[Bill Schwab]

Since every operation is different, I wanted to pass this one along to those who may be in the position to purchase trucks.

Specifically, size, because all guys know size matters. Said that, lets say you are looking at what I will call a 4-5 series truck, 450 being Ford, 4500 being GM, you get the drift...

That truck is available with the same finance packages that pick up sized trucks can be financed with. Such as 0%, cash back etc, what ever ploys the dealer calls incentives.....

Now, lets say, you need that 4 series, and at the same time, you could use a larger unit, but the 4 series is what you are considering. If the 6 series would work, there are a whole bunch of variablkes that can help you along the way, at least offered through GM, but I'm sure Ford does the same.

Go to the 6 series. For nearly the same price, (a cab and chassis 4500 GM comparably equipped to a 6500 GM) lists at 41K. So does the 6500. When you step into that size, the 0% finance goes away, but, you can enter a fleet lease, which can be set up as a lease for 3-6 years, and range your payments as you see fit. For example, in 3 years, you know you are flipping the truck, you can set the payments so you don't go upside down, roll the truck over into a newer unit. Or, you can set them up so you pay less a month, and have a big balloon due, or pay more monthly ith little to none down, and have a $1 buyout at lease end.

The cool thing about truck leases is you can and will make more money over buying outright, (Paul and Dale I beleive hit on this in an unrelated but earlier thread) and the way this particular lease is written you get all the benefits of a lease planned vehicle with the option to make it yours after lease end, so depreciation comes with every payment you make.

Said that, we just bought a 6500 series Chevy, 3' wide tool box behind the cab, 15' contractors dump body, aludimen wheels, up swept chromium exhaust, 7.8 liter Duramax and 9 speed tranny for $48,000.00 tax, freight and out the gate. The 4500 we just got was within $1,000.00 of this trucks total price, and we carry more with the 6500.

Food for thought for those thinking about that 4 series size, and who could also run a 6 series.

[GLAN]

True Bill

What is the GVW of the 6500?

Each State has different drivers license clasifications. NY had this nonsense - class C nonCDL - that was for trucks 16,000 GVW and a truck and trailer combo of 26,000lb. Just recently the Gov. signed to remove that classification and we are once again back to the old classification, which is more forgiving concerning weight class. But who knows when that will change again?

And some trucks are easier to drive than others.......some trucks are more intimidating than others.

However......yeah. If you can move into an upper weight class for the same money.....makes sense to do that.

[smittybros]

Bill although the 6500 is a excellent truck, there are several reasons i opt for the 4500, such as volume. if we talk volume both are comparable, so no prob with mulch. my 4500's make alot of homeowner deliveries locally no toll road or highway.....or weight stations. and since i only keep my dumps for 3 yrs i abuse the heck out em and run over weight when i need 2. but for large loads we have 6 wheeler tandems(STERLINGS). also with the 4500 it only needs a driver with a c class license no cdl or endorsements. insurance is also cheaper. i have also found dealer service less painful. our local chev dealer can do needed repairs. my 4500's put on aprox 25k to 30k mi per year. my 2 year old trucks are holdin up well. in my situation the 45 fits my mold

[Pelican]

It's funny you should start this thread Bill. Yesterday I was looking at 7500 at my upfitter's shop, it had the Duramax, aluminum wheels and a double frame! I've been looking at moving up to this size truck, I'm even considering a retired fleet truck for conversion. They can be had pretty cheap with a lot of life left in them.

How does the Duramax do at pulling the load? I'm looking at GM now to with all the troubles I've had with my SuperDutys. My 550 was down for over a month and came back with some of the same problems I sent it out with!

[r schipul]

I surprisely found that out 5 years ago while shopping for a truck. I started looking at an f550. I ended up with a 25995 gvw. truck. Cab and chassis was $1000 less than the f550. For someone originally interested in an 18000 gvw truck I'm glad I stepped up. A little imtimidating at first (as Glan mentioned) but the learning curve was short.

[Bill Schwab]

Pelican:

Since the 45-5500's we have are running 6.6 liters and Allison auto's, I can only tell you this. At the foot of a 3 mile, 7° grade, pulling a 12,000 lb load on a trailer, and 4 yards of gravel on the truck's dump body, we head up and at midstream where many trucks usually run out of steam and lugs down to 40-50mph, I can floor the trucks, any of them, and hit 70 by the time we reach the summit.

As far as the 7.8 liter Dmax goes, it's a 6 banger, it hosts 220HP, and 120 more ft lbs of torque at 1500 RPM. Because of how well the 6.6's pull for us, I am putting confidence in the bigger version.