It costs roughly $2k to regear the truck. Definetly worth it too if you get a good deal on a truck without 4.30's

 

Yes. You can get gears down to 5.38 for the front and rear diffs. What gears you go with depends on what size tires you plan on running.

 

The truck in my Sig. Is 5.4l. It does pretty good in the mud. But I wish I had a locker. Iv been stuck a couple of times., but those places I should have had some forward momentum to get through. I think the lighter gas engines do a tad better off road. Iv seen a couple diesels sink in mud fast. For what you want to do, I think a gas engine will do fine.
As said before, these trucks are already extremely heavy. If you go dieael, you will want a very tall tire. Maybe even some tractor tires. But then on the other hand, that setup won't be the beat for towing and daily driving.

 

ok thanks for all the help

 

One thing that hasn't been mentioned here is your budget.

How much are you looking to spend?

Are you paying cash outright or financing?

If financing, how much cash do you have to put down?

How much can you afford per month for a payment and insurance?

Have you considered how much you will drive it and the price of fuel? It would really suck to go buy that nice truck and not be able to drive it because you can't afford to fill the tank.

 

Plan on buying from owner on Craigslist around 4000 dollars
Already have f150 that gets 16 mpg
This truck will be mostly for work play and show

 

How often and how far would you be hauling the tractor? It could easily weigh 10-15,000lbs + the weight of the trailer. That's still within the capabilities of the v10 but if it was frequent and cross country you might want to think about a diesel though depending on what it actually weighs.

If you're talking about automatics, the 4r100 in the 99-2004 gas trucks is somewhat of a weak link. It can be made nearly bulletproof but that's going to cost you. If it's in your price range you might look at 2005+ trucks, those gas engines have the better 5r100 or TorqShift transmissions. Of course if you want a manual then they're pretty strong regaradless of year.

Don't let the "off road package" fool you. All it consists of is skid plates, a sticker and some junk shocks. It should have the limited slip rear end as well but don't be fooled by that either, it's REALLY limited. For frequent mudding I would want a better rear (and maybe front) differentials anyway so if you find a truck w/out the off road package but the gears you're looking for, go for it. A good limited slip (Detroit TruTrac) will likely cost $1,000+ per axle. The only thing good about the off road package is the skid plates and you can put them on yourself.

 

Ok, that changes things a bit then.

You can pretty much forget about getting a truck with a 7.3 for 4 grand, unless it has a ton of miles on it and needs work. The 7.3s hold their value and people don't let go of them cheaply. A decent truck with a 7.3 is still going to get around 10 grand, maybe even more.

For $4000, you are probably going to be looking at a 99-2000 with the 5.4 or maybe the V-10, likely with higher miles and probably needing some minor work.

 

I also agree the V10 is the right choice for you.

 

It'll peg your speedo quicker than you realize according to my experience.

 

Stock for stock, a 4.30 geared v10 is about even with a 7.3. Once the mods come in, the 7.3 walks away hands down. For mudding, you want wheel speed to fling the mud off the tires and have that momentum. The v10 will have the upper hand I'd say, because it likes to rev better than the 7.3, and it weighs less, but that shouldn't be your end goal. Like others have pointed out, you have two conflicting goals. I'd say turn the F150 you have now into a mud truck, and get the superduty for a tow vehicle. Best of both worlds.

 

Another vote for v10 (this coming from a 7.3 guy). My bud has an 03 v10 he just used to haul 10k across the country. Yes it has to rev but it does it well, just has to drink a lot of gas to do it. For your case you'll enjoy the v10 and none of the extra maintenance cost of the diesel.

 

there is a 95 f250 with a 460, auto transmission for sale in my town not sure how much is still stock 150000 miles

Is this a good truck not sure about price yet
Thanks for any info

 

Those are great trucks but that 460 will really suck a lot of gas. We're talking less than 10 mpg in most cases.

 

$3500
Guy said it got 12 mpg