Well, im starting to get tired of running my 08 in the brush to feed cattle and knowing every time one of those big ol hamburgers walk next to my truck they could put a huge dent in it. Im also gettin tired of watching my single rear wheels squat like crazy when I put 15 bales on my hay van. So the hunt is on for a 4X4 dually with a cummins or international motor, with a stick preferably. The point of this thread is to ask which motor and year model would be the best. Also keep in mind that im going medium-low budget since im keeping my current truck, any input would be appreciated.

 

jonathan i would get a 96 or 97 12 valve 3500 dually. when you want to get rid of truck it wont be worth all that much less.

 

You won't beat those 12V Cummins engines with anything else on the market. They are the best engine ever sold and that's a fact. As to the Dually thing though, I hate dual wheels, they're in the way for everything, expensive when it's time to replace em and burn extra fuel. A single wheel with the Ricksons 19.5 wheels is the only way to go for heavy stuff. You won't squat those tires.

Dually's are only good if you have a heavy trailer behind you at highway speeds, any time your doing anything other then that your wastin rubber.

 

for farm use i like a flatbed dually.

 

Flatbed wouldn't be bad but them gate post are hell on them dually fenders to.

 

flat beds with skirt/side board combos are nice for farming. put them up for side boards or put them down for skirts.

 

Here in Ohio, 12v Dodges or 7.3 older Fords, duals and flat ag beds are the rule. Duals help with extra traction, and won't let a heavy load sink your rearend. Our bed had a gooseneck turnover ball, and a class 4 rear hitch. Manual trans is best, cause it is way cheaper to replace the clutch, and neither truck mentioned is known for extremely reliable automatics. Both are easy to find parts for, but Fords body won't rust as fast.

Put pics on the wall and throw a dart, can't go wrong either way.

Good luck!

 

Does it need to be 4wd? Just to run around the farm? If the answer is no and yes, what about a Frito Lay truck?

 

it definitely needs to be 4X4, cant stop taking care of the cows when it rains, and a ripped field is always tough to drive on dry or wet. Not to mention putting it in 4 low 1st gear and picking stumps/square bales behind it

 

We run a 95 4x4 for the farm, wish it had a flat bed though. Does great across fields even with a trailer.