I'm thinking of upgrading to a 353 Formula this winter, I will need to buy a vehicle to tow it. I might also get transferred to D.C. but live in Virginia. If I stay in TX I will tow the boat about a 1000 ft and occasionally 75miles to Lake Texoma and back. If I move to VA, I'll probably be 3 miles from the ramp.

Given those distances and the lack of funds, I'm going to buy an older used truck. TX has tons of trucks, not hard to find, I don't want to spend more than $10k, and most that I've seen have anywhere from 180k to 280k miles. Has anyone had/have experience with any older trucks as far as what truck would be best fitted. I was looking at the Dodge 3500 dually 5.9, but not sure how much longer they last.

My truck is for sale;

2006 Dodge quad cab dually
White SLT
Power driver's seat
Am/fm/cd/sirius
Fluidampr
True Flow air filter system
G56 6 speed manual transmission
Line-X bedliner
Gooseneck hitch
Firestone airbags w/in-cab controls
Less than 63,000 miles

I live in Arlington and would be happy to meet you at Sneaky Pete's Lake Lewisville to show you the truck and a drive. PM me if you're interested.

I bought a '01 Dodge 3500 extended cab diesel 5spd 4x4 dually flatbed on eBay for 11k. It is like new, it was a southern truck (Georgia). Your in Texas... perfect. When I was shopping Texas had mote used trucks than any where else. BTW w/Dodge 5.9 buy 1998 to 2002, I went w/manual trans because I heard nothing but horror stories on their automatics.

The Cummins motor is an awesome motor, whether its a 5.9 or 6.7. The problem with those trucks are the Auto Transmissions, so I'd be a little careful buying a truck with that kind of mileage on it. 80k to 100k would be my max, and I'm still not sure if I'd be comfortable with that.

I have 4 cummins powered trucks now all are 4x4's and i've have had 2 others in the past, i have a 2008 dodge 1 ton for my daily driver with the 6.7 in it and i love it, but the nice thing is about the 5.9 is there a simple motor. My 95 1 ton dodge that i bought new has 436,000 hard miles on it with no problems, its my farm truck, and i'll tell ya i'm not nice to it at all. i put a 2002 5.9 cummins in my wifes 2001 ford excursion that has 230,000 miles on it now , with no problems. And my 2003 ford 1 ton has a 2006 5.9 cummins in it after the powerjoke puked at 40,000 miles. I wouldn't be scared of 200,000 miles on a cummins but i would on any other out there. Don't be mad just my experience, i'm preaty bias when it comes to diesels. I'm with ya about the auto trans, but by the time 150,000 to 200,000 roll around they normally have new trans in them anyway. My 97 has a 5 speed.

Go with a manual if older and lots of miles. Cummings are the best engines and almost bulletproof, but like other say, the auto tranny usually breaks around 75-100K

5.9 ltr is proven engine. 6.7 is good but has had some emmission issues ( not the engines fault, the US EPA). Having had several of these trucks. I would go with 01-06 in the used market. 5 spd was good, but 6 is better. Tons of aftemaket goodies too. 20 mpg is the norm with a good box and easy throttle pressure

98.5-2002 are 24 valve motors.They have a Bosch vp44 fuel pump which can go out easily if the lift pump fails. 2003-2007 are 5.9 Common rails.2007.5-Current ar CR 6.7. 5 speeds (NV 4500) originally had problems with the nut backing off of the 5th gear and it would drop out of gear. 6spd (NV5600) and G56 seem bullet proof. Ive had 11, 98-2005 models and loved everyone. All were 4x4, Only one automatic and it was junk. Most of my trucks have ran over 200k miles with minimal issues, (clutch, brakes,etc). I have never blown any Cummins up. With a little maintence these trucks just keep going. Hope this helps

NO transmission is "bulletproof", even the aftermarket rebuilds, but they can be built to handle a lot more hp/tq. I have the G56 in my truck, a 2006 Dodge dually, and it's great tranny, but tow at the limit with it(16,500lbs in my case) every day and I doubt it would last a year w/o a rebuild. Maybe not six months.

Bulletproof may have been a poor choice of words. The dodge autos of there 94-2007 (pre 6.7 6spd autos) years are nothing more than glorified 727 tourqeflites with overdrives. The HP doesnt hurt the auto, its the torque, and a poor torque converter design. They have a tendency to come apart. As far as manuals go, they are the best bet in a dodge. The NV5600 is a iron case with larger internal shafts and gears than the G56. I ve seen both apart and can honestly verify this.

Catmando, watch any 3rd to 4th hard shift. Just rebuilt a g56that broke 4th gear. Guy was towing a tractor on a gooseneck.