I need some help deciding if this truck is worth it, but I think I already know the answer. Anyway, I've been looking for an F250 crew cab with a V10 located somewhere on the west coast for a while. Last weekend I found one my wife loves, but I'm kinda leery about. It's an '01 F250 crew with a short bed, and extremly low miles (39K). It's a nice silver color and the guy who built it put a ton of money in it and it really looks great. But, it has a 12" lift and 40" tires and while it looks nice, I'm not sure I could live with it. The owner says it gets about 9mpg empty on the freeway, but he says he's not really sure, since besides the tires, he re-geared it with a set of 4.56 gears, so the mileage is a guess, but it's not good. Anyway, the price is doable, but I really need it to get better mileage, so I'm thinking smaller tires would be in order, and to keep it from looking goofy, I'd likely have to drop if at least 6". Would this get the mileage to at least 12? Would it even be worth the effort? What kind of mileage do you guys who own lifted V10's get, and what's your tire and gear sizes and ratios? Any advice at all would sure be nice. Thanks!!

 

some food for though. lifted trucks with oversized tires wear on the front end quite a bit. What is in your favor is low mileage so there may be several thousand left on the those front wheel bearings.

I get it down around 4" myself so that you could restore the capabilities of the truck for its intended purpose. I bet those tires on there now are c or d rated so there is no real payload on the truck right now so at any rate I would be factoring that into the purchase.

Drop it down and get the right tires and you will double the mpgs if not more.

 

Plus, can you imagine trying to park a Crew Cab SD with 40" tires and a 12" lift? I know people on here have them, but I can't help but think it would be an impossible task in some parking lots.

Make sure and get full coverage You're going to be running over some poor import one day.

 

Also talk to your insurance company and see if they cover lifted trucks. My insurance company wanted to drop me because of the lift I put on my truck; but they couldn't because when it was originally insured it was stock. Come to find out no one in my hometown would cover a lifted truck because of the nimrods in the past that have ruined it for all.

 

Very good point. But I guess what I'm really weighing here is whether the truck is even worth it. I mean, how much would I have to un-do? I seriously doubt it's as simple as having the springs de-arched or removing a leaf. Some of the huge lift kits I've seen swap steering arms and all, sometimes even the drive shaft. Plus there's those 4.56's to change back to more sedate 3.73's or 4.10's, then the tires. Even if I could offset the costs of un-doing the lift by selling the used stuff, I'm still gonna have to fork out more money, so I'm thinking I'd be better off just finding a nice stocker and then doing it my way.

 

I think you have answered your own questions. There are plenty of other trucks out there that you could just drive away with.

 

find a truck thats already build with what u need/want..

lowering that truck is more hassle then its worth.. its not like theres no other trucks for sale out there...

 

to answer to Mike, My truck is a big problem when driving around in a parking lot looking for a spot. mines got a 8.5" lift with 40" tires. but its doable.