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Should I sell my newer ram for an old K30?

B

Blazinaire

1/2 ton status
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Mar 17, 2002
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Santa Maria, CA
Here's the dilemma: I own a ram 2500 4x4 with the hemi, I honestly love my truck as it does everything that I need it to do and has all the creature comforts of most modern cars. The problem is that in the last 18 months, I have only driven it ~5k miles (I put over 6k miles on just one of my dirtbikes in the same time frame) and I am having a hard time justifying keeping such an expensive tool for the rare occasions that I'm using it when I know that I could get by with something cheaper/simpler.

I have considered selling it and buying an 87-91 K30 crew cab single wheel (big block of course) and have a subsatntial amount of money left that could be of more use elsewhere. My truck blue books at ~$14k and I would hope that I could get about that much being that it has ~$10k of add ons. The few K30's that meet my criteria that I have seen run between $5k-$7k in practically show quality condition (which is about how I'd want it) so the difference is enough to buy a used toyhauler if I desired, or another motorcycle, or several mortgage payments or....

The K30 would have similar weight ratings, crappy fuel economy, seat just as many people with more legroom, similar power, and would be far easier/cheaper to fix when needed. My only real losses being things like power leather seats, dual zone climate control, a decent ride (easily fixed on the K30) and adjustable pedals... I could easily do without these things especially considering the limited amount of times that I will need to use the truck. Most of the time that I use my truck now, all I am doing is hauling a couple dirt bikes and I could just as easily hook a small trailer up to my wife's cherokee for that at double the fuel economy.

I've been back and forth with myself on this matter over the last couple of years. Is there a big hole in my plan that I am missing, or does this sound like a realistic idea? Does anyone know of any uber clean K30 CC single wheels for sale?

Here's the truck in question:


dodgeleft.jpg


I added a $1700 35 spline free spin hub kit to the front axle since the first pic was taken

DSCN0505-1.jpg
 
Personally, I prefer old over new, cheap over expensive, simple over complicated. I would swap the Dodge for an old Chevy without much regret, especially if I ended up with a nice fat roll of dough in my pocket to sweeten the deal.

BTW, you'll still have dual zone climate control in the Chevy. It's got windows on both sides of the truck to roll down (or up) as needed.
 
Personally, I'd look into a 12v Cummins Dodge, in the 94-98 era. I'll probably get burned at the stake for saying this, but those 90's Dodges are really, a better truck than the 80's 1 ton GM trucks. First is the Cummins, that is an undebatable point. The rest of the drivetrain is a toss up. The HD241 is basically just as tough as a 205 and has a better low range. As far as the front 60, I don't care what anyone says as far as spline count this, or shaft size that, you WON'T break a Dodge 60.

What really counts after that is the rest of the truck, you will have a nicer vehicle than the earlier Chevy with a factory R134a A/C, better insulation, etc. As far as price, you could find a decent Dodge 12v for not much more than a grand or two than a super clean 1 ton CC GM, not to mention that prestine early GM is going to be a tough find.
 
Get the GM crew cab one ton, and use that extra roll of cash to buy a 12v cummins and swap that in, then youll get a nice truck, good power and better economy than a BBC.
 
I wish early cummins dodges went for a grand around here, usually they're around 6k.
 
kgblazerfive said:
That black one in AZ in the Classifieds section
Click to expand...

I've been searching for the last 1/2hr and can't find it! got a link?

rjfguitar: I'd been considering going the route of the 12v as well, and it is no doubt a better heavy hauler and has a more comfortable ride/interior... but really I am looking for something that is as simple as a rock (pun intended) and the 87-91 k30's are about the simplest trucks that I can think of that can haul 10,000lbs and 4+ people (comfortably.) I know, like most people here, these trucks like the back of my hand so making any repairs to it would not require any new learning or tools. Not to mention that I have more spare parts that would fit it than I know what to do with.

The dodge CAD along with balljoints and unit bearings are reasons for me to avoid that era truck as I've had problems with all of those components on my 03 and my brother's 01. All of those problems can be addressed, but it would add a large chunk of $$$ to the equation. Another downside for me is the lack of interior space on the extended cab (it's only 3" smaller than my quad cab, but that makes a difference when you are 6'5") and they didn't have back doors (very beneficial for installing infant car seats) until '98 and that is the first year requiring smog for diesels in CA so that would be another benefit gone down the drain.

I think that my budget for a replacement would be about 1/2 of whatever I ended up getting for my current truck, so $6k-$8k would be the upper limit. All the 12v's that I've seen in that price range have been pretty beat or already have 200,000+ miles on them. I hear everyone say that is not a lot of miles for a cummins, but that is a lot of miles for every other component on the truck and replacement parts are just plain cheaper for the K30.

