heavy duty truck bad investment?

[Red9654]

once i get outa school i was plannin on buying a heavy duty truck, 2500 or 3500. i do plan on getting either a center console boat or a cruiser boat and they do weight a lot. and i will b buyin my moms camper from her. but would it b a bad idea to buy a 2500 or 3500 diesel truck if it was goin to b my only vehicle? besides a motorcycle

 

[avenger79]

Re: heavy duty truck bad investment?

love my 3500 and my harley. i don't regret it a bit. I did the small car for work and leave the truck at home thing for awhile. I learned two things. the extra price of a car, ins, maint storage and the fact that trucks do not like to sit...ie: they break more often when not used. the truck for an only vehicle works great for me.
I do ride my bike a lot though which does save some fuel costs in summer.


forgot to add. make a list of all friends who tell you not to do that, and WHEN they ask for you to help them move their.... say no. their little eco friendly car should be able to handle that task just fine.

 

[calvinator]

Re: heavy duty truck bad investment?

Numbers game....

I run a 1995 2500 Suburban w/454 and 4.10 rear end as daily driver. Needed for my lifestyle, family hauling, boat, household, etc. I need a truck, so I have to pay.

No car payments, but annual fuel and some maintenance is around $6k.

I would not want to finance a newer 2500 truck for $450+ a month --- $5400 truck annual + $6k fuel annual = $11400 annual.

Sounds like you are a young guy starting out. Avoid strapping yourself down with a big payment ! ! ! !

 

[DAN M VAGOS]

Re: heavy duty truck bad investment?

GMC all the way you can buy a 1500 and towe a good size baot I have a 2004 sierra reg cab 4x4 z71 with the 5.3l and it more power then I will ever need and is great on fuel ( if I can keep my foot out of it lol ) or you can buy a ford or a dodge just get a 2500 lol lol I'm going to hear about this one lol.:argue:

 

[southkogs]

Re: heavy duty truck bad investment?

Numbers game....

I run a 1995 2500 Suburban w/454 and 4.10 rear end as daily driver. Needed for my lifestyle, family hauling, boat, household, etc. I need a truck, so I have to pay.

No car payments, but annual fuel and some maintenance is around $6k.

I would not want to finance a newer 2500 truck for $450+ a month --- $5400 truck annual + $6k fuel annual = $11400 annual.

Sounds like you are a young guy starting out. Avoid strapping yourself down with a big payment ! ! ! !

^^^^^^ Yup.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: heavy duty truck bad investment?

I have 3 HD one ton trucks, one dually for plowing, one 2wd for hauling the camper and 1 4wheel drive for hunting and hauling, didn't buy any of them new and would never buy a new truck for the things I do to and with them, but for my lifestyle, they work out perfect.

 

[NYBo]

Re: heavy duty truck bad investment?

I have 3 HD one ton trucks, one dually for plowing, one 2wd for hauling the camper and 1 4wheel drive for hunting and hauling, didn't buy any of them new and would never buy a new truck for the things I do to and with them, but for my lifestyle, they work out perfect.

I thought you had one dedicated to being stuck in the mud...

 

[Vintin]

Re: heavy duty truck bad investment?

Love my 1996 Dodge 2500 4x4 with the 5.9 Cummins! 4,800 miles @ 22+ mpg from Atlanta to Oregon this spring with nary a problem.

 

[southkogs]

Re: heavy duty truck bad investment?

I have a '04 Dodge RAM 2500. I don't need that much truck, but I got a great deal on it - so much so that it offset the mileage loss from even getting a more fuel efficient car. It's a great truck, and gets pretty good mileage for a full size pickup. But the deal was what made it a buy ...

If the deal works (back to Calvinator's point), go for it. But you're young enough that you should get what makes sense. Buy the fun stuff later when you have the money (IMHO).

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: heavy duty truck bad investment?

I thought you had one dedicated to being stuck in the mud...

What mud? My plow truck finds its way into holes, but they have to include Ice! as my pictures from January proved!

:laugh:

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: heavy duty truck bad investment?

Just add, so I stay on point, if you can afford to drive it and get a deal that works for you, there is really no reason to not have an HD truck, there is nothing like smelling diesel in the morning or pulling the biggest trailer you can find down the road! But if you are a younger person, I sure would NOT go deep into debt to do this!

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: heavy duty truck bad investment?

I highly doubt you'll need a diesel. If you were retired and hauling a "large" 5th wheel across the country , that may be a different story. You're looking at an additional $8k for a diesel, at least new. As far as a 1500, 2500 or a 3500, you need to give more details on what your you're towing. Lengths, weights, how often/far you plan on towing, etc........ If you can get by with a 1500, that would be the route to go. Unless money is no object, then buy whatever you want......

 

[Pony]

Re: heavy duty truck bad investment?

I tow a 26ft travel trailer/camper with my 1500 5.3L 4 or 5 times a year......and its plenty enough to tow my 17.5ft LOWE fishing machine. The camper with gear is probably somewhere around 6k, the boat with gear,motor, and fuel is probably just below 3k,

I generally get somewhere between 18-21mpg not towing, depending on where I am driving and how much my foot is in it. Its 2WD so that makes a difference in fuel economy.......but also makes winter fun

 

[dingbat]

Re: heavy duty truck bad investment?

Hummm..right out of school, buying a big truck, a cruiser boat and a motor cycle. Where does a place to live, electric and water bills, reliable transportation to get to and from work, medical and auto insurance, savings and retirement accounts, gas/diesel and food fall on the list?

 

[Fishing Dude too]

Re: heavy duty truck bad investment?

Hummm..right out of school, buying a big truck, a cruiser boat and a motor cycle. Where does a place to live, electric and water bills, reliable transportation to get to and from work, medical and auto insurance, savings and retirement accounts, gas/diesel and food fall on the list?

I was thinking the same thing. Hey maybe he will be an instant millionaire out of school.

 

[drrpm]

Re: heavy duty truck bad investment?

Putting money in a depreciating asset is a bad investment. An index mutual fund would be a better bet. Save and invest wisely starting now and take advantage of the power of compounding interest.

 

[Red9654]

Re: heavy duty truck bad investment?

well i wouldnt buy it right out of school id wait til i could afford it but i just wanted to know what people think about hd trucks

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: heavy duty truck bad investment?

I would buy one a few years old so someone else gets hit with the depreciation.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: heavy duty truck bad investment?

well i wouldnt buy it right out of school id wait til i could afford it but i just wanted to know what people think about hd trucks

I have no problem with HD trucks and I didn't buy one right out of school, but I do own three of them now, of course I am retired and pretty much do what I want to every day.

But as far as HD trucks, there is nothing wrong with them, buy what you can afford. I just spent the last week installing a 20K 5th wheel hitch in one to tow the new 5th wheel trailer I bought so my wife and I can go camping and really not camp! LOL

 

[avenger79]

Re: heavy duty truck bad investment?

perhaps he didn't see the need to lay out his entire financial plan for his lifetime, simply wanted to know if folks liked their trucks or wished they hadn't purchased them. just a thought.