Looking at Kodiaks/Topkicks. Good, Bad??
 

Although most of you know how unhappy I am with my F-450 this post isn't for me. I have a friend who is more of a lurker than a poster on here so he asked me to do the leg work. He is driving a 2008 F-350 SRW Superduty Diesel that has given him quite a few problems,that always seem to rear their ugly head when he is on the road with the boat. His ideal truck would be a Sportchasis, but he wants to keep the F-350 for a daily driver, and doesn't like the idea of having 170K in trucks. This is what brings him to the Kodiak or Topkick. Let me also say that that he knows the F-650 is much more truck and he loves the look much more than Topkick or Kodiak, but again not in the budget. So if a guy wants to spend 30-40K on a second truck/hauler whats out there for deals that you guys are aware of??? What problems do these trucks have, and in everyones opinion what year and miles should fall in this price range? Thanks for the info.

For 30-40K you wont be able to find a low mileage fully loaded truck. A brand new Top-Kick is 80-90K. We have ours listed for sale which doesnt have all the option but we dont need them since we only use it to tow the boats. Check it out.

http://www.truckpaper.com/listingsde...x?OHID=2182593

Chuck,

I remember you guys when you came to Cumberland and won the money in 07. We were heading back to Florida towing three boats together and stopped to fuel when we ran into you guys. Anyway, I bought a 2007 4500 two wheel drive loaded with air ride, air ride seats, leather, sunroof, navigation, 2350 Allison etc... with 9000 miles for under $50,000. I have made one trip pulling a 42 Fountain for about 350 miles and it was great. Fuel mileage is not that good with the new engines though. This truck definitely likes weight behind it for the ride. I have only put a couple thousand miles on it so far and have no complaints. Biggest problem is everyone expects these to be luxury pickups and they are medium duty trucks with upgraded trim. I understand what the truck is designed to do and it definitely fillls a void. I would be more than welcome to answer any specific questions you may have.

Keith

I forgot to mention that we absolutly love ours. We have been to Florida and back a couple of times and to Canada and the truck is great. It does like the weight in the back for the ride as stated above. The F650's are cool but expensive and dont have the room in the cab like the Top-Kicks do.

I'm a diehard GM guy but those Top Kicks are ugly trucks........but at 32K for a mint truck it would be a real tough deal to pass up! :D

My neighbor has a black one and tows a gooseneck 40 foot trailer with it all over to car shows. Truck has been great for him.

How did I know you were going to say that!:D Well there's plenty of them out there so they cant be that ugly! And yes our truck is mint!

Why have two trucks to do the job of one?

I have two trucks. I drive an 08 Sierra Denali for every day use and use the 4500 for towing. Still way less money than buying a Sport Chassis.

Had the Monroe Kodiak 4x4. All the bells amd whistles. Air ride, air seats, loaded. Without a doubt the worst riding vehicle I ever owned. Changed out the tires, springs and shocks. Still rode like s...! Did you know they have speed limiters? You need to buy a programmer to raise the limit or you can't pass anyone. 8 miles per gallon towing or not. Not all dealerships will work on them which is a big hurt.
Had it for about a year and couldn't take it anymore. Sold it at a big loss and was happy to get rid of it. Bought a new Chevy 4x4 crew cab dually. Averaging 14 mpg, changed out to Bilstein shocks and it rides wonderful. Plenty of power.
Pulls my 35' cat no problem.
Just my 2 cents.
dave29

Just bought my new to me 4500.
$33000.

Miles,year, and options please. Good looking Rig. Love the avatar too.

I've owned my 2004 5500 series Kodiak with the Monroe conversion for 5 years. Mine is a two wheel drive with air ride. I tow my cat and a 48 ft. enclosed car trailer. It does a great job pulling and more important does a great job stopping. Be careful, you will probably need a CDL to drive it legally while towing and with a wide cat, a wide load permit. They seem to be a bigger and more attractive target for the commercial DOT cops. Good luck. Doug

nice, what year,mpg, how many miles on it, also id it 4x4? Looks great. Jaime

If you look at one with the duramax I would stay away from
LB7 (VIN #1 8th digit)

Also if you get a 4500 that truck is considered a "light duty" so any dealer can work on it. All 5500 and up are medium duty and would need to go to a medium duty dealer. If you find one you like get the VIN# and I can run it and give you some history on it.

If you look at one with the duramax I would stay away from
LB7 (VIN #1 8th digit)

Why is this because of the injector issues?

Had a Topkick JF lent me for a while, it was kind of cool but man you need elbow pads for these things, they are bouncy as hell.

If your spending this kind of dough go a little further and get an F650.

Call JF in Quebec I am sure he still has this one for sale if you want to go Top Kick.

The key to the "rough ride" is to get the air suspension. In the last couple of years you could also upgrade to air cab as well. If you already have the regular suspension, the air ride cab kit is quite reasonable and not real complicated to add on.

Add the seat, suspension and cab together, it rides like a Cadillac, but pulls like a truck!

I had the VERY first Monroe conversion '03, and traded it last spring for a 09 3500, BIG MISTAKE! I have regretted it ever since.

Bought an '04 4500 two wheel drive with 30k miles for $28k last year, Monroe bed, allison 2500 trans, air seats and navigation. Works great - put around 15k on it in a year towing a 43 Sunsation. Spent a lot of time searching the net for the right deal. Looked at several 4x4, a lot harsher ride and told they go through front tires like crazy. Have regular suspension in back but added 90 gallon fuel cell to bed - smoothed things right out. Drove several with air suspension and air cab and felt like there was too much movement for my taste. Overall very satisfied - but the post that says that this is not a luxury vehicle was right - more of a work truck with nice stuff added.

I have an 04 topkick with the monroe package and air ride with 40K miles and I LOVE it! It has all kinds of interior room. Also with the air system for the ride you can also mount TRAIN HORNS!!!!:evilb::evilb::evilb:

Yes.

I was told a few days ago they stopped making them. Is this true? Doug

That is correct.

Great turning radius for trailing....
Flat floor front and back...real easy to keep clean...
We will buy another one!!!