I'd even consider a 92-95 k3500 that already had been SAS'd if the price was right. At least its chassis is a lot more solid than the earlier k30's with all the drivetrain being the same. I know that I could build a frankenstein truck myself, but this one will be the towrig, not the trailrig, I would prefer to write a check and drive it away. It just needs to drag the car hauler or travel trailer to the desert and be able to make the occasional dirtbike/broken truck retrieval so it will need to be mildly capable and I don't want to be working on it every weekend.

I honestly think that for the amount that the truck will get used, the 6-7mpg of the tbi454 won't be too much of a consideration over a diesel. I've averaged 8.4mpg over the last 20k miles or so in my current truck, so I've already accepted that as part of the cost of the hobby. Fuel economy isn't everything, for example: my dual sport gets 46mpg at ~$3.50 per gallon= $.07 per mile... a rear tire last ~800miles @ ~$80 a piece= $.10 per mile. Add up other related costs like outrageous insurance, oil changes every 1k miles, clutch every 5K, front tire every 2k, and all the other odds and ends, and fuel is just a small portion of the operating cost. I know the bike doesn't quite compare to a truck, but the concept of overall cost of ownership makes me favor the simpler truck, not just the more reliable/efficient engine. All that being said, I think I'd prefer to stick with a BBC in a GM platform for overall lower cost of ownership.

...that is if I can come to grips with getting rid of my current cowboy caddy:whistle:
 
sniperthx1 said:
I wish early cummins dodges went for a grand around here, usually they're around 6k.
Click to expand...

Some people don't really read well...
He said a grand more than the GM CC 1ton in similar condition (pristine)
 
i say go for it if i didn't owe so much on my truck still i would be doing the same thing
 
gonefishin said:
i say go for it if i didn't owe so much on my truck still i would be doing the same thing
Click to expand...

That's the reason that the truck ended up on the chopping block instead of my newest motorcycle. The truck has been paid for where as my bike is only worth a couple hundred more than I owe on it, guess that's what happens when you buy stuff new:rolleyes:

So has anyone seen any clean 87-91 CC SRW K30's for sale? Or SAS'd 92-95 k3500's? I'm having a hell of a time finding anything, but I only need to find one... the one.
 
Blazinaire said:
That's the reason that the truck ended up on the chopping block instead of my newest motorcycle. The truck has been paid for where as my bike is only worth a couple hundred more than I owe on it, guess that's what happens when you buy stuff new:rolleyes:

So has anyone seen any clean 87-91 CC SRW K30's for sale? Or SAS'd 92-95 k3500's? I'm having a hell of a time finding anything, but I only need to find one... the one.
Click to expand...
Well depends what is your definition of clean is.:whistle:
 
That one is beyond clean, one might even say perfect. Too bad it wasn't a crew cab. For that kind of money though, I would rather hang on to what I've got.

Now I've got the wheels turning in my head about straight SAS'ing a 92-95 myself being that I can find those with a crew cab, single rear wheels, and a big block easier and most often cheaper than I can find the 87-91's. I found a nice dually in the price range and level of cleanliness that I had in mind here: http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.j...e=b&num_records=25&cardist=100&standard=false , but I don't know if it would be worth the hassle of ditching the service body (maybe sell the bed to fund the single wheel conversion?) and converting to single wheel or just leave it as is? I was really trying to avoid the dually as it has more cons than pros for me. I already have a straight bed that I could put on and could swap in a SRW 14bolt and front hubs for ~$500, then I'd need to paint it and buy new wheels, hell I probably have some 8 lug wheels laying around.

I'm still not sure if I'm ready to let go of the dodge, but if I could get a truck as nice as that blue dually and have $8k left over, I'm sure my heart would move on.
 
Sounds like you have more truck than you need and are paying for it.

In '06 I was ready go out and either buy a used diesel Super Duty or a new '07 Chevy K2500. I just couldn't stomach the $400+ payment. Glad I didn't because less than 6 months later I was laid off unexpectedly.
Instead I got Big Ugly, my '86 Chevy M1008 K30. It was simple, reliable, and everything good about our old GM's. Everything bad too but you can fix that and often with a part someone makes specifically for it.
Was a great truck for my needs and did me well. Only got rid of it after I lost my house and really had no need for a pickup anymore.

Then again I am not a Dodge fan and like retro vehicles.
 
The other thing to consider is your dodge loses a lot of value every year driving or sitting and the early Chevy will probably go up or at the very least stay level over years to come.:waytogo:
I was spending 520 a month for my late model 3500 duramax that was sitting more than rolling and losing three grand or more a year in deprecation:eek1: so I sold it and mildly restored my 86 blazer that was paid for long ago. :woot:
The bonus is I get comments everywhere I go... "oh wow I had one of those", "nice square" "man I wish I had never sold mine!" etc etc:thumb:
 
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