I've been wanting a pickup since I sold my 1980 Ranger back in '88. My wife and I got into RV'ing last year, and not wanting to dump too much into it initially I bought a '89 2wd GMC Suburban with a 454. Hated it from day one, but it got the job done. Last week after getting back from the coast, I sold it for $500 more than I paid for it and didn't look back. After a lot of searching and looking at three piles of junk whose owners didn't know what "really good condition" REALLY meant, I found this creampuff:


It's a 1997 F-250 Heavy Duty. 460 with 3.55 rear end. Interior and exterior are excellent. Runs so smooth, but can kick it when you want. Bench seat, crank windows, and vinyl floor. It's my new beach truck! Has a towing package AND a camper package. I think the OO might have used a camper with it, but it has never towed a thing. I have a Curt Brake controller on its way so I can use it with our 24' TT. I am really happy with it, and my wife likes it too! The seller was asking $5,500.00 and I got it for $4,500.00. Didn't steal it, but I think it was a fair deal. Bridgestone tires are less than a year old. He had been using as a commuting truck 2 miles to work, and got transferred further away so he bought a Ranger.
BTW, that's a 92 Explorer in the background. It's a little beastie offroad! 5 speed!

 

Great looking truck, I paid $200 more then you did for my 97 and it has it share of issues(mostly a rusty body).

You got a great deal on that truck, keep it as long as you can.

 

Thanks for your reply. The only rust on this one was rock chips on the hood. Very, very clean! The rotors are a little warped, so they'll have to be replaced.

Speaking of that, I be interested to know the forum consensus on locking hubs vs the auto engaging hubs. The PO says the 4wd works fine, but I'd hate to find out it didn't while at the beach!

 

Couple more images:

 

Always liked bright white….

 

I can't really compare manual and auto hubs from experience since we've always had trucks with manual hubs.

But from what I've heard others say, the manual are much more reliable and a lot of people usually end up swapping to manual hubs.

 

I run autolocks on my 89 and had them on the 94 and get along fine with them, but the beach (sand) is the worst place in the world for them! If you are careful you can get along with them for a long time, but have a "Plan B" handy.

 

Auto hubs are more convenient to use. If being able to shift into 4WD easily, without getting out to lock the hubs is important to you, then you might want to stick with the autos. (Although simply locking the hubs before you get in the truck and driving in 2WD with them locked until you need 4WD can sometimes be a better alternative anyway.)

Two downsides to auto hubs though: they are more likely than manuals to get stuck and not disengage, and they are more likely than manuals to break and not engage. Some people say that they are so likely to break that you should never keep them, but in reality they generally hold up pretty well.

Understanding how they work will help you not break them (or help you decide if you should replace them). They lock when you start moving in either direction in 4WD, and they unlock when you reverse direction. So they unlock and relock every time you shift from forward to reverse, and every time you shift from reverse to forward. If you start spinning your rear tires before the hubs relock you will really be hammering your hubs. So if you keep your auto hubs be really gentle on the gas when you reverse direction.

Personally I'd switch to manual hubs, but there were two winters where I really wanted autos. I usually needed 4WD to get out of the driveway in the house I was living in then, and then I had a 25 mile drive to work, so leaving the hubs locked wasn't a decent option. I ended up getting out of my truck every morning after I left the driveway.

 

Autos are trash unless you don't need 4x4. Lock em in and know it.

Great looking truck

 

First repair on the list should be the battery cables. Those clamp-on things are JUNK!
If you do switch to lockouts, PM me and I'll buy your old ones.

 

I just pulled my 20ft 4500lb camper, I use my auto hubs to back in my hilly spot and park it back in the yard, the lower gears are awesome with a manual tranny. The autos are really convenient no jumping out to lock in. I however would change the gearing 3.55s are pretty tall with my rig.

 

Congrats! That is a very nice, excellent truck! I think you did well. It's so clean!

 

Very clean truck congrats! I had auto locking hubs when I purchased my 97 last year and since changed to MileMarker manual locking and haven't had any issues since. That interior is in awesome shape, mine was trashed!

 

Thanks for the positive feedback

Well, since buying the truck I've only driven around town; stop and go. Topped it off last night just to see the mpg. Exactly 8mpg. Hopefully my air filter is dirty!