I finally bought a truck… 1996 F350 XLT 7.3 Powerstroke Diesel Crew Cab
I’ve had my eyes peeled back for quite a while looking for a good “TRUCK”. I got stuck on this one and bought it after looking at quite a few.
It’s a 1996 F350 XLT 7.3 Powerstroke Diesel Crew Cab Long Bed and fits my every criteria for a truck.
Both Zippy and I have cars so we only need a truck for one reason, to be a TRUCK. We needed a big truck that could easily move anything we need it to move be it a horse trailer, 10 tons of hay, a few cords of wood, a golf cart, boats, cars, LP Tanks, etc all while having room for the help, friends, dogs, and extra gear in the cab. Ringing in at $3,800(cash) I believe I got an acceptable deal.
The Body is beat up but it runs great. It’s actually a good thing the body is beat already so I don’t feel bad when I clip a tree stuffing this beast in the woods to collect timber. The important part is the engine runs clean and with the OBDII Programmer that came with it I can easily change the amount of fuel it consumes, how much power it exerts, and other misc tidbits like when the transmission shifts.
I will definitely post when I finally hit something and/or get stuck. I need to get used to not being 3″ off the ground in a go-cart and realize this thing has duallys sticking out the back. I think Zippy already has a pool running to see when (not if) I get this one stuck.
That is a “TRUCK.” I want one. I want a place to park it first, though. That wouldn’t have been a problem in Pine River.
I tend to agree about the body as a plus. Constant maintenance of a perfect shine detracts from the TRUCKness and utility thereof.
I’ll actually be looking for ODBII in my next vehicle, too. On the other hand, I’m considering one of these hacks for my 300ZX: http://ecomodder.com/blog/2008/07/25/mpguino-open-source-diy-fuel-economy-instrumentation-for-under-50/
… although I guess there’s some kind of Nissan-specific digital interface that would be a bit less invasive. I’m not sure why I care about the MPG in my twice-a-month sports car, though. Nor would I have any control, beyond lifting my foot when the gauge says that I really ought to. I should probably just buy one of those ODBII gadgets for the Saturn.
I suppose there’s a lot more room for configuration on that diesel, at least in terms of fuel-economy.
Comment by Blayne — September 17, 2008 @ 6:53 pm
I’m a bit dissatisfied with the OBDII Programmer. It doesn’t offer up much in the way of configuring ‘details’ like I mentioned in the post. It has a few presets that configure everything and so far I’ve seen it doesn’t look like it does much beyond allow me to change from one preset to another and I can’t manually alter presets in the machine. I’m leaning toward getting the direct PC OBDII reader so I can at least get active readouts. I would like to be able to manually configure the darn thing and create my own custom configs but currently that technology is beyond me. I’m just now opening my eyes to it. I’ve been OBDI until yesterday on all my vehicles if you don’t count Zippy’s Honda as ‘one of mine’.
I like that small mod you linked. I noted it so I can consider hacking one into my Honda next year. I hope to park that thing within a year and turn it into a project board. heh.
Parking that damn thing is fun. It’s longer than the average parking spot and migrating from a go-cart sized rice eater to what seems to be one of the biggest darn vehicle I could have bought is really fun. I have to get used to feeling like I’m driving off the right side of these crappy Missouri roads otherwise I end up consuming the yellow line.
Comment by Josh Houghtelin — September 18, 2008 @ 12:49 pm
I’ve got $5 on “stuck within the month” Dual wheels get stuck more easily :O
Comment by Jesk — September 19, 2008 @ 4:48 am