal. Heck, my 98 Z71 seemed it pulled my M better than my dually did.Even my Cub put a little strain on the Stroke. Again, normal. But I could haul two Ms with it and never thought too much about it, couldnt do that with my Z71. Can do it with my new Duramax, and save money at the pump when I am empty! Go ahead, you wont regret it.

John, What am I looking for on the date code for the tranny? I know the tranny and trnasfer case is HUGE in this ford! Around here, the closest diesil pump is 20 miles away, and I get frustrated in my older ford to have to go run after diesil when it does not have enough in the tank to make it to the station. Im opting to the gas engine just for the ability to get gas and not have to travel to get it. I know these ol big engines get thirsty!!

Currently, and recently our dodge has let us down. Just had a new tranny put in it, less than 1000 miles later the gas line fitting popped and caught the left side the dodge on fire. burned up the 2 plugs right at the lower left side of the cab,,, Im thinking its all for the tail lights, fuel pump, guage, etc etc. I bought all the harness to fix/patch it up. I went to a junk yard and found the exact same truck, but a 1500 series instead of a 2500. Only one month difference in the date codes on the door post,, so Im hoping all I got to do is match up the colors and splice em all together, if the schematic is the same from the two trucks. Should be, but ya never know,,,, The ol dodge was a good truck!! has the 5.9 gas engine that always pulled the load, and got almost 18 mpg doing it and never seemed to lack the power to run the speed limit with a 10,000# load behind it. Its not rusted out, just a little damage to the wiring, and some paint where it caught fire and it will be good to go, or should be,, HAHA! So far everything works in the non damaged areas,,,, I unhooked the burned harness, and hooked the battery back up,,, everything but the tail lights, fuel pump, gas guage work. the starter cranks over, if the gas line was hooked up and the fuel pumps running it would fire up. Stupid plastic clips broke or got budged when they put the tranny in it and it popped and POOF! Mom was driving it, and scared her pretty good!! Lucky it didnt get out of control cuase there was 10 gallons of gas in cans in the bed of the truck when it caught fire. gas tank was full,,, If the old dodge fixes up nice and runs good, Ill keep looking for a better truck.

Around here, a 01 ford will go for less than 9000$, but an 02 will go for 15K, and the 02 have more miles on the 01!!!! its a clean 01, 150K miles, I figured it was not cheap, but resonable enough to consider it as a canadate to replace the dodge for all the over the road hauling, even if it passes everything,,,,, but a gas station. thanks, wish I could have a diesil, but I have one already in a 93 F-350,,, it gets 8 mpg loaded or empty.

Thers a code on there somewhere that is on a blue sticker, I think, and the code is a date, or maybe it was even a date, but tyou want the tranny built after March 01.