So I currently own a 2001 F250 V10 I love the truck to death its my dream truck. Its a lariat 4x4 with 208K on the clock it pulls anything I ask but it also sucks gas like crazy. So with that said I wont get rid of it I own it outright and insurance is super cheap so I am okay with that. I traded my 09 F150 with a 4.6 2wd and I regret it. it was a very faithful truck and gave me no issues I got rid of her at 210K I went to a 2016 Fusion thinking I was going to get better fuel economy well I did on long trips but going back and fourth to work 25min commute going 70MPH with hills I got roughly the same between the fusion and my F150 believe it or not 19-20 MPG and I also dont like small cars. So I ended up giving the fusion to my dad when I deployed now I am just waiting to get home and go get a new daily I quite like the newer 2015-2016 F150s with the 2.7L ecoboost and they are in my price range and are very powerful for such a small motor, BUT diesels have always intrigued me I saw spotted a few 7.3 2wd trucks for a reasonable price and I figured insurance would be cheaper I live in the Peoples Republic of California so I would get bent over the table for registration on either vehicle. I figured a 2wd would be fine since I have the v10. So what do yall think?

 

 

The emission requirements only apply to commercial use vehicle over 14k lbs GVW. A 7.3 pickup for commercial use will not have to follow those requirements.

As for the 2.7, we have not seen many with issues at work. The main thing we see is the stupid plastic oil pan leaking. That said they are a very complex engine with a lot of potential failure points.

 

I would get a late model 5.0 F150 or an older truck with a 5.4. sure, the 5.4s have problems but they are well known and can be taken care of.
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There's no way around the 7.3 being wrapped in a truck that's 15+ years old, little things will go wrong on it. The F-150 will have significantly fewer minor chassis and interior problems simply because it's newer. And there's really no arguing the newer truck will be much, much nicer inside. Do small, annoying things stress you out in a DD? If they do, the solution is newer, and maybe even something under warranty. If the thought of your DD not starting after a long shift makes you giggle like a kid because you get to wrench without the hassle of a commute first, rock on and get the older one.

Of your two choices I'd get the newer F-150 to use as a DD car, and keep the '01 for the hobby aspect of owning an older truck.

 

Get a commuter car like a Fiesta or a Yaris or something...or drive a motorcycle... that's my daily driver until it really starts to rain.

 

That's the route I'd go IMO. If you don't plan on modifying the 7.3L then emissions is not a problem but the truck is approaching 2 decades old so there will always be something to take care of. It can be a labor of love but it does get old after awhile.

As much as I love mine I would not get another one if this one got totalled in an accident tomorrow. I would miss the HEUI cackle but not the project list that never gets shorter.

From a registration standpoint I'm paying $340/year. Before I retired from the military my "non-resident" registration was $281/year.

 

brian42 - you might want to hang on t your shorts - I just got my registration renewal for my 06 F-250 it went up again for 2019 from around $360.00 last year to $407.00 for the coming year. I'm going to have to move out of this Communist State of Kalifornia when I retire just to hang on to my money.

 

My 2019 registration (Jan) is the same as it has been for the last 6 years or so.